One Good Crash

by Sabrina Stark

  It was stupid, really. My ride had just ditched me, and my dream-guy had just called me crazy – maybe not directly, but the implication had been clear enough.

  Then again, I was dressed like a bag lady, which reminded me…"Oh, crap." I looked toward his house. "My bag."

  "What bag?"

  "The bag of clothes," I said. "I must've left it on your porch."

  "Good."

  "Why is that good?"

  "Because it means you'll be coming back."

  It was a funny thing to say, considering that he'd refused to let me in. "To where?" I tried to laugh. "Your front porch?"

  "Meaning?"

  "Meaning, I don't even know what you're getting at half the time. It's like you're sending me all these crazy mixed-up messages."

  His voice grew quiet. "I know."

  "Well, if you know, why don't you stop?"

  "I will," he said, "if you stop being so fucking thankful."

  I drew back. "What?"

  "I don't want your gratitude."

  "Then what do you want?"

  Something in his gaze warmed. "You."

  The simple, solitary word sent a swarm of butterflies straight into my stomach. Stupidly, I mumbled, "Me?"

  "Yes. You." He reached for my hand. "And I don't mean for just a night."

  Suddenly, I was feeling just a little bit breathless. "Then what do you mean?"

  "That's what I wanna figure out." He gave my hand a tender squeeze. "But I want you to figure it out, too, without complications."

  I didn't get it. "What kind of complications?"

  "For starters, that hang-up you've got with your mom."

  "What hang-up?"

  "Do you know, I want to spoil you like crazy?"

  His hand felt warm and wonderful, and I fought a sudden urge to fall into his arms. "You don't have to spoil me," I said. "I mean, jeez, you've spoiled me enough already."

  His hand stiffened in mine. "And that's what I'm talking about."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I want to do things for you…buy you things, take you places." His gaze grew intense. "Hell I'd do more if you let me. But then, you get this look, like I'm buying you for the night—"

  "I do not," I protested.

  "Wanna bet?"

  I stopped to think. Did I?

  I was still thinking when he continued. "And then, I think, 'shit, give it another day, another week, another month.' But then, something happens, and…" He shook his head and looked away.

  "Something happens?" I prompted. "Like what?"

  He looked back and said, "Everything. Your mom, your apartment, whatever. And it's like the clock starts over." He shook his head. "And I fucking hate it."

  "I can see where you would." I gave a nervous laugh. "I mean, who needs the drama, right?"

  "I don't give a shit about that," he said. "You wanna see drama? Ask me about my own life sometime."

  I gave him a look. "I have asked you, not that you've ever answered, not really."

  He gave our surroundings a quick glance. "Let's just say, I didn't grow up in a place like this."

  I couldn’t decide if I was surprised or not. "Where did you grow up?"

  "Ask me later," he said. "I'll tell you all about it."

  "Why not now?"

  "Because there's something I else wanna tell you, and it can't wait."

  "What?"

  He gave my hand another squeeze. "I love you."

  Chapter 59

  As I stared up at him, I swear, the world stopped spinning. And then, like an idiot, I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head. "You can't."

  "Yeah?" He gave a low laugh. "Tell me about it."

  That seemed an odd response. "What?"

  "I know what you wanna say."

  Did he?

  I wanted to say that I loved him, too. It sure felt like I loved him. But that was crazy. We weren't even a couple, not officially. In fact, all we'd shared was a single kiss.

  At the memory, I felt my tongue dart out between my lips. "I, um…"

  "See?"

  I shook my head. "See what?"

  "I know what you're thinking."

  Now, I had to laugh. "Oh, really? What?"

  "It's the same thing you wanna say."

  I was dying of curiosity. "Okay… what am I thinking?"

  "You're thinking that it makes no sense, that we're not even together, stuff like that." His tone grew teasing. "But you're thinking something else, too."

  Now, I could hardly breathe. "What?"

  He moved closer. "You're thinking….that you love me, too."

  I swallowed. Yes. I did. Or least, it sure felt like I did. But the whole idea was beyond crazy. Another nervous laugh escaped my lips. "Oh, am I?"

