“This feels like a lot,” she said, scooting across the back seat. He followed her in. It did kind of feel like a lot, and weird for him too. It was the strange connection he couldn’t define, but it didn’t seem to matter either.
Chapter 9
Was every ride service this uncomfortable?
Greer lived his life as a normal, everyday kind of guy, but he was certain this was the last time he’d ever Uber anywhere again. The small backseat of the compact car provided little comfort for any of the three passengers nor did it block the snores ripping from Dallas’s apparently serious sinus problem. Within three seconds, Skye shoved a couple of breath mints into Dallas’s mouth and forced him awake long enough to focus on chewing. Skye’s mother hen nature, where she was everyone’s cheerleader in life, had seemingly found its end while sitting next to Dallas and his vomit breath.
Dallas and Skye lived on the outer edge of Grand Prairie, Texas. The town wasn’t foreign to Greer. He’d heard of the place many times throughout his life, mainly due to the numerous tornado warnings that targeted the path down the I-20 corridor. Greer had grown up in Southlake, north of Fort Worth. He’d never ventured much farther south than downtown Dallas.
From the stories he’d heard about the southern half of the DFW area, he had expected the worst. All that manifested on their late-night jaunt was wide-open star-filled skies that cast shadows over what appeared to be rolling hills as they drove down the crowded highway.
“If you take this exit, you can drop us off at the back of the complex. The code is one-zero-one. Our buildings are to the right of the gate there.” She pointed the driver to the off-ramp and down the service road, giving him Dallas’s building and apartment number.
“Let’s get you home first. It’s dark out here,” Greer suggested.
Skye looked at him then out the window before shaking her head. “We live close…”
“I know you. If we take him home first, you’ll try to say you got it, then take off for your place in the dark.” Greer leaned forward to speak directly to the driver. “Take her to her apartment first.” He used his no-nonsense tone when he looked back at Skye. “Tell him where you live.”
The car came to a rolling stop, the driver’s gaze flitting to the rearview mirror, waiting for her answer. It took a second or two before Skye finally gave in and pointed the driver two buildings over.
Once there, Greer opened his door, stepping far enough out of the way to allow Skye easy access to scoot across the seat. He knocked on the driver’s side window, motioning for him to roll his window down. Greer bent, speaking to the driver, but staring at Dallas who lay sprawled out, his head back against the seat with his mouth gaping open, oblivious to the world around him. “I’m going to make sure she gets in okay. I’ll be back.”
He got a wary nod from the driver who looked out at the night, turning his head this way and that to scan his surroundings. The driver appeared as freaked out by the complete darkness as Greer was. He shut the back door and heard the locks initiate. Skye seemed oblivious to either the driver’s or Greer’s reservations. She was already striding toward her apartment.
“I have a roommate,” she said over her shoulder as he jogged to catch up. “I’ll be fine.”
“They’re not out here with us right now,” Greer said and followed her up the steps to the second floor. His BikeBro overworked thigh muscles resisted, burning with each step up he took.
“I do this all the time. Every day in fact.” Skye bounded happily upward, taking two steps at a time, her jaunty climb clearly mocking his weary muscles. He didn’t even care. He was more amazed at how her legs didn’t ache as badly as his. “It’s not a bad neighborhood. I love it here.”
“I’m making sure you get inside safely. It’s the gentlemanly thing,” he replied sarcastically and attempted to roll his eyes as he concentrated on his steps. “I wasn’t raised by Neanderthals.”
They stayed silent for the length of those steps until Skye slowed at the top and looked back at him reflectively. A seriousness came over her. Her gaze scanned the length of his face, assessing him. “I saw Dallas dancing with you.”
At this angle, they were very close to the same height. The darkness did little to hide her concern. The uncertainty in her gaze spoke to his newfound, odd sense of unrest. The rawness of the possessiveness he’d developed for the passed-out man in the car seemed better left unspoken, making Greer do what he always did: hide behind something cheeky, keeping his true feelings buried as deep as they would go.