Cockpit: A Second Chance Romance (21 page)

This is not the time to start beating yourself up Frannie.

I scooped up my bag and ran down to my beat up old car. My parents had bought me an expensive convertible when I was just sixteen but I hadn't wanted it anymore by the time I graduated. Not to sound ungrateful, but I was tired of them buying my affection.

They didn't do it for me anyway. They just did what was expected. Like someone had handed them a spreadsheet on what rich people did for their kids.

They ticked off the boxes but that was it.

They were too busy working to bother taking the time to ask me if I'd wanted a car, let alone what kind.

So I scraped and saved and got myself... The Blue Banger.

I patted the dash affectionately and turned him on, pulling out into traffic. My apartment was dirt cheap and far from campus. About thirty-five minutes to be exact. But I was early. I had plenty of time to find parking and walk my paper up to the Sociology building. Plus, it was after rush hour so I wasn't too worried.

Not until I heard the sound.

The click clack clunking sound.
 

Oh no.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!

Oh YES.

The Blue Banger abruptly rolled to a halt. And stopped. In the middle of the street.

Car horns blared as they drove around me. I tried to stay calm but ended up frantically waving my hands in the air, signaling people to go around me. Finally there was a break in traffic, so I grabbed my bag and ran to the curb to call my insurance.

It was ten minutes before the tow truck showed up.

By the time the guy rolled up, I was semi-hysterical and trying desperately not to cry. I now had less than an hour to make it to Professor Candel's office. I forced myself to stop wringing my hands and turned to face the tow truck driver.

Who just happened to be the best looking guy I had ever laid eyes on.

Oh.

My.

God.

Tall, lean and built like an athlete, the guy had green eyes and dark hair. His tight jeans were ripped and covered with grease. His tank top was so tight it should have been illegal.

His pecs were bigger than mine, and since I was a double D, that was saying a lot.

My jaw must have been open because he just stared at me, looking dumbfounded. Then he raised his eyebrows.

"That yours?"

I nodded slowly.

Dear heaven above, sex on wheels had just arrived to save the day. And of course, I had nothing to say to him. Smooth Frannie. Just like usual.

"You okay?"

I nodded mutely.

Not surprisingly I was utterly tongue tied. Especially around a man like him.

Who was I kidding? I'd never even SEEN a man like him.

He didn't seem to notice though. He just shook his head and grabbed a few flares from the back of his truck, marking out an area for drivers to avoid. Then he held out his hand.

Did he want... a tip?

Again, he just raised his eyebrows.

"Your keys?"

I exhaled and handed them over. I watched in awe as he single handedly pushed my car out of the road. His muscles bulged out from the effort.

Dear Lord.

The man's muscles had muscles.

Chapter Two

Jace

The girl was staring at me while I hooked her car up to my truck. I expected her to be on her phone bitching to her boyfriend by now. Or making fun of the grease monkey.

But she just stared.

She looked fucking damn good doing it too.

No man, she looked
great.

Gorgeous red hair, big soft blue eyes, and a face that was almost too pretty. Never mind every thing that was going on below her neck.

And there was A LOT going on down there.

Big luscious tits, a tiny waist and juicy feminine as fuck hips. Legs looked good too.

Fuck man, everything on this chick looked good.

Too good.

She looked like a God damn cartoon character. She looked good enough to eat. She looked like the one damn thing that could get my mind off of Mariah.

I shook my head. I knew the type. Rich college girl probably. Had a dozen guys at her beck and call. Her daddy was on speed dial probably.

And daddy's money was going to pay for my tow.

I sighed, knowing I should probably double the price of the tow and whatever I did for her back at the shop. Fuck, I knew she could afford it. The girl just screamed money.

And that was something I avoided like the plague.

I stood up, wiping my hands on my jeans.

And did a double take.

She also looked like she was on the verge of tears.
 

"Hey, are you hurt?"

She shook her head, that gorgeous hair tumbling over her shoulders. I felt something inside me twist open and break free. I reached down and adjusted myself.

My cock was getting hard in the middle of the God damn street!

It had been way too long since I got laid, that was for damn sure.

Still, the girl was about to cry and I sure as hell didn't want that.

"What's the matter then?"

"I just- I have to get my thesis to the college before 9."

She sighed, reaching into her bag.
 

"I don't have a lot of cash on me... I need a cab. Can I give you a check for the tow?"

I stared at her then back at the car.

Diamond earrings. Expensive looking shoes that had seen better days. A denim skirt and button down blouse.

Actually, she didn't look quite as rich as I first thought. I started thinking, fast. Normally I avoided college girls like the pain in the asses that they were. Lord knows there were plenty of them around here. And they liked to get drunk and go slumming.

Hit on local guys like me.

Live dangerously.

But this girl... she might be something else entirely.

Maybe she was fair game after all.

I smiled at her, leaning against the car.

"I'll get you where you need to go. We can figure out the money later."

She blinked at me in surprise. Like she didn't have guys bending over backwards to get into her pants all the time. Her cheeks got pink, sending a shot of lust straight to my cock. It lurched towards her, making me glad we were standing in the dark.

Then she nodded.

I let out a deep breath. I felt a strange sense of relief as I opened the passenger door to my truck and watched her fold that sexy little body inside it. She smiled at me tentatively as I closed the door.

In that moment, I would have driven her anywhere.

That was before she leaned over to unlock my door for me.

Crap, the girl was just about perfect.

I got in and looked at her, my eyes raking over that insane cleavage of hers.

"Let's just drop this off and then we can get you where you need to go."

She nodded.

"Thanks...?"

I shifted gears and grinned at her.

"Jace."

"Thanks. I'm Frannie."

Frannie. How cute.

Fuck if I didn't like the sound of that.

