Davis, Liz - Slivers of Moonlight (Siren Publishing Classic) (3 page)

“We can take care of that for you. Have you been here before?”

“No, I got your business card from the tow truck driver who took me home last night. His name is Evan.”

“That’s my nephew. He’s here right now, actually. He told me you would be coming in today. You’re Maya, right?” He gave her a funny little smile, as if he knew a secret that she didn’t.

“Yep. So do you think you’ll have time to inspect my car?”

“Oh yeah, sure. Are you parked in the back?”

“Yep, I pulled up right next to the garage. It’s a blue Honda hatchback.”

“Okay, great. Just follow me, and we can go take a look at it.” He gestured for her to walk through a door that led straight into the back area.

Maya’s car had already been pulled into the garage by one of the mechanics, and she was surprised to find that someone was already beneath the car working on it. She watched as Gary headed toward her car and bent down to speak to the mechanic.

“Hey, Tonska, the lady you were talking about is here.”

Evan slid out from under the car on a trolley, then placed his tools on the ground and stood up. His uniform was smudged with grease, and he smelled heavily of WD-40. It wasn’t a bad smell, though. She liked it.

“Hey there, Maya.” He gave her an appreciative once-over and then quickly brought his gaze back up to her eyes. “Good to see you again. Do you have a moment to talk?” His eyes broke from hers and darted toward his uncle’s in a brief glance.

It seemed to her that Evan had relayed a silent cue with his eyes, because Gary broke out in a smile. “Well, guess I better make myself scarce. I have lots of paperwork to do anyway. Your car is in good hands, Maya. He’s the best mechanic here.” He gave her a friendly smile, then walked away.

Once Evan’s uncle left, Maya found herself seeking the answer to a curious question.

“So is ‘tonska’ your other name?”

Evan’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, and his eyes glinted with amusement. “‘Tonska’ means ‘nephew’ in Lakota.”

“Oh.” She felt herself grow hot with embarrassment and couldn’t help feeling a little stupid.

He laughed a little then said, “So I checked your engine out, and it looks like the rod bearings are loose. When is the last time you had your oil and filter changed?”

He may as well have been talking Greek to her because when it came to cars, she was clueless.

Shrugging her shoulders, she replied, “I don’t know. But the last time I took it to the mechanic, I’m pretty sure I remember them saying that they changed it.”

“And when was that?”

“At least eight months ago.”

“Okay, well you’re supposed to change it at least every six months, so you’re overdue. The bearings are pretty worn down. Now, I can replace the bearings, and this will buy you some time, but in the long run, it looks like the crankshaft will have to be resurfaced.”

She didn’t know what the crankshaft was or what it did, but it wasn’t difficult to figure out that it was a pretty serious issue.

“And how much will it cost to have the crankshaft fixed?”

“Well, that’s basically an engine overhaul, so it could run you anywhere from two thousand to twenty-five hundred dollars.”

“Oh wow. Okay.” With a steep price like that, she knew she couldn’t afford it—at least not right now.

“If you want I can just replace those bearings. That should keep you going for a while at least, but in the long run, you’d still need to get the crankshaft fixed.”

“Well, I guess I really don’t have much of a choice, do I? So I’ll just have the bearings replaced.”

“All right. Well, it usually runs just a little over five hundred bucks but I could bring the price down to three for you.”

“Wow, really? That would be great.”

“I know how expensive car parts can be, so I don’t mind cutting you a deal.”

“That would be wonderful. Now how much will the brakes run me?”

“Well, luckily that’s a simple job, so it shouldn’t cost more than eighty. All I have to do is go in and bleed the brake line. No big deal.”

“Okay, so how long will all this take?”

“Two, maybe three days.” He reached over to grab a clipboard from off a counter where a computer was located. “Just fill out your information, and I’ll give you a call once the car is done.”

She filled out her information then handed the clipboard back to him.

Taking note of her work T-shirt, he noticed the silk screened logo on it. “You work at Shorty’s?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Your T-shirt has the logo on it.” His lips curled upward.

“Oh, right” She gave a sheepish smile.

“If you need a ride to work I can take you.”

Glancing at her watch, she replied, “Well, I do have to be there in the next half an hour, so that would be great.”

As her dimples made an appearance, Evan’s eyes were instantly drawn to them. “Great, well, I’m parked out in front, so follow me.”

Evan led her through the door and back into the office, where his uncle sat at the desk talking on the phone and typing something into the computer.

“Back in a few.” He waved to his uncle, and Gary waved back, giving them a smile.

Evan led her to a red Jeep wrangler that was parked in the front of the building. Once they were inside, he started up the car and asked, “So which Shorty’s do you work at?”

She gave him the directions to her place of employment and then they were off. As they drove along, Maya snuck curious little peeks at him every now and again, and it seemed that with each glance she found her attraction was growing. This excited her, but in a way it also had her worried. She knew it wasn’t a good idea to get involved with another guy right now, not with all of the baggage she was carrying around from her relationship with Dylan. As they pulled up to the restaurant, she grabbed her purse and offered him some parting words.

“Thanks a lot, Evan. I appreciate it.”

“Hey, no problem. Have a good day, okay?”

“Sure thing. See ya.” She waved then got out of the car.

* * * *

He waved back, and after she closed the door, he took off. As she made her way to the restaurant, his gaze remained fixed on her reflection in the rearview mirror. His eyes admired her retreating form, and the slight switch of her hips drew his attention to the curve of her buttocks. Evan eyeballed her with deep longing, only diverting his gaze once she’d disappeared inside the building.

