Addicted

"Let me give you a ride back to your place or somewhere. You can't just sit out here and freeze to death." His eyes moved across me slowly, leaving me to feel almost bare in front of him. Some part of me wanted to get on the back of his bike just to see how it would feel to live a little. "You going to a party? A date? I'll drop you off there. There's no way I'm leaving you out here."

"No. Thanks, though. I'll call my friends. They're just up the road. Honestly." I gave him a tight smile and took the card he pulled from his back pocket. "I don't even know you, and I'm not getting on your bike."

A smirk lifted his kissable lips as he nodded. "I get it, but call my cell if you don't get picked up soon. The storm is only going to get worse. I'm Tate, by the way, and the address on the front is the garage I work at. Bring the car by tomorrow and I'll put a new tire on it for free. You just gotta buy the tire."

He gave me a friendly smile, and my heart fluttered in my chest in a way that left me more concerned than comforted.

"You don't have to do this." I lifted the card, suddenly feeling even more like shit for being rude to him. "My parents are really wealthy. I'll just bring the car by and pay you for the tire and your time. I owe you that much, at least."

His expression hardened just a little, and his curt nod said that he knew my kind all too well.

"I know I don't have to. I want to. Some things have nothing to do with money and everything to do with putting goodwill into the world. It's still free to be nice." He smiled and turned, closing the hood of my car and waving as he walked back to his bike.

I closed the door and let out a long sigh as I dialed Amy's number. He was right. Why the hell did I feel the need to mention that my parents were wealthy? Why would that matter to anyone? It certainly didn't matter to me.

Disgust rolled over me, but I swallowed it down. I didn't need another internal shit storm to deal with. I had enough to concern myself with as it was.

"Tate. Rugged, sexy, philanthropic mechanic Tate." I lifted the card to my face as my heart fluttered again. "Wonder what your tats look like beneath that coat."

My mother would have died to even know that I was wondering about such a low-class type of guy. A mechanic. I loved the thought of making her squirm.

"Where are you? You here?" Amy's voice was loud, and I jerked the phone from my ear.

"No, I'm stuck on the side of the road on the way to the party. My car died. Come get me? Please?" With my parents being millionaires, there was no reason for me to be sitting in a broke down car, and yet my mother wanted to prove a point in not getting me a new car just yet. I could almost hear her voice in my ear.

Good things come to those who strive to be the best. Work harder, and you'll get what Allison got.

Amy's voice pulled me from my thoughts. "Hell, yeah. I'll be there in a minute. I gotcha on track my phone. Just stay put and no talking to strangers."

"Even sexy ones on a bike?" I looked out my window as Tate pulled back onto the road beside me. His hand lifted in the air, and a smile touched my mouth.

"Um, save that one for me. Your mother would kill you if you started dressing in leather, and those guys expect it." She laughed.

"And, you'd dress in leather for one of them? Do you even own anything made of leather?" I pictured Amy giving me a look. She was about sixty pounds overweight, and while I thought she was breathtaking and feminine, she hated her size. Leather would not be in her wardrobe.

"For a man with tats and greasy hands, I'd find something to wear." She laughed again, and we continued to play around until she drove up beside me.

I got into her car and buckled up before sliding my hands into my pockets and cupping the business card Tate had given me. It was probably a huge mistake to go visit his shop, but I couldn't help but pay attention to the excitement at the thought of seeing him again. It was silly and meant nothing, but with so few rays of light in my day, I was willing to cling to the promise of that nothingness.

Chapter 4

Tate

I couldn't seem to shake the pretty girl's face. I hadn't been smart enough to get her name while I checked under her hood. She was bitchy, which I couldn't exactly blame her for being. It was fucking freezing outside and she was stuck on the side of the road. Her mood calmed quickly as she got back into the car, and I couldn't help but chuckle at how cute she'd been in misunderstanding my questions about the car. She wasn't kidding about being a kept woman, but something wasn't right. She looked very much the princess part from her perfectly styled hair to her flawless skin.

No rich girl's daddy would let her drive around a ten-year-old car that had transmission and battery problems.

Unless she didn't mention it to the old man.

I pressed the gas on my bike and dodged around a bit of traffic before reaching the party. Sam had taken his truck

and was for sure looking for me by now. I was twenty minutes late and had felt my phone buzz in my pocket multiple times.

Worry ran through my insides as I parked the bike inside the large garage and rubbed my hands together. I moved my walk into a jog and got into the house as quickly as I could. It was freezing out there.

Why did you leave her? She's probably freezing to death.

"There you are. Shit, man. I was starting to worry." Sam clamped his hand down on my shoulder and handed me a cup of beer. "You get lost in the storm?"