Second Down (Moving the Chains Book 2) (12 page)

Sighing, he wraps his arms around me, essentially covering my body with his much larger one. It’s the first time he’s voluntarily hugged me since my attack. His breath puffs out warm in my hair when he speaks. “That’s okay. That can actually be a symptom of concussion. And you sure had a nasty one. You want me to take you home now? You probably didn’t get enough sleep last night.”

Does he want me or not? I wish he’d just be consistent.

After several more breaths of his calming scent, I step out of his embrace. “No way. We still have so much to do today. That scavenger hunt won’t win itself.”

He’s not really buying what I’m selling, but he sighs his resignation anyway. “All right. Let me find a random stranger to hug first. Get your phone ready.”

It turns out, I don’t need my phone at the ready. Every stranger that I point out who’s already eyeing Rob with clear admiration doesn’t meet his standards. If I posted a sign around his neck that read, “free hugs,” we’d have more than enough material. After an hour of stalling, he finally settles on a lonely-looking older woman.

“Thank you,” she chokes out as she returns his embrace. “How did you know I needed that?”

Rob glances at me for backup.

“Who wouldn’t want a hug from this handsome guy?” I offer, unsure what else to say.

“You looked sad.” Rob shrugs.

She pats his cheek with her weathered hand. “You’re very perceptive for such a young thing. My husband died last week. This was our favorite place to visit. We came here for over forty years together.”

“I’m very sorry for your loss. May his memory be eternal.” The Greek Orthodox offering of peace for death slips past my tongue without thought.

“Thank you. He lived a long and happy life. I’d like to think he wouldn’t want me to stop living without him.” She turns back to Rob. “But why do you look so sad, young man? I recognize the same sadness I feel in your eyes. Did you lose someone too?”

“Yeah,” he whispers, casting his gaze to his shoes. “Something like that.”

She pats his arm. “Well, take it from an old lady who knows. Grief has its place, but life is for the living, and it must go on. You’re here with a beautiful girl. Might as well enjoy yourself for as long as God grants you the ability.”

With a sly wink aimed at me, she hobbles down the hall.

Rob watches her go, his brow furrowed in seeming thought until he finally faces me. “Would you like to go out to dinner with me?”

Shocked, the breath ripped from my lungs, all I can do is nod.

***

We head out of the city under the falling cover of night.

Dinner was mostly silent, but occasionally Rob would smile at my attempts at conversation. Totally worth the awkwardness.

I thought maybe the old lady at the museum sparked some sort of resolution for him. I’m not gone; I’m still here. But, I honestly have no idea where his head’s at.

I pay close attention to his every movement, trying to get a start on my manual transmission education. I’ve given up trying to get back our old banter for the evening in favor of distracting myself. Focusing on the task at hand has always been a tried and true coping mechanism.

“Evie, what are you doing?” Although his voice is low and soft, there’s almost a hint of amusement in it. Then again, I’m probably imagining that.

“Watching how you drive this thing.”

“Yeah. I can see that. Why?”

“Because I have to learn how to drive this beast for the scavenger hunt, obviously. My car is an automatic.”

“If you keep referring to her that way, I’m never going to let you behind the wheel.”

“It wasn’t meant in a derogatory way. This car is a beast; it’s a simple fact.”

No more words are exchanged. The next red light that we catch, he grabs my hand and places it on the gear shift, covering my own with his much larger one. Casting a quizzical glance in his direction, I receive a small smirk. He nods his head back to our joined hands, prompting me to return my attention to where it should be.

“First, second, third, neutral, fourth, overdrive, reverse.” He moves the shifter around to its various positions as he names them. When the light changes, he shifts the car through its gears.

A bolt of electricity streaks up my arm.

“Oh, wow.” I don’t realize I’ve said it aloud until he casts a dimpled grin in my direction.

“Yeah. Just wait until you’re actually behind the wheel.” The burst of laughter that springs from his throat is short but genuine. “The first time I really drove her? All by myself without stalling? I was only sixteen and still had my learner’s permit.” He shakes his head. “I was so turned on, I know Pops had to have seen the raging boner I was sporting, but he never said a word. He totally got it.”

And yeah, I can absolutely see that. If just having my hand on the stick while Rob actually does the shifting makes me feel this kind of power, I can’t wait to be in charge of this baby. Just the thought of it sends excited shivers down my whole body, tensing my muscles with anticipation.

“Oh, God. I am so sorry. You did not need to hear that.” Rob snatches his hand away from mine, placing it on the steering wheel, his knuckles whitening with the tightness of his grip. His face has taken on a nauseated expression.

As much as I appreciate him being sensitive to a topic he believes might be off limits, the rationally functioning side of my brain is in a panic that he’s no longer in full control of this vehicle rolling down the road at 60mph. “Rob. I can’t shift this thing on my own.”

Snapping his gaze over to me, he barks out a short laugh. “We’re on the highway. You don’t need to shift gears now.”

“Oh.” Pulling my hand back into my own lap, the blush that spreads over my cheeks feels hot and obvious.

“It’s okay. I’ll teach you everything you need to know.” He’s still trying to stifle his laughter.

The old need to even the playing field resurfaces. I turn to him, mapping out my plan of attack. “So, how did Pops teach you to drive...
her
?”

“Yeah,
her
. I bet that irritates the shit out of you, doesn’t it?” His patented smirk signals that he’s ready to do battle, so game on.

“Well, I mean, it obviously smacks of the sexualization of muscle cars as an extension of the misogynistic male need for domination.”

“Really? Because I totally thought you were gonna go with how fast sports cars are just an obvious symptom of having a Napoleon Complex.” The effort he puts into maintaining a straight face is admirable, but a spectacular failure nonetheless.

