Hotbox (22 page)

She moved to the other side of the bed. “
I’m
sorry.
I guess I got
carried away. I’m not trying to—
I just…
” She sighed.
“
What if I just stayed over here?”

I laughed, reaching over to pull myself closer. “You’re still an arm’s length away.
”
I kissed her a little more until I decided it really was best to take her home.

“Can you take me to Cali’s, then? I don’t like being home when my dad’s gone.”

That made me feel really bad, but I nodded and said, “Yeah, of course.”

I led her down the hall, hoping that Aaron and Jesse had gone to bed. But they were both in the front room, watching TV. One look at Jayden caused them to look at
one
an
other.

“Oh, so
that’s
why you went to bed early,” Aaron said.
“Hope you kiddies were safe.”
I gave him
a look but didn’t respond, and to Jesse he added,
“O
r maybe
Miss High Maintenance doesn’t put
out.
”

“Shut up, Aaron,” Jesse
told him, and Aaron only laughed
.

Chapter
Thirteen

After the long weekend, things seemed to slow down a bit. But without baseball all day—
and Jayden
—I found myself a little lost.
F
inals were nearly over, and graduation would be taking place the next
week
. I spent more hours in Lou’s shop and he was glad to have me back. I was also glad to be immersed in work more than just a few hours a week. My place really was working on machines
,
just like my
old man. When I was a teenager
it was the only time I could actually spend with my dad, especially since it was the only time he was e
ver sober.
But
I really did like it
, and as a kid it was more interesting for me to
fix or
build something than
do
anything else.
I was a grease monkey,
through
and
through
.

I didn’t really care what a degree in
business
could do for me. I guess it was a piece of paper that
could be useful someday
if I decided to open my own shop
.
Getting a degree was important to me, and
I know I did learn quite a bit in the last couple of years, but none of it rea
lly helped me with what I liked.
I just wanted to work on
cars
. Besides Lou’s, there were other businesses that I could easily get work from. For the past year Lou had already set me up with other jobs here and there as an extra hand, and working for larger companies was really good pay. One of those companies had offered me a permanent position
,
post-graduation, with very generous pay and full benefits. But it was
over
an hour away.
Four
weeks ago that wouldn’t have been a problem…

It was hard to have time off with Jayden busy elsewhere. T
uesday we didn’t have practice.
I saw her for a few minutes after
work
before
she headed to teach
, so I just hung out in the batting barn for a while with Jesse
. Except for a few phone calls and short visits, I hardly saw much of
Jayden
, and it was quite a difference from all the time I’d spent with her over the weekend.
It certainly made me miss her more, but it especially made me appreciate how much she had improved my life in just the past month.

Thursday night she invited me over for dinner, and although I was looking forward to seeing her, I dreaded seeing her father. Luck
ily he wasn’t there for some of it
, but my happy, relaxed mood changed when he came through the door at seven-thirty. He offered me a very neutral greeting—for sure just to appease his daughter—but he left us in the front room and watched TV in the den (with the door wide open). I was so thankful when Jayden suggested going for a walk.

I tried for something a little different on Friday night. I took her to a very nice restaurant that overlooked the river. I almost dropped dead when she answered the door in a pale green
,
knee-length dress
. Her hair was fully down and
lightly curled, and she was wea
ring
gold
strappy
heels. She had the most beautiful legs I had ever seen
, and even though I’d seen her wear shorts, there was something different about seeing her dressed…like
that
.

I gave her a kiss and said,
“You look…wow. Is it rude to say you look hot?”

She laughed and
replied
, “When it comes from you? N
o. So
thank you.
”

I didn’t see her father anywhere
, but I saw his car
out
in the driveway. I wondered why his eyes weren’
t nearby to threaten me with fire
.

“Uh, is your dad around?”

“He’s in the garage. He’s kind of his own little self-proclaimed mechanic.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s he working on?”

“Uh,
probably the bikes. We’re going riding in the morning. He just likes to tinker on ‘em.”

“The bikes? You mean motorcycles? You ride a motorcycle?” I was a little astounded.

She smile
d sheepishly and replied, “Yeah.
I’m kind of a tomboy if you have
n’t
figured it out yet.”

“Oh, no way, looking like that
,
you aren’t.”

“What can I say? Clothes are the key.” She paused and tilted her head.
“
Did you want to
talk to
my dad?”

“Oh, no, that’s okay.”

“Well, let’s go say goodbye to him
anyway
and
you
can see what he’s working on.”

“Uh, wait… Does he know what you’re wearing? Don’t you
want to, uh, cover up a little?
”
             
She laughed, slid her hands behind my neck, and kissed me. “You’re funny,” she told me.

I was being serious.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” she asked
, suddenly worried
.

I looked her over and smiled. “Nothing. You look amazing. I just thought… I don’t know. I don’t think I’d let my daughter go out looking so beautiful.”

