In Too Deep (7 page)

Chapter 12

It’d been five years since I lost my mother, but the ache was still there like a pulled muscle, flaring up when you thought you were recovered. I don’t know why I’d admitted that stuff about my mom to Taylor. I needed to hold shit together, keep my head in the game. I was here for an assignment, not to reminisce about my mother and certainly not to examine my feelings for some girl who thought she had me all figured out. I know what Taylor thinks of me, and that’s fine.
It’ll be easier to stay away from her if she stays away from me too.

We make
it six hours of the nine hour trip when a tire blows out, sending the car screeching across the highway. I swear under my breath and slow to a stop on the shoulder. “Wait here,” I tell Taylor while I get out to inspect the damage.

She
waits inside, watching me in the side mirror.

I kick
at the flattened rear tire.  Great. Just great.

I glance
at Taylor. Despite what I told her, she’s unlatching her seat belt and getting out.

She stands next to me in silence
watching while I jack up the car and bolt on the flimsy spare from the trunk.

“What are we going to do now?”
she asks, once we’re back in the car.

“We won’t be able to go above forty-five on this tire, so we
’ll need to pull off at the first repair shop we find.”

We r
ide in silence for a few miles, the music off, the hum of the roadway louder under the inadequate tire, until after about fifteen minutes, the GPS directs me to a repair shop just off the highway.

Taylor
waits while I go inside. The place is run down, poorly managed and lacking in the tire I need.
Fuck
. I slam my fist against the counter.

After
arguing for several minutes with the guy at the counter, I storm outside. Taylor is out of the car and on her feet.

“What are you doing?”
she scolds. “That poor kid at the counter is practically shaking.”

I
stomp out past her into the parking lot, but can feel her hot on my trail.

“Why are
you in such a piss-poor mood?” She jogs to catch up with me. “So we got a flat? Big deal. We’ll get a new tire and we’ll be back on the road shortly.”

“You mean tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” she questions.

“T
hey don’t have the tire we need, and with the shop closing for the night, we won’t be able to get one until the morning.” I keep walking.

Taylor catches up and
tugs on my sleeve. “There’s a pizza place across the street. Come on. Let’s go get something to eat. We’ll figure out what to do.”

I
glance at her, those big blue eyes are fixed on mine and the pissed off feeling subsides slightly. I give her a tight nod, and follow.

For the next
fifteen minutes, I mess around on my phone trying to find the tire I need in stock somewhere else and glance up occasionally to watch Taylor nibbling on a slice of pizza.

She
’s certainly not shy about eating. I told her to order whatever she wanted, and while most girls would get a side salad, and some water, she took that literal. Three large slices of pizza piled with spicy sausage and onions. A smile escapes my lips when she catches me watching her eat. But then I go back to my phone.

“Have one.
” She slides the tray toward me.

I
glance up again briefly, making eye contact. “I’m good.” I search every car place within fifty miles, but I still can’t get the tire delivered to the repair shop faster than tomorrow. So I quit searching for a tire, and instead start looking for a hotel. “Are you about done? I found a place for us to stay tonight.”

Taylor
swallows down the last bite of pizza, wiping her mouth across the napkin. “Give me that.” She rips the phone from my hands, shaking her head. She begins tapping at the keys, that little crease appearing between her brows. “There’s nothing more irritating than incompetence,” she mutters under her breath.

I lean back against the booth, knowing she won’t be able to miraculously find something if I couldn’t. But her cockiness is cute.
Nice try, sweetheart
.

“This freaking Podunk town,” she murmurs next.

I suppress a smile and fold my hands behind my head. “No luck?”

She shoots me a glare that screams
fuck off
. God she’s adorable when she’s pissed. I bite my lip to keep from smiling. “Are you through? I found us a hotel for the night.”

She
squints her eyes at me, her mouth pressing into a line. “Fine.” She slides the phone back across the table toward me.

“
Let’s go. The shop probably has our loner ready.”

I
slap a twenty down on the table and lead Taylor to the door.

Chapter
13

At the auto shop there’s a newer model silver sedan waiting for us with the
keys already in it, so they don’t have to deal with Colt again, I presume.

W
e check into a hotel on the nicer side of town. Colt uses his corporate credit card to get us a two-bedroom suite on the hotel’s top floor. When we step into the room, I take a moment to look around. There’s floor to ceiling windows in the living room and the furniture is all pale blues and creams. It’s nice.

I turn to Colt, but it’s obvious his
shitty mood is still firmly in place. He slams his duffle bag down onto an arm chair, swearing under his breath.

I roll my eyes
and take a deep breath. I don't understand why he’s so worked up. Everything will turn out fine with his precious car. I get that things didn’t go as planned, but we’ll be back on the road tomorrow. Maybe he needs to blow off some steam. Guys like him can’t go from being all revved up to completely cooled down so quickly. An idea takes shape in my mind. “Come on, we’re going out.”

