Page 14 of Wild Child
I remain staring at him, enjoying watching the damage he’s doing to himself.
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to disrespect a woman?”
I stride around the front of the car, and the man in the driver’s seat stares at me through the windshield. His eyes are bloodshot and wide with fear.
“S-Sorry. We didn’t know she was with you, man.”
He fumbles with the ignition and drops his keys. They fall between the seat and the door and he reaches for them with one hand, not wanting to take his eyes off me.
“I’m not with him.” Charlie strides across the parking lot with a look of thunder on her face.
The guy lets out a terrified squeak when he sees Charlie stalking towards him. Pride surges in me at her confident stride.
“What the fuck is the matter with you? Just because a woman walks across a parking lot you think you have the right to harass her?”
Sweat beads on the man’s forehead as he searches for his keys. His buddy has retrieved the joint, and he pats his smoldering crotch.
“Go man, just go!” he screams.
“I’m trying,” whimpers the driver.
He finds his keys, but he’s shaking so much he can’t get the key in the ignition. Now it’s not me he’s staring at but Charlie, stalking across the parking lot like an avenging angel.
“Learn some respect, dipshit.”
She reaches him just as he finally gets the key in the ignition and the truck roars to life. But he’s too late. Charlie reaches through the window and pours Coke all over his crotch.
The man jerks the pickup forward, and Charlie pulls her arm out of the way just in time. The tires spin as the men take off.
They pull out with a screech and weave onto the road.
“I told you there were assholes around,” I mutter.
“And I told you I can look after myself.”
Charlie watches them go with her arm outstretched, the can dripping soda onto the tarmac. Her breathing is heavy, and when she turns to me her eyes sparkle with mirth.
“You think we scared them good enough?” She laughs a deep throaty laugh. Her entire face lights up, and the heaviness of the situation dissipates.
“You should have seen their faces,” I chuckle. “They were more terrified of you than me.”
The absurdity of the situation hits me. I’m an ex-military first class sergeant wearing an MC patch. But Charlie striding across the tarmac scared them more.
Laughter rolls through me. “Your face…I thought you were going to hit him.”
She doubles up in laughter and grabs my shoulder. “You should have seen his face when he saw you standing at the window.”
She does a mock terrified high-pitched screech, and we both crack up.
I’m still chuckling as I take the bags up the concrete stairs. I hand Charlie the key to her room, and as she takes it her fingers brush mine. A shock of energy races up my fingers and surges through my body.
My gaze darts to hers and she’s looking at me intently, the laugher gone from her eyes. She must have felt the spark too.
“Thank you for sticking up for me.” Her breath caresses my cheeks, and I catch a scent of the apple pie she had at dinner.
“I’ll always stick up for you.”
Her hand drops with the key, but she doesn’t go into her room. If I was going to kiss her, now would be the moment. When we’re so close and sore from laughing and my heart’s battering against my ribcage like machine gun fire.
