Rock the Beat

Chapter 4

Good Girls, Bad Guys

TRIP

I turn my head and watch Holly stalk off inside. I fold my arms over my chest and blow a frustrated breath through pursed lips. This isn’t good.

“She doesn’t hate you if that’s what you’re thinking,” the guy she was talking to says to me. I turn my gaze in his direction and he extends his right hand to me. “The name’s Max.”

I grip his hand in mine and give it a firm shake. “Trip.”

Max nods. “So I’ve been told.”

I ask the question that’s been burning in my brain since I placed him as the guy who’d dragged Holly away from me last night. “You her boyfriend or something?”

He grimaces and shakes his head like I’ve just insulted him. “God no. We’re just friends.”

Just friends I can work with. He must be gay. Any red-blooded guy would be proud to own up to tapping an ass like Holly’s, but…whatever.

I’m so glad she wasn’t my random fuck last night, although I bet she would’ve been ten times better than what I ended up with.

Damn it.

I have to stop thinking about her that way. She’s not some random chick I’ll never see again. There’s no ‘hump and dump’ option here. I need her on my side in order to get the low-down on this place. I can already tell she’s the key to making this a successful business venture.

I glance back in Holly’s direction and watch as she piles a bunch of binders on the counter. She doesn’t even look in my direction. “What makes you so sure she doesn’t hate my guts?”

Max grins wider than the Cheshire cat. “I was there last night. My girl in there doesn’t just let any guy get his lips on her. If she didn’t like you, she would’ve kneed you in the balls the moment you came on to her. Granted, she was drunk last night, and she’s going through some things, but she still allowed you to kiss her.”

I look him directly in the eye. “You seem awfully protective. You sure you’re not into her?”

He shakes his head. “She’s my best friend and I watch out for her. I don’t like to see her get hurt because she’s a good person and deserves better than what she’s been dealt lately. Holly’s a tough woman, but she’s also sweet and sensitive. If you aren’t sincere in your intentions toward her, I’m asking you to back off. She’s not ready for more heartbreak.”

I open my mouth to ask what he meant by that exactly when Holly calls my name. “Trip, you coming or not? I don’t have all day.”

Max takes a couple steps back. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

I nod as his words of warning flow through my mind. “Later, man, and thanks.”

“No problem. Good luck.” He laughs as he hops on his dirt bike and fires up the motor.

Inside, the stifling air is hard to ignore, but now I understand why they don’t turn the air on. Their business is failing and they need to save every penny they can. I yank my ball cap off and wipe the sweat off my forehead with the back of my wrist. The entire state of Arizona is hot as hell.

Holly’s eyes train on my hair and her lips twist. “Do you dye your hair? I didn’t notice how black it was last night.”

She leans over the counter to fetch the schedule. I eye her daisy-duke covered ass appreciatively while her head’s turned. If she catches me eye-fucking her, she’ll smack the shit out of me, but it’s worth the risk. Her ass is one hundred percent biteable and I curse myself for wanting a piece.

I run my hand through my hair, pushing it back off my face before slapping my hat back on. “Yeah. I like it jet-black. It helps people tell me and my twin brother apart.”

She tilts her head and leans on the counter across from me. “Is he identical?”

I nod. “He is, except for the hair. His is more of a sandy-blond color.”

“Huh.” The look on her face tells me she’s trying to figure out why I color my hair. Or worse, she’s figuring out who I am.

“You’ve got something on your mind.”

“No…well, yes. I was wondering something.”

“What’s that?”

She clears her throat. “I can see wanting to stand out from your brother when you’re little to help people tell you apart, but why do feel the need to do it as an adult?”

I sigh in relief. I was fully prepared for her to ask me about Black Falcon. “We work together.”

Her eyebrows crunch together. “Does he work for the same investor too?”

Fuck. Panic floods over me as I realize my slip up. Quickly, I try to cover my mistake. “No. I’m working for the investor as a favor. He and I are personal friends. My brother and I have our own business.”

“Doing what?”

“We, um…” I trail off, trying to think of a plausible lie. “Our family owns a…”—I glance around the counter and the cowtail candies catch my eye—“farm.”

She flinches at the same time I want to punch myself in the face for saying something so ridiculous. “What kind of farm?”

I don’t know the first thing about farming. Why in the fuck did I say that?

Holly stares at me expectantly and I clear my throat. “Cows. We farm cows.”

