I ignore the sparks of excitement that light me up at the sight of this asshole and roll over.
Except Rhett doesn’t let up. “Either you get your cute little ass in my truck, or I’m gonna break in there and carry you out.”
“Go ahead and try.” When I hold up my middle finger, that just makes him growl.
A second later, I feel a cool breeze.
Shit. I forgot to lock my car!
And then I’m scooped out and go airborne.
3
PAIGE
As I’m hanging upside downover Rhett’s broad shoulder, I hammer on his back with my fists. “Put me down, you… you… turd.” I used to call him a turd when he’d pretend to put boogers on me.
His shoulders shake. Is he laughing at me right now? I pound harder.
“Are those hits supposed to hurt? We need to get you into some self-defense classes.”
He stops a few feet away in front of what I assume is his truck and lets me slide down his hard body.
Crap. Rhett still smells like that woodsy cologne, but now it’s mixed with his own scent that’s so… so masculine.
As soon as I’m free, I take a quick step away from him and almost fall over. He grabs my arms to steady me. But then he gets a good look at me and yanks his hands away. “Why the fuck aren’t you wearing any clothes?” His eyes rake over me from top to bottom before he crosses his arms and stares at the horizon like the sight of me disgusts him.
“I’m wearing clothes. This is called a sports bra, and these…” I tug at the waistband of my boy shorts. “These are called underwear.”
“Jesus Christ, Paige, I can see your nipples,” he grits out.
I point at his chest that’s wrapped in a snug white t-shirt. “If I look hard enough, I can see your nipples too. What’s the big deal? All mammals have nipples. They really shouldn’t scare a big, burly man like you.”
A chuckle from the truck has me looking around him to find his younger brother hanging out the window. “Oh, hey, Jace. How’s it going?”
“Hi, darling. Long time no see.” He motions to his face. “Love the red hair. You look gorgeous.”
I’ve been dyeing my hair brown for years, but Baylee said I needed to spruce myself up for graduation, and she thought red—really red—would be fun. I don’t know if it’s fun. I feel like a fire hydrant.
Jace’s eyes skate over me, and Rhett growls for some reason. He jerks open the door to his truck and yanks his brother out of it. “Get in the back.” Then he roots around for something. I do not check out his ass… for long. All I can say is it’s muscular and perfectly encased by his faded jeans.
A second later, he turns around and wraps a long-sleeved flannel shirt around me. “What happened to your ankle?”
My feet are bare except for the wrap around my left foot. “Twisted it.”
“Doing cheerleading?”
“No. Not this time, at least.” I don’t know why I’m answering his questions.
“You hurt it more than once?”
“What is this, an interrogation?” His jaw tightens, and I roll my eyes. “I fly off the tops of pyramids, Rhett, so sometimes I get injured. Of course I’ve twisted my ankle before. I’ve twisted myelbow, sprained my wrist, and gotten a concussion. I’ve had too many bruises to count, but I’m fine. I’m always fine.”
“A concussion? What the fuck?” His big hands reach out for me, like he’s going to cradle my head, and I recoil.
“Did I answer your questions satisfactorily? Can I go now?”
“Back to sleeping in your car?”
