mind not into what he's doing. How crazy is it that Jess and I didn't flirt or talk much beyond football back in the day? I chalk it up to Aubrey's possessiveness, especially senior year. I scrub a hand over my face. Talk about batshit crazy.
"After the tornado, when we merged with the students from Hillsdale, she became close with some of the new students. Football players and their girlfriends. She went off to A&M with them, and I went off to Oregon. That's it."
"Then Finn set his eyes on her."
I shake my head, laughing. "Shit, yeah. I couldn't let him dick her around."
"You plan on dicking her around?"
My muscles tighten at the idea. Jess wasn't on my to-do list this summer, but after last night… "I honestly don't know what I plan on doing, man."
The buzz of the lift lowering the RX-7 back to the floor pulls my attention from peeling the label from my water bottle. Owen's staring, humor flashing across his face.
"What?"
"You're in it now. Call her, man."
I fumble for the appropriate denial, but he beats me to it. "Do you know the last time you willingly talked to me about a girl?" I swallow hard. "Here's a hint; it was before you knew what to do with your dick. Granted, I'm assuming you figured out how to use it by now." He shrugs.
"Fuck you, asshole."
"Dude, you went speechless the night you saw her, you rescued her from assholes, stood outside Bleachers like a damn sentry, brought her here, and called us to clean her house up." Owen swipes his hands on the front of his jeans. "You like her. Don't dick her around like you would any other girl. Do what your sister suggested. Call her, take her out."
The part of me that's pissed at the trajectory of my life since April calls for shrugging Owen off and staying angry, but there's another part. A part which knows better. The guy who hasn't sulked this much in his life. The guy whose parents once told him to live a life dedicated to those who died in the tornado when he didn't. Kickass things are right around the corner for this shop, for our business. Chase was right, I've spent too long pissed off. I deserve fun.
I stare long and hard. "You realize this sticking your nose into my life about women goes both ways, right?"
"Ha." He pulls his cell from his pocket. "We'll see."
The thing about growing up with a guy is I can call his bullshit as well as he can read mine. "Yeah, we will see," I say beneath my breath, pushing up from my chair with a groan.
While Owen calls and informs Casey we've finished with the job, I straighten up. "Are you sure you don't want me to hang?" I ask when he ends his call.
"Get out of here. I'll see you Monday morning." We knock fists, and I pluck my keys from the workbench, already debating my next move. Shower first, then…
"Oh, and Coop?" Owen shouts, and I turn. "I'll help you kick his ass."
Cocking my head, my brows furrow.
"Any guy who bullshits Chase," he says. "He won't know what hit him."
My head bobs at the truth of that. "You're a good man, Owen Henry," I shout, pointing his way. "A good fucking man."
After throwing on a pair of dark jeans and a white shirt, I grab my cellphone and dial before I talk myself out of it.
"Hey, Ally, it's Carter." I lock the phone between my shoulder and cheek and tie my boots. "Is she working tonight?"
"Hey, actually, she worked the lunch shift today. She's off at four."
Shit. The clock reads three-thirty. "Will she get out of there early?"
Ally sighs. "I can't keep giving you this information, Carter. Let me"—she hums and pauses—"yeah, no, she'll be here till four, maybe a little longer. Her section isn't clear."
"Thanks, Al, you're the best."
Her soft laugh is short. "I used to be, but I believe I've lost that title."
What do I say to that?
"See you in a bit, Carter."
The line dies.
Releasing a heavy exhale, I grab my wallet and keys off the kitchen counter and head out. Guilt sharpens her edges on my heart. If I'm going to keep tabs on Jess's work schedule, I should come up with another way. Ally and I are cool, but calling my former go-to screw and asking about my current fling, isn't fair. It's not that Ally didn't ask for more. It's that I didn't want