  His gaze met mine. "Hell yeah."

  Now, I almost wanted to giggle. "Well, aren't you confident?"

  "I know what I know."

  Yes. He did.

  But I knew what I knew, too. We lived in very different worlds. Choosing my words very carefully, I said, "Well, it feels like I love you. I mean, I think about you all the time."

  He grinned. "I know."

  And just like that, I was laughing again. "Oh, I see how it is."

  "No. You don't. But you're gonna."

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "I mean," he said, "I'm tired of the bull, so here's the deal. You're gonna let me spoil you, and you're not gonna say one word about owing me or anything like that."

  This truly was ridiculous. "Is that so?"

  "Yeah. It is. Starting…" After a long, dramatic pause, he gave me another smile. "…now."

  "Why now?"

  "Because I'm tired of waiting. And so are you."

  He was right. I was tired of waiting. And wondering. And obsessing. I couldn't help but recall the very first time I'd seen him, standing in the shadows after that crash.

  Even then, I'd wanted him. Was it lust? It might've been. But now, it was something else. Something more. And – oh, boy – the lust was still there.

  Still, I wasn't quite sure what was going on. Just fifteen minutes earlier, he'd been refusing to let me into his house. And now, he was confessing love?

  I felt compelled to ask, "Is this a sudden thing?"

  "How I feel? No." His gaze met mine. "But how I'm gonna deal with it? Yeah. But like I said, I'm tired of waiting."

  I knew the feeling. I was tired too. I was tired of longing for him, thinking of him, obsessing over him, and so much more.

  I bit my lip. "So, where do we go from here?" I glanced toward his house. "Like, does that mean you want me to come inside?"

  "No."

  "No?" I gave a confused shake of my head. "Why not?"

  "Because I’m taking you out."

  "Where?"

  "Shopping."

  Was he joking? He had to be. "For what?"

  He gave it some thought. "For starters, a car."

  My jaw dropped. "What?"

  He gave a slow nod. "Yeah. A car. What's your favorite color?"

  "Um, purple, I guess."

  He gave another nod. "A challenge. I like it."

  "But you're not serious."

  "The hell I'm not."

  "But why would you buy me a car. I mean, you've already–"

  Suddenly, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine, smothering my objections with a kiss that sent a bolt of heat straight to my core. I sagged against him, loving the feel of his hard body as he pulled me close.

  He wanted me. And if I couldn’t tell from the kiss alone, the hardness pressing into my hip was proof enough.

  Our tongues met, and I reached up, linking my fingers behind his neck. In the back of my mind, I knew we had to be making a spectacle of ourselves – or at least, it would be a spectacle if not for the fact we were cast in shadows.

  But then, he pulled back and said, "You remember the deal, right?"

  After that kiss? I was too giddy to remember anything. "Deal?" I breathed
. "What deal?"

  "I'm gonna spoil you, and you're not gonna say squat about it."

  "But—"

  He held up a finger. "Wrong answer."

  I laughed. "But you didn't even ask me a question."

  "The question was implied." He reached for my hand. "Now c'mon."

  Chapter 60

  Allie's mouth was still hanging open. "But it's a Sunday night."

  I blew out a long, unsteady breath. "Yeah, I know."

  Together, we were standing outside the apartment, staring at the new car, a cute little compact in the perfect shade of purple.

  He'd wanted to buy me something more expensive, but I'd absolutely refused. Instead, I'd zoomed in on the cheapest model they had – which was still a lot pricier than anything I could've bought on my own.

  And yet, I felt incredibly awkward that he'd purchased the car at all. It was crazy and wonderful and more than a little unsettling. In my own mind, I was considering the money a loan, even if I had no idea how I'd ever repay him.

  Next to me, Allie was saying, "So, what happened? Did a dealership open up just for you or something?"

  "Pretty much."

  She gave a low whistle. "Wow."

  "Yeah. No kidding."

  "Sooooo…" She gave me a sideways glance. "Did you guys…"

  "No." I sighed. "Not even close."

