Down to You (16 page)

Ohmigod! Have I lost my touch? Do I suddenly
suck in bed?

Cash clearing his throat reminds me he’s
awaiting my answer.

“Oh, uh, you know I’ll do whatever I can to
pay you back, but it kinda depends on the night. I can’t be out
too—”

“Oh, you won’t be out very late. This is an
accounting project I’d like you to look at. I just ask that you
don’t put your hair in a bun or wear orthopedic shoes.”

I laugh at his vision. “Fine. I guess I can
work my numeric magic without the tools of my trade.”

“I’m sure you can,” he says absently. “In the
meantime, however, you’ll need a ride to school, right?”

“Um, yeah.” I didn’t even think of that.
These guys have really scrambled my brain. “I guess I will.”

“Give me ten minutes and I’ll be there to get
you.”

My brain finally starts working and I begin
to think like a rational person. If Cash takes me to school, I’ll
have no way home unless I call a taxi, which will get expensive
since I’ll have to take one to work and back all weekend until my
car gets fixed.

“You know, I can skip school today. It’s not
like I’m taking any really hard classes now anyway. That way I
won’t have to impose on you anymore than I already have.”

“You’re not imposing on me. I don’t
mind.”

“I’d really rather not bother you. Really.
I’ll just see you tonight.”

“Get dressed. Be ready. I’ll be there in
ten.”

With that, he hangs up, giving me no choice
in the matter.

Almost exactly ten minutes later, I hear the
deep rumble of Cash’s bike. I feel it in my stomach, like it
breathed excitement into my body in a very physical way. Try as I
might to keep my distance from him, it’s clear I’m getting into a
bad place with Cash.

And the worst part of it is, I don’t think I
want to stop.

I don’t wait for him to come to the door.
Rather, I go out to meet him, carefully locking the door behind
me.

Cash is straddling his glossy
black-and-chrome bike. His jeans—blue for a change—are stretched
tight across his thighs and his plain white tee is snug over his
chest. His dark blond hair is disheveled, as always, making my
fingers itch to run through it. But it’s his face that makes me
catch my breath. More handsome than any guy I’ve ever seen in real
life, there’s something about his eyes and his smile today that
seem to sear the air between us, setting it on fire.

And even though I know the risk, I want to
jump head first into the flames.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO- Cash

Something about the look on her face makes me
feel like a meal. And if I were, I’d be a happy meal, for sure.
Although I’m still impatient, I’m relieved. I figured she’d come
around eventually. I knew she wouldn’t be able to fight what’s
between us for too long. It’s too strong.

And tempting.

“You keep looking at me like that and you’re
gonna have a big surprise to deal with when you get on this bike,”
I tell her.

“A big surprise?” she asks, a mischievous
smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Nah, don’t you mean
something more like a Tic Tac?”

I love her sense of humor. It’s a little shy,
just like her, and it pokes it head out at the most unusual
times.

I smile and hold out my hand to her. “Then
come here and let me freshen your breath.”

She laughs. And, as always, I want to do
something immediately to make her do it again. She thinks too much,
worries too much. I don’t know about what, but I can see it
nonetheless. It makes me want to brighten her mood and give her as
many carefree minutes as I can.

Carefree and pleasurable.

I stifle a groan.

She puts her hand in mine and holds on to it
as she straddles the seat behind me. Without turning around, I pass
her the helmet. In the side view mirror, I watch her slip it onto
her head. There’s something so sexy about seeing her in a helmet.
Probably something about the way it makes me picture her in black,
skin-tight leather, leaning forward on my bike with me behind her,
my hands on her hips...

I grit my teeth. Damn her and that lush body
of hers!

I reach back and curl my fingers behind each
of her knees and pull her forward. I
feel
more than
hear
her gasp as her crotch snugs up against my hips and her
chest flattens against my back.

I feel satisfied that now she’s probably as
highly attuned to me as I am to her, but then she ups the ante. She
winds her arms around my waist and lets her hands ride dangerously
low on my stomach. They’re resting right above my buckle. Right
above where she’ll soon feel my hard-on if she’s not careful. I
take a deep breath before I put the bike into gear and accelerate
away from the curb.

