Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 158872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 158872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
“Place the bracket right here.” He taps his finger against two perfectly drilled holes along the top of the door. I hold the bracket and mirror while he fastens them tight.
“It’s nice having an extra set of hands.” He tickles his fingers against the back of my leg once the mirror is secure.
“Yeah? I’m not slowing you down?”
“No.” His lips tilt into a smoldering mile. “Distracting me? Yes.”
“Distracting how?”
“You’re hot in coveralls.”
“I’m hot all right.” I wipe a bead of sweat from my forehead.
He chuckles and lifts one of the panels, clipping it back into place on the door. I help him reinstall the other fasteners. Then we install the second mirror.
“I think the car is close to being finished.” Griff walks around it, slowly studying every inch. “Just need Vapor to work his magic with the paint.”
I stare at it and try to visualize what he’s seeing. The inside’s been transformed, for sure. But it’s still missing door handles, and some other essential elements.
“It’s hard to see it now,” Griff says.
Thunder rattles overhead, and the garage lights dim for a second. Griff tips his head and stares out the window. “Let’s clean up and get going. I have my bike. Don’t want to get caught in the rain.”
“Okay.” I shimmy out of the coveralls. The cooler air is a relief on my skin.
I lean into the car to stuff my things in the back seat. “We’re going to spend the day here tomorrow, right?”
Griff doesn’t answer, but a solid wall of heat presses against my butt and legs. “If that’s what you want.”
Still bent at the waist and half in, half out of the car, I peer over my shoulder. “I want a lot of things.”
He slides his hand under my T-shirt, skimming his fingers along my spine. “Like?”
I crawl onto the wide bench seat in the back of my car. The black, textured vinyl’s cool against my palms.
“What are you doing?” Resting his arm on the roof, Griff ducks his head inside.
“Come here.” I crook my finger at him, then pat the seat.
One corner of his mouth tilts and he laughs softly. “Okay.” He slides into the seat next to me. “Now what?”
“I want to do this.” I swing my leg over his and settle into his lap, resting my hands on his shoulders. “And this.” I swoop down and slide my lips against his.
“Mmm.” He inches lower in the seat and tangles his fingers in my hair while palming the small of my back, holding me in place. “I can get on board with this,” he says against my lips.
“When the car’s done, can we take it to the drive-in one night?” I run my fingers through his hair and kiss his cheeks.
“Sure.” He rubs my back. “We can go in my car, too. Any time you want.”
“What about tomorrow night?”
He tilts his head and squints at me. “You’ve got school Monday morning.”
“So?”
For a few heartbeats, neither of us say anything. Then Griff nods. “Okay. Do you know what’s playing?”
“Something scary, so I’m going to need you to protect me.” I grin and kiss him again.
“I’ll do that no matter what.”
A blast of thunder rattles outside.
“We better go.” Griff squeezes my hip, urging me up.
With a sigh, I twist and roll in a not-at-all graceful way out of the back seat.
“I need to check on things and lock up. Grab your stuff and meet me in the front office.”
I nod and hurry through the shadowy garage. Instead of going into the office alone, I stand by the door, waiting for Griff. One by one, the overhead lights wink out. Low lights from the office and the security lights from outside provide a soft glow, so I can make out Griff’s form coming toward me.
“Ready?” he asks, zipping up his jacket.
I hoist my backpack on and nod, then follow him into the parking lot.
Outside, the wind picks up, swirling leaves into a quickly passing funnel.
“Shoot.” Griff glances up at the sky. “It’s supposed to storm. Let’s go back to my place. We can drop off the bike, then go out for dinner somewhere.” He reaches for my hand.
I curl my fingers around his. “Or we can stay in?”
“Not a lot of DoorDash options around but we can do that too,” he suggests.
Food’s the last thing on my mind.
At the bike, we put our helmets on.
Thunder crashes and a zigzag of lightning splits the sky.
“Hurry.” Griff straddles the bike and I climb on behind him as quick as I can, which isn’t fast at all. But he waits until I’m situated to fire up the bike. More bolts of lightning and earth-shaking thunder follow us to Griff’s place, but no rain.
Not until Griff makes the turn into his parking lot.
The sky unloads. What feels like buckets of water splash over us. Griff mutters a string of curses and guides the bike to a stop by the sidewalk.