Stunned by his hand on my knee, I respond without thinking. “One to close.” Great. Now we have to see each other again. Internally I’m smiling, but I keep my expression flat.
He drops his hand to the gearshift and puts it into park. I hadn’t realized we reached my apartment so quickly. “Okay. I’ll pick you up and then drop you off. If your car’s ready to go, then we can get you squared away by the time your shift ends.” So he’s just as eager to get rid of me as I am to hide from him.
“Thank you, Wrench,” I say, pressing the button releasing the seatbelt when he reaches out to stop me.
“It’s Simon. By the way, I need your number.”
“Sorry, I don’t have one.” It’s dark out so he probably can’t tell I’m blushing, but I am. My face must be entirely red at the moment. It’s really embarrassing to be this poor, and still I wouldn’t change it to go back to my old life. There are worse things than being financially destitute.
He stares at me as if I’m lying, and I guess it is hard to believe, but I broke my last cheap phone and don’t get paid for another week and can’t afford another. Sensing the truth or just giving up, he says, “I’ll be here to pick you up at noon.”
“Thank you, Simon.” A small uptick of his lips shows he’s not as grumpy as he’s leading me to believe. He lets go and this time, I exit the SUV and walk to my apartment building.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he calls out. I wave to him and then unlock the main entrance, stealing one more glance at him to see him watching before I close the door behind me.
Once I get upstairs and slip my key through the lock, my roommate’s on the other side wrenching it open and dragging me in. “Oh my God. I can’t believe you’ve finally gotten a man. Who is he? I didn’t get a good look except those muscular forearms and hands that reached out to you.”
“Hi. How are you? How was your day?”
“Oh quit the shit. We’ve known each other almost an entire year. I need gossip. This town is full of secrets and intrigue and yet boring all at the same time. Seriously, I only moved out of my parents’ home in Paxton because I want to live on my own. Well you know what I mean. So dish.”
“Fine. My car broke down at the store. He passed by and had my car towed to his garage and gave me a ride home.”
“His garage? Are you talking about Wrench?” she squeaks, jumping up and down, yanking on my arm.
“Yes.”
“Wow, girl don’t sound too excited. It’s not like you’re not fucking your hand to him every night.” My eyes slap open as I stare, my blush clearly visible in this light. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s not like the walls are made with stone. It’s freaking drywall. I’m not going to tell anyone anyway. Although you need a toy because that’ll get you there a lot faster. Or better yet, let that handsome bastard fuck you dirty.”
“Girl, what has gotten into you?”
“Nothing, but a chance to live vicariously through you.” She’s been wonderful to me. I met her when I left home with nothing more than my car and whatever I could stuff into a gym bag and suitcase. She helped me get a fake ID so they couldn’t trace me, and we moved to a small town which would be easier to pass it off in.
“Actually there’s nothing to tell.”
“He’s promised to fix my car for free to make up for his mom trying to hook us up.”
“Are you serious? She’s trying to get you two together and you’re not already jumping up and down his pole?”
“You know I can’t get into a relationship with him. Besides, he’s not interested either.”
“First of all, he’s totally into you. He’s not fixing it because of her. It’s all about you and it doesn’t explain why you refuse to get into a relationship. It’s not like you have to tell him the truth anyway.”
“I don’t like lying to people, and there’s just something about him that makes me want to bare my soul, so it’s best I keep my distance.”
“You’re nuts. I’d jump all over that man.” I narrow my eyes at her, glaring. “See. You’re running scared. You can’t run forever.” That’s what I’m afraid of.
“I’m going to bed. I’m tired.”
“How are you getting to work tomorrow?”
“He’s picking me up.”
“Yep. He’s more than interested.” She starts singing the wedding march as I walk toward my bedroom. She’s out of her mind, I think to myself. There’s no doubt she’s got to be out of her mind. Someone like Simon wouldn’t want me. Why does he want me to call him Simon then?