I can’t get her to school fast enough.

As we get close to campus, she points ahead
to which roads and turns to take to get her near where she needs to
be. When we arrive, I pull along the curb and stop, dropping my
feet to the ground to stabilize the bike while she dismounts. She
stands facing me to take off the helmet. When she does, she shakes
her dark hair free. It looks like something a girl in a shampoo
commercial might do. I have no doubt she doesn’t have a clue how
sexy she is. But she is. Holy hell, is she ever!

She holds out the helmet to me, her eyes on
mine. When I don’t take it, she glances down at it and back up to
me in question. I stand, still straddling the bike, and brush the
helmet away, instead running my hands through her long hair and
pulling her mouth to mine.

Although she’s obviously surprised, she
doesn’t hold back. She kisses me like she means it. Like she wants
more. All she’d have to do is say the word and I’d drive her
straight back home and we’d spend the day in bed. But when I pull
away and look into her wide eyes, I know it’s still a little too
soon for that. She’s close, but she’s not quite ready.

But I can wait. I’ll have to.

“When are you gonna say ‘yes’?”

She says nothing as she watches me with her
deep emerald eyes. Her lips are red and puffy, and slightly parted
as she breathes shallowly.

I smile. Oh yeah, it won’t be long.

“Call me when you’re ready for me to come get
you,” I say, giving her a quick peck on the lips before I put on
the helmet. She looks dazed, which makes me want to smile. “Don’t
worry. You don’t have to say yes today. I’ll wait. You’ll be worth
it.” Before I lower the shield over my face, I grin and wink at
her. “And so will I.”

I pull off down the street. When I look into
the side view mirror, I see that she’s still standing exactly where
I left her, staring after me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE- Olivia

It’s official. Cash is in my head. I may be
present
physically
for all my classes, but it doesn’t do me
one bit of good. The only thing I learn is that he kisses like a
tornado that’s hell bent on ruining my life.

I still don’t know who was in my room last
night, but I’m starting to genuinely hope it was Cash and not Nash.
Yes, Nash is everything I
should
want in a man, everything
my mother tried to drum into my head. Not to mention that he’s
hotter than seven shades of hell and could probably make me forget
my convictions when he kisses me.

But beside Cash…he’s beginning to pale in
comparison.

I don’t know if it’s my inherent love of the
sexy bad boy or if it’s that Cash is turning out to be
more
than what I initially thought. Either way, he’s in my head. Under
my skin. And I doubt I’ll be able to resist him much longer.

Don’t get me wrong. He’s still dangerous and
will probably break my heart. And I’ll try to hold out as long as I
can. But in my heart, in my gut, I know there’s something between
us that won’t go away until we sweat it out of each other.

The fun way.

But the way that will end with me in tears,
watching him leave.

At least this time, it’s a
choice,
though
.
It’s
my
choice. I’m going into it knowing
full well that might happen. I might not be able to keep from
getting hurt, but I’m in control enough to make the choice for
myself.

And, in the end, I’ll choose Cash. Try as I
might to fight it, it’s inevitable. If only he could only be a
little, teeny, tiny bit like Nash…

My phone jars me from my thoughts. I forgot
to turn the ringer off. I jump, scrambling to dig it out of my bag
and answer it before I get crucified by my professor.

I reach for the button on the side to mute it
and am getting ready to slip it back into my bag when I see
Ginger’s name on the screen. With a shrug, I pick up my book and my
bag and head for the door. I’ve already disrupted class and I’m not
learning a thing anyway. I might as well just go ahead and
leave.

When I hit the talk button, I’m greeted by
Ginger’s raised, irate voice and a long string of profanity. “Stay
in your lane you limp-dick, candy-ass, crazy mother fu—”

“Ginger?” I interrupt.

She quiets immediately. “Oh, Liv. Hi,
sweetie. I didn’t hear you answer.”

“I can’t imagine why,” I remark dryly.
“What’s up?”

“Well, actually, I’m on my way to get
you.”

