Page 27 of Pedal to the Metal

“I’m just charming like that," I tell him returning his smirk.

He laughs, “Yeah, I don’t buy that one.”

“Okay so maybe I promised to take her somewhere that she could wear a big pair of sunglasses to hide it. Problem is I have no clue what to do now. It’s not like I’ve spent a lot of time in the last five years planning dates," I say sighing, feeling a little defeated. I’m not sure why I came to Ace with this issue. I would have been better to have went to Axell or even Bowie.

Ace clears his throat, “Why don’t you get takeout and then make a picnic out of it?”

I’m sure I’m staring at my brother like he has another head because that was actually a good idea and Ace doesn’t get a lot of those. “That’s kind of perfect.”

He acts like he’s brushing dust from his shoulders. “I know. I am kind of a genius. So back to this Ryce issue.”

“I’m going to hand his ass to him at the races then I’m going to make his face match Londynn’s," I tell him as I head for the door of his shop.

“Jagger.”

“Yeah?” I turn back around to look at him. A look of complete confidence takes over his face.

“I’ve got your back.”

I nod my head at him because I figured if anyone did, it’d be him. He seemed to like Londynn. “See you later” I tell him as I head back for my car.

****

When I pull back up to the house it looks empty. It makes me wonder if Londynn left however, as soon as I open the door, I see her sitting on the couch watching TV. “Hey pretty girl, you ready?”

She stands up and stretches. It gives me a minute to appreciate the view. Her honey-colored hair hangs in long waves. Kynlee must have helped her with her makeup because you can’t see most of the bruising. An oversized pair of sunglasses sit on top of her head. She’s wearing a long white sheer skirt and olive-green sleeveless top. When she walks towards me, I notice the slit that runs up the skirt, almost exposing her whole leg. I have to remind myself to breathe. I turn and open the door before leading her to my car.

“So where are we going?” she asks while we’re driving.

I glance over at her and watch as the wind from the open window makes her hair dance around. “It’s a surprise.” I pull up to a small Mexican restaurant. I run in and grab our order then head back to lookout point. When I pull up and park, I hear Londynn giggle. I look over at her and ask, “What?”

“I wasn’t sure how you were going to keep the promise that I could keep my sunglasses on, but you did it," she says shaking her head and getting out of the car.

I get out, grabbing the food and blankets I brought. Once I’ve laid the blankets out, I go back and grab the cooler full of drinks from my trunk. “Well, I can’t take all the credit, but I hope this is okay with you.”

She looks up from her spot on the blanket, a small smile lights up her face. , “It’s perfect. So, what’d you get us to eat?”

“Burritos and nachos.”

“Nachos?” she asks like she’s curious. Surely, she’s had nachos before.

I study her for a minute before asking, “Have you had nachos before?” She looks away and if I hadn’t been watching her, I would have missed the small shake of her head. “Seriously?”

She shrugs her shoulders and turns back to look at me. “Wasn’t part of the diet.”

“Well, you don’t’ need a diet in my opinion," I tell her honestly.

She lets out a small laugh, “I don’t need a diet at all anymore since I’m not dancing.”

“What do you mean?” I ask her.

“It’s part of the stuff you missed while you were gone…” she trails off and the comment hangs in the air. I get out the food and we start eating. I wait to see if she’ll say more but after a while it becomes obvious, she’s not going to. I don’t mind just sitting here in silence and enjoying the view of her sitting here with me. I love seeing the small smile that brightens her face when she takes a bite of food. The whole time in Vegas I had missed this. I had missed Londynn.

Once we finish eating, I finally ask her. “What did I miss while I was gone?”

Chapter 17

Londynn

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