Blaze (Drive Me Wild 3)

“It doesn’t. Don’t worry.”

“Fine, I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you!” she squealed and clapped her hands excitedly before walking to the door. When she reached the handle, she turned around again. “Oh, and . . . um . . . is there any way you can hang out with your friend, Janet, for a while tonight? I wouldn’t want you to walk in at the wrong time or anything.”

Jesus.

“Um, you mean Jonna? I guess so,” I managed to say before my throat tightened.

“Oh, and I promise I’ll clean everything up.” She threw that last comment over her shoulder before hurrying outside.

What was she planning that would require clean up?

This must be what silently going insane felt like.

Chapter Eleven

At eight o’clock, I stuck my head into the garage in search of Blake. I’d been in the office taking a test for my economics course. I decided to ear

n my degree online because I knew Blake needed my help at the shop. Well, that was what I kept telling myself. If I was being honest, I couldn’t bear to leave him. As much as I hated myself for still being in love with him, I couldn’t help it.

“Blake?” I called into the open space, my voice echoing off the walls.

“Yeah?” he answered from underneath a blue car sitting on a lift.

“Um, it’s almost eight. What time do you plan to leave?”

“Don’t know.”

“Will it be soon?”

“Don’t know,” he repeated, sounding irritated. “Why?”

“Well, it’s just that you’ve been staying here pretty late, and I thought maybe you should go home a little early and . . .” My voice stalled out as I watched him stand. The way his shirt stretched over his chest and bunched up around his waist showing a peek of his lower stomach made my mouth grow dry. That was until I noticed the “V” thing that disappeared into his jeans, and then the drooling began. I realized that I’d been staring at him a little too long when he lifted an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side.

“Oh, um . . . You know what? Never mind,” I stammered while backing away to the door. “You seem busy, and I’m just going to . . .”

“Actually”—he cleared his throat and tossed the tool he was using into a box— “I was thinking about grabbing something to eat at Catch. Do you want to go?” He grinned, looking a little uncertain of how his invite would be received. It had been a while since I’d seen that dimple directed at me, and I found myself nodding.

“Yeah. I could eat something. Sure.”

“Okay, I’ll get cleaned up and meet you out front in about ten minutes.” He started packing up his gear as I walked back to the office to close my computer, check my hair, and put on a spritz of perfume. While I was fully aware that I should be sending him home for his anniversary “whatever” that Lucy was planning, I thought stealing an hour of time was only fair since she’d already taken up two years of mine.

When we walked into Catch, the place was quiet. Music was playing on the jukebox in the corner, a couple of guys were shooting a game of pool, and Mr. Hal was laughing at something one of the customers at the bar was saying. We found a booth near the window and I waved to Jonna, who was exiting the kitchen with a tray of food in her hand. She nodded at us and mouthed that she’d be right over.

Blake flipped open the menu and read the items. This action seemed odd to me because we knew everything that Catch served by heart. “I wonder if that nacho crab dip is any good.” His leg bounced nervously under the table, and it was causing me to feel tense, so I tried to start a conversation.

“How have you been, Blake?” I asked. While we lived in the same house together, we barely spoke about anything other than mundane topics that either involved work, the grocery store list, or updates from our parents in Pennsylvania. When Blake lifted his eyes to me, I realized how much I missed hanging out with him.

“Good,” he answered quickly but didn’t say more.

“Blake.” I glared at him. “Seriously.”

“Do you really want to know the truth?” The question he asked hung in the air as my mind raced at what he was implying.

“Hey, you two,” Jonna greeted us as she reached the table. “Order anything but the crabby nacho shit Mama put up on the specials board this morning. I have no idea what’s in it, but it looks and smells horrid.”

I giggled and glanced at Blake.