We Were Once

He always did support the wrong teams, like being on my dad’s payroll. I was hoping he’d be taking the night off or sleeping on the job. Figures that he’d get wind of me down here and want to give me a hard time. “From what I remember, the agreement was that you’d stop harassing me, Dwight.”

“You’re trespassing. I can call the cops if you’d like them to settle this.” Jon glares over my shoulder and the gall that he thinks he has a right to even look at Chloe has me fisting my hands. “Or your da—”

“Call the cops if you want.” My hard glare has him stopping that train of thought. Jon knows better than to laud my dad over my head. That he’s doing it now makes him more of an asshole than he already is. The last thing I want is for Chloe to learn about my dad from this idiot.

Chloe’s shivering body presses against me. “Don’t say that.” Glancing at her over my shoulder, I see her eyes cast down. She whispers, “Let’s just go.”

“Listen to her, Josh.”

Leading her to the passenger’s side of my truck, I open the door. “Warm up.” She holds the blanket closed at her throat, nodding. She’s not shivering anymore, but I can see the concern in her eyes.

I return to the front of the truck and grab the rest of our clothes. Putting on my jeans, I ask him, “You gonna stare like a fucking perv?”

You’d think he was the police by how he plants his hands to his sides and looks down on me. “I could end this cushy setup you got going. I suggest you show a little more respect, kid.”

“You can’t end shit, kid,” I volley back since he’s my age. “You’re a lackey at best and a guard dog at worst. You were hired to piss me off.”

He laughs. “It’s working.”

I pull my shirt over my head but bust him eyeing Chloe. “Eyes over here, fucker.”

“You think you own this town, but Evans doesn’t mean shit around here anymore.”

“Tell that to my father.”

“A one-night stand may have given you that last name, but you’ll never have the clout that precedes you.”

I don’t need clout and I don’t care about the reputation my dad left behind. I’m my own man. “Fuck off, Dwight.”

“I will when you get the fuck out of here, Junior, and stop trespassing.”

I’m not in the mood to argue with an asshat from high school getting a taste of power. I want to get Chloe out of here, so I take our stuff to the cab and get in.

Through the open window, I hear him say, “Have a good night, Evans,” but the sincerity is seriously lacking in his tone.

I start the engine and back up, getting back on the path we drove in on. Flipping him off, I reply, “Fuck you very much, Dwight.”

Chloe remains quiet until I pull onto the main road. “An old friend of yours?”

“No.”

I’m about to set the record straight, but then she says, “I’ve never been more attracted to someone than I am to you right now.” Huh? “You were just so . . . Gah. So hot. I thought you might end up in a fight.”

“Wait, I’m confused.” Glancing over at her, I ask, “You wanted me to get in a fight?”

“No, not at all, but seeing you ready to protect me is the sexiest thing I’ve ever witnessed.” She’s squirming in her seat as if she can’t control the adrenaline, or maybe that’s desire I see lit in her eyes.

I pull off to the side of the road and shift into park. “I’d fight for your honor any day.”

She shifts closer. “I’m so turned on right now.”

“This is what happens when you have the best sex. You crave it.”

“I’d roll my eyes, but you’re right. Kiss me, Joshua.”

I lean over and bring her closer. Just before our lips meet, she says, “Wait.”

“What?”

“We’re not in trouble, right? Like our names aren’t on the bad list, are they?”

“Bad list?” I cock an eyebrow and smirk. “Fuck yeah, your name is on the bad list. You’re a bad, bad girl.”

Her mouth crashes into mine, force and intention driving her. Ripping herself away from me, her breath is heavy and loud like mine. That fire in her eyes an inferno. “I want you,” she purrs.

“Now?”

Nodding excitedly, she commands, “Now.”

“Here?”

She looks around at the cars driving by, the thrill in her eyes beginning to dim. “No,” she replies under nervous laughter. “Somewhere no one can see us.”

I pull back on the road and detour down the first dirt road I find and shift into park. “How’s this?”

Her seat belt flies off and she’s coming for me. “Shift the seat back.”

It doesn’t go flat, but it’s down enough, and I’m lying back in less than two seconds. Flipping the blanket from her shoulders, she’s still bare on top, but the wet panties are gone. “You’re a goddess.