I want to fucking kill myself.

“Really?” She raises her brow. “Like a dairy farm? I’ve never seen a farmer look like you before.”

I nod. Milk, yes. That’s something I know about. I’ve seen people milk cows before on television not to mention I eat a ton of cereal and milk. “Yes, exactly like a dairy farm. We go out and milk the cows every morning by hand.”

She laughs. “Nice try. You almost had me for a minute. I know they get hooked up to machines for milking. I’ve seen that in a movie before. I didn’t know you had a sense of humor.”

I laugh too but it’s fake as hell, and I pray she can’t hear the nervousness in my voice. “There’s no fooling you.”

She leans across the counter with a smirk on her pretty pink lips. Without knowing she’s doing it, she gives me a perfect view of her boobs. “There’s a stellar mind behind these good looks, sweetheart,” Holly says while lowering her voice to imitate me.

Wow. Now she’s throwing my own lines back in my face, making me sound like a complete fucking moron. “Good one.”

Holly straightens her stance and pats her hand on the stack of black binders. Each one has enough papers to fill a phone book. “Come on, genius. We’ve got a lot of books to go over.”

I eye the stack and frown. “It’s all on paper?”

She nods. “Dad didn’t know how to work a computer when he started this place and never got around to converting all the books. Besides, computers cost a lot of money.”

I run my hand over my face. “This is going to take forever.”

She shrugs. “I know, so we might as well get going. The faster we get through all this, the quicker you can convince your boss this is a great place to invest in.”

It takes at least an hour for Holly to explain the set-up of all the paper documents and then another hour before I can even begin making sense of their system. No wonder this business is going to shit. There’s not even an accurate way to track the expenses. Apparently there are also shoeboxes full of receipts that Bill has never gotten around to adding into the budget. This is so not good. Updating the computers alone in this place is going to cost a pretty penny. I can only imagine what the track looks like. I’ll have to look into that tomorrow.

Holly interlocks her fingers and stretches her arms above her head, allowing the gray uniform top she’s wearing to ride up and bit and give me a peek at her toned stomach. “I need a break. What about you?”

I fold the page over in the book I’m reading through and rub my eyes. “I’m starving. Where’s a good place to eat around here?”

“If you drive into town, there are a few places.”

I tilt my head. “You don’t want to come with me?”

She shakes her head. “There’s stuff to make peanut butter sandwiches in the house.”

I knit my brow in confusion. “Peanut butter sandwiches for dinner?”

“Why not? It’s cheap and filling,” she argues.

I stand and find that my ass is all sweaty from sitting on the black, plastic stool for such a long period of time. “You aren’t eating that. Get your ass up. You’re coming to dinner with me.”

She frowns. “Really, I can’t go. I can’t afford it.”

Now I feel like a total jackass. “My treat. I’ve been a jerk to you since I got here. The least I can do is buy you dinner to make up for it. We can go anywhere you want.”

She drops her eyes to the counter while she thinks it over. “Okay. But this doesn’t change what I said earlier. I still won’t sleep with you.”

“I haven’t asked you to, have I?”

“Well…not in those exact words, but your actions—”

I grab her arm and haul her up off the stool. “Like I told you, if I intended on fucking you, you’d know it. Now quit talking nonsense and come on. I’m so hungry I’m about to gnaw my arm off.”

I don’t give her much choice in the matter. The caveman in me comes out and I pull her behind me out the door.

The sun setting over the mountainside helps cool down the intense September heat, but it doesn’t change it that drastically. Now instead of one hundred and five degrees, it’s a balmy eighty-eight. Whoever told me the high temperatures in Arizona were a different kind of heat to Kentucky was fucking loony. Eighty-eight is still fucking eighty-eight. It’s the kind of heat where it feels like a furnace is blowing directly on you and your balls stick to your leg. It’s fucking uncomfortable.

I continue to pull Holly along until we reach a black Mustang parked around back.

“WOW! How much do you make working for this investor? That car is beautiful.” Holly twists out of my hold and begins walking around the car slowly. “Is this a two thousand fourteen—a V-8?”

She runs her hand along the hood, caressing the sleek paint job. “I think so. It’s not mine. It’s a rental. I’m not much of a car fanatic. As long as it’s fast, I like it.”

Her head snaps up in my direction and her eyes widen. “Most guys won’t let anyone touch their baby, but since it’s not technically yours, will you let me drive it? I’ve always wanted to test one of these babies out.”

