Page 2 of Wrong Car, Wright Guy
“What are you doing?” Theo calls out, a tone of warning in his voice that reminds me of our father.
“Getting a little justice.” I reach into my bag and pull out my keys.
“Ruby, I don’t think whatever you’re thinking of doing is a good idea,” Darren adds.
Coming to a stop at the hood of the car, I grin. “It’s aperfectidea.”
After that, their protests are drowned out by the sound of my key squeaking against the metal, it grates in my ears satisfyingly, and when I’m done, the words, ‘You are a’ glint brightly in the streetlights, positioned over the drawing of a giant cock and balls, now permanently etched into the pristine paint job of the Porsche.
“You are a dick?” A male voice sounds to my left.
“Agiantdick,” I correct, my inebriation making me as cocky as my drawing. “Do you think I need to put the word ‘giant’ there to get my message across?”
“That depends. Who are you?”
“Wait. Are you a cop?” Suddenly concerned, my heart thuds in my ears as I tuck my keys out of sight. Taking in his messy blond hair and rumpled suit, he doesn’tlooklike a cop. But appearances can be deceiving. Just ask, Tahlia. She dates good-looking buttmunches all the time.
“Not a cop,” Rumpled-hot-guy says as he presses his perfect lips together in a straight line. Seriously, what is it with these guys and their long lashes and full lips? I actually look like a Cabbage Patch doll if I don’t wear lipstick and mascara, and here he is looking like he rolled out of bed being beautiful just the way he is.
“Homeless then? Fresh from a divorce and sleeping under your desk at work? Only own one outfit so that’s what you wear when awake or asleep?”
“What?”
“Your suit,” I say, indicating its crushed state with my index finger. “It’s rumpled.” My eyes bug out. “Wait! I know. You picked up tonight and you’re doing the hump and dash. Well, at least one of us is getting laid. Good for you, man. Good for you. But don’t let me stand in your way. Keep going before the girl—or guy, I don’t judge—finds you and wants something more. Commitment is hard, am I right?”
He frowns and shakes his head. “Do I know you?”
“I don’t think so. But youcouldknow me. If you’re into curvy gals, of course.” I attempt to pop a hip and stand there looking sexy like I’ve seen other girls—and Darren—do. But I’m not sure it translates because his scowl deepens.OK. Not a fan of curves then.
“Why did you write this?” He gestures to the Porsche.
“Well,” I start, spinning my keys around my finger because I’m quite proud of the detail I achieved in the ball section of my artwork. “There’s an interesting story there, and it involves the fuckwad who owns this car. He’s a cunt monkey—for want of a better term—and he deserves to be called out for it.”
“A cunt monkey?” Reaching up, he runs his fingers through his sexy, sexy hair. I’d like to run my fingers through it too. “Because?”
I sigh. “Because he dumped my friend the night before her birthday.”
The knowledge causes him to pull his head back in surprise. “I broke up with Jessica because she had a hard time keeping other men’s penises out of her. As far as I’m aware, it wasn’t anywhere near her birthday. Her birthday’s in June.”
Blame it on the alcohol, but I’m confused. “What?”
“I broke up with Jessica because—”
“I heard you.” I hold up my hand to stop him. “Who the hell is Jessica? What are you even talking about?” All I’m getting from this conversation is that he was dating some woman called Jessica who doesn’t sound very nice. I can’t understand who, in their right mind, could step out on a delicious-looking man like the specimen in front of me. I mean, look at that beautiful body. Look at the chiseled jaw, look at those sapphire eyes and how they glare at me. Wait.Oh god. He’s glaring at me.
“Oh dear.” I take a step back and surreptitiously drop my keys back inside my bag. “This…this isn’thiscar, is it?” I ask, gulping at the slow shake of his head. “This…this isyourcar.”
He nods even slower, his arms folded across his broad chest as the penny drops with me. My stomach sours as I realize what a monumental fuck up I’ve just achieved. This was an all-time high—bigger than that time in high school when I put a love letter in the wrong person’s locker. Turned out it belonged to the head cheerleader andnotthe adorable nerdy boy from chess club. By lunchtime, it was photocopied and stuck on every available surface. I was mortified and refused to show my face for days. I was still finding copies of that letter stuffed in my locker even months later. High school sucked. But this…this is worse.
“I…I…I’ll pay to fix it.” Reaching in my bag, I dig out my business card with shaking hands, suddenly feeling very sober. “I mean, I can’tpay—not for a Porsche. You know, student loans are a killer and…um…I don’t really get paid that much. My job is pretty dead-end so I don’t see a promotion in my future. But, um, we can work something out. A payment plan…or…or something? I can quit eating…” My voice trails off as I hand him the slightly bent card.
While he inspects it, I glance over my shoulder to where Theo is still waiting with Tahlia and Darren. I can’t see their expressions, but I know Darren is laughing since his hand is covering his mouth. I twist my mouth downward.Why didn’t you all stop me from doing something stupid?But the moment the thought enters my mind, I know I wouldn’t have listened to them, anyway. No. I had nobody to blame here but my spontaneous-blow-the-consequences self.
“You work at WHGC?” He flips the card between his fingers so the printed side is facing me.
“I’m a lowly board operator. It’s the talent who gets all the cash, and with Spotify and Apple Music taking over, there’s not as much of that anymore. You wouldn’t believe the amount of damage those streaming apps have caused. I mean, they thought Pandora was a problem at first, but that was nothing compared to…” I trail off, wishing I’d shut up with every word that spews from my mouth. “I’m sorry, OK? I messed up here, but I’ll fix it. I promise you.”
He makes a sound that either means he agrees or that he thinks I’m full of crap. I’m not sure which, but both would be a fair response in this situation. “I’ll be in touch, Miss Casey.” He tucks my card into his pocket and makes for the driver’s door.
