Mustang Sassy

by Daire St. Denis

  “I don’t know, exactly. I just know that this is right.”

  She studied the drawing again. “Okay, we’ll do it your way.”

  Now she reviewed the sketch one more time. It was smudged in places and covered in scribbles, grease, and dirt so that the original drawing was hard to make out. But it didn’t matter. The image was burned in her brain and the new fenders were now a part of it.

  Sass worked until noon, or tried to anyway. For some reason, she couldn’t concentrate. Every random sound had Sass checking the door or the parking lot. But it was just Carlos or Manny or Al. Buck never came in; he was too busy with wedding and moving plans. Neither did Jordan. Not that she expected him to. She didn’t. But by one o’clock, she decided to take a break. There was something she needed to do.

  When she arrived back at the house, she opened the front door and nearly tripped over a suitcase that was sitting there. She moved it to the side and walked into the kitchen where Mary-Lynn was busy making up food for the freezer.

  “Are you going somewhere?”

  Mary-Lynn spun around with her hand on her chest, “Oh! Sweets! You startled me.”

  “Why is your bag at the door?”

  “I’ve got to get back to Miami. I’ve got a deal that’s about to close.” She laughed. “And I need to actually start planning this wedding that’s supposed to take place next month.”

  “When do you leave?” Sass wanted to know.

  “Tomorrow morning. Early.”

  Sass felt weird. Like Mary-Lynn was abandoning her or something. She grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the table and leaned against the counter. “What’s all that?”

  “What? These? These are casseroles. Heating instructions are on the top.”

  “You don’t have to do that, you know.”

  Glancing over her shoulder, Mary-Lynn said, “I know. But I want to.”

  Sass drummed her fingers on the counter as she watched Mary-Lynn wrap another dish and then pop it into the freezer.

  “Mary-Lynn?”

  “Yeah, doll?”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  Sass drummed some more. She chewed another hunk of apple and swallowed. Mary-Lynn was leaving. If she didn’t ask now it’d be too late. “Would you…?”

  After the last dish was in the freezer, Mary-Lynn turned and smiled encouragingly at Sass. Sass looked away, cringing.

  “What is it?”

  “I was just wondering, what I mean is…would you take me shopping?”

  Chapter Twenty-six

  He was being ridiculous. Just because she’d shown up for his art class on Wednesday didn’t mean she was going to show up tonight. She was probably at the shop—even though it was supposed to be her day off. He doubted Sass had any idea what time of day it was, let alone what day of the week it was. But it didn’t change the way Jordan’s stomach tightened when he carried the art supplies in past the half-empty dining room on Sunday night. He couldn’t stop himself from glancing at the table where Millie usually sat, but it was empty.

  That didn’t mean anything. Jordan cursed himself under his breath. This was stupid. But when he arrived at the recreation room and Millie wasn’t among the residents waiting to start class, he experienced a sense of deep disappointment. With a little less enthusiasm than usual, Jordan set up the easels and art supplies and checked his watch.

  “Mr. Carlyle?”

  Millie wheeled toward him, a woman he’d never seen before walking behind.

  “Hi, Ms. Delacroix, how are you this evening?”

  “Wonderful. And look who has volunteered to be our model this evening?”

  “I thought it was your turn to model.”

  “Me? We have enough portraits of old codgers. We need some young blood.”

  “I said, no, Mill,” the woman hissed.

  “Oh, don’t be silly. All you have to do is sit there.”

  Jordan’s jaw nearly dropped on the ground. The woman pushing Millie’s chair was Sass. But she didn’t look like Sass. Her hair was cut shorter, styled, and straightened so that bangs framed her eyes and face. Her clothes were, well they were nice. Really nice. She wore a peach-colored sweater that showed off her tan and some short-cropped pants. He was pretty sure she was wearing makeup too because her eyes were brighter and more alluring than usual.

  “Sass?”

