I leave the two of them standing in the alley behind the diner with dumbstruck expressions on their faces and sporting extremely obvious hard-ons. They aren’t the only ones, I think, adjusting myself as I walk. Retrieving my keys from my pocket, I head toward the parking lot outside the diner and unlock my car.
The sleek black body reflects the flickering letters of the blue neon sign hanging above the diner, and I smile as I slide into the smooth, leather front seat behind the wheel. I love this car. Inserting the key into the ignition, I start the engine, grinning as the throaty rumble of the car fills the interior a split-second before my music kicks in.
Shifting into reverse, I maneuver the car toward the alley where I’m hoping Amos and Colin are behaving themselves. I shift back into neutral and roll down the windows, letting my music filter through the air toward them.
“Hurry up and get in the fucking car. I don’t have all night to hang around waiting for you to get your asses in gear.” I holler at them, even though they’re already walking toward me.
Amos flips me off, and I grin, while Colin looks pale, excited, and like he’s about to be sick.
“If you throw up in my car I’ll snap your damn neck,” I threaten, and Amos glares.
“He won’t,” he pipes up, and I shrug.
“Better fucking not,” I mumble, putting the car into first and peeling out of the lot, beginning the short, fifteen minute drive home.
It won’t take me that long, even though it should. But when the roads are quiet the way they are now, I like to open up the throttle and enjoy the ride. Glancing toward the front passenger seat and in the rearview to the one behind me, I smirk to myself. This won’t be the only ride I get to enjoy tonight…
Chapter Twenty-Two
Amos
Xavier pulls over almost immediately and puts the car in park, giving me a haughty smirk.
“Get in the back seat, gutter rat. You were right—I shouldn’t be seen with working boys inside of my car.”
I squawk angrily, suddenly enraged by his demeanor shift straight back into the Rich Boy persona, and shove the door open with so much force that the car shifts to the right.
“Do you know how many years you’ll have to work at that greasy spoon to be able to fix any damage you make to this car? Be nice, Amos. Don’t break things that aren’t yours, unless you’re willing to compensate me for them,” he warns, that haughty smirk still on his fucking lips.
I don’t know why I thought he’d be any different once he was sober, past realizing what he was doing.
I knock on the right, back passenger door and wait as patiently as I can for Colin to let me in. Once I’m inside and comfortable, I meet Xavier’s eyes in the rear-view mirror and pull it closed with all of my might.
“Oops,” I say breezily as I lean back in the seat and let my head rest at an angle. If he’s going to give me shit about “breaking” his car, then I guess I’ll have to do as much damage as I can.
He shakes his head as he laughs and turns his attention back to the road. Putting the car in drive, he pulls away from the curb again.
“What?” I bark at him.
“Have I told you that you rattle too easily?” he states. “It’s so simple to get you riled up, that I can never pass up the chance when I see it.”
I grind my teeth together as I cast a glance toward Colin, who’s watching the semi-empty streets passing by outside of his window. There are still a few frat bros, some drunken girls barely making it down the sidewalks in their heels, and some hooting and hollering coming from several blocks away.
A typical Friday night in Boulder when the parents are away and the kids are left to play, I muse with a sigh.
“Amos?”
“What now?” I ask Xavier miserably. If he’s going to insist on pushing my buttons, I’m going to have to learn how to disable them somehow.
“Do you think we should start breaking him in a little bit more now? He still looks wound up.”
I arch an eyebrow at Xavier’s reflection, then let my head loll in Colin’s direction. He’s definitely got a point. His hands are folded tightly in his lap, one of his legs is jumping up and down nervously, and he looks like he’s going to make a run for it the moment he gets a chance.
“I got it,” I tell my brother smoothly as I scooch a little closer to my co-worker. “Hey,” I say in an attempt to get his attention. He darts his eyes to the corner of the car where I’m sitting, enough so he can see me, but also so he doesn’t have to look at me.
“I was wondering something,” I continue as I rest my forehead against his shoulder and slip my fingers between his. I’m almost wrenching them apart so I can interlace them, but he gives me enough of an inch that I can take the mile to do so.
“What?” he asks.