  She turned to stare. "You're kidding."

  "I wish."

  "Well, that's weird."

  It was. And it wasn't. But Jax had been adamant, telling me that he'd rather wait than give me some messed-up impression that he was buying me for the night.

  And yet, he had wanted me. I could tell.

  And I wanted him.

  So damned bad.

  With an effort, I pushed aside thoughts of his naked body and said, "Get this. He said the car was for him, not me."

  "Oh. So it's like a loaner or something?"

  "Not like that," I said. "What I mean is, he tells me that he wants to buy me a car, and I tell him, 'Thanks, but no freaking way.' And we go back and forth and argue like crazy about it, and then, he tells me that it's for his sake, not mine, so I should just do him the favor and be done with it."

  Allie's eyebrows furrowed. "A favor? For his sake? You mean so he doesn't have to drive you around or something?"

  "No." I forced a laugh. "So he doesn't end up – in his words – 'beating some driver's ass.'"

  Her brow wrinkled in obvious confusion. "What driver?"

  "Not any driver in particular," I explained. "Just in general." As she listened, I went on to tell her how Jax had reacted after learning that I'd taken a ride-share to his house.

  Allie frowned. "You didn't seriously?"

  "Do what? Take a ride-share? Yeah. I mean, people do it all the time, right?"

  "Sure," she said. "But you shouldn't, not here, anyway."

  "Why not?"

  "Because your mom's pimp—"

  "He's not a pimp."

  "Fine," she said. "Your mom's 'boyfriend' is big into that sort of thing. He's got that limo company, the taxi service, and he's a partial owner in that local ride-share, too."

  "He is?"

  "Yeah. You didn't know?"

  "No. I didn't." In truth, I didn't know a lot about my mom's activities, but that was no accident. I'd learned a long time ago that it was best to not think too much about whatever she was doing, or who she was doing it with.

  Allie said, "And that guy, Dominic, he's bad news, especially for you."

  "Why me?" I asked.

  "Hello?" she said. "He was trying to recruit you."

  "Technically," I said, "my mom was trying to recruit me." Hearing this, even from my own lips, I almost shuddered. Getting "recruited" by your mom wasn't exactly an improvement.

  Allie gave me a serious look. "Yeah, well, she probably asked you a lot nicer than he would've."

  Recalling that argument in the limo, I mumbled, "Actually, she wasn't that nice."

  "Gee, that's a shocker," Allie said. "So tell me, did Jax totally flip out when he learned how you got to his house?"

  "No." I paused. "Okay, maybe a little. But really, he didn't need to. The service was national, not local."

  Allie looked at me like I was nuts. "So?"

  "So Dominic had nothing to do with it."

  "Yeah, well, a lot of national names are locally owned. What, you've never heard of franchising?"

  "Yes. I have heard. But it was totally fine."

  She made a scoffing sound. "I doubt that."

  "What do you mean?"

  "With your luck in drivers?" she said. "I’m surprised the guy wasn't drunk or belligerent or something."

  I cleared my throat. "Yeah, well…for your information, he was perfectly sober."

  And yes, just a little bit belligerent.

  But there was no way I wanted to admit that, so I launched into a side story about how Jax and Jaden were the ones who mugged Dominic outside my mom's apartment.

  I finished by saying, "Except they didn't really mug him, because they didn't steal anything."

  Allie frowned. "Well, that's unfortunate."

  "Oh, so you wanted him robbed?"

  "Definitely," she said. "And roughed up, too."

  I gave her a look. "Well, he is in the hospital, remember?"

  She brightened considerably. "Oh yeah. I almost forgot."

  I had to laugh. "Well, aren't you blood-thirsty."

  "Hey, he had it coming," she said. "But back to Jax, did he say why they did it?"

  Yes. He did. And it all boiled down to one simple thing. "He said he didn't want that guy near me."

  Allie gave a slow nod. "Good." She glanced toward the apartment. "But come on, tell me the rest."

