Shallow (2 page)

“Don’t worry, Doll Face. It’s a decent proposal.”
Did he just read my mind?
“I’d like to make a side bet with you. If your Porche wins, I’ll give you two-hundred bucks in addition to the winnings you’ll receive from the pot on the bet you have already placed.”

Wait for it. Wait for it. Where was the catch? “I’m listening, but I didn’t hear what you are proposing I wager?”

There was that seductive lopsided grin again. “I only ask that you agree to one night with me.”

Was he kiddin’ me? There was no way that could be considered a decent proposal. The way he said it was so seductive and I wasn’t quite sure what he meant by ‘one night with him.’ I was speechless. I was breathless. I was curious.

His expression became smug as he lifted one eyebrow and said, “I guess you’re not as confident as you claim to be or this would be a no-brainer.”

Shizzle, that eyebrow lift thing he did was sexy. I mentally pimp slapped myself and doused my face with ice water. I managed to gather some words but I wasn’t sure how convincing I sounded when I squeaked them out. “I’m very confident that my driver is going to win.”

“Okay, prove it then. Accept my bet.”

There it was. He challenged me and got my competitive juices flowing. I knew I shouldn’t agree to it because it would prove nothing, but it sure would be funny to wipe that grin off his face. Plus, it never hurt to make an extra two-hundred bucks. “I’m not afraid, so I’ll take your challenge.”

He held his hand out to me and I looked at it like it was the snake in the Garden of Eden. Once I decided it wasn’t going to bite me, I reached to take it. “Can I safely assume that you will be at the race and that you won’t run off with my money after Dane wins?”

He laughed at me and I might have been pissed about it except I got to see his gorgeous dimples again. “There won’t be any running off with your money, Doll Face. I’ll be looking for you so we can settle up on our night together.”

His cockiness pissed me off so I was the one to pull my hand free from his. “I think you’ve delighted me long enough with your trash talk. I have a race to watch.”

“And I have a race to win.” He winked at me before he got into his car. Once inside, he started the engine and it roared loudly, just like a race car. I stood frozen in the middle of the road and watched him pull away as I realized I never asked his name.

Shit!
Was that Nick Hawke and had I just unknowingly been preyed upon by the Sex Tricks Jedi? I did not want to admit it, but I think I had just been bested. I walked with my tail tucked between my legs and got into my car.

“What’s wrong, Payton?” Claire asked when I didn’t volunteer an explanation.

“I think Hell just froze over,” I said as I stared ahead at the spot once occupied by a Camaro and its driver.

“Oh, shit!” I heard Jessie groan from the back seat. “I know that look.”

I turned around and said, “That was him, wasn’t it? Nick Hawke? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You didn’t give me a chance to tell you anything before you jumped out of the car with promises of man handling him. You said that you only needed a minute to straighten him out and I believed you,” Jessie reminded me.

I held the bridge of my nose and Claire recognized that as my signature move when I was stressed. “You’re pinching your nose. What’s wrong? What did he say to you?”

I felt stupid and played and I wasn’t telling them about my ignorant bet with Nick Hawke unless I had to, meaning if I lost.

“Nothing, Claire. Let’s just go watch this race and get it over with.” And hope Dane drove that Porsche like he stole it.

2 Not So Fast, Doll Face

Nick

Damn, that girl excited me. She was one hot piece of ass and I couldn’t resist watching her in my rearview mirror as I drove away from her while she stood staring after me. Not only was she hot, she was entirely different from every other girl I’d ever met and I was thoroughly fascinated by the unusual way she was unaffected by my interest in her.

I would have gladly blown that race off without a moment’s wesitation to work on getting into those panties, but I knew I would be seeing her at the race soon enough. She would be watching me and hoping I wouldn’t win. Something about knowing she would be there rooting against me intrigued me and the challenge she presented fascinated me beyond simple curiosity.

Because of our run in at the red light, I got to the dead end road we all referred to as ‘The Strip’ later than normal. Everyone was waiting on me and onlookers were lined up along each side of the road. I looked at my clock and saw that there was still fifteen minutes before all bets were closed, but I had already made the only wager that counted in my book.

I immediately saw the new black Porsche in position at the start. I admit it was a total badass, but it wasn’t a 911 as I expected. It was a Cayman and I smiled because I knew I had this one in the bag.

It wasn’t the money making me smile, although a cool grand would hit the spot. It was the beautiful blonde with the light golden brown eyes the color of honey that provoked my good mood. Honey was a flavor I liked very much.

I realized that I had not gotten her name because I had gotten so hot and bothered by her, but that was okay. I wasn’t letting her get away again without making good on the night she would owe me.

I stopped dead even with the Porsche on the starting lineup. I got out to meet the rich kid I was going to race and wondered if the object of my new fascination was here to support him or strictly here for the prospect of making a little cash.

He offered his hand and I took it as I said, “Nick Hawke.”

“Dane Wickam.” He greeted me with a smile and I found that unusual because my opponent and I usually both played the tough guy card. This kid was different; he seemed nice.

“Sweet ride,” I complimented. It was fancy and expensive, but it was no match for the illegal bells and whistles I had added to the motor in my Camaro.

He shrugged as though it was no big deal. “Thanks. It was a graduation gift from the parents.”

Wow, that was some graduation gift. I didn’t even get a ‘congratulations’ from my old man, but I didn’t have time to dwell on my dad’s lack of enthusiasm for long because I felt arms creep around my waist from behind. I turned my head to look over my shoulder to identify the friendly female and saw Samantha Hodges.
Shit, I had forgotten about her and the plans we had made.

Samantha was like a song on a playlist I always skipped, but never deleted. She was my permanent backup plan for a booty call.