  “What?” She returned his gaze with that mixture of annoyance and something else. Suddenly Jordan saw it for what it was. Uncertainty. Never in a million years would Jordan have thought of Sass as insecure. Tough, strong, occasionally belligerent. But insecure? No.

  Not until now.

  “You look…”

  She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

  “Beautiful.” He smiled wide. “I think we would all be honored if you would pose for us.” He raised his voice loud enough for the gathering residents to hear him. “Ms. Hogan has offered to pose for us this evening.” He took her hand and led her to the stool in the middle of the room amidst the sound of spattered clapping from the residents.

  “Go on,” Millie urged her.

  “This is stupid,” Sass whispered harshly.

  “No, it’s not.” He tried to help her sit and to adjust her pose, but she flinched away from his touch.

  “You of all people should know how I get. I can’t do this. I get too fidgety.”

  Jordan leaned closer and whispered, “All you have to do is forget about the people here and think of that car you’re building.”

  Their eyes met for a second, but it was enough. Jordan saw all he needed to know in that one heated glance. He and Sass shared two common passions. The first was the car in the shop. The second was this thing between them. Oh, she was trying to deny it. But she’d never been one to hide her feelings, and Jordan vowed to do something about it. Tonight.

  Once all his students were working independently, Jordan sat behind an easel, clipped a fresh sheet of paper to it, and started to draw. His fingers followed the curve of her face, the width of her shoulders and dip of her waist. He lovingly traced her and smudged the dark lines into softer ones. The thing he filled in last was the details in her eyes. The sparkle and passion that he loved so much. Damn those eyes had captivated him from the very start.

  “It’s a lovely portrait,” Millie sighed.

  Jordan started, unaware she’d wheeled her chair behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to find his students surrounding him, examining his creation. He laughed and took a step back, cocking his head to try to see the portrait objectively, which should have been impossible. Yet even he realized it was one of the most beautiful portraits he’d ever done.

  …

  Sass hurried out of the seniors’ lodge in a daze. Her skin tingled, which was weird, and her pulse raced as if she’d spent the last hour exercising, not simply sitting there staring at a wall. It was because she hadn’t been staring. She’d been imagining. First she’d imagined the car, everything that still needed to be done to finish it. Then she’d imagined Jordan, collaborating with him over it, the two of them working on it, side by side, Jordan with his shirt off, which was not only weird but totally against safety regulations. But, it was a fantasy after all. Then she pictured them taking the car for its first ever test drive. She imagined their shared thrill over completing the project and she imagined just how they’d celebrate—driving fast and ending up at the cabin for one of Jordan’s famous homemade meals followed by one of his infamous slow-dance, love-making sessions.

  Sass shivered in the cool night air. Apparently her attraction to City-boy was still running strong. Too bad she’d thrown out the ridiculous butterfly thing Libby had given her. She figured she could use it right about now.

  She crawled into the Camaro and fit the keys into the ignition but the car didn’t turn over. She tried again, still nothing. She got out and popped the trunk. But it was pretty dark in the parking lot and she couldn’t see a whole lot.


  “Need some help?”

  Just the sound of his voice was enough to weaken her knees and send her heart into overdrive. “It’s hard to tell, but I think the alternator’s gone.”

  “Can I give you a ride?”

  “The shop’s closed tomorrow. Aren’t you going back to Denver?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because, Sass,” Jordan came closer and her throat made a strange sound when she swallowed, “I’m helping you in the shop tomorrow.”

  “You are?” she whispered.

  “I am.”

  How it happened, Sass had no idea, but suddenly, Jordan was right in front of her, lifting her chin up to meet him. Then he was kissing her. His lips moved gently against hers, like he had a secret he wanted to share but wasn’t sure she could keep it. He pushed his tongue softly between her lips and then pulled back as his hands came up to cup the back of her head.

  “Jordan, I…”

  “Shh.”

  He kissed her again until Sass was shuddering in his arms. Then he stopped and Sass could only stare up at him with longing. He smiled down and then took her hand. “Come on,” he said.