  A few minutes later, sitting in our living room, I filled her in on the rest of the story. Apparently, the night before Jax and I were scheduled to pick up my things, he'd driven by my mom's place to get familiar with the layout.

  While checking out the exterior, he'd seen my mom walking Dominic to his car and overheard them talking about me coming out there the next day.

  The way it sounded, Dominic was planning – in Jax's words – a nice little sales pitch just for me. And my mom was doing nothing to discourage him.

  Allie said, "Wait, where was Jax when he overheard this?"

  "In the van, supposedly."

  "Supposedly?" she repeated. "You don't believe him?"

  I recalled what Jax had said, that he'd never lie to me. But sometimes, as I'd learned firsthand, he wasn't always terribly forthcoming.

  Still, I did believe him, and I told Allie so, adding, "but it's so strange. I mean, why would he do that?"

  "I'll tell you why. He's crazy." She said this like it was a good thing. But then, her tone grew wistful. "Love makes you do crazy things."

  I could definitely relate. I'd been feeling crazy for weeks now.

  I went on to tell Allie that the two brothers had gotten together and decided to have an anonymous talk with Dominic before he could have a talk with me.

  I concluded the story by saying, "And apparently, the talk didn't go too terrific, because it ended with Dominic in the bushes."

  "And?'

  "That's it."

  "I know that's the end of the story," she said, "but you left out a whole bunch of stuff in the middle."

  "Yeah, so did Jax."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I mean," I said, "he wasn't big on those details."

  "And you didn't ask?"

  "Sure, I asked."

  "And…?"

  "And he said it was better if I didn't know."

  She shook her head. "And you let him get away with that?"

  "No. Not really. I mean, I told him I wanted to know everything."

  "And what did he say?"

  "He said – and I quote – 'Too bad.'"

  "Too bad? That’s it?"

  "Yeah. And then, when I pressed him on it, he tells me, the guy's lucky he only ended up in
the bushes."

  "As opposed to what?"

  I winced. "Honestly? I didn't ask."

  But the very next weekend, I was asking questions, and none of them were about Dominic.

  Chapter 61

  "But what were you fighting about?" I asked.

  Jax gave a low laugh. "Trust me. You don't want to know."

  It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and we were lying beside his pool in an oversized chaise lounge. The pool, along with the rest of the patio, was surrounded on three sides by the house, leaving the fourth side open for a magnificent view of the ocean.

  I snuggled closer to him and gave a happy sigh. I felt like I was on vacation – or living in one of the prettiest postcards I'd ever seen, complete with my own personal dream-guy lying right next to me.

  We'd already gone for a swim and were now drying off in the open air.

  I gave him a playful poke in the ribs. "No fair. I told you about my fight with Allie."

  I meant, of course, the huge argument we'd had back in Nashville.

  I'd just given Jax a blow-by-blow of the whole thing, beginning with my announcement that I was moving in with my mom, and ending with Allie showing up at Jax's front door to rescue me from his evil clutches.

  Next to me, Jax said, "First, tell me something. Who was yelling louder? Her or you?"

  "Why would you wanna know that?"

  "So I know what to expect when you get pissed."

  I laughed. "You've seen me mad. I don't yell." Under my breath, I added, "Most of the time, anyway."

  This was true. I wasn't a yeller, and I loathed drama. And yet, that argument with Allie had included a fair bit of both.

  With a smile in his voice, he said, "You sure about that?"

  I tried to think. I didn't recall ever yelling at him. But had I?

  I considered the question for like two whole seconds before I pulled back to say, "Hey, you're changing the subject, aren't you?"

  "Me?" He flashed me a wicked grin. "Never."

  I rolled my eyes. "Oh, I forgot, you're such an angel."

  In spite of my teasing, he was being an angel in the worst possible way. Here we were, lying around in hardly no clothes at all, and yet he'd been perfectly behaved.

  Damn it.

  I'd been trying not to stare, but sometimes, I could hardly help it. Whenever I let my gaze slip just a little, I could see the water droplets easing down his abs, following the same contours that I was dying to trace with my fingers.