He searches my eyes. “What are you talking about? We just got here.” His voice has a sharp
edge to it.

I turn my back, walking toward the door. “We need to get you laid.”

He inhales sharply. “Huh?”

I face him again, my hand still on the door knob. “This is just like Piper’s little brother, he’s crabby when he’s hungry. You’re being crabby right now. Therefore, we need to satisfy your…
appetite
.” I pull open the door and though he hesitates for just a moment, I can tell he’ll come.

Despite acting like he was against my idea,
Colt grins as we step into the elevator. We ride to the ground floor in silence.

Once we reach the hotel lobby Colt hands his ticket to the valet and a moment later,
we step outside as the silver sedan pulls to a stop in front of us. Before Colt has a chance to open my door, I lunge for it and hop inside. I don’t need myself getting even more confused about our arrangement. We’re coworkers. That’s it. I desperately need to cling to that perspective. He shakes his head, chuckling under his breath and walks around to his side of the car.

A few
minutes later, Colt parks on the street in front of a bar called Whiskey Dicks. I glance up at the sign, then back at him.
Seriously?

“Remember this was your idea. I’m just going along with it.” He opens his door and unfolds his
tall frame from the confines of the car.

I follow him up to the door where a bouncer is checking IDs. I hesitate. “Colt…” I turn to him and whisper.

“Hush.” He puts his hand on the small of my back, and propels me toward the door. He skillfully slips the bouncer a twenty, and the doors are pulled open for us.

Oh
.

Once inside, the smell of beer and cheap perfume overwhelm me. I stay close to Colt’s side. He walks toward the back of the bar, ignoring the stares being directed our way. He acts like he’s been here a thousand times before
and settles at a semi-secluded high top table in the corner.

Once we’re seated, I have the chance to really look around. The place is pretty small, one long bar running the length of the room, with a few scattered tables and a mess of stools. The crowd here is young, well, not our age young, but appropriate bar-age young. A cluster of
guys mill around a pool table near us, a few girls sway to the too-loud music on the dance floor on the far side of the room. And people everywhere stand around talking, sipping drinks, and laughing out loud.

Colt’s eyes are roaming, just like mine, but for a different reason. Once he spots the waitress, he
waves her over. She saunters up to our table, her eyes full of lust for Colt. “What can I getcha?”

Colt turns to me. Reluctantly, the waitress’ eyes follow. Now they are both looking at me. My mind goes completely blank. I’ve never been to a bar and ordered for myself before.
Beer? Wine? Liquor? But what kind? I was about to ask for a water when Colt comes to my rescue.

“We’ll both take a vodka tonic. Belvedere if you have it.”

She nods once and turns on her heel.

“Thanks,” I mumble once she’s gone.

Colt nods, his eyes scanning the crowd. I watch him scope out the girls, wondering which is his type. The waitress returns with our drinks, and I test a sip. It’s bitter and stiff. I choke down it down, wondering how people actually enjoy this. Colt removes the straw from his glass, and takes a gulp, draining half its contents.

I force down another swig,
then slide the drink away from me. “So anyone catching your eye?”

Colt looks up, like I’ve interrupted some private thought.
“Are we seriously doing this?” his voice hints at boredom.

“What about her?” I nod toward the bleach blonde swaying her hips alone on the center of the dance floor. She’s in skin tight jeans torn at the knees and a hot pink halter top. Just trashy enough for a one night stand with being overtly skanky.
A perfect choice for him.

He pulls his eyebrows together and shakes his head.

“What’s wrong with her?”

He glares at me. It’s strange how expressive he is without speaking a single word. He takes another drink, draining the rest of his glass.
“We are not picking out my next victim together.” He offers a sly smile. Oh, this boy is trouble. With a capital T.

I stir the ice cubes
in mine with the straw. “So who’s your choice?”

His eyes fix on mine and stay there for what feels like too long.

I roll my eyes. “Colt, I’m serious, this is why we’re here. We need to get you out of your shitty mood, and I’ve been around you long enough to know this is how it’s done.”

He finally drops his eyes from mine, and looks around.
“Fine.” He takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. I watch him scan the room. “Her.” He nods toward the bar.

I turn around to glance in that direction, trying not to be too obvious. The girl he’s looking at is a brunette with pretty, yet plain looks, jeans, sandals and a long sleeved T-shirt. She certainly doesn’t stand out amongst the overly made-up girls trying hard
to get noticed. This girl is actively trying not to be noticed if you ask me. Very little make up, hair back in a low ponytail, nothing spectacular about her. She actually reminds me a lot of, well…me.

I reach for my drink and take another sip, fumbling with the straw. I don’t know what Colt sees in her, most guys probably wouldn’t give her a second glance, not with the busty blondes putting on a show on the dance floor.