The gleam in her eye is the same one I get when I get a new set of drums, or find a hot piece of ass. When something you really want is within your grasp it’s easy to get that look of awe on your face. Fuck me. I never imagined a car would turn her on. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a woman get hot and bothered by a car.

“Sure.” I toss the keys over the hood and she catches them with quick, nimble fingers. “Anything to relieve that lady-boner of yours.”

“I should say you’re a perv for that remark, but since you’re letting me drive this beautiful machine, I’ll let that one slide.” A genuine smile toys with her lips and it’s nice to feel like we can actually be friends. “I can’t believe you’re letting me drive it. Do you know how much these things cost?”

I open my mouth to tell her money really isn’t a big deal for me but quickly close it, remembering this is the same girl that didn’t want to go out to grab a dinner with me because she didn’t have the money for a proper meal.

I shrug and play it cool. “No clue, but I’ve got insurance. Besides, if you scratch it, I can find more creative ways for you to pay me back.”

She rolls her eyes as she opens the driver’s door. “If you want to make it through the next month with your nuts fully intact, I suggest you cut all your bullshit and quit trying to get in my pants.”

I flop down in the passenger seat and glance over in her direction as she cranks the engine. As much as I know she’s right—nothing can ever happen between us—it doesn’t deter my normal, overly sexual personality. It’s just the way I communicate with women. They always respond the way I want them to.

Well, they usually do.

Holly is an entirely new breed of woman for me. She doesn’t give in easily to my bullshit lines, which is both frustrating and intriguing at the same time. It doesn’t help that she’s fucking beautiful, and I’ve tasted those perfect lips before.

I lean my head back against the headrest and allow my eyes to trace over every inch of her as she revs the motor and shifts gears. “You can drive stick. I’m impressed.”

Holly’s eyes cut towards me. “Why?”

“I guess it fits working on a track and all, but most hot girls can’t do it. I think they’re afraid they’ll break a nail or some shit.”

The tires bark as they meet the blacktop of the main stretch of road. “Not me. I love anything fast.”

The bare skin showing on her thighs as her shorts ride up while she works the clutch is nearly enough to make me go out of my mind. They’re so tanned and toned. I imagine her wrapping them around my waist and I have to restrain myself from biting my own knuckle and letting out a, “God damn”.

Holly notices me staring at her as she slides her eyes towards me. “What are you looking at?”

I smirk as I think about telling her the truth and trying one more time to get in her pants, but then remember I love my balls far too much to push her much more. So, I do what any respectable guy caught in my position would do, lie. “Just wondering why someone like you doesn’t have a boyfriend?”

Her brow furrows and her pretty pink lips twist. “Who says I don’t have one?”

I chuckle. “No one has to tell me. It’s obvious you don’t.”

Her heads whips to the right. “Yes…I mean no. Yes, someone had to tell you because no, it’s not obvious.”

I’ve flustered her. Maybe I can actually tap into what makes this girl tick. It would be nice to find common ground and make my relationship with her a little more pleasant. After all, if I have to deal with her indefinitely, I’d at least like us to be friendly.

I shrug. “I know you don’t for two reasons. Number one, I’ve been with you most of the day and you haven’t gotten one phone call or text from a guy.” She opens her mouth to argue with me, but I cut her off. “Believe me, if I had a girl like you, I’d be calling all the time. And the second thing, no guy in their right mind would be okay letting his girl go anywhere with me. Women are defenseless against my sexiness. You should know that.”

She laughs. “Oh. My. God. You are so full of yourself. I’ve never met anyone like you. If I hadn’t been drunk last night, you wouldn’t have got that far with me.”

“Kid yourself all you want, sweetness. You liked it.” I grin. “As for the comment about meeting anyone like me, I’ll take it as a compliment.”

“You shouldn’t, because I didn’t mean it as one.”

“Well, however you meant it, I like standing out. You’re talking to a guy who dyes his hair to do just that, remember?”

She smiles and nods. “Touché. Very true.”

We ride in silence for a few more minutes and my mind drifts back to the topic of Holly and a boyfriend. I know she’s kind of a bitch, or at least likes to come off as one, but I can’t imagine one of these local yahoos couldn’t overlook that to tap her fine ass on a regular basis. It’s driving me nuts. “Really, I have to know. Why don’t you have a boyfriend?”

