Slow Ride (Fast Track #5)(32)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Five minutes later they were out on his back patio with Wilma accompanying them, and Tuesday felt even more content. The August night was beautiful. There was a multitude of stars twinkling overhead and the crickets were chatting noisily. Diesel had tossed a match down onto the logs in his fire pit and they were crackling, a sweet smoke rising in the air. There was a chaise that Tuesday would have loved to have snuggled in with Diesel, but she had noticed he was limping. He didn’t say anything, obviously, but she didn’t want to risk putting pressure on his knee or accidentally bumping it. So she had sat down at the dining table.

It was wrought iron and pressing into her butt, but that was a minor inconvenience. Dragging her legs up onto the seat, she pulled the T-shirt over her knees and rested her chin on her elbows. “It feels awesome out here. This is a beautiful yard.”

“Thanks. I like it. I like to go fishing in the pond.”

“You have a pond?”

“Yep.” He gestured into the blackness. “We can walk down there if you like.”

Doing that in the total darkness seemed like a recipe for drowning death. But she didn’t want to be a buzz kill. “Maybe another time.”

“You afraid of the dark?”

“No. I’m not afraid of anything.” Just being alone. Dropping her feet so her legs dangled above the brick patio, she added, “I have no phobias. Heights, spiders, small spaces . . . none of those bother me.”

“But a pond does?”

“Who said the pond bothers me?”

“You did.”

“I did not!” He liked to mess with her and Tuesday couldn’t help it, she walked right into it every single time. “God, where’s a throw pillow when you need one?”

“Why would you need a throw pillow?”

“To smother you.”

Diesel laughed. He glanced down at his phone as it lit up. “Food must be here. Are you going to drink your crappy beer with it that you insisted we stop for? I can grab it out of the car.”

“I’m not drinking that swill. I bought that just to prove a point to you.” She stood up. “Give it to your decorator.”

“Oh, my God.” Diesel stood up as well. “You’re a nut, you know that?”

“It’s part of my unique charm.”

They cut through the garage, the lights going on automatically when Diesel opened the back door. His garage was amazing, a man cave of machinery, car parts, and saw dust. It was the only part of his house she’d seen so far that wasn’t completely tidy. It seemed like the garage was where he really lived, where he spent a lot of time. There were empty soda cans lying around and a balled-up McDonald’s bag. She was happy to note there were no largely naked women posters hanging up on the walls. There was nothing more deflating than to see an airbrushed blonde in a bikini with leg warmers displayed prominently in an otherwise intelligent man’s house.

The delivery guy was holding his arm up to his eyes like the light was blinding him. Tuesday figured they were Captain and Lady Obvious here with their bedhead and 2 A.M. food order. But the man holding the food just gave them a dismissive once-over. She was a little disappointed. What was the point of walking around post-sex with no bra on if the delivery guy wasn’t going to be jealous?

“He was checking you out,” Diesel said, an edge of annoyance in his voice as they walked back through the garage.

“What? He was not.” Tuesday gave him an incredulous look. “He didn’t even look at me.”

“He was totally checking you out.”

Was Diesel actually jealous? She wasn’t sure how to feel about that. “Now you’re the one who’s insane.”

“Insane enough to be ordering fried rice at three in the morning.”

“How did 2 A.M. become 3 A.M.? And you act like you haven’t seen either one in a decade.”

“It’s possible I haven’t.”

“Now you really are acting like an old man.” His response was to swat her backside. “Ow. Will you stop that? You need to stay away from my butt.”

He smirked. “You won’t be saying that later.”

She wasn’t touching that one. “Eat your egg roll.”

They sat back at the table and started to eat in companionable silence. Egg roll half in his mouth, Diesel tossed his hair back and reached over and stole her fortune cookie.

“Hey. That’s mine.” She smacked his wrist with her chopsticks.

“I need it for bribery. You said you’d do anything for cookies.”

“Fortune cookies don’t count.”

“I’m not surprised you know how to use chopsticks.” He was using a plastic fork. “You’re that kind of woman.”

“What kind of woman?” Tuesday shoved a piece of chicken in her mouth.

“The kind of woman who knows things.” He smiled at her.

She wasn’t sure how much she really knew about anything but she did know that smile was going to have her naked again if he didn’t stop. It was just so sexy and naughty. “You look like you know a thing or two yourself. That garage has machinery from one end to the other. You could build a nuclear weapon in there.”

“Just building cars.”

“Rocket ships.”

“Cars.”

“A time machine.”

“Or cars.”

“Damn.” Tuesday shoved her food aside, full already. “I wanted to go back to ancient Egypt.”

“Next weekend.”

She laughed. He was just so casual and matter of fact. Regardless of what stupid thing she said, he never got annoyed. He just rolled with it.

Tired of the metal chair pressing into her butt, Tuesday got up and eyed the grass. It looked soft. Flopping down onto it, she laid on her back, arm under her head and stared up at the sky.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m resting. The grass is soft.”

“You’re going to get bitten up by mosquitoes.”

“So? What’s a little blood loss when the night is this beautiful. See? Wilma likes it, too.” Diesel’s dog had roused herself from where she’d been laying on the bricks and came over to nudge Tuesday’s arm. After a lick on the cheek, the dog collapsed with a sigh on the grass next to her.

“You’re probably both laying in dog shit.”

For a second, Tuesday panicked but after a quick inspection she was reassured. “Nothing. We’re clear. Quit ruining my fun.”