  “Where are we going?”

  “I’m taking you to the movies.”

  “The movies?” Sass grunted. “Why?”

  “Because that’s what people do on their night off. They go on dates.”

  “I don’t.”

  “You do now.”

  He led her to his car, a 2005 Ford Thunderbird, and opened the door for her. Then he got in and started it up. It was strange riding in a newer-model car. Though the 2005 had a retro feel, she missed the rumble of the older engines and the smell of old leather. But Sass didn’t spend much time thinking about Jordan’s car, she was too busy thinking about him. What the hell had he been thinking, kissing her like that? Why the hell did she kiss him back?

  Well, pretty much she’d been fantasizing about kissing him—and more—for the last week straight. That’s why she asked for his help, that’s why she bought new clothes. That’s why she’d agreed to pose for him again. Her body was staging a coup, and her thoughts were going right along with the rebellion.

  Ignoring her complaints about the movie, Jordan took the exit for Sterling and parked in the farthest spot of the near-empty Sterling Cinema parking lot.

  “Look, they don’t even play new movies. It’s all old ones.”

  “So? There’s one I want you to see.”

  The choices were listed on the cracked old billboard that was missing more than one of its letters. The first movie was Platoon. The second was Ten Things I Hate About You.

  “We really don’t have to do this,” Sass said as Jordan switched the car off and turned to her.

  “I want to.”

  “Why?”

  He leaned toward her and kissed her again. Then, that sneaky hand of his slipped up and under her sweater. “I want to go on a date with you,” he whispered.

  “Why?” She groaned into his mouth.

  “Because, we’ve never been on a date. It’s time.”

  “But—” He kissed away all her complaints.

  “You know. There’s only one thing about the way you’re dressed tonight that I’m not crazy about.”

  She tried to pull back and straighten her sweater. “What?” she asked, feeling defensive.

  “This.” His fingers slipped beneath the band of her brand-new bra and Sass wriggled from the pleasure of his thumb brushing her nipple. Then he slid his hands around her back and like that, he had it undone.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m taking it off.”

  “Hey!”

  “Doesn’t that feel better?”

  His hand was on her bare flesh, and she leaned into him because it did feel better. It felt so much better. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight. God, he was so big and so strong and he felt so damn good. She kissed him hard as she tried to climb onto his lap, though the steering wheel was kind of getting in the way.

  “Where are you staying?” she asked, then touched his earlobe with her tongue.

  “Sass,” Jordan murmured.

  “Are you staying at the Greenwood?” She moved her hand down between them, sighing into his mouth when she found the stiff ridge beneath the fly of his jeans.

  “Oh, God.” Jordan groaned at her touch. She rubbed him until she thought he’d burst his fly, but he captured her hand and brought it to his lips to kiss her palm. Gently, he closed her fist around his kiss and eased her off him and, with what seemed a great deal of discomfort, got out of the car.

  Feeling a little disorientated she stayed where she was until Jordan came around to her door, opened it and offered her his hand. “Let’s go.”

  …

  Two hours later and they were on their way back to Greenview. Jordan glanced over at Sass’s dark profile. After complaining profusely about going to a “stupid movie,” Sass seemed to enjoy herself. Ten Things I Hate About You was the film Millie had suggested Sass watch with him. It seemed like eons ago, another lifetime ago. So, when he’d seen the movie advertised in Sterling, he’d known he had to take her. He couldn’t believe he’d actually managed it and that Sass had gone, well, maybe not willingly but still, she’d gone.

  Now Jordan wondered what was up because for the first ten minutes of the ride back to Greenview, she was unusually quiet. What was she thinking about? He hoped it was the same thing he was thinking about, Sass staying over with him at the Inn. Willingly.

  Then, out of the blue, she said, “Millie thinks I’m Kat.”

  “What?”

  She kept staring straight ahead. “The girl in the movie, Millie thinks I’m her. That’s why she wanted me to read The Taming of the Shrew. That’s why she wanted me to watch that movie.”