She sighs. “I had one until recently, but he turned into kind of an asshole. So now I’m waiting until I find a guy who meets all the requirements on my checklist.”

“Oh, God. You’re not one of those crazy chicks that have a dream man in mind and turn away every decent guy that approaches you because he’s not a doctor, lawyer or famous with lots of money are you?” Those kinds of women are the worst and a few of them have tried to get their hooks into me. I’ll be damned if I ever let that happen.

“Absolutely not. I just want a real man that isn’t a complete jackass and who appreciates me. I don’t care about money and as far as fame is concerned, I would never date a famous person.”

“What’s wrong with famous people?”

“What’s not wrong with them?” She lets out a sarcastic laugh. “They’re egotistical, beautiful and they know it. Cheat on you any chance they get. You know, the real full of themselves types.” She gives me a pointed look. “Kind of like you.”

I don’t know why, but my heart drops into my stomach. It’s not like I’d ever date her, but hearing her confirm there’d be no way she’d date a celebrity like me is crushing.

I laugh nervously and do my best to throw her off my rock star scent. “Well, I can promise you that I’m just a regular guy. But I won’t argue with you about me being beautiful. The ladies do love me, especially the cougars. They’re all over this shit.” I make a show of grabbing my junk.

“Eww. You are so gross,” she mumbles.

I laugh at her salty reaction. “Don’t knock it. There’s something to be said about experience. I’m total cougar bait and I appreciate a woman who rides cock well.”

She shakes her head. “You have no couth.”

A deep laugh rumbles out of my chest. “Couth? Who uses that word anymore?

She shrugs. “I do. I don’t see how you do it. Have sex with people like it means nothing, especially with someone who’s a lot older than you. You know most of those kinds of relationships are just about sex, right? That’s why I can’t ever see myself dating an older man.”

“What do you consider older?”

“Oh, I don’t know, like ten years older than me.”

“Do you think I’m too old for you?” I question.

Holly raises her right eyebrow and examines my face. “You can’t be more than, what, twenty four? That’s not too bad.”

I clear my throat. “I’m twenty-five, actually.”

“Really?”

“Why does that surprise you?”

“I don’t know. I thought I was being generous with saying twenty-five. You act so much younger sometimes.”

My lips pull into a tight line. “I should be deeply offended, but I’m not. I can be serious if I need to. Life’s too short. I choose to have fun with it.”

She nods. “I guess I can understand that philosophy.”

Holly turns in to one of those chain steakhouses and asks if this place is okay. After I tell her it’s fine, she whips into a parking spot and throws the manual transmission into neutral.

She grins as she revs the engine one last time before shutting it down. “I’ve never met a girl who’s into cars before.”

“That’s because most girls are pampered princesses who don’t understand the rush of going fast.” She opens the car door and gets out, while I do the same.

I lean on the car and rest my arms on the roof to stare at her on the other side. “You’re an adrenaline junkie?”

The twinkle in her blue eyes gives her away before she even admits it. “Totally.”

I love anything that’s fast and dangerous. It’s what drew me to the motocross business. This hot little minx is kind of like the female version of me—apart from the fact she doesn’t seem to be into casual sex. That’s where we differ. “So, you ride on the track?”

“I used to.” She nods towards the door of the restaurant we’re parked in front of and we shut the car doors at the same time.

“Did you just get tired of it, or what?” I ask as I fall into step beside her.

“The passion for it isn’t there anymore.”

I hold the door open for her. “That doesn’t make any sense. If you’re so into the whole speed thing, I would think it’s hard to walk away from riding if that’s what you love. I mean, you’re around it everyday. Don’t you get the urge to hop on a bike and go?”

There’s no answer from her, she only shrugs. She passes through the door and I can’t help staring at her ass in those tight jean shorts. The temptation to smack it causes my hand to itch and I grip the door handle tighter.

The hostess wearing jeans and a purple t-shirts tosses her brown hair over her shoulder and smiles at me. “How many?”

I hold up two fingers. “Two.”

The brunette gives Holly the once over and curls her lip. Holly doesn’t miss the girl’s reaction and raises her eyebrows, daring the girl to say something to her. The girl doesn’t, she simply flips her hair again and says, “Follow me.”

Holly turns towards me. “What a bitch. If we’d actually been together on a date, I would’ve been offended.”

I can’t help but to chuckle at the entire situation. “This can be a date if you want.”

She shakes her head. “Um, no.”

