Hard Pass by Sara Ney Page 0,8

the brick building onto the pavement, strides to an unmarked sedan. The only identifying features are the grill on the front and the antenna on the roof.

He doesn’t see me sitting in my car, the same beat-up Tahoe that was passed down from my parents when I turned sixteen. This truck has more miles on it than my college roommate, who racked up notches on her bedpost faster than any frat dude.

I’m woolgathering about school when a sleek, black Beemer rolls into the lot. It’s not the kind you drive off the sales floor—it’s the kind you order and have shipped from overseas, with all the custom bells and whistles. The kind of Beemer that costs more than a house.

I know this because my cousin’s fiancé is obsessed with sports cars and he drags her to the annual auto show. She drags me along, so I can be miserable, too, and it always takes the entire weekend because God forbid the man is satisfied walking through once.

My eyes track the shiny sports car as it slowly creeps through the parking lot, windows tinted a reflective gunmetal gray. The whole visual is creepy and intimidating at the same time.

This is a guy who can afford forking over twenty-five grand—unless he’s one of those men who are all flash and no cash. All show and no dough…

Okay, so I don’t feel so guilty now. It’s not my problem how he chooses to spend his money.

I can’t even see through the windshield, but I know the second he spots me. Stops his car directly in front of mine, blocking me in—although logically, I know that’s not at all what he’s doing. Not technically, though I couldn’t pull my car out if I wanted to.

My heartbeat accelerates and I text Claire, my best friend: If you don’t hear from me in 5 minutes, call the police.

Claire: Are you there meeting the guy for the baseball card?

Me: Yes.

Claire: Okay—where are you so I know where to send the police?

Me: The police station.

Claire: I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not.

Me: [sends a photograph of the guy’s car and the police station behind it]

Claire: Yeah, so if he tries to murder you, try screaming really loud.

Me: Ha ha, I’m glad you think this is funny. Oh shit—he’s getting out of his car!

The glossy black door opens slowly and one foot steps onto the pavement. Expensive sneaker, black track pants. One hand grasping the top of the door and within seconds, a head of black hair emerges from behind the smoke screen first.

Tan skin. Full lips.

What the actual…

Holy. Shit.

Who is this guy? He looks like a male model, big, buff, and so damn hot.

My phone pings again, Claire wanting a status update.

Claire: Are you still alive? Text me when you get this.

Me: Yeah yeah, hold on, I’m getting out of my car.

I slide my sunglasses on—not because it’s bright outside, but so I can continue gawking at this male specimen from behind their protective lenses. Where I come from (approximately 40 miles north of here), they don’t make men like this. I’m from a small town that produces construction workers, IT guys, and dudes who work for their families—not stud muffins who drive $100,000 sports cars and look as if they just stepped off the cover of GQ or Fitness Magazine. I wouldn’t know what to do with a man like this, but I sure don’t mind looking at him.

Since I can’t sit here forever, I pull back on the door handle. Lean across the center console and riffle through my purse for the baseball card, which has inconveniently slipped to the bottom.

Shit, where is it?

My fingers fumble, tips finally making contact with that smooth box. Grasp it and slip it into the pocket of my jeans as one of my feet hits the ground. Then the other, until I’m standing next to my truck, blushing.

Thank God he can’t see my eyes.

He’s tall—at least a foot above my five three—and wide, like a Mack truck. Not a bodybuilder, but someone who spends the majority of his time working out. Longer hair. Dark brown eyes. Chiseled jaw and cheekbones, covered in dark stubble.

No, Miranda. No.

Don’t you dare flirt. Do not you dare flirt.

The Goliath clears his throat.

“You Miranda?” The voice matches the stature, deep and masculine and daunting. If I heard it in a dark alley, I’d piss myself.

“Yeah—and y-you’re…” HOT. So hot. The kind of hot that makes angels fall from grace.

“Here for the card,” he