Page 128 of The Bet
“Yeah. Can I use your phone? My cell phone battery died.”
“Sure,” she said, letting him in. “We don’t have a landline, but you can use my cell phone.” She rushed to her bedroom and returned with her phone. “Here.”
He turned his back to her, and walked around, closing his eyes, pressing down on his eyebrows, and called the police, then explained what had happened.
“Sorry to disturb you,” he said, when he had finished.
“You didn’t. I hadn’t gone to bed yet.” She reached for his hand. “What did the police say?”
“They’re sending someone over to take a report.”
“I told you not to bring your flashy car around in these parts,” she said, her voice gentle. “I hate that this happened to you.”
“It’s never happened before.” But he should have heeded her advice.
“Maybe you could get a battered up runaround?”
Tobias had said the same thing, or hinted at it. His brother didn’t have any flashy cars, and the guy could afford anything he wanted.
“Mind if I wait?” he asked. “I don’t know how long they’re going to be. You can go to sleep if you want. I’ll keep a look out for them.”
All that time he’d been in her bedroom making out with her, and someone had been trashing his car. He didn’t regret it though.
Not one iota.
She yawned. “I’ll wait up with you.”
“You’re looking pretty sleepy. Go to bed, Izzy.”
“How can I sleep when you’re here?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets again. The car he would deal with.
“I’m sorry this happened to your car,” she said, taking a step towards him, and touching his arm, at the elbow.
“The car doesn’t matter as much.” He shrugged. “I mean, it matters, and it’s going to bump up my already jacked up insurance premium, but … it’s still a car at the end of the day.”
He swallowed. He liked her standing close like that, the defiance gone from those dark eyes. She was soft, with her defenses down, and she was so tempting. He shoved his hands further into his jean pockets. She tilted her chin up at him and he wondered what intent lay behind that curious expression.
“It’s just a car,” he said.
“Jacob would disagree,” she said, putting her arms around him. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her, letting her sink into him. This was nice.This. He inhaled and drank in the essence of her hair, and breathed, standing still their bodies closely entwined together.
It wasn’t a lustful hug, or a tight hug, or a hug that meant anything in particular, other than ‘I’m sorry and are you alright?’ She held onto him tightly, and they stood like that, before he thought he heard the sound of a car driving up.
“That might be them,” he said, loosening his arms, and walking towards the windows. He peered out. “It’s is.” He turned to her. “I’d better go and tell them what happened.”
“Want me to wait up for you?”
“There’s no need to.”
She saw him to the door anyway, and yawned again. “Go to bed, Izzy,” he told her.
“Okay, but let me know if you need anything.”
