California Nights: Rich Boys of California Duet

Oh my god.

He could give me a ride?

HE COULD GIVE ME A RIDE???

I broke out in a sweat thinking about what that meant. Did he mean that in a dirty way? Or was he being nice?

Either way, my cheeks lit up with the thrill of it all. A boy wanted to drive me around on his motorcycle. Not just any boy either. A freaking gorgeous one.

Becky was staring at me, her arms crossed and an arched look on her face.

“Um, hello. Who is texting you so much?”

“Oh it’s just Nev. And Jace.”

“You met a guy?!?”

The look on her face was not terribly flattering, but at least she looked happy for me in addition to being shocked.

“You don’t have to make it sound like it’s impossible. Besides, it’s not like that.”

“Okay, sure.”

I didn’t have a lot of friends at school so when Becky and I had met off a housing chat board, I had been thrilled. She was on scholarship and had the same limited resources I did.

I thought I had made a friend.

And I had, sort of.

The first few months we went grocery shopping together, and did our laundry together. We even cooked dinner together most nights, both of us being the broke and frugal type.

Only that’s where our similarities ended. I quickly realized that Becky was obsessed with being wealthy. She was smart and pretty and determined to catch a rich husband. She didn’t even try and hide it. So when she started dating the head of one of the biggest frats on campus, that was it.

She definitely was not a ‘hoes before bros’ type of girl.

Not that I was a hoe.

Even though I kind of wished I was at the moment.

“Well, is he hot?”

“That would be an understatement.”

“Aren’t you going to text him back?”

“Uh… yeah I guess so.”

What the hell was I supposed to say to him? I’d get over there some other way and pick it up the car when it was ready. I wasn’t good at flirting anyway.

But I knew I should say something… he was being nice after all.

I pecked out a short text and hit send, closing my eyes.

Thanks Jace. I’m okay. I will see you next week.

Smooth Frannie.

Real smooth.

But what could I do? I wasn’t about to start bantering with him.

I would take the bus to work. I didn’t really have anywhere else to go.

Speaking of which, tomorrow was my first day so I needed to pick out an outfit. Something that said, I’m serious! But also said, I’m fun!

“Can I borrow something for tomorrow?”

“Your summer job starts, right?”

“Yeah.”

Becky nodded and led the way into her bedroom. She spent every cent she had on clothes. As a result she often mooched my food when her boyfriend wasn’t paying. But by scouring online resale and consignment places, she had amassed a considerable wardrobe that looked mega expensive.

I had made a significant effort to keep her from finding out I was from a wealthy family.

I knew she would blow a gasket if she knew I was turning down money from my folks. To her, money was sacrosanct.

She held out a pair of stretch riding style pants and I ‘oohed’.

“You can have these if they fit. My ass does not do them justice. Actually, try these too.”

She tossed a pair of tight military pants on the small pile she was building me.

“Thanks, Becks.”

“Anytime.”

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Jace

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

I moaned, rolling over to smack the snooze button. I did not want to get up. I wanted to slide back into the dream I’d been having.

A dream about her.

A very, very naughty dream.

I groaned as the alarm went off again. My dad hit the wall from his room down the hall with his fist three times. He was not a fan of my early mornings either.

“Alright, alright.”

My alarm was set to go off at 5 am on Tuesdays and Saturdays. It killed me, getting up that early. But I had to do it so I tried not to bitch about it.

I took a quick shower and threw on a relatively clean pair of jeans and a collared t shirt. I made a pot of coffee and drank a cup, leaving the rest for dad. He’d be up soon enough.

I rode my bike through the empty streets to the seedy part of town. It was rough over here but too early in the morning for crime. Even the junkies needed sleep I guess.

I always parked my bike inside the city center so I didn’t really have much to worry about, other than the random stray bullet.

The city center was an enormous old building that had once served as an armory for the city.

This was where I served my community service. I actually didn’t mind the gig at all. It was for a good cause and it wasn’t boring.

The kids were funny as hell too.