Page 25 of Duke
I love getting her riled up. She’s cute when she can’t help herself.
“Desperate times.” I reach for my coffee. “Mind grabbing me one of those burritos?”
Wheeler crosses her arms. “Grab it yourself.”
“You really have a lot of faith in me keeping this thing on the road with just one hand.”
“Bet you have lots of practice doing things with just that hand. Don’t tell me you haven’t built up those forearm muscles.”
Laughter, real and unexpected, bursts through me. “I have. From playing darts.”
“I’m sure that’s what you play with.” Her lips twitch as she reaches for the bag behind her seat.
Fuck, she’s quick. And dirty. I like that.
I haven’t stopped thinking about the amazing chemistry Wheeler and I had that night at the Rattler. Which of course has me thinking about whether we’ll hook up on this trip. I’m down to have some fun between the sheets, obviously. I haven’t had interest in sleeping with anyone else since I met Wheeler, so of course I’d love the chance to get naked.
We’re staying at a cabin in Aspen that belongs to a family friend of hers, which they graciously offered to let her use since they’re out of town. She and I will be seeing a lot of each other.
Alot.
But the potential for hooking up with Wheeler is notwhyI wanted to come on this trip. Sure, getting her naked would be an excellent bonus. But I’d take just being around her—getting to know more about her and her business.
Let’s be real, though. She’s made it pretty clear she wants to keep things friendly between us. I still haven’t figured out whathappened the night we met, but I’m relatively certain she hasn’t changed her mind about friend zoning me. Which sucks.
Then again, who knows what will happen on this trip? Maybe a change of scenery will change her mind about me. Maybe it doesn’t.
Either way, I got out of Hartsville, and I get to learn new things about a new girl in a new place.
I’ll take it.
Just like I take the burrito that Wheeler holds out to me. I smile when I see that she’s rolled back the foil and everything. She’s even got a paper napkin in her other hand.
“Thank you kindly.”
“You’re welcome.” Sipping her coffee, she glances at me. “Thanks for coming, Duke. I mean that.”
“If we don’t die driving up Aspen Mountain in this blizzard, I think we’ll have ourselves a nice little trip, don’t you?”
“Shut up. We’ll be fine.” She rolls her eyes, but her lips are pulled into a smile as she looks at the hand I have on the wheel. “See? That hand seems to be doing great on its own. You practice that one-handed stuff a lot, huh?”
“Darts? Not as much as I’d like. But I’m a natural talent, so…”
“Don’t make me shove that burrito in your face.”
“Remember, the whole idea here is staying alive, which means staying on the road. Which means no burritos being shoved in faces.”
She glances at the clump of pico de gallo that drops into my lap. “You’re a messy eater.”
“I prefer ‘enthusiastic,’” I reply around a mouthful of burrito.
“Guys usually overestimate themselves in that respect.”
I’m laughing again. “You ever know me to go halfway on anything?”
Her eyes glimmer. “We didn’t ever find out who was better at darts, did we?”
Fuck me, this girl’s got my mind in the gutter. She’s not talking about darts, and neither am I when I say, “We’re not dead yet. We got time.”
