Skid Row Kings Complete Series

by Winter Travers

  “Vi, just please, come out with me. I promise it’ll be fun. You can see what I’ve been working on for the past month.”

  Shit. I was torn. I knew Luke inviting me to come and watch him race was a big deal, but how did I know that he wasn’t going to freak out on me later. “Luke, I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Violet, please. Just give me a couple of hours to show you I’m not the jerk you think I am.” Dammit, he sounded so sincere.

  Would it hurt to go out with Luke? No, at least, I hope it wouldn’t. “OK, but I need to shower.”

  “What? I thought you just got out of the shower?”

  Fuck. This is what happens when you lie, it comes back to bite you in the ass. “Um, I meant I was just about to hop in the shower.”

  “OK. I’ll just wait out here.”

  Was I really going to make Luke wait in the hallway for me? As much as I wanted to make him do that, I knew I couldn’t. “I’ll unlock the door, but don’t come in right away. Give me a couple of seconds to get in the bathroom and then you can come in.” I was going to run like the damn wind to get in that bathroom.

  “OK. If you're sure.” I didn’t answer him, just flipped the lock up and ran to the bathroom, swinging the door shut behind me. I leaned against the door, listening for Luke. I stood there for two minutes before I finally heard Luke walk through the door. The fact that Luke was in my tiny little apartment, looking at my bookshelf that took up a whole wall in my smaller than small living room that barely fit my small love seat and recliner, freaked me the hell out.

  “Hey, Princess.” God, I really hated when he called me that. But I also loved it.

  “Yeah,” I called, my voice cracking.

  “You do realize that the damn coffee maker I bought you is bigger than your damn counter?”

  Ugh, yes. I was completely aware of the fact. But it made such good coffee. I figured the huge amount of space it took up was an even trade for the deliciousness it bared to me. “Yeah, that’s the only spot it’ll fit.” I had visions of Luke rummaging through my place, finding all my weird, quirkiness all over. Time to get in the shower.

  I threw back the curtain and turned on the water. Why the hell was I doing this? Why had I agreed to go out with Luke?

  Truth time, Violet. Why the hell did I agree to this?

  I liked him. God dammit, I liked him. Even though he had been nothing but a jerk to me, I liked him. He was one of the most handsome men I had ever met. His gray eyes always seemed to mesmerize me, and I could go on for hours on his voice. It was like velvet floating around me whenever he talked.

  But I couldn’t do this not knowing why the hell Luke was here. I threw the door open, pajamas and messy hair be damned. “Why are you doing this?”

  Luke’s back was to me, and he whirled around at my words. “Ugh. Because I was an ass,” he mumbled as his eyes traveled over me.

  “Well, I’m not going to argue with that, but why do you want me to go with you? You apologized, I forgive you. You don’t need to ask me to tag along like a child trying to prove to me you’re not an ass.” I was embarrassed enough last night; I didn’t need pity tonight.

  “I’m not trying to make anything up to you. I was hoping we could start over. Forget everything that’s happened.”

  “Why?” None of this made sense. “I don’t want pity.”

  “Dammit, Vi, it’s not pity. When you left last night, I realized I had been wrong treating you the way I did. I judged you when I shouldn’t have.”

  “I don’t understand how you judged me and thought the best way to treat me was like an asshole.”

  “I fucked up, Vi. That first night you dropped Frankie off you surprised the hell out of me. I was pissed I had forgotten to pick her up, and I took it out on you. Then you threw your damn sass at me, and it pissed me off even more. I thought I had you pegged as some stuck up bitch who thought she was better than anyone.”

  “And now what do you think of me?”

  “I think you’re quiet, thoughtful, and had a hard life that you don’t let anyone see. I knew at the restaurant that Ginny hadn’t treated you nicely, but I didn’t realize how shitty she was to you until I saw it firsthand last night. No one deserves to be treated that way.”

  Well, he was right about that one. “OK. You’re forgiven, you can go now.”

  “Vi, give me another chance,” he pleaded.

