Page 2 of Car Wash
As I look around, I can already see the spell he’s casting. I can already see everyone around me losing their damn minds.
The sorority sisters are practically falling all over themselves for a chance to wash this man’s car.
This is the guy who used to come over for Sunday dinner. The guy who would talk to my dad about efficiency-this and battery-storage-that, all of the techy stuff they studied in college together.
John was already knee-deep in clean energy way before the rest of the world cared about paper versus plastic straws. He worked on early tech that helped pave the way for energy-efficient vehicles. I didn’t understand half of what they were talking about—biofuels, patents, something about grid integration—but I didn’t care.
Eventually, John moved to California, because that’s where all the real tech stuff happens. It’s like being a fisherman in New England or a card counter in Vegas. You go where the action is.
But now…now he’s here.
And holy hell.
Allison lets out an airy breath and shoves a soapy bucket of water into my hands before slinking toward him with her hips swinging.
I suck in a sharp breath when he glances over at me. My mouth goes dry. His eyes scan me up and down, touching me everywhere with just a gentle look. But it isn’t gentle for long.
There’s a moment, a split-second, where his eyes seem to take on a hint of darkness. It’s this strange, intense, possessive look that makes my skin skitter and sends a thrill up my spine. I shiver under his gaze, my stomach flipping over and over.
He is the hottest man I’ve ever seen. I didn’t see it before — but now I do.
I’m snapped back to reality when Cassie stops and turns around, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind her.
“What’s the matter?” she says, waving a hand in front of me. “Earth to Sarah. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Not a ghost,” I say. “More of a blast from the past.”
“Hold on.” She stops dead in her tracks and grabs my arm. “You know this guy? How do you know him? Shut up. Tell me everything.”
I swallow thickly as Cassie and I get left in the dust of the other girls. She has a look on her face that says hurry the fuck up.
“That right there is my dad’s best friend.”
She gasps, looks over her shoulder, and then turns back to me.
“No.”
“Yeah.” I swallow thickly. “That’s him.”
“Come on,” she says with a mischievous glint in her eyes, grabbing my hand. “I have a feeling we are about to make a ton of money.”
“What do you mean?” I say as my heart flips.
“Did you happen to miss the collective fever dream going on around you? This guy is hot. We’re hot. And I have no doubt that we can get this guy to empty his wallet for us.”
“I don’t know…” I say, wondering if he’s looking at me.
She winks.
“Come with me and we’ll find out.”
She tugs me along with her, the blinding heat of my dad’s best friend bearing down on me, hot and heavy.
Now I really wish we’d voted to make this thing a bake sale instead of a car wash.
Chapter Two
John