She and I had plans to get together after the race, which translated in Hawke language as her dropping her panties for me. It seemed like a good idea when I made the date with her, but it couldn’t seem less interesting now that I had met Doll Face.

“I wanted to give my Hawke a good luck kiss before the race,” she said as she locked her fingers above the waist of my jeans and rubbed her body against my back.

I nudged her arms from my waist and stepped away because I wasn’t into her at the moment. I wasn’t cool with a kiss and I sure wasn’t into her one-sided public display of affection. “Nah, I’m not cool with you doing that in front of everybody.”

“Okay,” she pouted. “Maybe a congratulatory kiss afterwards?”

“We’ll see.” My answer was robotic as I searched ‘The Strip’ for any sign of the mysterious girl I wanted to get with tonight. I didn’t see her anywhere but I zeroed in on her Lexus parked in the distance and I smiled when I confirmed that she hadn’t skipped on me.

“I have something special for you tonight,” Samantha promised seductively.

I’m sure she did since she chased me relentlessly, but I couldn't have been less interested as I continued my search for Jessie’s lovely chauffeur. I backed further away from her and sat on the hood of my car. “I told you we would see.”

Yeah, I was being rude, but she was distracting me and it was irritating.

“Hawke, I can tell that you’re nervous about the race, but you’ll be in a better mood after you win. I’m going to see to it personally,” Samantha promised as she leaned between my parted legs and rubbed her body against my crotch.

“Don’t do that,” I warned. I didn’t want her, but that didn’t mean my body wouldn’t respond to stimulus like that.

“Why not? I just want to give you a little taste of what’s to come later.”

I turned my head away from Samantha and my eyes found the one I sought. She was standing next to Jessie, his girlfriend and my opponent. I watched her body language carefully, looking for any show of affection toward Dane Wickam. When I failed to detect a sign of attraction of her part, I was glad and I found myself smiling in her direction.

As I stood there feeling triumphant, she turned to look at me and made of face of disgust when she saw Samantha bumping and grinding me on the hood of my car. This chick was going to ruin my chance with Doll Face if I wasn’t careful.

I reached for her hips and pushed her away. “I need to concentrate on the race, so I’ll catch you later.”

“Sure, Hawke. I’ll wait for you afterwards,” she called out as I walked away.

I joined a group of friends from Collinsville and made small talk about my car while I waited for race time. As I stood with my buddies, I occasionally looked in the direction of Jessie’s friend and was disappointed to see that she wasn’t checking me out.

“Bets will be closing in three minutes,” I heard my brother, Jake, yell out and I knew that was my cue to start heading to my car.

I had to walk by Doll Face on the way and I couldn’t resist speaking to her so I could look into her honey eyes again. “I forgot to introduce myself earlier. I’m Nick Hawke, but all of my friends call me Hawke.”

She didn’t give me the polite return of telling me her name so I prompted her. “And you are?”

I think she was seriously contemplating how she could withhold that information from me but came up empty handed so she finally answered, “Payton Archer.”

I smiled as I mentally repeated her name in my head. “Well, Payton Archer, it’s almost time for the race. How do ya’ feel about a good luck kiss?”

I saw a gleam enter her eyes. “I think a good luck kiss is an excellent idea."

Wow. That was easy and her receptive response was completely unexpected but then I figured out why. I watched her walk over to my opponent and tap him on the shoulder. When he turned around, she put her arms up over his shoulders and kissed him hard, causing the crowd to erupt into cheers and cat calls.

When she finished, she turned back to me. “I figured it was only fair for Dane to have a good luck kiss since you got a good luck hump on the hood of your car.”

This girl was unbelievable and like nothing I had ever come across. I watched her strut to the roadside in her short skirt and jacked up heels and I knew winning this race had nothing to do with the money anymore; I had to win this race so I could have my night with her.

I got into my car and watched all the spectators take their places at the finish line. Jake stood between our cars with a white flag in his hand and I watched for him to lower it as a signal to take off.

When the white flag dropped, I slammed my foot onto the accelerator a little too suddenly and briefly got sideways, giving the Porsche a jumpstart on me. It was a stupid beginner’s mistake on my part but once I got straightened out I laid the hammer down and we were neck and neck for the next 700 yards until I flipped the nitrous switch. With only 100 yards to spare, I cruised ahead of the Porsche and crossed the finish line as the winner.

When I got out of the car, a congratulatory crowd rushed toward me and I was so bombarded I couldn’t find Payton in the sea of faces. I searched the crowd, but knew she wouldn’t be pushing through to find me, so I shoved my way toward Dane since I suspected that was where she would be and I was right.

She saw me coming toward her and tried to escape by mixing into the crowd, but I was faster. With her back turned to me, I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close until her back was pressed against my chest. In her hellaciously tall heels, her ear was level with my mouth and I leaned forward to whisper, “Not so fast, Doll Face. We had a bet and you owe me.”

God, she smelled great. It was some kind of fruity mix I couldn’t identify so I placed my nose in her hair and breathed in deeply, but then I quickly pulled away because she turned to peer at me over her shoulder. “First of all, it’s Payton, not Doll Face. And second, you misrepresented yourself when you made that bet with me. You did not tell me you were Nick Hawke, therefore you tricked me into making that wager.”

“You're cute when you're mad.”

She tried to pull away. “Then you’re about to see me look downright adorable."

I pulled her closer. “I may not have told you who I was, but there was no trickery involved. I would have given you your two-hundred bucks if I had lost. This was an upstanding bet whether you like it or not, so are you going to give me the night you owe me?

I decided I faired a better chance of her feeling guilty and saying ‘yes’ if she was looking me in my eyes, so I spun her around to face me. “Tonight works for me.”