10. Kai
Ten
Kai
As we step outside, the cool air hits us.
Cool.
Crisp.
The parking lot is mostly empty.
A few Bingo-goers are standing by their cars, chatting.
Some notice us. Most don’t.
“You need a ride?” I ask.
Mary glances toward her car.
Then back at me.
“You know I drove here.”
“Technicality.”
She laughs.
“Your confidence is unbelievable.”
“It's one of my best qualities.”
“Debatable,” she says, but her eyes are twinkling with mischief.
My little Firecracker likes to play.
“I’ll get someone to drive it back to your place before morning,” I say and open my hand for her key.
I tuck it behind the front fender and shoot a text to my moron twin.
Mary watches, eyes wide.
Eventually, she climbs in.
Victory.
I round the front of my truck—a black Ford pickup loaded with every bell and whistle known to man—and pull open the passenger door for her.
Mary pauses.
Just for a second.
Then she smiles and climbs inside.
The cab suddenly smells faintly like her shampoo and whatever light, floral lotion she uses.
Dangerous.
I shut the door and circle around to the driver's side.
By the time I climb in, she's already buckled.
“Seatbelt?”
“Yep. I’m a safety girl.”
The words leave her mouth, and immediately her eyes go wide.
I see the exact second she realizes what she said—the innuendo behind it..
And now my dick is hard, but she can’t see it.
Thank fuck.
Still, she starts turning red.
Fast.
“I meant car safety!” she blurts.
I lose the battle and start laughing.
“Car safety. Obviously.”
“Car safety!” she repeats.
Her hands fly around helplessly.
“I wasn’t—I mean—I wasn't talking about…”
She's dying.
Actually dying.
Right there in my passenger seat.
“Oh my Lord, kill me now.”
“Easy, Firecracker.”
I reach over and gently tap the buckle across her lap.
“I know what you meant.”
Her eyes narrow suspiciously.
“You do?”
“Sure.”
“Because it sounded weird.”
“It sounded adorable.”
She groans.
I grin.
“And for the record, I'm a safety guy too.”
Her cheeks turn pink again.
“In every way.”
“Oh my God.”
“What?”
“You do that on purpose.”
“Do what?”
“Make everything sound dirty.”
“You started it. Maybe you're the one with the dirty mind.”
The look she gives me could melt steel.
Worth it.
Every damn time.
But then she laughs.
A real laugh.
And suddenly the tension leaves her shoulders.
The stress.
The worry.
The pressure she's been carrying around all week.
It eases just a little.
And that feels like winning.