Page 12 of Filthy Player
His question trailed off. I despised it when Powell treated me like a little shit just because he was banging my sister, something that made me want to vomit just thinking about. I’d paid my dues with the team in the last year, proven my mettle on and off the field. Powell never resisted the opportunity to be a dick.
Even if we were friends now.
“Because I’m distracted, back off.” Mostly it was the long legs fitted into tight jeans. An ass that made me think of things I’d never tried before, and hazel eyes that were now squinting at me. She flipped back to the hood and slammed it shut. “I’ll call a car and get there in thirty minutes.”
Powell barked something else at me but I hung up without listening. He was always a grumpy old man.
“Your truck should have been buried in a field about ten years ago,” Paige said, wiping her hands on a towel she’d procured from somewhere. “We can look at it, fix it up, but my guess is it’s worth more for parts at this point.”
Damn. I knew it was coming. But I loved the old rusted thing despite all the ribbing I got for it. It even had the classic bench seat trucks didn’t have anymore. That seat had a lot of memories for me. Naked ones.
Good ones.
I learned how to make a girl come before I did, in that truck. She was more precious than gold. The truck, not the girl who taught me.
What could I say? I was a sentimental schmuck.
“I figured you’d say that,” I said, pulling up the Uber App. I needed to get practice. Coach Pomville was most likely tallying the additional suicides he’d have me run for being late. I figured as many as it would take to puke up my breakfast. “Can you get it working enough while I’m at practice today so I can drive it to a dealership without a salesman laughing their ass off?”
The look she shot me told me no. “I can have some of the guys try.”
“Thanks.” I tapped the screen, ordered my Uber who was only a few minutes away, and slid my phone into my pocket. “You’re not going to work on it?”
Paige shook her head. She had a smudge of grease near her temple. Sexy as hell. “No. I can do basics but your truck needs an overhaul. I could get the coolant taken care of so it doesn’t blow up on you, but I’m not qualified enough to do the rest.” She sighed and looked back to the shop before her gaze came back to me. “Mostly I work in the office, but we also don’t open for a while. If you need a ride to the practice field, I can take you.”
Wow. Unexpected.
“Yeah?”
“Well, you’re not being a jerk today and you did apologize last night for being one. Plus, I have a favor.” Her mouth twisted, like the idea of asking me for something made her a bit sick to her stomach.
I was all in. “Done. But you’re not driving me to work. You got work to do here and I already ruined one night for you.”
She glanced back at the car and then looked at the sky, shoulders slumping a bit. I hadn’t realized how strung tight she was until she relaxed. Her face softened, and a shot hit my chest. My reaction to her was something I didn’t expect, but God, she was beautiful.
“You know, you’re not anything like I really imagined you were.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“I suppose it might be.” Her lips twisted like she didn’t want to admit it. I couldn’t stop from chuckling. Why did this woman dislike me? Instead of it turning me off, I was curious.
“Okay, then, how about this. You take care of my truck, I’ll do your favor, and then tonight, you let me take you out for dinner.”
“You don’t even know what the favor is.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll still do it, and I still want you across the table from me so I can keep proving how much of a non-asshole I am.”
“You’re sort of pushy, you know that?”
“I prefer ‘determined’ when I see something I want.” I flicked my hand out. “What’s the favor?”
She glanced toward the door to the garage and sighed again. “My dad’s a fan—”
“Just your dad?” I teased.
She huffed, lips pressed into a pout and continued, ignoring me. “It’s just, I was wondering, it doesn’t have to be much, nothing big at all…but could you autograph—”
“Done.” We had boatloads of crap in the marketing department I could grab. I’d take care of it and blow her mind with my generosity. And it wasn’t just because I tried to do everything I could for fans, but because she was pretty when she blushed.
