Bad Boy Best Friend - Hope Ford Page 0,5

his seat and pulling Shawn aside as I keep walking. Even though I’d never admit it aloud, I’m relieved to see that Blair wasn’t successful in trying to initiate a hand job. That fact seems to have really pissed her off if I’m going by the glare she gave me.

Poor Austin, he’s going to get an earful after I leave.

I no sooner get out the door and already Shawn’s caught up with me.

“You don’t remember me, do you?” I ask him.

He looks confused. “Do we know each other? I mean before tonight?”

He looks dumbstruck when I mention Mr. Todd’s computer lab we had together. “You used to cheat off me.”

He stops in the middle of the sidewalk. “That was you? Wow! You’ve gotten really sexy.”

I’m blushing and tongue tied by his admission. He’s so blunt, he’s probably too loaded to be making such declarations, but I’ll take the ego boost.

4

Austin

Instead of going home with my date last night, I dropped her off saying I had to work early this morning. I’m a mechanic and a great one at that, so it isn’t hard to sell it to Blair. Besides, I’m done messing around with her. I’ve told her from the get-go what she can expect from this, but she’s already too possessive and in my face.

It was late when I did get home. I showered and went straight to sleep with a smile on my face thinking about what a great surprise it is to have my best friend back in town.

I wake up early and even though I very well could go into my mechanic shop early and get work done—there’s always work to be done—I want to touch base with Laney. Seeing her last night put me at ease. At least I know she’s okay, and I don’t have to keep worrying about her. She’s home and she’s safe. Right now, that’s good enough. But I’m determined to find out what happened. And I understand with Blair there last night Laney hadn’t been able to really let me in on what was going on. But I can’t just let that hang in the air and wait around for her to fill me in.

I drive over to her parents’ house. On my way there the events from the night before replay in my head.

That feeling of Laney in my arms… it was so different.

I can’t deny the charge I felt, but just because I felt something it doesn’t have to mean that everything has changed. It didn’t mean anything. It was because it’d been so long since we’d seen each other in person that was all.

I park on the street in front of her parents’ house, noting that Laney’s dad seems to be working on his truck in the driveway. “Hey, Jerry!” I say as I walk up on him standing at the open hood of his Bronco. And even though I intended to continue up to the house to see Laney, I find myself offering to help Jerry with the truck.

“I imagine you’re here to see Laney. You sure you have time for this?” Jerry asks, gesturing to the engine under the open hood.

I don’t want to explain that I’m stalling for a little more time to let the events of the night settle into place before I see Laney. Instead I ask, “How is Laney this morning?”

“She’s doing just fine, all things considered,” Jerry answers. “Right now, she’s up in the kitchen with her mother making breakfast. I bet it’s about ready too. You hungry?”

I’m not all that hungry, but I’m not about to turn down a home cooked meal, especially since I like and respect Laney’s parents. Having breakfast with Laney in the company of her parents is a great way to get things back into our friendship groove. “I am, and there’s no way I’d turn down a home cooked meal if you’re offering,” I tell him.

Jerry nods and points out the issue he’s having with the engine. Jerry is a smart man, but he’s all thumbs when it comes to mechanics, and this isn’t the first time I’ve had to go in and undo the mistakes he’s made trying to fix it.

Rolling up my sleeves, I disconnect the hoses that Jerry’s confused and reattach them to the correct port. That’s just where I get started, though. Come to find out, he meant to change the oil and give the air conditioning some extra Freon to really cool things down. Luckily he hadn’t gotten around