  “Why?” I’m pretty sure I had asked that three times already. I was starting to sound like a broken record.

  “Because I want to get to know you. Frankie thinks you’re pretty fucking fantastic, and I’m starting to think you are, too.”

  “I’m not. I’m boring. I sleep and work, that’s it. There’s nothing fantastic about me.”

  “Give me a chance to decide for myself.”

  “We saw how well that turned out for you the last time. I got to meet asshole Luke.”

  “Just give me tonight, Vi. If at the end of the night you never want to see me again, fine. You spend a lot of time with Frankie, try spending some time with me.” God dammit, he sounded so sincere.

  “Fine, one night. If you’re an ass to me at any time, you bring me home, and I never see you again.”

  “Deal,” he said, holding his hand out. I stepped forward, shaking his hand.

  “One assy moment and I’m gone, Luke.”

  “Did you really just say assy?” He laughed running his hand over his head.

  “Yes. Don’t make me say it again.” I pointed my finger at him, trying not to laugh. “I’m going to shower. Try not to snoop around too much.” I walked over to the coffee maker, grabbing the cup that I had just made and headed back into the bathroom, closing the door shut behind me.

  Whew, somehow I had managed to look like a hardass when all I really wanted to do was hide in the bathroom and never come out. I leaned against the bathroom door, sipping my coffee, and sighed.

  So, he wanted a second chance, okie dokie. I could give him that. Everyone deserves a second chance, right? I took another sip of coffee and rested my head against the door. Hopefully, I was making the right decision.

  I stripped my clothes off, tossing them into the corner and jumped in the shower. I lathered up my body and did a quick shampoo, condition and was out in five minutes. It was good to know that I could shower under pressure. Although I wasn’t sure that qualified as a skill.

  After I had dried off and had my hair wrapped up in a towel, I reached for my underwear and clothes only to realize I had never brought clothes in with me.

  Shit!

  My bedroom was only ten feet away, but it was the fact that Luke was in my living room, and I had no idea how I was going to get clothes. I grabbed another towel down from the cabinet and wrapped it around my body.

  I peeked my head out the door and looked for Luke. His back was turned to me as he studied my bookcases. “Um, Luke,” I squeaked.

  He spun around, surprised to see me. “Yeah, Princess.”

  Ugh, I shook my head and sighed. There was that Princess bullshit again. “Um, I forgot to bring my clothes in. Do you think you could turn around and shut your eyes?”

  “I could, but I really don’t want to,” he smirked, his eyes smiling. God damn this man was handsome.

  “Please,” I begged, gripping the towel tighter around me.

  “Just this one time, Princess.” He winked at me, sending shivers through my body and turned back around to the bookshelf.

  I breathed a sigh of relief and booked it down the hallway.

  My mind raced, trying to figure out what I was going to wear as I slapped the hangers back and forth, realizing I had zero clothes that were appropriate for a date with Luke.

  Skirts, skirts and more skirts. My normal work clothes weren’t going to cut it, and I had no idea what else to wear. I had jeans, but I never wore them because I just didn’t like how they felt. I was weird, I know.

  I grabbed a pair of black leggings and underwear from my drawer and
tossed them on the bed. My towel dropped, and I pulled underwear on, followed by the leggings. I wrestled myself into one of my pretty bras I never wore because I always thought no one was going to see it, so why the hell should I bother to wear it.

  I pulled my white and purple striped oversized sweater out of my bottom drawer and pulled it over my head. I glanced in the mirror, making sure it covered my ass and dove into the bottom of my closet to find my pair of high black boots.

  After I had pulled them out, I grabbed a pair of socks and quickly pulled them both on. I looked at myself in the mirror on the back of the door and shrugged. It really wasn’t going to get much better than this. I grabbed my brush off the dresser and dragged it through my dark brown hair, wishing I had time to grab the blow dryer, but I didn’t think Luke would appreciate that.

  Now, the real question was, do I put on makeup or not? I never wore makeup to work and all the times Luke had seen me was after work, and he never saw me in regular clothes. I decided on no make-up when I heard Luke call my name. I knew he was getting restless.

