Infatuated (2 page)

The door opened again. I turned out of instinct and spotted Earl rushing out. He skidded to a stop when he saw me. The door missed hitting him by half an inch. If he noticed, he didn’t care. He stared at me again.

This time, I stared back, hoping he’d say something—anything. He didn’t. He turned away, walked the ten feet to his beat-up blue Toyota truck, got in and…sat there. I waited for him to start his engine and drive away—far, far away. He didn’t do that either. The
Open
sign flashed red above him, giving me a clear-but-colorful view of the inside of his truck. It gave his eyes an eerie glow that made him look evil.

I wanted to go home, to get out of these smelly clothes, to soak in my tub. Did I dare leave? I lived right across the street—literally. What if he saw where I lived? All he’d have to do was look in his rear view mirror and he’d know. The idea of him knowing where I lived freaked me out, so I waited, hoping he’d leave.

He had to leave sometime, didn’t he? He couldn’t sit out there forever. Neither could I. Sighing, because my bath would have to wait even longer, I went back inside.

Just grab a drink. By the time I’m done, he’ll be gone.

Laura grinned at me as I took a seat at the end of the counter. “Miss me already?”

I almost told her the truth, but then decided against it. She’d call him sweet again, or she’d tell me what I already knew, that I was probably being paranoid. “Of course. It’s been, what, five minutes? That’s a lifetime, isn’t it?”

She slid a glass of water in front of me. “Want something stronger, just say the word.” And then she walked away.

I didn’t drink a lot. I’d been twenty-one for about six months, but after working here a few weeks, I decided most drunks weren’t that fun to be around—especially the college-aged ones—and drinking alone wasn’t as fun.

Though tonight might be the exception.

I sipped my water slowly to give Earl time to leave and tried using the sounds around me as a distraction from my thoughts. Pool balls crashing together, laughter. My gaze traveled to the end of the bar where a guy—Blondie again—tried hitting on a girl. He almost had a chance, I mused, until he dumped his beer all over her. She rolled her eyes and stormed away. Even drunk—and somewhat rude—Blondie didn’t chase after her or stare. He turned away, shot a grin to his friends, and shrugged.

He was another regular. Annoying, yes, but not a creep. Well, he was a creep, but not in the make-your-skin-crawl kind of way. Just in the hit-on-anything-with-legs-and-breasts kind of way.

I watched as he tried and failed to hit on every possible available girl in the bar and wondered if he’d move on to the unavailable ones next.

Within ten minutes, I had three guys—Blondie included, again—offer me drinks, pool, dancing, and/or a ‘quiet place to talk’.

All I could think was,
Has Earl left yet?
I hoped so, because there was no way I could sit in here much longer, watching Blondie strike out and getting hit on by every other drunk in the place. But there was no way I was going home until Earl was gone.

Before I decided, a guy in a leather jacket cut into my vision as he slid onto the stool beside mine, nearly making me jump. He had dark, short and curly hair. The lighting in the bar was horrible, but I guessed his eyes were either blue or green. “Hey.”

I blinked at him as I waited for my heart rate to slow. It finally did when I realized I’d seen him before. “Hi.”

He flashed a smile. “Can I buy you a drink?”

I held up my glass and shook my head. “Got one, but thanks anyway.”

The smile didn’t falter. “How about a conversation instead?”

I tried focusing on the fact that Leather Jacket guy was cute and I’d thought so since the first time I’d seen him, but my mind kept wandering to Earl. Was he still out there? Was he waiting for me to leave? The only way to find out for sure would be to check for myself, even though I didn’t want to do that. I almost asked Leather Jacket to go check for me, but what did I say?
Some old guy keeps staring at me and I’m freaked out?
Earl hadn’t done anything—hell, he’d never said anything. I’d sound crazy.

I felt crazy.

“Actually, I’m about to go.” I downed the rest of my water—regretting that I hadn’t gotten anything stronger—and said bye to Laura again. I turned back to the guy. “Thanks for the offers, though. Have a nice night.”