Frannie

We didn't talk much on the ride. It was too loud and I felt tongue tied in the face of such overwhelming hunkiness. The truck rattled like crazy as the mechanic drove me back to his shop.

Not 'the mechanic.'

Jace.

His name was Jace.

Boy, did it suit him.

I faced straight ahead but my eyes kept sliding to the side. I couldn't help but check him out. The tight fabric of his jeans looked exquisitely soft where it wrapped around his bulging thighs.

I wanted to touch it.

I wanted to touch
him.

I dragged my eyes away but not fast enough. Our eyes locked for a second. He had caught me.

Unless... had he been checking me out too?

Keep dreaming Frannie.

Except... it kind of seemed like he had been.

We pulled into an enormous parking lot on the industrial side of town. We were way off the beaten track now. I wouldn't have known how to get home without GPS.

Hopefully it wasn't too far from campus.

He came around and helped me climb down from the truck. I smiled at him, trying to cover up the shock of electricity that went through me when our hands touched.

If that was just his hand... I wondered how the rest of him might feel.

Frannie!!!

My mother's disapproving voice rang out in my head. Just like clock work. I pushed it away and followed him into the empty shop. It was surprisingly clean.

"This is where you work?"

He looked at me like 'duh.' I shrugged.

"It's amazing."

Now he was staring at me with a look of incredulity on his face.

"I'm just not good at stuff like that."

"Stuff like what?"

"I tried to take an engineering course. I was horrible at it."

"Engineering. That's what they wanted me to take."

"Who?"

He shrugged, changing the subject.

"I better get you to campus. We can sort out the rest later."

He grinned at me, cocking his head. My heart skipped a beat.

"You're good for it right?"

I nodded wordlessly and followed him back outside.
 

"Go ahead, get on."

He was standing next to a motorcycle. My jaw must have dropped. He wanted me to...
 

"On this?"

He laughed and held out a helmet.

"Safety first."

Now why did I feel like that had a double meaning?

I swallowed and fit the helmet over my head, staring as he slid his heavily muscled arms into a thin leather jacket. He pulled on his helmet and straddled the bike with ease. My heart beat a little bit faster at the sight of him on that bike.

He looked so... fierce.
 

And then he smiled at me.

My heart melted. I felt all mushy inside, like a pool of butter.

Hot, sticky butter.

"What are you waiting for?"

That was a very good question. This incredibly gorgeous man was offering me a ride. So what if motorcycles were dangerous? This was one of those life experiences that I would never forget.

Live dangerously for once Frannie.

Before I knew it I was behind him, my legs straddling his. He looked over his shoulder at me, his eyebrow raised. Then he grabbed my arms and pulled them forward until I was pressed against his back.

Good lord he felt good.

He revved the engine and we pulled out of the parking lot and into traffic. The sky was dark and bright lights of different colors whizzed by, kind of like my own private laser light show. But I wasn't paying attention to anything.

I couldn't.

This was the closest I'd ever been to a boy in my life.

Not a boy.

A man.

It felt so good. Almost like I was a normal girl. The kind of girl guys wanted to take out.

But it also felt dangerous.

He felt dangerous.

By the time we pulled up to the south edge of campus, I knew I would be dreaming about Jace for a long, long time.

Chapter Three

Jace

"Is this close enough?"

The girl behind me nodded, reaching for her helmet strap.

"It's that one over there."

I dismounted and leaned in close, helping her with the buckle under her chin.

Of course it was just an excuse.
 

An excuse to get closer to her.

My whole body was jangling from the ride over here. The feel of her against my back... Fuck if I ever felt anything so good in my life.

Her luscious tits would make a lesser man cry.

I wasn't used to that. I never felt desperate around a girl. All the same, I had zero control of my cock around her.
 

I was glad it was dark so she didn't see the huge fucking boner in my pants.

I pulled her helmet off and smiled at her, not stepping away. Rich girl or not, I was very, very interested in getting to know this girl.

Between the sheets anyway.

She looked up at me, her eyes clear. She had yet to even flirt with me a little I realized. Not that she needed to. She had my full attention, and then some.

It was weird, but refreshing. I was used to girls throwing themselves at me. I realized I kind of liked it.

"Thanks."

"I'll wait for you. Give you a ride back."

She shook her head, those gorgeous curls of hers flying every which way.

"No that's okay. I can- I can just grab the bus."

"I don't mind. I'm just going back to the shop anyway."

"No, that's fine. You've done enough. Thank you, Jace."

I like the sound of my name on her lips.

I liked it a lot.

She swung her leg over the bike and I swallowed, realizing her skirt had gotten jacked up pretty high. I saw a little bit of her creamy inner thigh... oh God did I want to see more.

I pretended not to look while she tugged her skirt down over her hips.

She started to walk away but I touched her shoulder, stopping her.

"I need your number."

Her big blue eyes blinked at me.

"For the car."

"Oh right, of course."

That was weird. She seemed... surprised. I was sure this girl had to beat guys off with a stick. But she seemed to be completely missing my signals, not ignoring them as I had originally thought.

That was... interesting.

She fished around in her bag, finding a small notebook and a pen. I watched her scribble her number down and hand it to me. Such neat, dainty handwriting. I smiled and tucked it into the pocket on my chest.
 

The one with a zipper.

Fuck if I was going to risk losing that.

"Okay well, see you. And thanks again."

I stared after her as she walked away, realizing that something was bothering me. I decided to put her number into my phone right away, just in case. Fuck, I was thinking about memorizing it when I figured out what was bothering me.

How many rich college girls took the bus?

Frannie

I felt flushed as I ran up the stairs to Professor Candel's office. I'd never felt anything like it. The way Jace had looked at me... it was almost as if...