A tightening in his pants drew his eyes to his nether regions, and his hands worked to adjust his hard-on. As his car drove along the streets, the distance between them grew even further, and yet still vestiges of Maya remained.

The scent of jasmine lingered in his car, surrounding the air around him with its sweet, pleasant scent.

Chapter 3

Maya’s shift at the restaurant was turning out to be quite profitable. It seemed that most of the people she’d served tonight were generous tippers. As quitting time approached, she counted out her money and was delighted to find that she’d made $350. Glancing at the clock, she saw that there was only an hour left in her shift, and the customers were beginning to thin out, so she kept herself busy by refilling drinks and checking up on the tables she was working. She had just finished delivering a meal of hamburgers and fries to a family of five when she turned and saw Evan sitting at a table a few feet away from her. As her eyes locked with his, he smiled. Bringing a menu with her, she walked over to where he was sitting.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were stalking me.” She gave him a flirtatious wink.

“Hey, I can’t help it if I got hungry.” His smile became a grin.

“No other restaurants closer to where you live, huh?”

“I like to expand my horizons.” He grabbed the menu from her and pretended to look over at it.

Pulling out her little pad and pen, she said, “So, what can I get for you?”

“Ummm…” His eyes scanned the menu as he tried to decide. “I think I’ll try the catfish.” He closed the menu and gave it back to her.

“Really?” She cocked her head a little, giving him an amused little smile.

“Yes really, why? What’s weird about that?” The tone of his voice came out lighthearted.

“Oh, nothing. Just didn’t take you for the Southern food type, that’s all.”

“And what does a person who enjoys catfish look like? I didn’t know there was a particular demographic.”

She offered a little smirk. “I don’t know. Guess I judged you wrong.”

Evan leaned forward and placed his arms on the table. “Well, if you get to know me better, you can find out all sorts of things about me. I know there are things I’d like to learn about you.” He looked deeply into her eyes, as if searching for something that was hidden inside of her.

Maya held his gaze for a bit before shyly looking down. Then she glanced back up at him through her thick lashes. “Well, who knows, maybe you’ll get the chance.” She gave a flirtatious glance over her shoulder as she walked away.

As she waited on her other tables, she could feel his eyes on her, watching her every move. Every once in a while, she would take a quick glance over at him, and he’d give her a little smile. Having him watch her like that made her nervous, but that didn’t mean she didn’t like it. She was flattered, and found that her stomach was doing little flip-flops from his attention. When his food was finished cooking, she retrieved it from the pickup window and brought it over to his table.

“Here’s your catfish dinner. Enjoy.”

She was about to walk away when he placed his hand on hers. She turned, feeling a jolt of excitement from his touch.

“Sorry to bother you, but I forgot to order a drink. Could you get me a root beer?”

Her eyes sparkled at him. “Yeah, sure.”

When she returned, she saw that he seemed to be enjoying his catfish dinner. He had devoured half of the fish and was now working on the hush puppies.

“Is the food all right?”

“Fantastic,” he said through a mouthful of food. He took a large sip of root beer then wiped his mouth off with a napkin. “So what time do you get off?”

Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was nearly the end of her shift. “In fifteen minutes. Think you could give me a ride home?”

“Of course, I’d love to.”

“Great. I’ll meet you out in the parking lot at nine.”

She let him enjoy the rest of his dinner, and the end of her shift arrived. She grabbed her purse and said her good-byes to her coworkers. As she exited the restaurant, she noticed Evan standing by the door.

“Hey there, you all ready to go?”

“Yep.”

As they walked to his car, she noticed that it was nearly a full moon. It was shining very brightly, and she found herself pulled toward the beauty of it. Once they were in the car, he took off out of the parking lot and onto the road. They made pleasant chitchat as he drove to her house, laughing and joking, and as they came closer to arriving, she realized she was sorry to have her time with him come to an end. She considered inviting him in for a drink of tea or a cup of coffee so they could chat some more, but she didn’t want to seem too eager.

As he pulled up in front of her house, she turned to him and said, “Well, thanks for the ride, and good night.”

“Hey wait, I’ll walk you to your door.” He got out of the car and followed her to her apartment.

Once they reached her door, she turned awkwardly to him, unsure of just what to say. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a nervous habit she did whenever she was feeling awkward.

“I’d like to call you sometime. Can I get your number?”

Maya thought of Dylan, but only for one brief moment. They weren’t really together anyhow, so she figured it wouldn’t hurt to start dating someone new. And she really did like Evan. Quite a bit, actually.

“Yeah, sure.” She pulled a pen from out of her purse and searched for a piece of paper, but couldn’t find one. “I’ll have to go inside and get some paper. I don’t have anything to write on.”

“Hey, that’s cool. Just write it on my arm.” He rolled up his sleeve and held his arm out.

“All right,” she said with a laugh, and she pressed the tip of the pen against his arm.

As her hand touched his skin, she was certain she felt sparks, tiny explosions of electricity, jolting beneath her skin, making her feel more alive than she ever had before. She’d never experienced this with anyone, not to this intensity. And as their eyes locked into a gaze, she knew that he felt it, too. The moon shone through the leaves of the tree branches above them, casting a silvery light on her skin and hair. Reaching out to touch her face, he slid his thumb along the curve of her cheek. His finger traveled down further until it came to rest upon her lips, stroking the softness of them as he gazed into her eyes.

And then suddenly his hands were wrapped around her waist and he was pulling her toward him. His head tilted downward, moving closer and closer until she could feel his breath against her skin. His grip upon her waist was firm, yet gentle, and she found herself incredibly turned on by the way he was looking at her. Evan gazed deeply at her, stirring emotions around inside of her that she didn’t quite understand.