Page 16 of Changing Lanes

He nods thoughtfully before turning the key and dismounting.

“It should be good for now. If it happens again, call me.”

He takes my phone to program his info in. As he passes it back, our fingers brush and a warmth spreads where they touch. It’s not like accidentally touching a stranger where you panic and abort as soon as possible. It’s comfortable and I don’t pull away immediately. Beckett doesn’t either and we stand with our hands both holding the phone between us, staring into the other’s eyes.

Inside his car, his woodsy vanilla smell caressed my senses like a faint memory that hasn’t happened yet. Now, the slight breeze mixes with the earthy sweetness to tease me like an unspoken promise.

Everything I’ve seen on him so far is long and his eyelashes are no exception. They blink once, ending the moment completely and he removes his hand, clearing his throat. “Dude was fired up. Does he always act like that?”

“Vernon?” I sense another line being tossed in my direction so I keep it short once again, telling him honestly, “He has his days.”

“Well, if he gives you any more trouble, call me and I’ll deal with him, too.”

That’s enough of that.

I step close to him, making sure my front brushes his. Feeling his sharp inhale instead of just hearing it, I crank my neck back to gaze up at him.

“I can take care of myself. I handle guys like him every day of the week and twice on Saturdays.”

I spin on my heel, only pausing when he calls to my back, “Why Saturday?”

“It’s my day off.”

CHAPTER 5

Beckett

I’m wiping my hands off when my boy and business partner, Coty, enters the now empty bay.

“How’s it going with the new roommate? Can’t be too bad if you’re still alive. I figured she would’ve killed you in your sleep by now.”

“Pssh, if it were that easy, neighbor girl would’ve taken me out first chance she got.”

As if on cue, Angie—his better half—walks in, joining the conversation, saying, “Oh, boys. All Beckett has to do is make her one of his signature everything-but-the-kitchen-sink cocktails and she’ll fall madly in love with him.” She snickers proudly, tucking herself into Coty’s side.

The two of them are sickening, not unlike my infamous drink concoctions Angie mentioned.

Although the jury’s still out on motive, I get the feeling Paige could all out destroy with no remorse.

“I’m happy to report,” I say, spreading my arms out wide, “she hasn’t killed me in my sleep, yet.” Mainly because she’s not home when I’m asleep. Thank fuck. “And, there will be no falling in love. At least not on my end. She’s more than welcome to fawn all over me. I could use a new president to head the Beck’s The Best fan club now that you left.” I give our old neighbor a wink, making Coty chuckle while Angie rolls her eyes.

Coty, Marc, and I grew up with different versions of dysfunctional families. One day at a local motocross track, we befriended one another over our love of dirt bikes but later became brothers out of necessity. We found something in each other that day that our real families weren’t giving us, something we needed but couldn’t begin to recognize at such a young age. Our hobby kicked off our lifelong friendships but our unwavering loyalty has kept us together, strengthening over the years until we moved into the apartment at Creekwood after high school, making us more—making us brothers. Years went by of the same old, same old and it’s been great, but in a way that milk is great. Sure, it tastes good and not everyone can have it, making you feel a little smug that you get something so highly coveted by others. But, then you try chocolate milk and suddenly regular milk seems boring, less than, lacking overall. That’s what Angie moving into the apartment next door was. The stubborn breath of fresh air moved across the hall but, more importantly, into our hearts, too. She stirred everything up, making us realize that what we were doing wasn’t as great as we’d always assumed. That our triad was in need of another to balance us out.

Coty fell for her the moment he laid eyes on her, poor bastard never stood a chance really, and locked that shit up quick. She put him, and us, through the wringer, but looking at how we all came out the other side together, I’d say it was well worth it.

Last year, us roommates decided to go into business together, and six months ago we opened the only auto shop in town that fixes almost anything with an engine—my specialty—on one side, with a full-service car wash on the other. Angie runs the wash without much interference from us and has customers eating out of the palms of her more than capable hands. Having worked at a car wash once upon a time herself, we offered her the position and after some convincing, she accepted, proving us geniuses every day since. Coty may be the one that created the entire car wash addition specifically for her but I take as much of the credit as they let me get away with. Which isn’t much usually. Our old neighbor girl is savage.

Coty happily fills the role as general manager while I work solely in the service department. If it drove at one time, I can get it running again, but faster. Marc mostly works off-site but gives a hand in any department needed. We work closely with his father’s uber successful farm, so he’s out there most days, working on vehicles that can’t make the trip into town.

Due to our booming success and growing clientele, we’re currently scouting sites for a second location and if all goes well, our team will be celebrating another grand opening by the end of the year.

“It wouldn’t be the worst thing for you to finally fall for someone, you know?”

I clutch at my heart and stumble forward.

“How dare you say such horrible things to me. Coty, control your woman.”

The happy couple just laugh, sending a shot of adrenaline straight to my veins.