The hostess leads us to a corner booth and sets a couple of menus on the table. “Your server will be right with you.” She turns her gaze to me and winks as I slide into the booth across from Holly. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Okay”—I lean in, staring at her nametag and perfectly round tits—“Julie. Will do.”

I break out my crooked grin—the one that drives the ladies mad and return the wink. She giggles and plays with her hair as she spins on her heel to go back the direction she brought us.

“Ugh,” Holly says. “Could you be any sleazier? You might as well have had sex with her right in front of me.”

I laugh. “Are you jealous that you aren’t getting my undivided flirting attention now? You’ve made it perfectly clear that you’re not interested. Don’t be a hater now that I’m testing new waters.”

“Please.” She rolls her eyes. “I don’t care what you do.”

She opens her menu upside-down and tries to ignore me, but I’m on to her. I reach across the table and flip it around. “For some who doesn’t care, you’re awfully distracted.”

“Shut up.” I laugh and pick up my menu and try to let it go before I piss her off any further.

This restaurant isn’t fancy by any means—there are peanut shells thrown all over the floor—but it’s nice. It’s very country and reminds me of home.

I didn’t see a lot of choices for places to eat when I drove through Tucson today. This city is so spread out. Not the typical packed city I’m used to, where it takes an hour to get anywhere, but I’m glad I have a local to show me around. It’s been a while since I’ve had an adventure alone.

Holly studies the menu. “This place has the best Bloomin’ Onions. Do you like those?”

I nod. “Sure, I just don’t eat fried stuff often. This body is a temple. I try to keep it in shape.”

She shakes her head. “I’d eat them every day if I could, but I can’t afford to come here. Last time I was here was last fall for my nineteenth birthday when I came home from school.”

“Nineteen? Wow you’re a baby.” And it’s nearly illegal for me to have the dirty thoughts I’ve been having about her.

“Actually, last night was my birthday. That’s why I was at the bar. I’ve officially left my teen years behind.”

“Well, happy belated birthday. I’m glad I could give you a taste of being twenty.” I smile and she scowls at me. “Maybe you should’ve let me give you a real present last night…” She shakes her head at me, but there’s no hiding the blush in her cheeks.

I know deep down she likes it when I talk dirty to her. I can read people.

I need a subject change before I dwell on the things I’d like to do to her any longer. “You go to college?”

“I used to. I gave it up to come home and help Dad at the track. He couldn’t afford to pay his employees anymore.” I notice the frown on her lips, and I don’t like it—a face that pretty should never be sad. I want to immediately fix it.

“Well, maybe when my investor buddy comes through you can go back?”

Her eyes flit to mine. “I would love to. It just sucks all my friends back at school will be ahead of me now.”

“You’re still young. You’ll make new friends.” I point out. “What were you studying?”

“Psychology.”

My eyebrows shoot up. “Wow. That’s impressive. You’re smart and hot. That’s a pretty badass combination.”

She giggles. “Thanks. I wish more guys thought that way. A lot of them have problems with women who take school so seriously.”

“What do you mean?” I ask completely confused. “I love smart women—all women, actually.”

“I haven’t had great luck with men.”

That’s a shame. I rest my elbows on the table and lean forward. “Maybe you’ve just been dating the wrong guys?”

There’s a heat between us as we stare each other in the eye. I know she feels it too, because a slight blush creeps up her neck into her cheeks, making me think about what she’d look like after an orgasm. One that, at the moment, I would love to give her by sinking between her sweet, creamy thighs and licking her into oblivion.

Images of what’s hidden beneath those clothes, and the way her mouth tastes, toy with my brain and my cock twitches in anticipation.

I open my mouth to tell her fuck the dinner—let’s get out of here and I’ll give her something else she’s starving for when our overly chipper waitress with bottle-blonde hair approaches the table. “What can I get you two to drink?”

I shake myself out of my daze as I try to clear my sex-crazed brain from thinking about fucking Holly any longer. I can only endure so much torture. “A Bud Light.”

“A Coke, please,” Holly says.

Once the waitress is gone, Holly taps the table with her index finger and directs her attention at everyone else in the place but me. It’s like she’s afraid to look at me again. I completely get it—the attraction between us is hard to deny, but we both know we need to fight it. There can never be anything more than innocent flirting between us and last night needs to be kept locked away.

It’s a bad idea to mix business with pleasure. Even I know that.

