I almost laughed, but he was being real, so I held it back. “Why is it shitty?”
“Because, baby, I’ve got to deal with my dad, whether I want to or not. I might get kicked out of school and out of his life if he decides something I’ve done displeases him. I might be a mechanic for a while, or forever, if that happens. Your future’s so bright, and mine is so up in the air, I don’t know which way it’ll land. That’s why I’m a shitty bargain.”
“I have to tell you, Theodore, the whole mechanic thing is working for me in a mega big way. If your dad chooses to fulfill his asshole prophecy and you spend the rest of your days in coveralls with stained fingernails, I’ll be pleased I get to look at you and smell the oil on your skin.” Raising up on my toes, I ran my nose along the collar of his shirt. He was all sweat, oil, and Theo. He’d been delicious before, but this was another level.
Before I could spend another second sniffing him, he took my head in his hands and pulled me away, a fierce expression on his face.
“You called me Theodore.”
“I did.” I caught my lip in my teeth, suddenly nervous. I’d called him that on purpose, but I’d kind of hoped he’d let me slide it in there without making it into a big deal. Not Theo, though. He noticed everything.
He lowered his head slowly, and I prepared for the crash. It didn’t come. His lips found mine with a testing kiss, a caress that was so sweet, I had to squeeze my eyes shut to keep from bursting. I chased his mouth, needing more of what he was giving me. My fingers circled around his wrists, then stroked up his forearms.
There was something different about the way we were touching each other. I didn’t remember a time anyone had ever been tender with me, but I recognized that was what was happening here. There weren’t words in my vocabulary for how this felt, but I liked it. I liked it so much, I was going to keep chasing this tenderness between us and hover around it to protect it.
He spoke against my lips. “I missed you so fucking much, Tiger. The second you left my car that night, I wanted you back. I’m not going to make the same mistake twice with you.”
I nodded, my forehead rolling over his. “I really missed you too. I can’t tell you how relieved I am that underneath the bullshit and mistakes, you’re who I thought you were.”
Something clattered nearby, and voices approached. Theo and I drew apart, holding on to each other until the last possible second. He shot me a twinkly-eyed grin, and I was donezo.
“I have to go before I do illegal things to you in front of your coworkers.”
A deep, lovely laugh burst out of him. “Jesus, I would have put on coveralls weeks ago if I knew they were the ticket to your heart.”
I arched a brow. “No, dude, not my heart. She’s a tougher nut to crack. My pants will absolutely fall apart for a man who works with his hands.”
Theo’s grin wavered. “A man? Any man?”
“Don’t fish, Theodore. You know damn well my pants have only dissolved for you recently.” I hitched my bag higher on my shoulder. “I’m going now so you can do sexy things with engines and tools.”
That got me another laugh. “I’ll call you tonight. I have something else I need to take care of, but it should be resolved by tomorrow. Can you clear your weekend for me? I want to take you somewhere after we hang out with Luc.”
“We’re hanging out with Luc?”
He lowered his chin. “Yeah. I missed her too.”
Oh yeah, he was sliding right under the thick, nutty shell around my heart.
“All right. I’m yours, Theodore.” I blew him a kiss, then I sauntered out of the garage, giving my hips an extra sway so he’d be extra inspired to keep all his big, beautiful promises.
* * *
Elena jumped on my bed Friday morning, obviously forgetting about my bruised ribs and aching muscles. And sleep. She definitely forgot about my need to sleep.
“I’m dying, you have to wake up,” she cried, jumping all around my prone form.
“You seem incredibly alive and annoying.” I cracked an eye and was greeted not with Elena’s face, but Pen and Gabe’s sweet faces smooshed together on her phone screen. “Hello?”
“What up, boo?” Gabe greeted.
Pen yawned. “Why are we awake this early?”
“Because, darling—” Elena lay down beside me so we could both see the screen. And fuck if our faces weren’t smooshed together, just like Gabe and Pen’s. “I have the most amazing piece of news I need to share with Helen, but I thought the two of you, being her nearest and dearest, would appreciate it very much as well.”
Gabe cleared his throat. “Look, Pen is nice, so she won’t say it, but she doesn’t actually care that Prada announced the color for next spring is going to be glaucous.”
Elena held up a finger. “That’s not a color.”
“It is.” He turned to Pen. “Tell them I pay attention in my color theory class, Lucky. Tell them I’m a good little student, and when I’m not, you take your ruler and—”
Penelope covered his mouth with her hand. “Gabriel is a good student, and glaucous is the color of the skin of grapes and plums. Can we get back to why you called, El? I need to go back to sleep.”
Gabe winked at the screen. “That’s because someone wouldn’t stop riding my dick all night. I’m not naming names, but it rhymes with Schmelope.”
Elena rolled her eyes violently. “Wow, I’m disgusted while also proud of my gorgeous cousin for getting it.”
I elbowed her side. “Did you or did you not have something you wanted to tell us?”
“Yes, god, it would be nice if Gabe stopped distracting everyone.”
He flipped her off for a second before Pen shoved his hand down. Elena wasn’t fazed in any way, plowing on with her news.
“So, as we all know, Helen got dumped by Theo a few weeks ago. He’s been trying to win her back, but this badass bitch has held strong, as she should have. You two probably don’t know about the asshole I was fucking who stole Helen’s money, do you? Or Reno beating the shit out of her because of it?”
Elena’s eyes slid to mine, and when I looked closely enough, I swore I could see the devil dancing around inside her, all wobbly dicked and spitting vinegar and fireballs. She knew damn well I hadn’t told them about the attack and Daniel. She’d disagreed with my decision not to tell them, so this was clearly her taking matters into her own hands.
I spent five minutes begging Gabe not to drop everything and come to Savage River to “burn some shit down.” I spent the next five minutes apologizing to Penelope for keeping her in the dark when all she wanted to do was be there for me.
Elena clicked her fingers. “Okay, that’s sufficient. Now, the news. As I said, Theo has been working his way back to Helen. Part of that is righting all the wrongs done to her. He dealt out a dose of physical violence to Daniel last weekend, but that wasn’t enough for our Theo. He asked me if I knew anything damning about my ex, and wouldn’t you know it, I knew so much. Theo knew some things too—and had access to Daniel’s computer.”