Please be gone, please be gone,
I chanted in my head. I couldn’t tell what was worse: getting watched by one creepy guy all night, or getting hit on by almost every other guy in the place. Leather Jacket made number four.

I raced outside. My stomach dropped when I found Earl’s truck still there and him sitting in the driver’s seat. His gaze went to mine automatically and I shuddered, despite not being the least bit cold.

“Hey.”

My heart knocked against my ribs and I slapped a hand to my chest as I spun. I swore under my breath when I found Leather Jacket standing there. “Look,” I said, sighing impatiently, “you’re cute and all, but I don’t—”

“You left your keys on the counter.” One eyebrow rose. “Thought you might need them sometime.”

“Oh.” I winced and gave myself a mental head-slap. “Sorry. Thanks.”

He rocked back on his heels and gave me a cocky grin. “But I’m glad you think I’m cute. It’ll help the next time I come in and ask you for a drink or a conversation. Maybe you won’t turn me down so fast. Maybe you’ll even give me five seconds of hope.”

The smile and laugh crept up unexpectedly. “We’ll see about that.”

A car engine rumbled to life. I looked. It was Earl’s.

“Thanks for my keys,” I told him. “Have a good one.” I started away before he could say anything else. If Earl was leaving, now was my chance to do the same. My bathtub was calling to me.

I made my way to the street a minute after Earl hit the exit. There was no traffic coming, but Earl didn’t move. He had his window down, so I could see his eyes on me. Again. Still.

To hell with this.

I walked back to the bar and was surprised—and even thankful—to see Leather Jacket still standing outside. He smiled as I approached. “Change your mind?”

“Actually…” I glanced over my shoulder and found Earl’s truck still at the exit. “Yeah. Yeah, I did.” A conversation with a cute guy had to be better than going home.

I jumped and twisted around when I heard the squeal of tires on pavement. I watched Earl’s taillights disappear down the road.

“Boyfriend?”

I nearly jumped again. “What?”

Leather Jacket nodded toward the exit. “The guy in the truck.”

“No. He’s a customer.”

“Refuse him a drink?”

“No.” It was hard to refuse something to someone when they didn’t ask you for anything. The scent of burning rubber drifted to my nose and had me frowning even more. “I know I said we could talk, but I should go—”

“Are you always like this?”

“Like what?”

“Jumpy.”

I frowned. “I’m not jumpy.”

“I say hi to you in the bar, you jump. You hear squealing tires, you jump. I talk again, you jump again. That’s a pattern.”

“I’m not jumpy, I’m…” Jumpy. Afraid to go home.

Before I could think of a good excuse, he frowned and touched my arm. “You okay? Did that guy say something to you?”

I didn’t jump this time, though it was close. “No. Nothing like that.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? You’re shaking.” He had his jacket off and around my shoulders in seconds. It was still warm from his skin. He pulled the lapels together. The move was intimate, yet completely platonic at the same time.

I looked into his eyes and noted the color. Blue, with just a flash of green. Pretty eyes. The cocky smile disappeared and concern shone in his eyes. “I guess I am a little jumpy.”
And definitely in need of something a lot stronger than water.

“At the risk of getting shot down again, why don’t you come in and sit down for a few minutes? You can tell me your name, and I’ll tell you mine is Kale Wilder. I’m twenty-three, single, and I’m a mechanic. See? We’re not even strangers now.” He smiled at me softly. “Hell, you can sit there, nameless, and stare into the distance if it’ll make you feel better. But I’m not sure you should be driving upset.” He backed away and held up his hands. “I’ll even stand far away and give you space. I won’t even talk.”

I almost argued that I wasn’t driving, but decided against it because I didn’t want someone else to know I lived close. And then I almost argued that I wanted to be alone. But at the moment, that’s exactly what I didn’t want.

I didn’t want to be alone.

CHAPTER 2

I
nside the bar, Kale walked me to a table near the back and sat beside me. His gaze locked on mine. Instead of being creeped out or annoyed, I found something compelling about his eyes, watchful though they were.

