Page 76 of Wicked Pickle

“It’s kind of windy.”

She laughs. “Big tough Diesel afraid of some wind?”

I glance down at her skirt. “Nobody’s looking at that ass but me.”

“Oh, right.”

I open her passenger door. “Get in. I’ll drive you.”

“Um, all right.” She slides in.

I bend over the opening, blocking anyone else’s view. “Can I get a little show before I close this door?

Her cute throat bobs for a second. “What makes you think you deserve a peek?”

“Because you enjoy torturing me.”

“Actually, I do.” She lifts the base of her skirt, parting her thighs an inch so I get a nice view of the thatch of hair above that beautiful pink. She must sense a movement on the sidewalk because she quickly tosses her skirt back down. “Good enough for you?”

“Not even close. But I’ll make it until I can get my face in there.”

I notice the flush across her cheeks before I close the door.

We’re gonna figure this thing out.

CHAPTER 25

SYMPHONY

Both Jenna and Marietta sit on my bed as I go through my closet for the second time.

“I like the blue dress,” Jenna says.

“Diesel likes me in red,” I say, feeling frantic. I have an actual dinner date with Diesel in less than an hour, and I can’t decide what to wear. I confessed everything to Marietta and Jenna. I need besties right now.

“It doesn’t matter what she wears,” Marietta says. “He’s going to yank it off her so fast. I’d be surprised if they leave the apartment.”

“I would take that bet,” Jenna says.

I move hangers rapidly. “We’re trying to go on a proper date! Like real people!”

There’s an eruption of giggles. I whip around. “I mean it!”

“Hmm, let’s count the ways you have seen him so far,” Marietta says, sitting up on her knees. “One, he cuts you out of spandex. Two, he gets you naked at your best friend’s wedding. Three, we’re snuck out of a bar so he can rail you in his house. Four?—”

“We get it,” I snap, turning to the closet. “Maybe you’re right. I’ll just open the door naked.”

Jenna leaps off the bed. “Do it! None of the other housemate people are here this summer. That would be so fun!”

I wasn’t serious. And it’s true I have this entire space to myself for a couple of months. My scholarship only got me enough money to split a four-plex with a joint living and kitchen, but for now, it’s all mine.

Marietta approaches my closet. “Girl, we’re living vicariously through you.”

I sit on my desk chair. “Why is this so hard? He won’t care one way or another.”

Marietta comes behind me to arrange my hair on my shoulders. We painstakingly added beachy waves for almost an hour. “It’s hard because you want him to fall in love with you.”

“I do not!”

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