Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“No. He’s like, a hundred years old,” I said, downplaying how attractive my new roomie was. It was an automatic defense mechanism I learned as a teenager. Because if high school taught me one thing, it was how far girls would go to meet one of the Kings of Mayhem. Like pretending to be my friend just so they could hit on my uncle, or my brothers, or any other King they set their sights on.
It made you guarded.
It made you wise.
Not that Simone or Jane ever showed any sign of using me to gain access to any of the guys. Simone was busy juggling both a girlfriend and a boyfriend, and Jane was happily married to her high school sweetheart. Not that marriage stopped her from appreciating other men. She had a strict look but no-touch policy. And believe me, she looked a lot.
“Ruger sounds sexy. It just rolls off the tongue. Ruger.” She began to purr his name. “Ru. Gerrrr.”
Simone rolled her eyes and fanned herself as she leaned against the wall.
Simone was fun, almost six-foot with a halo of black curls and flawless dark skin, while Jane was four-foot nothing with bright blonde hair and skin as clear as porcelain. They were complete opposites. Simone was straight up and called it like she saw it. While Jane was flighty and a little batshit crazy.
And I loved them both dearly.
“He has a nice house and it’s close to work and school, so it made sense to stay there until my apartment is ready,” I explained.
“Bet it helps that he’s easy on the eyes, too,” Jane added, dragging on her cigarette.
“Speaking of easy on the eyes—hot mechanic, six o’clock,” Simone said, straightening as she gave us a check out what’s behind you look.
Jane and I swung around.
Two weeks earlier, a gorgeous new mechanic had started at the workshop across the parking lot. Tall. Good looking. Strong jaw. Nice blue eyes. Inky black hair.
When we made eye contact, he winked at me and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“Girl, that tall glass of water sure has got eyes for you something bad,” Simone said as she turned back to look at him.
“What?” I shook my head. “That’s crazy talk.”
“It’s true,” Jane added. “When you drove in, McHottie over there couldn’t drag his eyes off of you. He watched you climb out of your car and didn’t look away until you were all the way inside. You should go over there and ask him out.”
I turned to look at her. “I’m not doing that.”
“When was the last time you went on a date?” Simone asked.
“I do date, okay.”
“Sure, you date plenty… if you’re a nun,” Jane said.
Simone gave me a look. “Honey, if you don’t climb back in the saddle, your little red wagon is going to grow cobwebs.”
“My little red wagon…?”
Jane let out a giggle. “Seriously, Chastity, you need a bit of —”
Jane’s words fell away and both her and Simone’s jaws dropped open as they stared at something behind me.
“What on Earth has gotten into the two of you?”
Puzzled, I swung around, and when I did my mouth fell open, too. “Oh!”
Across the parking lot, McHottie had undone his overalls and they hung off his hips, displaying a body of golden, muscular perfection as he walked out of the workshop.
I think the three of us swallowed at the same time, our eyes riveted to him as he sauntered out into the sun and tipped a full bottle of water over himself.
“Sweet baby Jesus!” Simone muttered.
“I don’t think Jesus had anything to do with that,” Jane replied, unable to tear her eyes away from him. “That boy is all sin. Every single inch of him.”
“And I bet there are a lot of inches,” Simone added.
Mesmerized, we watched him shake off the water, the move sending a spray of diamonds glittering into the sunlight. He reached up and ran his hand over his wet hair and down his neck. When he lifted his face, our eyes met across the concrete and he grinned at me. I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly dry. His grin was pure cockiness. He knew he was hot. But it was also pretty sexy because damn, he was fine. He wiped the water from his lips with the back of his hand and winked at me, before disappearing inside the workshop.
For a moment, my friends and I said nothing. We just looked at each other.
It wasn’t until the fire chief appeared and told us we could go back inside that we even moved.
“What in the name of all things holy was that?” I asked.
“That,” Simone said with a conspiratorial grin. “Is your next boyfriend.”
Jane crushed her cigarette beneath her high heel and laughed. “Boyfriend? Hell, I think at this point Chastity will be happy just to play with his womb broom.”