“Yeah,” Jack replied. “Your place at six. Don’t forget.”
Carter shook his head. “Like that’s even possible with the six pieces of paper I have to remind me.”
Jack raised his hand and patted Carter on his shoulder. “Take care.”
“Sure,” Carter replied. “I’ll see ya.” He began walking toward Max, who was grinning like an idiot; his mirrored aviators glinted in the sunlight.
“What’s up?” he drawled around the plume of smoke that slipped from his mouth.
Carter smiled, despite the disheveled appearance of his friend. His AC/DC T-shirt was creased and his jeans looked as though they’d not seen a washing machine in a hella long time. “Not much; just released from prison, ya know.”
“Same old, same old, huh?”
“You know it.” Carter placed his box on the hood of the car and shook Max’s hand before they hugged with a slap of the back. “It’s good to see your ugly face,” he said, taking the smoke Max was offering. He regarded his friend as he took a much-needed drag. His hair was longer and he looked like he’d not shaved in a while. “How ya doin’?”
Max’s face pinched. “I’m okay.”
Carter sighed. “You sure?”
“Yeah, dude.” The smile Max offered was small. “Was that Parker?”
Carter nodded and leaned against the car.
“Carter!”
The two men looked up to see a flustered-looking redhead waving hesitantly and weaving through the parking lot toward them.
“Who the fuck is that?” Max pulled his shades down until they were resting at the tip of his nose. Carter immediately noticed the size of Max’s pupils and the dark lines under his eyes that screamed lack of sleep. He was fucking high. Jesus. It wasn’t even 8 a.m.
“No one,” Carter answered with an exasperated shake of his head. “Hold this a minute.”
He handed Max the cigarette and began jogging between the cars over to his Peaches. He didn’t need Max ogling her while they spoke. If he was high, the asshole might say anything.
“Hey,” he breathed, coming to a standstill in front of her.
“Hey,” she replied. “I’m sorry.” She glanced behind him. “I—I know you probably want to get going but, well, I—”
“It’s no problem,” Carter interrupted. “That’s just my buddy Max. He’s taking me home.” He pulled his shades off and tucked them in the neck of his T-shirt. “What’s up?”
Her gaze wandered over him in a way that made his heart race. “I got your present, the book, and I … I just wanted to say thank you. It was—” She bit her lip hard.
“Did you like it?” Carter asked nervously, slipping the tips of his fingers into the pockets of his jeans.
Her eyes widened. “Like it? I loved it. It was perfect and extremely thoughtful. Thank you.”
Carter rocked back on his heels. “Well, you know.” He scratched his head. “You said you’d lost yours and, well, now you have one.”
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “I’ve read it twice already. It’s wonderful.”
Carter smiled wider. She seemed so happy. “Good. You’re welcome, Peaches.”
“I also wanted to give you this.” She reached into the pocket of her gray pants and pulled out a small card covered in numbers. “Our first session is scheduled for Tuesday at four at the library on Forty-second. Here’s my cell number and my … my home number in case, well, in case you can’t make it or you’re gonna be late or whatever.” She waved her hand dismissively. “I just thought you should have some way of being able to contact me.”
She handed Carter the card. Was she blushing?
“That’s a damn good idea. Thanks.” He pushed the card into the back pocket of his jeans.
“So,” she continued. “I’ll see you then?”
“Sure,” he answered. Her flustering was unsettling but cute as hell.
“Good,” she replied, taking a step back. “I’ll let you get going. Take care.”
He saluted with two lazy fingers at his temple. “You too.” She smiled bashfully, turned, and walked back toward the facility.
Once she was through the door and out of sight, he blew out an uncomfortable breath. “Fuck.”
Peaches was normally so in control. He relied on her discipline to keep him calm. Their sessions would sure as shit not work if they continued to behave this way with each other. Maybe the whole tutoring thing was going to be an utter bust. He put his shades back on and headed back to the car.
Max was chuckling. “Something you wanna share?” He waggled his eyebrows.
“No,” Carter snapped back at the double entendre. Realizing how protective he sounded, he laughed, attempting to hide his annoyance. “She’s just a lit tutor, that’s all.”
“Tutor, huh?” Max asked, glancing back at the door she’d disappeared through. “Well, fuck, she could tutor me anytime with that ass. That’s some hot junk in the trunk.”
Carter held his tongue and smiled tightly while keeping his eyes on the handle of the car door. “Really, I hadn’t noticed.”