Before I can start a conversation about the track, her eyes grown wide and she tries to hide her face behind her hands. “What are you doing, Holly? You look like a crazy person.”

“Don’t say my name,” she whispers harshly, ducking down and grabbing for a menu.

“What? Why?” I turn around in my seat and notice a guy standing at the bar joking with the pretty, busty bartender. He’s about my height, at least six foot, and is covered in tattoos, just like me. His head is shaved along with his face. She can’t possibly be hiding from that guy. I turn back around and find Holly hiding behind the menu she picked up. “Why? Don’t you want the guy at the bar to see you?”

“Yes. Please let me know when he’s gone.”

If I weren’t so puzzled by this uncharacteristic deviation from the normal Ice Queen act I’ve seen from her so far, this would be hilarious. But my concern for her outweighs my personal amusement. What in the hell did that guy do to her? “Tell me who he is first.”

She sighs dramatically and I bet if I could see her she’d be rolling her eyes. “He’s Jackson Cruze.” The tone in her voice makes it seem like it should be obvious to me who the guy is.

I glance up at the ceiling and try to go through my mental files on why that name sounds so familiar. It hits me. I do know that name. I saw it in one of the motocross magazines I read on the plane from Kentucky to here. I do a double-take of the guy and then ask her, “He’s the MX hotshot, right? The one getting all the press right now?”

“Yes,” she hisses.

I lean back in my seat. “Shouldn’t you want to talk to a guy like that to get him to promote the track?”

She drops the menu and stares me in the eye. “No. He’s the last person on earth I want to speak to.”

I fold my arms on the table and lean in. “Why? I don’t get it.”

Holly’s lips pull into a tight line. “He’s my ex-boyfriend.”

Light bulb. “Ah, I see. How recent?”

“Two weeks.”

Ouch.

I nod. “I take it things didn’t end on great terms?”

“No. He cheated on me. From what I’ve heard from the guys around the track who didn’t say a word to me while we were together, he’d been sleeping around for a while. He made it into the pro-circuit while I was away at school last year, and I guess he’s been with all the slutty, bimbos throwing themselves at him on a daily basis behind my back.”

That’s a story that hits a little too close to home and I find myself rolling my hands into fists in my lap. “Let me guess, you were blindsided when you caught him?”

She shakes her head. “He owned up to it after he forgot about the two-year anniversary date we were suppose to have.”

I glance back and narrow my eyes at Jackson and say to Holly, “He sounds like an arrogant little shit stain that needs his ass beat.”

Her soft lips twist like she’s fighting back some tears. “Maybe so, but I even after everything he did to me, I don’t wish him any physical harm.”

I know I haven’t known Holly very long, and it’s insane to feel protective over her, but I know exactly what she’s going through. Being cheated on sucks, especially when the person you love blindsides you.

How dare that douchebag do that to this beautiful, caring girl who obviously loves him. She’s a fucking prize, and if that little twerp couldn’t see that, he didn’t deserve her anyway.

“Oh, God. He’s coming over here. Ignore him,” she orders.

I open my mouth to protest, but Jackson stops at our table. “Holly? How are you?”

Holly stares up at him and smiles. “Hi, Jackson. I’m fine.”

His eyes drift down her body and linger awhile on her tits beneath her white tank-top. “You look great.”

What he means to say is that her tits look great—which they do—but after the way he treated her she shouldn’t give him the satisfaction of looking at them. She should tell him to piss off, but she doesn’t. She actually bats her eyes at him and as she tells him he looks good too.

I don’t fucking get chicks. At. All.

This asshole did her wrong. Why is she being nice to him? One minute she hates him, and the next he has her under some sort of fucked up spell that’s turned the baddest chick I know into, well…she’s acting just like the shallow groupies who try to get my attention. Why would she even want him back after what he did?

This isn’t good. Doesn’t she know with this groupie act she’ll be just another easy mark for him? He’ll have the same thing on his mind that I normally do when it comes to women—fuck ‘em and dump ‘em—and Holly is too good for that. She’s not some random bimbo out for a good time. I’ve been around her long enough today to know she’s loyal and fierce, and deserves so much more.

I’m going to make sure that happens.

I reach across the table and intertwine my fingers with hers. “Who’s this, baby?”

Holly attempts to pull away, but I squeeze my fingers together, holding her in place. The little touch works. Jackson’s brown eyes zero in on it, and I smirk at Holly.