“Awww, you’re sweet.
But if you have a daughter someday, you’d better just hope she dates someone as amazing as you. How beautiful she looks on a date might be the least of your worries,” she smiled.

S
he did drag me into the garage to say goodbye to her father. I was hoping it was better to face him before we left instead of slipping off quietly without his knowledge. I was trying to be considerate of his feelings as a protective
dad
, but apparently it didn’t
make a difference
. He barely glanced up from the stool he was sitting on
next to
a pair of
YZF 4
50’s.

I did make a comment on the bikes and he offered a casual response. We talked shop for a few minutes,
but
only to make Jayden happy (and we both knew that).

“Can you ride?” she asked me. “You seem to know your bikes.” She had an intriguing glimmer to her eyes.

I smiled. “Yeah, I can ride.”

“Off road?”

“Sure, but I haven’t been for a while.”

“We’ll have to go sometime,” she replied. She actually looked excited.

Finally she announced our departure and I exhaled a silent sigh of relief.

Her father offered a
forced
smile as he said,
“Have a good time, s
weetheart.”

I actually realized that Jayden was right about the clothes comment. We had never really done much in a more for
mal environment; s
he was very adamant about doing things that were casual because that’s what sh
e was used to. Sports bars,
ball games, barbecues…those were all very much her thing.

But seeing her in a different
scene
, somewhere quiet and a little more elegant, I could tell how classy she really was. I wasn’t refined in the least bit, and I
was
sure that I
didn’t
fit into this particular
setting
, but Jayden seemed to fit in it just fine. And the thing was, I knew she enjoyed it. I didn’t want to brag to myself, but I think doing something outside of our normal routine was a good choice.

I danced with her for the first time ever. The last time I danced with a girl was probably in high school. The dance floor was dark and private, and it felt like it was just the two of us instead o
f the five other couples nearby
.
She seemed very happy, which made
me
very happy.

Afterward we walked outside on the boardwalk along the river.
We sat on a bench and faced the water. We were talking about things in general, but all I could think a
bout was how much I loved her, a
nd I
was trying to muster the courage
to tell her. But there were other voices in my head—her father, Chris, Aaron—telling me that I was an idiot. She definitely wasn’t high maintenance, but a girl like
Jayden
really did deserve only the best,
and
I had been convinced that I was not it.

“Hey
,” she said, putting her hand against my face. “What are you thinking?”

I took a
slow
breath and answered, “Just…how amazing you are.”
I
gently
took her hand and kissed it.

“You’re thinking about how amazing I am and it caused your face to look so…troubled? I’m a little confused because when I think about
you
I’m happy.
When
I think about how amazing you are it makes me smile.”

Hearing that felt good, but for some reason, my heart began to panic.
I stood up and walked a few steps away
, trying to give myself some time
. She was watching me wh
en I turned around to face her, and s
he looked worried.

“Maybe that’s the problem,” I said softly. “Maybe you see me as something I’m just…not. Maybe
he’s right
; maybe you’re too good for me. Jayden, I can’t…
Maybe I
just
don’t deserve you.
”

She didn’t say anything as she studied me from a distance. Finally she got up and stood in front of me, taking both of my hands in hers.

“That’s a lot of ‘maybes,
’
”
she said quietly. “If you can look me in the eyes and tell me that you don’t want to be with me anymore
, I’ll walk away right now
.”

I closed my eyes and shook my head. “You know I can’t do that.”

“Do you like being with me?”

“Yes, more than anything.
”

“You care about me?”

“More than I’m able to tell you
.”

She was completely still as she stared
right into my eyes
. Did I
basically
just tell her that I loved her?

After a few seconds of silence she said,
“If I feel the same way about you,
then how is there a
problem?
Ty, if you tell me that Aaron is the cause of all
this, I’m gonna go find him
right now and beat that smug smile right off his face.”

Her face was serious but I had to
chuckle
. “As much as I would love to see that,
I think you should probably just steer clear of him.”

“Is that really what’s going on? Is he spouting off all kinds of bull and you actually believe him?
”

Yeah
, him, her father, Chris
…

“
I am
not
too good for you,” she continued softly.
“
I
can’t believe you even think that. Do you know how rare a guy like you
is
? I’m
telling you… You are one in a million, and
I can’t believe how blessed I am to have you
. I don’t expect you to be perfect, and I certainly don’t expect you to unload all of your ‘issues’ within the first
month
of knowing me. I mean you can if you
want
to,
but it’s not very practical.
I realize you have some sort of challenge
with your dad. But there’s nothing you could tell me about your father that’s going to make me think any less of
you
.
I believe that you probably didn’t come from the best home growing up. It doesn’t matter, Ty. What matters is who you are in here—” she patted my chest “—and I think that person is incredible.” Her penetrating eyes softened a little, and she smiled somewhat shyly. “
I’ve also heard that
you
might have…a history with girls.
I’ve been
warned
about that.”