“Her?” I double check, thinking I must have the wrong girl.

His eyes are back on me. He nods.

“Why her?” I take another sip. It’s not as bad once you get used to the taste. He takes the drink from my hand, his fingers brushing past mine.

“Not too much, little one.” He sets the drink down across the table from me.

I squint my eyes, glaring at him.

“She’s the only one in here, besides you, who looks like a nice, normal girl. No drama. No strange ulterior motives.”

I half expect him to add disease-free. I don’t know what to make of his comment, but suddenly I’m wishing I had my drink back to distract me. After a few moments, I recover. “So go talk to her.”

Colt looks bored. “You’re serious about this whole thing, aren’t you?”

“Uh, yeah. Obviously. Now go.” I shoo him from the table.

Colt shakes his head, but he’s grinning. He gets off his stool, looking in her direction.

I reach out for his arm, and feign a voice of concern. “You have protection, right son?”

He rolls his eyes and walk
s away. Of course he does. He’s probably wearing a condom at all times, just in case. “Have fun!” I call to him, playfully and watch his backside for a few moments. Unfortunately he turns and looks back and catches me looking. He chuckles and I can’t help but blush, knowing I was just caught checking out his behind. 

It takes everything in me not to turn and
watch him try to pick her up. I wonder what it would be like to have Colt’s attention like that.

After a few minutes, I sneak a glance but Colt and the mystery brunette are gone.
WTF? Damn, he works fast. I scan the bar, looking around for them. Surely he wouldn’t just leave me here. Would he? I guess I really hadn’t thought this through.

A second later, a guy with shaggy blonde hair and crystal blue eyes is standing in front of me. “Hi.”

“Hi?” I say, more than a little confused.

“I’m Ted.”

“Taylor.” I raise up on my stool and glance around him, still searching for Colt. But the mess of bodies crowding the bar makes it impossible.

“It looks like your friend left with my friend, so I thought I’d keep you company,” Ted says, bringing my attention back to him.

So Colt did leave with her.
Huh
. I try not to be annoyed and remind myself that this was my idea. I wonder if she’s in our car right now, sitting where I just sat, on her way to the hotel room I’m sharing with him. The vodka churns in my stomach. Ted sits down in the stool across from me. Colt’s stool. It feels like even more of an invasion.

“I’ve never seen you here before,” he says, flipping his longish hair off his forehead.

“Never been here before.” I down the rest of the drink. Probably not wise, but I’ll do anything to defy Colt right now. Ted’s cute actually, but I’m so on edge about Colt’s fling with the plain brunette who I swear could pass as my sister, I can’t focus on anything around me.

We pass about fifteen minutes with Ted trying to engage me in a conversation (he goes to school at the nearby university) but my mind twirls with thoughts of Colt and what
he might be doing at this very moment, not to mention worrying about how I’m going to get back to the hotel.

A few minutes later, Colt
appears with the brunette smiling by his side. Another satisfied customer. They stroll up to the table together. He introduces her as Sarah.
Awesome
. Colt drops a few bills on the table to pay our tab and we say goodbye to Sarah and Ted. She and Colt don’t even exchange phone numbers, not even a thank you. Huh. I guess that’s how it’s done. Though it certainly isn’t something I’m used to.

Outside
I storm ahead of Colt, heading straight for the car.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he calls from behind me.

I hold up my hand, waving him off and keep walking. If I tell him what’s wrong, it won’t be pretty. I have no clue why I’m so emotional, why this whole thing is conjuring up memories of Wes I can’t deal with.

“Why are you pissed at me? This was your idea.”

I swing around to face him. “Yeah, well I didn’t think you’d leave me alone in a bar while you fucked some random girl in the parking lot.”

A group of guys getting out of their car next to us bursts into la
ughter. I walk away from Colt as their laughter grates against my nerves.

“We didn’t fuck, actually,” Colt’s voice is low.
He stands inches from me, looking frustrated.

Anger and jealousy pulses through me and I force air into my lungs, trying to push the irrational feelings away
. I take a moment to gather my wits and notice that Colt’s hair seems no more rumpled than before. His shirt is still neatly buttoned.

“I just let her go down on me.” He
grins a cocky half smile and glances at me through his eyelashes.

I push past him, walking ahead.

He chuckles and quickens his stride to catch up with me. “God, I’m kidding, Taylor, calm down. She went out for a smoke and I kept her company. We just talked. You’d like her actually, she’s an art student.”

His words should ease my mind, but instead, I feel even more disgusted with myself. I needed to keep my feelings for Colt in check. They
are swinging wildly back and forth between hatred and lust.

We climb into the car and ride in silence to the hotel. When we get inside our room, I mumble an apology to Colt.