Page 10 of Broken Pieces

I walk out the door and get in my truck. My mind wanders thinking about who this girl is and why she is here. I knew Easton had two sisters, but I only knew the other one.

I tap my hand against the steering wheel to the beat of the music as I wait for Raelynn to come out to the car. I look into the diner and can’t help but stare at her. She really is gorgeous. She smiles at Ivy as she walks toward the door. She pulls her hair out of her ponytail and shakes it out. What I wouldn’t do to run my hands through it, grip it tightly as her lips reach for mine, use it to control her pace as her mouth sucks...

"Umm hi."

I snap my eyes up to see her climbing into my truck. Fuck, I was just getting to the good part. "Hi," I say as I casually adjust my pants.

"Ivy told me you were driving me home."

I nod, my eyes moving from her eyes to her lips to her chest. I look back up at her and lick my lips as she glances away. I guess I make her uncomfortable.

We sit in silence for almost ten minutes as I drive toward Easton's house. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about her. I know Easton took care of his sisters after their parents died. I knew Tacoma in high school since we had most of the same friends. But Raelynn is four years younger than me and we never crossed paths. The more I glance at her from the side, I can see how she looks like Tacoma, with the prominent cheekbones and full lips but unlike Tacoma's curves, which she likes to flaunt, Raelynn is almost too thin and almost timid.

I catch her looking at me and decide to play my cards. "You know if you want a better look I can get out of the car."

She looks at me dismissively.

"If you want, I can take my pants off too."

She guffaws, "Or you could just put your shirt back on to cover up your cockiness. I'm sure that game works on most girls, but it doesn’t work on me." With that, she turns toward the window, apparently more interested in the trees than me.

So maybe this cookie is tougher than she looks.

Time to play the big cards.

"So why does big brother have you on house arrest?"

She whips her head around so fast I swear she is going to have whiplash. "Excuse me!"

I shrug. "Well, Ivy said you had to either be at the diner or at home. Logical conclusion would be that East got you locked down."

I see her struggling to form a word before she finally gets two out. "Pull over."

"What?"

"I said pull over."

"Why?"

She starts mumbling curse words, unbuckles her seat belt, and opens the door.

"Whoaaa," I say as I pull over the truck.

She jumps out faster than I’m prepared for and slams the door before she starts trudging up the hill. I sit there and watch her for a minute seeing the anger rolling off her. I didn’t think I was going to offend her by that comment, but I’m guessing it’s true or else she wouldn’t be so pissed.

I give her a few minutes before I put the car in drive, roll the window down and pull up to her.

"You don’t have to walk," I say through the open window. Her response is a glare.

"Come on, I'll keep my mouth shut."

She just picks up her pace. I watch as she stumbles over a branch but then carries on pompously.

"Look, I'm sorry for being a dick. Just kinda how I am."

She continues to ignore me, and I rub my hand against the back of my neck.

I hate to say what I’m about to say, but I hope it will make her stop. "East won’t be very happy if he finds out you walked home." At least that makes her stop. "And I would hate for Ivy to get in trouble for it considering she was supposed to take you home.”

She starts cursing again, but it’s enough to get her in my truck. I drive the five minutes more to her house and drop her off. Just before she slams the door shut, she leaves me with kind parting words. "You're an asshole."

Oh sweetheart, I know.