  I grabbed my purse off the dresser, gave one last look in the mirror and headed to Luke. I saw him before he saw me. He was standing behind the couch, his arms over his head, crossed behind it. He was looking up at the ceiling, at what, I had no idea.

  “Um, Luke,” I whispered, trying to get his attention.

  He spun around, surprised. His eyes bugged out of his head, and he looked shocked to see me. I didn’t think that I looked that different. I mean, I know I normally wore skirts all the time, but everything else looked the same. “Wow.”

  Yup, all he said was wow. His eyes traveled up and down my body taking it all in. “Um, I’m ready if you are.”

  “Ah, yeah, I’m ready. We should make it to the track on time. I called ahead to Bart, and he said we’ll have the track for as long as we need it.”

  “We?” I asked.

  “Uh, yeah. Mitch and Kurt are going to meet us there. We need to get the car dialed in and make sure all the numbers are where we need them to be.”

  I walked over to the door, opening it and waited for Luke. He really seemed to be flustered right now. He walked out the door, spinning his keys around his finger and waited in the hall as I turned off all the lights and locked the door.

  We walked down the stairs, Luke in front of me, neither of us talking.

  “Where’s your truck?” I asked, looking around the parking lot.

  “Mitch has it. I brought my car. That’s what I’m running tonight.” Luke pointed to the sleek white car in the back of the parking lot.

  “Wow,” I whispered. I knew absolutely nothing about cars, but I knew Luke’s was nice. Nice wasn’t even the right word. It was badass. Without it even moving it looked fast.

  “That’s a good reaction,” he chuckled, grabbing my hand and tugged me to the car. “I’ve learned that speechlessness is a natural reaction to the Charger.”

  “Is that what kind of car it is?” I asked as he opened the passenger door for me. He was still holding my hand and pulled me to his side.

  “Yeah, Princess. It’s a ‘14 Dodge Charger, 6.4L. The car everyone loves to hate because all they see are the tail lights.”

  “Hmm, rather cocky, aren’t you?”

  “It’s not cocky if it’s the truth, Princess. This car has never been beaten.”

  “Well, make sure you keep your fingers crossed. I’d hate for that statement to become a lie after Friday night,” I laughed.

  “Nothing to worry about, Princess. I’ll show you firsthand what this car can do. You think you’re ready for a ride?”

  Luke looked at me, and I knew he was talking about more than just taking a ride in his car.

  Was I ready for that?

  =_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=

  Chapter 10

  Luke

  I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. The instant I saw Violet in her knee high boots, tight pants, and sweater, my brain fucking fried. I don’t know how, but she looked the same, but she also looked completely different. Normally she looked so straight laced and put together, but tonight she looked young, carefree and sexy as fuck.

  “Come on, Princess. I promise not to bite tonight.”

  “Just tonight?”

  I leaned into the door, as she stood on the other side and smirked. “I can’t promise to control myself for more than a couple of hours. Just think of this as your chance to get to know me.”

  “OK,” she whispered. I could tell she was scared, but she wasn’t running. She slid into the car, and I closed her door shut and jogged over to the other side.

  She had her purse in hands, gripping it with both hands. “You holding on to your purse so tight cause you think I’m going to steal it?” I grabbed my seat belt and snapped it on.

  “Oh, uh, no. Sorry,” she mumbled, setting it on the floor and also put her belt on.

  “You don’t have to be nervous around me, Vi. I promise not to yell at you again.” I backed out of the parking lot and headed to the race track.

  “I’m not nervous, just unsure.”

  “I’m not a genius, Princess, but I’m pretty sure you just said a different word that means the same.”

  “Ugh, you’re right,” she laughed. “It’s just I went from hating you to tolerating you, then liking you, then hating you, and now I don’t know what the hell to do with you.”

  “How about you just go with it? I promise not to act like a major ass if I can help it and you just be you. No nerves, no uneasiness. Just Vi.”

