Miss Mechanic

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know all about it. You got drunk because you were nervous and ended up throwing up while he held back your hair. Then he made you sip water until he was sure you were done throwing up.”

“What? He didn’t tell me all that.”

“Of course he didn’t. That makes him look too much like a decent guy.” She rolled her eyes. “He stayed until you were asleep and locked your door on his way out.”

“That’s why my key was on the mat,” I mused.

She raised her eyebrows. “Can I tell you something he’ll kill me for?”

“As a rule… Please do.”

Roxy laughed and sipped her water before speaking. “I think he likes you. And I don’t mean as a friend.”

I stilled.

What was I supposed to reply to that? Everything I knew about him pointed to the alternative. I knew he was attracted to me, but was I dense to believe that he didn’t like me?

Yes.

I think I was.

Because the more I learned about him, the more I liked him, too.

And I didn’t quite know what to do about that.

“Oh,” I said quietly. “You do?”

“You sound surprised,” Roxy replied just as quietly.

“I am.”

“Are you, really? Because if someone told me he liked you, I wouldn’t be at all.” She looked at me, but she drew circles with water droplets on the table. “He’s an ass, and some of his opinions about your industry are a little backdated, but he’s really not a bad person. He’s just harder to break down.”

I swallowed hard and looked down. I knew what she was saying was true.

He was an asshole, and his opinions were bullshit, but that didn’t make him a bad person.

Horrible people didn’t hold your hair while you threw up or hold you getting blind drunk in what was supposed to be a date against you.

At least, I hoped he didn’t hold it against me.

My fear had definitely gotten the better of me.

The fear that the date would prove what I already knew.

That somewhere between the bickering and the bitching and the endless arguing—oh hell, during it all, too—I’d found someone I could stand up against and who could stand up against me.

And in the most unlikely place.

Again, I swallowed, and I looked away.

“You two act like you can’t stand to be around each other.” Roxy’s voice was soft. “Yet, sometimes, I think that might be the thing you like the most.”

Chapter Twenty-Four – Jamie

I didn’t care what Roxy said. There was no way that being around Dex was my favorite thing.

That was reserved for eating tacos in my yoga pants.

“How’s your hangover?”

“It wasn’t a hangover,” I said, setting aside the old tire. “It was a sensitivity to the sun.”

Dex snorted and folded his arms. “A sensitivity to the sunlight. Is that a new thing you’ve developed? You haven’t been sensitive the entire time we’ve known each other.”

I cleared my throat. “We’ve known each other two weeks. It’s a random thing.”

“I bet it comes on after you’ve had a lot of wine, too.”

“Not always.” I pulled the new tire over and started fitting it. “Just…sometimes.”

“So after wine.”

“Oh my God, leave me alone.” I pulled my hair so it covered my face and dipped my head so he couldn’t see the little flush that raised up my cheeks.

He laughed and passed me a tool I needed. “Still hungover, then?”

“Little bit.” I winced and took the tool. “Thanks.”

“Tacos didn’t help, then?”

“Probably would have helped a little more if my lunch date hadn’t been your sister.” I paused and looked up to meet his eyes. “That sounded much worse than I meant it.”

Dex’s lips twitched. “It always does when my sister is involved. She’s not really the most stimulating conversationalist.”

“No, no, the conversation was fine. Just the…topic…was off.”

“What was the—never mind. I can guess.”

I grimaced and nodded.

“Did she tell you all my secrets?”

“Only the one about how you used to twirl your penis like a helicopter every time you took a bath.”

Dex took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring. “She’s been saving that one for something special. She must really like you.”

“Everyone likes me. Except you.”

“I don’t dislike you. In fact, I find you quite tolerable lately. As long as you’re not throwing up on me.”

“I thought I vomited in the toilet.”

He paused. “Mostly. You kinda missed right after you were done complimenting my cock.”

I blushed. “Will you stop reminding me I said that?”

“Never. In fact, I think it’s my new favorite thing to do.” He grinned. “I’m going to bring it up every day.”

I groaned and rested my forehead against the car. “I knew dinner was a bad idea.”

“Wrong,” he said from the staff room. The fridge opened and closed. “Dinner was an excellent idea. It was great pizza—not that you remember it. Wine was the bad idea.”

“Fine, fine, whatever. Wine was the bad idea. Said no-one ever,” I finished on a mutter.