The Country Duet(19)

“Princess.” Teale crosses her arms over her chest, and pops a hip, along with one of her eyebrows in a synchronized motion.

“I’ll show you, my princess,” I mutter, then turn back to the problem at hand. “Thad, before I pull out this damn fuel pump, when was the last time you filled up on gas?”

Yep, just took his motherfucking man card from him in front of the bimbos and his fellow frat brothers. Remorse? Not at all. Hungry, tired, and frustrated? Absolutely!

Teale saves his ass. “Toss one of those bimbos in the car, and we’ll go get gas.”

Thad doesn’t hesitate to grab one of the girls. Teale speeds away like she thundered right into my life. Watching her taillights disappear does more to me than I’d like to admit. I’m in the mood to just drive until static fills my cab with nothing else bothering me.

Thad and his boys do their best to coax me into their wild night as payment for coming to their rescue.

“Naw, have an early class and need to get some grub.”

One of the cocky asses pipes up. “You can have any girl. Hell, we’ll even throw your little friend in the mix. You could have a full combo tonight.”

My fists clench, eager to go for his jugular, but Jeff Gordon decides to screech in at that particular moment. I never thought I’d be so thankful for her reckless driving as I am now. A jail cell doesn’t sound great tonight, but then again it might get a warm meal.

Teale marches right up to us with the gas can in her hand. She shoves it into Thad’s chest then steps back, not giving him time to catch it. I’m shocked he captures the red can before it tumbles to the ground.

“Thad,” the brunette who rode with Teale squeals. “It was like magic on those superhero shows. She just whipped that can out of her trunk. I mean it was awesome!”

I find it almost comical that Teale is feeling my level of frustration.

“Yeah, Thad, think you can locate the hole to pour that liquid in?” Teale asks.

The thing is she turns on him, marching back to her piece of a shit car before he can respond. Jeff Gordon’s engine doesn’t roar to life, nor does gravel fly, so I know she is watching what happens next.

“You think I’m out of gas?” Thad asks.

“Worth a fucking shot before I tear apart your car.”

Thad has no problem flipping open the cover to his gas tank, but it’s when he struggles with the fucking gas can that I can’t handle this circus anymore. I tear the jug from him, twist off the cap knowing it has a safety protection system, and then dump the gas into his tank, emptying the entire can.

“Go and try to start it,” I instruct him

It takes him two tries before the engine is sputtering to life. I tap his hood then point directly at him.

“Go fill up your damn tank, you crazy bastard, before you party the night away.”

“Will do. Thanks, man. Breakfast on me next time.”

“I’ll remember that.” I walk back to my car, pulling down my ball cap.

I notice Teale is still sitting in her car, surveying the whole scene. The empty gas can is in my hand, the reminder of how she helped out tonight. I walk up to her trunk and tap on it. The lid pops open, and I place it back in, unable to control my smile. Her dad definitely has her set up for roadside emergencies. How I missed it when I changed her first flat tire is beyond me. Oh, yeah, it was that color red and legs for miles.

“You owe me,” Teale chirps when I lean in on her window.

“Excuse me?” I ask.

“You owe me, Mr. Fix It. That was eighteen dollars worth of gas.”

I straighten up and step back. “Well, shit. Thought you forgot I existed.”

“Nope. Clearly, I recognized your truck, and now you owe me.”

“You are impossible, Teale Wickett.” I scrub my face, knowing I need a shower and fucking food right now. “Follow me to my place, and I’ll pay you back in the form of dinner.”

“Sounds good.” She winks. “Pedal to the metal, Grandpa!”

Just like she always does, she makes me laugh and all of the stress of the day fades away. It's ironic because the majority of the stress stems from her. I make sure to obey the speed limit all the way back to my apartment and for good measure keep it five under. Teale’s piece of shit car is riding my ass all the way. Each time she honks I take it upon myself to slow down a bit, enjoying torturing her a bit too much.

Having the advantage over her feels fucking good, since Teale has had the upper hand since I met her. I gesture out the window to Burton’s old parking spot, then pull into mine. Teale has her engine cut off and hops from her car before I even get out. I watch her as she peers around the apartment complex, taking it all in. I could be mistaken, but I see a longing in her eyes. Just chalk it up to another thing I want to know about her, but I’m just as quickly reminded of how big of a closed book this woman is.

“Nice digs,” she chirps when I walk beside her.

“You haven’t even seen the inside yet.”

She shrugs. “Looks nice on the outside.”

“It’s a rundown college town apartment complex.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I don’t judge things and people by looks.” She winks at me. “I take a deeper look into souls.”

I place my palm on my door then flex my other arm in a cheesy move. “Are you saying I’m not pretty, Teale Wickett?”