“No, it’s nothing like that. I need a ride. Sloan bullied me into carpooling with you. Now, I can’t run errands for my boss.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“I need a ride to Nico Chase’s house.”
“Get an Uber.”
She groans into the phone. “I don’t have enough money for luxuries.”
“Uber isn’t a luxury.”
“It is for me, smart ass. So, can I get a ride, or what? I’d like to keep my job. Broke, homeless, and jobless all in one week isn’t a good look. And since I’m too poor to develop a drinking or drug addiction to cope with my life, I need a ride.”
“Please.”
“Huh?” Ash sounds confused.
“Say please.”
I love taunting her.
She groans. “Are you joking?”
“Afraid not. I want to hear you say it.”
“Dylan, will you please give me a ride to Nico Chase’s house, so I don’t get fired?”
“See that wasn’t so hard.”
“When are you coming?”
I chuckle. “Never thought I’d hear you say that again.”
“Dylan,” she grunts. “Please. Get your ass over here before Vinnie loses his shit.”
“Is that any way to talk to someone you need help from?”
“Whatever,” she huffs. “Dylan, will you please bring your stubborn ass over to my office? Pretty please. With a cherry on top. For fucks fucking sake.”
I laugh. “Much better.”
“Stop being a jerk, Dylan. I’ll meet you in front of my building in five minutes. The box of scripts I have to carry is heavy as shit. Don’t make me wait.”
She ends the call before I can get in another word.
This should be fun.
“Sloan, I have to run out for a little while.”
His eyebrows rise. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Ash needs a ride to Nico Chase’s house.”
He nods.
“Did you say Nico Chase?” A cute redhead looks over at me, wide-eyed.
Nico Chase was one of the hottest stars in the world before his last few movies bombed at the box office. He’s been on the news a lot lately for his public drunkenness, among other scandals that have destroyed his reputation. My curiosity about Nico is part of the reason I agreed to chauffeur Ash around Beverly Hills.
With a stupid smile plastered on my face, I ignore the redhead’s question as I exit the training room, headed for the parking garage.
Five minutes later, Ash dumps a banker box filled with scripts into my back seat and then slides into the passenger seat.
“Thanks,” she says with a smile. “I thought you were going to leave me hanging.”
“Ash, let it go already. It was one time.”
She turns her head away from me and sighs.
Did I royally fuck up with her in the past? Hell, yeah. Ash came to me when she was vulnerable and needed me most, and I acted like the biggest dick.
“You’re here now,” she says, leaning her head back. “Do you know where Nico lives?”
“Yeah. His house is on all the star maps.”
I shift into gear and then stop when I notice Ash isn’t wearing a seatbelt. Instinctively, I reach across the car, grab the belt, and tug it over her chest.
“Jesus, Dylan. If you want to cop a feel, there are more discrete ways to do it.”
I click the buckle into place, sliding my fingers up the fabric as I give it one final tug. Tiny bumps dot her arms as my fingers lightly graze her breast. I didn’t do it on purpose, but now that she’s put the thought into my head, I should act on it.
“Sorry,” I say with a wink that earns me a snarl from Ash.
I pull onto the street, clutching the steering wheel.
Ash snorts. “You want to touch my tits. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you looking at them.”
“I love your tits,” I admit without hesitation.
She laughs even louder. “For a nerd, you were always so forward.”
“Only with you,” I counter.
“Is that the real reason you started Date Crashers?” More wicked laughter. “Because you were too afraid to talk to women and needed someone to save your ass.”
“I don’t have trouble with women.”
“No, you probably don’t. I bet every woman in the city wants to fuck you now that you’re rich.”
“Stop being a brat, or I’ll pull over this car and spank you.”
She snaps her head in my direction, rubbing her glossy lips together. “You would like that, wouldn’t you?”
Fuck, yeah. I would love to bend Ash over the hood and give her ass a good spanking. We used to have so much fun together. So much fun that I got carried away one night and ruined everything.
Keeping my eyes on the road, I turn up the radio, desperate to end this conversation.
Ash snickers. “That’s it, huh? Why you’re so mean to me all the time.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You still want to fuck me. Don’t you?”
I never stopped wanting her, not even for a second. Ash was always my biggest weakness.
“Ash, c’mon. Stop.”
She gives me a satisfied smile and crosses her arms beneath her breasts, pushing them up in the process. Since when did her shirts get so fucking tight? I swear she’s wearing this top to torture me.