Laura, who’d obviously seen me come back in, came over. “You okay, Ally? I thought you were tired of Earl staring at you and wanted out of here?”

“Is that who you’re scared of?” Kale said.

“No,” I lied.

Laura laughed. “Scared? Of Earl? He’s harmless.” With another laugh, she left, and I wanted to bury my head in the sand.

“Who’s Earl? The guy from the truck?”

“Yes.”

“He stares at you.”

It didn’t sound like a question, but I answered anyway. “Yes.”

“And he scares you?”

I didn’t need mocked by Laura
and
some guy I’d never talked to before tonight. I knew I was being a little irrational about Earl watching me, but I couldn’t help not liking it.

I straightened my back and glared at him. “Maybe you like being stared at for hours on end whenever you’re at work, but I don’t. Maybe you like the feeling of being watched constantly. Not me.” I stormed up, barely remembering to yank my keys from the table. I made it two steps before I remembered I still had Kale’s jacket around my shoulders. I tore it off and tossed it in his face. It would have been a drink in his face, but surprisingly, there were none on the table, so I had to settle for what was available. “Thanks for the conversation.”

I didn’t even make it a step this time before Kale grabbed my arm. I lost my balance and ended up falling across his lap. My hair flew in his face and mine. I braced my hands on his stomach and felt the contours of muscled abs.

Gently, he reached up and brushed my hair aside. His eyes were smoldering now. “You know, you’re kind of sexy when you’re pissed.”

I leaned back to look at him, my eyes narrowing. “Then I bet I’m supermodel-gorgeous right now.”

“Supermodels have nothing on you.”

“Don’t try to be nice now when you’re being a jerk.”

He blinked at me. “How am I being a jerk? I’m just asking questions.”

“You mocked me.”

Now he frowned. “When?”

“When you said ‘and he scares you’, like I shouldn’t—”

“Hold up.” He shifted, keeping me on his lap. “For one, I wasn’t mocking you. I wouldn’t like being stared at any more than you. Two, it wasn’t an accusation, it was a genuine question.”

I sighed. “Sorry. Apparently I’m in bitch-mode.”

“While I admit it does look good on you, I’m interested in seeing date-mode.”

“You’re asking me out on a date?”

“I’m trying to. I mean, I’ve already gotten you on my lap,” he said easily, his hold on my hip tightening, “so that’s close to second base, right? I figure we can take a step back and try for a date now.”

I stared at him for a full minute and then laughed. “God, I shouldn’t like you.”

“So I’m cute and you like me? We’re making progress.”

“You talk a lot for someone who promised to be mute.”

“And you answer a lot of questions for someone who’s supposed to stare into space.” He ran his hands down my hair again, keeping his gaze on mine. The green in his eyes sparkled. “I just met you and already I want to kiss you, but keeping bitch-mode in mind, I’ll restrain myself.”

My heart rate quickened.

I almost asked him not to restrain himself. Part of me wanted to say just that, or to take the initiative and kiss him first. I didn’t act like this, especially around strangers. I told myself it was because of Earl, because he’d officially freaked me out one too many times and Kale just happened to be around for the aftermath. If it hadn’t been for Earl, then Kale and I probably wouldn’t have talked. Kale had nothing to do with my racing heart.

That’s what I told myself, but I wasn’t sure how much I actually believed it.

He cleared his throat. “So, because I
am
being so compromising and all, I think you should go out with me.”

“I—”

“Five second rule.”

I tried to keep a straight face and failed. “Maybe I should keep the no-talking rule. You’ll be easier to resist that way.”

“That’s probably true.” He shrugged. “But it’ll be harder to make you smile if I can’t talk. Not impossible, but definitely trickier. You have a nice smile and I’d like to see it more, so maybe you can skip that rule for now.”

I waited five seconds before answering. Five seconds where I tried convincing myself I
didn’t
want to go on a date with him. Five futile seconds. “I work on most weekends.”