Page 31 of Missing Pieces (Men of Manhattan 3)

I watched him unbuckle his seatbelt and stand up in the moving car. He winked at me as he pulled down the back of his boxers, keeping the front of himself covered.

I stared past him at the van that was driving by. The couple in the front didn't seem to notice, but a little girl in the back looked like her jaw had hit the floor.

"Oh my God!" I pointed to the kid.

Tyler ducked down, peered through the front windshield, and started laughing hysterically.

Which made me start laughing hysterically. But I didn't miss the side view of his ass before he pulled his pants back up. His firm, perfectly squeezable ass. I gripped the wheel tighter than necessary and tried to push the image of his ass out of my mind.

"That was epic," he said and playfully shoved my shoulder.

And there was that spark again. That little indescribable burst of electricity that made my whole body feel alive.

He slowly let his hand fall from my shoulder. My heart was beating so loudly, I swore I thought he could hear it.

"Your turn," I quickly said.

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What's your greatest fear?"

I hadn't expected such a serious question after he had just mooned a ten year old girl. I bit the inside of my cheek. Losing my dad. That fear seemed to be seeping into my system. The farther I drove away from my hometown, the guiltier I felt. "Can I pass?" I could feel him staring at me.

"I'm just trying to get to know you."

Why was I trying to hide from him? Didn't I want him to know me? Didn't I want this to be more than whatever it was right now? "I'm terrified of being alone. Not in the physical sense. I'm fine being home alone and reading a book or whatever. That's fine. But I'm scared of not having anyone to count on." I swallowed hard.

"It seems like you and your dad are really close."

"We are."

"What happened to your mom?"

I wish he was still mooning strangers.

"I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that. I just..."

"No, it's fine. I don't have a mom. It's just my dad and me." I knew how weird that sounded. Everyone had a mother. Humans didn't just get dropped off by a stork. "I mean, of course I had a mom. I just...don't anymore."

"I'm sorry."

I knew what he probably thought that meant. And I didn't feel like correcting him. "No, it's fine. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"On a scale of one to ten, how attracted are you to me?" I smiled at him and then looked back at the road.

"You really can't tell?"

I shook my head. "Honestly, half the time I think you like me and the other half of the time it seems like you wish I had never gotten in your car."

"I'm really glad you climbed into my car."

"Yeah?" I tried to hide my smile. "Why is that?"

A big, fat raindrop fell against the windshield with a splat.

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