  Jordan laughed. “Yes, well there is a striking resemblance.”

  Sass didn’t laugh in return. She just continued to stare straight ahead. A few minutes later she said, “Except I don’t have a sister. And I don’t think I’m…” She didn’t finish her sentence.

  “I guess that makes me Patrick,” Jordan said, at first with a degree of lightness. Then he thought more about it and realized just how similar their situation was, the deception, the pretending to the point where he wasn’t pretending anymore.

  He took the exit to Greenview and after driving past the Snake Pit, Jordan found a quiet, secluded place to pull over. He put the car in park and turned in his seat to face her. “And, just like that dude, Patrick, in the movie, Sass, I fucked up.” Her eyes glistened in the dark as she gazed at him, her expression unreadable. “I am so sorry I hurt you.”

  She looked away and Jordan waited, his heart pounding, his breath coming a little too quickly. She reached out for his hand and kissed his palm, just as he had done earlier. She closed his fist around it and whispered. “Let’s go back to your hotel.”

  Jordan exhaled slowly. “On one condition.”

  “What?”

  “You stay over.”

  She blinked, her expression still strangely blank. Then she smiled and Jordan caught sight of her one crooked tooth. “Okay,” she whispered. “Okay.”

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Sass wished she was driving because she couldn’t get to the Greenwood Inn fast enough. Her whole body was pulsating, her head, her lips, her hands, her tummy. Her now-bare nipples rubbed against the cotton of her sweater, aching for Jordan’s touch. Stifling a groan, she leaned back into the seat, imagining what was going to take place in only a matter of minutes.

  The car came to a stop, and Sass opened her eyes. “Why are you parking out front?” she asked.

  “My room is on the inside this time. We’ll have to go through the lobby.”

  She glanced up at the sign of the Greenwood Inn and felt a strange quiver in the pit of her belly. Unlike the ones of a second ago, it wasn’t a good quiver, it was something else. Did Jordan sense her unexpected unease? Was that why he open
ed her door for her and pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair back from her face? As quickly as the strange feelings appeared, they were gone, replaced with one all-encompassing sensation. Need.

  She met Jordan’s kiss as if she’d been starving for him.

  “Oh, Sassy. Do you have any idea how many times I’ve thought about doing this?”

  “Come on,” she whispered raggedly. “Let’s take this inside.”

  Taking Jordan’s hand, she ran toward the front entrance, feeling giddier and more alive than she’d felt in ages. She could not wait to strip him down and see that wonderfully built chest of his, rub her cheek against it and taste his skin. Her body twitched in anxious anticipation of Jordan’s tongue and lips on her, too.

  They rushed through the small lobby, Sass squeezing his hand as she pulled him along.

  “Sass?”

  She stopped, her gaze straying to the lounge where a familiar figure stood just inside the entryway, an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips.

  He ambled up to them, tucking the cigarette behind his ear. “Heya, girl.”

  “Go away, Dex.”

  “This is Dex?” Jordan asked.

  Dex turned his attention to Jordan. “Dex Whelan. That’s me and you must be Sass’s latest midnight rendezvous.” A quick glance at his watch and then back up at her. “Eleven thirty on a Sunday night? My God, girl. You are nothing if you’re not predictable.” He leaned down so close she could smell the whiskey on his breath when he started singing the lyrics to “Midnight Rendezvous” by John Waite. “Driving faster than you want me to. Can’t help myself when I’m alone with you. Alright.”

  “Come on,” Jordan tugged on her hand, but Sass pulled away. She needed a moment to recover from the shock of seeing Dex in the very place they used to meet up.

  She squinted. What the hell had she ever seen in him?

  Straightening her spine, she linked her fingers with Jordan’s. “This is Jordan Carlyle. From Denver. He’s my boyfriend. We’re in love.” She lifted her chin and narrowed her gaze. “He’s been staying here, helping out at Hogan’s while we wait for the deal to be finalized between our shops.”