It takes her a couple seconds to realize that I’m helping her out and she smiles at me. “This is my friend, Jackson.”

I let go of her hand and stand up from the booth and extend my hand. “What’s up, man. I’m Trip.”

Jackson sizes me up, glancing down at my biceps before allowing a smirk to fill his face. He’s confident, and thinks he’s better than even me. If he’s not careful, I’ll wipe that smart-ass grin off his face for him. “I thought I knew all of Holly’s friends?”

I continue shaking his hand, squeezing a little tighter. “I’ve known her for a little while now—she’s really something.” I look down at her and wink.

Jackson lets go of my hand, and flexes his fingers. This time it’s my turn to wear a shit-eating grin.

He turns to Holly. “I know we aren’t on the best terms right now, but I’d love to stop out at the track. Would that be okay?”

Her face lights up. “Of course! We’d love to have you there.”

“Great. It’s a date. I’ll be there tomorrow,” Jackson answers with a grin before he turns back to me. “Nice to meet you, Trip. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

I nod. “You can count on it.”

I take my seat and shake my head as Holly watches Jackson walk out the door. “What do you see in him?”

She turns back to me. “I don’t see anything in him.”

I roll my eyes. “Give me a break. If I hadn’t saved your ass, you would’ve been a pile of girl-goo all over the floor. If you want to make a guy like him jealous, you have to be a challenge. You can’t go around throwing yourself at him.”

“I wasn’t throwing myself at him.”

I point at the table. “Yeah, you were. Trust me. I know what I’m talking about. You want this guy to notice you and kick himself for letting you go, you’re going to need my help. You have to make him come crawling back. He needs to suffer for doing you wrong, so he’ll know not to ever do it again.”

She crosses her arms. “Why would you even offer that? I’ve been a royal bitch to you for the most part. What’s in it for you?”

I shrug. “I want my time here to go as smoothly as possible. I’d like us to be friends as well as co-workers. I feel like shit for how I treated you at the club and I’m hoping this will get me on your good side. Your friendship will make my job fun. This little pact will provide my entertainment while I’m here and you’ll be getting something in return. I’d say that’s a win-win.”

She toys with a strand of her blonde hair. “So, you’re saying if we form this un-holy alliance, the only thing I have to do is be nice to you? There’s nothing else you want in return from me?”

I shake my head. “Nothing else. I promise. I only want your friendship and the chance to help you make a cheater pay. I have no love for cheaters. I know first hand how many fucking problems cheating in a relationship can cause.”

Holly narrows her blue eyes. “You’ll behave?”

“Yes. I promise I’ll keep my dick in my pants when it comes to you. I’m starting to like you too much to fuck you, anyhow.” I tell her the honest truth, because I know now she’s the relationship type, and that’s not what I’m here for. I don’t want to pretend like I’d be into one with her because I won’t allow myself to play her just to have sex. I won’t be able to toss her aside like I do the rest. I already like her to much to do that.

“That makes no sense. You like me too much now to sleep with me? That’s just an odd thing to say, but whatever. The deal seems pretty simple, and I would love to give Jackson a taste of his own medicine and make his ass jealous. It’d be nice to prove to him I can find someone else too.”

“The way I see it, Holly, if my buddy goes into business with your dad, we’ll see a lot of each other. I would like us to be on good terms. I’ll probably be around from time to time after my month here is over and I’d like to walk into your office and have you greet me with a smile instead of a scowl. You’re far to pretty to have an ugly expression on that beautiful face.”

She bites her bottom lip. “I completely get what you’re saying. I don’t want a bad relationship with you either. I think teaming up with you could be fun, but no more flirting with me.”

I shake my head. “Jackson believes we’re together, so we’re going to have to play the part. There will be flirting—lots of it. It’s the only way this will be believable.”

She leans back in the booth and chews her thumbnail while she weighs up her options.

“Clock’s ticking,” I say. “You better make up your mind. He’s coming to see you tomorrow. You can either allow me to fondle you in front of Jackson, making him insanely jealous, or you can go back to hating my guts. The choice is yours.”

Her eyes soften. “I never said I hated you.”

“Actions speak louder than words, sweetness. You haven’t had many kind things to say to me today.” I extend my hand across the table to her. “What do you say? Do we have a deal?”

She leans forward and places her hand in mine. “Deal. And I promise I’ll start being nicer.”

Looks like my time here just got a hell of a lot more enjoyable. I smile and give her hand a shake. This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.