Page 25 of Switchin' Lanes
12
Tink
As I pullmy car into the driveway, a sense of dread washes over me. I do everything I can to ignore it. Diesel pulls his bike in right behind me, then meets me at my car door.
“Lo’s car isn’t here so she must be working,” I tell him as I climb out of my car.
“That means I get you all to myself.” He wraps me in a hug, making me giggle as he kisses my neck. His lips against my skin send a hum through my body. He kisses me again while I unlock the front door and I playfully swat at him.
“You can put your backpack in my room if you’d like,” I say once we’re inside. “It’s the third door on the right.”
He walks down the hall toward my room. While I wait for him to come back, I glance around to see if Lolita got the mail. I find a piece of paper with my name on it in her handwriting.
Tink,
I’m sorry I’m telling you this in a letter, but I’m leaving. I can’t stay in Texas anymore. There’s nothing here for me and I haven’t been happy in a long time. Please don’t worry about me. I’ll call you soon.
Lolita
Tears stream down my face. She never once told me she wasn’t happy here anymore. Now that I think about it, she has been working more hours lately. She must have been trying to save up money to leave. I turn around to face Diesel as he walks back into the living room.
“She’s gone. Lolita left.” The tears turn into sobs and Diesel wraps his arms around me. He holds me, letting me cry. After I calm down, he uses his shirt to dry the tears.
“What do you say we do somethin’ to get your mind off this,” he asks.
“What do you have in mind?”
He cocks an eyebrow at me. “Do you like to bake?”
“Yes, but I’m not very good at it.” I laugh.
“Lucky for you, I am,” he says. “Let’s go see what you have.”
I sit at the kitchen table while he rummages through the pantry.
“How do you feel about brownies?” He pulls out a can of cocoa powder.
“I love ‘em. Do we have everything for them?”
“It seems so.” He grabs a few more things out of the pantry before moving to the fridge for butter and eggs. “Do you have a pan we can bake them in?”
“In the drawer under the stove.”
He pulls it out and preheats the oven. “Come over here and let me teach you how to make these.”
I grin and move to his side. “What do I need to do first?”
“Measure out one and a quarter cup of sugar. I’ll measure out the butter.”
We get the sugar and butter measured and move on to the flour and cocoa powder.
Smirking, I flick some flour at Diesel. “Oops.”
He turns toward me with a mischievous grin. “You don’t know what you just started, Pixie.”
Twenty minutes later, the batter is ready and we’re both covered in flour and cocoa powder. He pours the batter into the pan, slides it in the oven, and turns the timer on for thirty minutes.
“Let’s get cleaned up and we can watch a movie or something,” I suggest.