“Well, obviously not in
your
case, Falls.”

His mouth drops open, and he sputters a little. “You did not just go there with me.”

“Oh, I did, and I owned it. So, I guess the only question I have left for you is this: Does the symbol of your masculinity have an appropriately feminine name, and does it pair well with the undoubtedly macho moniker bestowed on your reputedly well-endowed manhood? Because if it’s something disgustingly adorable like Beauty and Beast? Well, not only will I lose all respect for you, but I may actually vomit all over
her
interior.”

When he takes a dramatic deep breath, I brace for the expected denial, biting my lip to stifle my laughter.

“Alright, now that I’ve had a moment to recover from the shock of that deep, deep betrayal, Evie… Here goes. Pops did not teach me how to drive her; he taught me how to make love to her. And it has nothing to do with domination. I believe you’re familiar with the term mutually beneficial relationship? Well, because I treat The Lady right, she purrs for me.”  

Unable to hold it in any longer, laughter bubbles out of my throat.

“And for your information, Miss Papageorgiou, another lesson I learned from Pops is that a man’s penis is the least of his manhood, and mine doesn’t have a name.” He hisses out the last part.

I completely lose it, howling until tears are rolling down my cheeks, and I’m clutching my aching side.

“Oh my God. You set me up with your questions. You knew where to hit me, and you went in for the kill.”  

I thought I couldn’t laugh any harder, but his shocked tone of voice proves me wrong. I gasp for air. “Oh, it was so worth it for the look on your face.”

And the return to normalcy. I’ve been obsessing so much over the fact that we were something more that I nearly forgot how good we were as friends. And how much fun screwing with him is.

“You suck, Papageorgiou.”  

“So you’re gonna teach me how to make love to your girl? Isn’t that like an open marriage kind of thing? I feel like she’ll be cheating on you with me or something.”

“I’m not teaching you how to drive shit after that. You can walk home.”

Being as we’re still a good twenty minutes from my house, and he sounds dead serious, I snap my wide eyes up to plead my case, only to find him unabashedly grinning as he keeps his focus on the road.

“All right, all joking aside. You wanna find an empty parking lot or hit the back roads? I don’t want to go anywhere that you’re uncomfortable.”

“Rob, I go driving around the back roads all the time. That’s where Papou taught me how to drive, and where I go for a few hours when I need to think or clear my head. It’s not the roads themselves that are scary.”

He sneaks a glance at me, but in the quick second that his eyes are trained on mine, it’s obvious how serious he is about what he says next. “I just want you to know that you’re in full control here. Everything we do is your choice, okay?”

Yeah, sure. Everything except being a couple.

***

Hot tears prick the backs of my eyes, my cheeks feel flushed, and my chest constricts in frustration as the car makes some kind of horrid grinding noise right before it stalls out...again. For what feels like the millionth time. Control, my ass. I’m never gonna learn how to drive this car.

“Jesus, Evie! I told you to make love to her, not fuck her! And definitely not fuck her over!”

Rob had abandoned his metaphors of sexual innuendo the moment I got behind the wheel of his beloved Mustang. Instead, I received completely detailed explanations of such things as clutches, tachometers, gears, and other bullshit that is now swirling uselessly in my head. He might be the best tutor in the world at any number of things, but when it comes to driving a standard, knowing and doing are two very different things.

Once again, I’m left feeling completely stupid in his presence. Not to mention, I may actually be damaging his car if his slip up into sexual territory is anything to go by.

“I can’t help it if she hates me! Your Lady is a stupid bitch, and she obviously doesn’t want anyone else touching her! She’s a one-man kind of car, Rob; I don’t know what else to do here!”

Yelling at him doesn’t make me feel even the slightest bit better as angry tears rush down my face. I take aim at the steering wheel, delivering a wild smack against the center of the finicky car. The horn blares into the darkness as if she’s screaming back at me.

“Don’t hit her!” He runs his hands through his hair like he wants to pull it out.

His directive only serves to make me do it again as I fix him with a defiant glare.

Rob throws open the passenger door of the car, quickly climbing out into the chilly, silent night.

When he pulls open the driver’s side door, his demeanor is completely calm. “Okay, we’re gonna try something else. Climb out.”

He holds out a large hand to help me. I grasp it with a raised eyebrow, honestly expecting him to dump me out here in the middle of nowhere as penance. The first time I was abandoned on the side of a deserted road was my choice; this time won’t be.

No sooner am I out of the car than he climbs back into the driver’s seat, muttering about my height and adjusting the seat for his much longer legs. When I go to close the door that he’s left open, he braces it against his hand. “What are you doing?”

“Walking home?” Folding my arms tightly around my torso does nothing to stop the chill that seeps into my bones.

“Are you insane? I’d
never
leave you out here.” The look of hurt on his face drains some of the fight out of me.

He reaches for me as I step away, his fingers barely brushing my arm. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, his voice is low and soft. “Evie, do you trust me?”

“Yeah…” With anything but the truth.

“Then climb in.” He pats his lap.

All I can do is stare back at him in confusion. He doesn’t want me to be his girlfriend anymore, but he wants me to sit on his lap?

“This was actually Papou’s idea, but I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. So, I kept it in my back pocket as a last resort kind of thing. I really thought you’d pick it up faster than this.”

“Insults will get you nowhere, Falls. If this is your idea of making a move on me, it’s really falling flat.” The longer I stand in the open wind, the more I shake.

His fake laughter carries on the breeze and floats away, only to be replaced with a soft whisper that is nearly lost with the rustling of dead leaves in the woods around me. “I am not trying to make a move on you, Evie. Nothing like that will happen. I swear it.”