  “No one has ever called me that before,” she muttered.

  “You want me to stop?” I hope she didn’t say yes. Vi just seemed to fit her.

  “No, it’s just different. If I don’t answer when you call me it, it’s only because I won’t realize you are talking to me,” she giggled.

  I headed down the long stretch of road that led to the track and stomped down on the gas. “Well, I’ll just have to call you it more often. You ready to go for that ride now, Vi?”

  I glanced over, her hand gripping the armrest and the other one clenched in her lap. “Um, I guess, but do we have to go so fast?”

  “Fast is what I do, Princess.” I eyed the turn coming, knowing exactly what I needed to do, but just hoped Violet wasn’t going to freak out. “So, have you ever watched street racing?”

  She looked over at me, confused. “You mean like Fast and the Furious?”

  “Kind of. A lot of that is made up for the movies. I’m talking drifting, drag racing, that sort of thing?”

  “No, I guess I’ve never really watched it before.”

  “Well, you see that turn coming up?” She nodded her head yes and dug her fingers into the armrest. “I’m about to give you a lesson on downshifting.”

  “You know what, I don’t think I need a lesson. I drive an automatic and downshifting isn’t something I know how to do,” she babbled on, fidgeting in her seat.

  “What most people don’t know, is that downshifting is more than just slowing down, it’s all about control.”

  “Control?”

  “Yeah, Princess. If I were to go into this turn full speed, we’d end up asses up, hanging upside down. Now, if I start downshifting,” I shifted down into fourth, slowing down, “and start using my brakes, by the time we get to the turn, I’ll be down in third gear. Slow in, fast out.” I braked, slowing down and shifted down into third, the RPMs revving to five thousand and drove into the curve smooth and steady. I felt the tires gripping the road, aggressive and ready to fucking go. I stomped on the gas, heel-toeing into fourth, rocketing out of the turn.

  “Holy shit,” Violet breathed out. Her knuckles were white from the death grip she had on the armrest, and her face was pale. “That was insane. I thought you were going to kill us.”

  I laughed as I shifted into fifth and she eased up on the armrest. “Relax, Princess. It’s all straight road to the track now, I promise not to kill you tonight.”

  “How the h
ell did you learn to drive like that? That’s like race car driver stuff.”

  “I used to run oval track back in high school, but it got fucking boring. My parents hated me racing but knew it was something I loved to do. I kind of stumbled onto the street racing scene and worked my way up the ranks.”

  “So are you at the top of the ranks now since your car has never been beaten?”

  “They don’t call my brothers and I The Skid Row Kings for nothing.” I winked and veered into the driveway to the track. She squealed as the back end fishtailed and resumed gripping the hell out of the armrest.

  “Is there something else going on tonight besides testing?” She asked, looking at all the cars in the parking lot.

  Son of a bitch. There shouldn’t be anyone here. I know Mitch and Kurt wouldn’t have said anything about me being here, so I had one guess who would have opened their big mouth. Bart. “Well, it was supposed to only be us, but I think Bart may have spread the word.”

  We drove through a crowd of people who parted as we neared and I coasted onto the track, stopping at the start line. Mitch and Kurt stood in front of the car, both with their arms crossed over their chest.

  “Um, do you think you could take me back to my house.”

  I put the car in neutral and pulled the e-brake. “Why?” I asked, turning in my seat to look at her.

  “Because there is a shit ton of people here.” Her eyes were huge as she looked around, scanning the crowd.

  “You know, when you cuss it makes me laugh a little bit. The word shit coming out of your mouth is fucking cute.”

  She glared at me and crossed her arms over her chest. “Being called cute when you are twenty-seven is not flattering at all. Cute is for five-year-olds and ditsy twenty-year-olds who don’t know better.”

  “How about feisty, does that work?”

  “How about nothing, that works for me.”

  “Not for me, Princess. We’re going to have to stick to cute and feisty until I can get you alone.”

  “Wait... what… I mean, what in the…,” she sputtered as I opened the door and climbed out of the car.