“Me? Why?” The hair at my nape prickles with
unease. If Ginger is on her way to get me, something’s wrong.

“Because your car is broken again,
right?”

“Um, yes, but how did you know?”

“You had to have someone drive you all the
way to Salt Springs for your last shift, remember?”

Nash. “Oh, right. But it’s been fixed since
then.”

“Well hell,” she says in frustration. “But
wait, you just said it’s broken.”

“I know. It is. It’s just a different
break.”

“Liv, seriously, I fear for your life in that
piece of shit. No car should tear up as frequently as yours does.
Do you have Munchausen’s by proxy?”

“Munchausen’s by proxy?”

“Yeah, you know where people, like, poison
their family members and stuff for attention.”

“I know what it is. I’m just a little
surprised you do.”

I can hear the proud smile in her voice. “I
saw a special on the Discovery Channel.”

“
You
were watching the Discovery
Channel?”

“Yes.”

“Um, why?”

“I lost the remote.”

“You lost the remote?”

“Yes. Are you just gonna repeat everything I
say?”

“If you keep saying ridiculously unbelievable
things then yes, probably.”

“What have I said that’s ridiculous?”

“That I might have Munchausen’s by proxy.
With my car. That you learned something on the Discovery Channel.
That you even know what the Discovery Channel is. And that you sat
in your living room watching a show about Munchausen’s Syndrome
because you lost the remote control. How can you lose the remote
control in a house that’s no bigger than yours?”

“It was in the freezer. Apparently when I
took out the vodka, I set the remote control down.”

“That makes sense,” I say sarcastically.

“The batteries in that bitch’ll probably
never die now,” she says with a bark of laughter.

“Ginger, can I ask you a question?” I ask
gently.

“Sure, sweetie. What is it?”

“Why are you on your way to get me?”

Sometimes Ginger needs a little redirection
to stay on point. Sometimes I need the same thing when I’m
with
Ginger.

“Oh, damn! It’s your dad. He fell and broke
his leg. He made me promise not to tell you, but…well, you know.
I’m gonna. Of course, I’m gonna.”

“He broke his leg? When?”

“Two days ago.”

“And I’m just now finding out about
this?”

I have to concentrate on keeping my voice
lowered. I’m intensely annoyed that I’m finding out so long after
the fact.

“I wasn’t going to tell you at all. He made
me promise, you know. Like I said. But then when Tad mentioned
seeing him at the hospital and that he’s expecting some lambs,
well, I knew you’d want to know. Someone who knows what the hell
they’re doing will have to come take care of things for a day or
two until you find the babies and whatever else you need to
do.”

“So if there weren’t lambs on the way, no one
would’ve told me?”

My anger is rising.

“Uh,” Ginger says quietly, knowing she’s on
dangerous ground. “That fool father of yours made everyone promise.
He doesn’t want you having to make the trip home or spend your time
worrying about him.”

I pinch the skin between my eyes, wishing I
could stop the dull throb that’s building across the front of my
head. I bite back the dozen or so sharp comments that are trembling
on the tip of my tongue.

“How far out are you?”

“About ten minutes.”

“I’m still at school. You’ll have to pick me
up here.”

“That’s fine. Just give me directions.”

I sigh. Loudly. Trying to give Ginger
directions and then expecting her to actually show up at the
correct location is a lot like throwing a knife into the air. It’s
dangerous, stupid and somebody could end up getting hurt. She has
landed us in questionable parts of town more than once, places I
would never dream of getting out of the car. Unless, of course, I
was accompanied by two ninjas and a sumo wrestler.

But, in this case, what choice do I have? I
wouldn’t feel comfortable imposing on either Cash or Nash. It
wouldn’t be such a big deal if I could use Magic Vagina powers, but
those only work on people a girl has slept with. And since I still
have no clue which brother dove head first into my panties last
night, there can be no wielding of the Magic Vagina.

I give Ginger directions to the student
center. At least I can get something to drink while I wait for
her.

After we hang up, I call Cash to tell him I
won’t be able to work the weekend shift.