Rock Chick Rescue (Rock Chick #2)(25)

My body was on fire.

“Hey RJ,” I said, stil trying to recover from the kiss. This was hard, considering Eddie hadn’t let me go.

“Who’s the dude?” RJ asked, looking at Eddie.

Eddie was looking over his shoulder, his arms stil around me.

“The dude is Eddie. Eddie, RJ, RJ, Eddie,” I said, feeling like a complete moron. I’d taken my hand out from under Eddie’s t-shirt but I was now clutching it at his side for fear my legs would give out if I didn’t hold on for dear life.

Eddie nodded to RJ making it plain RJ was interrupting.

In any other circumstance I might find this funny. Eddie and I were necking at the public entrance to an apartment building in broad daylight and Eddie glared at RJ as if we had a right to privacy.

However at that moment, I did not find it funny.

RJ did and his face cracked into a huge smile.

“Boy, Jet, can always count on you to be entertaining.” Wonderful.

I was never going to convince Eddie I was your normal, everyday, average girl.

RJ put his gloved hands to the angled wheels of his chair and pushed forward.

“Later dudes,” he said, taking the hint, and then he was off.

I looked back to Eddie and he was shaking his head. “I haven’t made out on someone’s doorstep in… f*ck, I’ve never made out on someone’s doorstep.”

I smiled at him because he was funny and the minute I did it, his eyes changed and the change made my insides melt.

“Christ, Jet, you should do that more often,” he said.

“What?”

“Smile.”

That wiped the smile from my face.

Eddie’s slack arms tightened around me. “Un-unh, no retreat. I’ve gained ground here, I’m not gonna lose it in two minutes.”

“I have to go upstairs,” I told him.

“I’l let you go upstairs when you agree to have dinner with me tonight,” Eddie said.

Eek!

I hadn’t had the chance to process kissing Eddie, I certainly wasn’t ready for a date.

Luckily, I had an excuse.

“I can’t, I have a shift at Smithie’s.”

Eddie was not deterred.

“Tomorrow.”

Damn, I had the night off from Smithie’s tomorrow.

Before I could think of a plausible excuse, Eddie grinned. He knew he had me.

“Six o’clock. I’l pick you up here.”

He didn’t give me a chance to say anything, his lips came down and touched mine. I could feel most of his body pressed up against me, his arms were around me, I could smel him and he’d just touched his lips to mine. Therefore, I lost the ability to think.

His lips went away and he asked, “How’re you getting to work tonight?”

I blinked to clear my Eddie Daze.

“Smithie found out about the knife thing. He says I have to be escorted to and from the building and, while my car’s out of commission, he’s arranging for one of the bouncers to take me to work.”

Eddie ran his fingers through my hair at the temple and, I had to admit, it felt nice.

“Maybe he isn’t the ass**le I thought he was,” Eddie said.

“He takes care of his girls,” I told him.

“At least that’s one person trying to look out for you, though if last night’s any indication, he’s not doing very well .”

“Last night was a fluke,” I tried to reassure him.

“Last night is every night at a strip club. You dress like that around drunk guys, shit’s gonna happen.” I stared at him.

“Do you want me to get mad?” I asked.

His eyes changed, they got warm but serious.

“Chiquita, I’l take anything I can get from you.” I didn’t know what to say to that so I didn’t say anything at al and just kept staring at him.

Eddie let me go and held the card up between us.

“I gotta get back to work. You need anything or your Mom needs anything, cal me.”

I took the card. Although I kinda wanted a repeat of what happened when I didn’t take it, I really needed to check on Mom. Then I needed to check on Dad. Then I needed to do a mil ion other things.

“Thanks Eddie,” I said.

He smiled at me, dimple and al , ran his knuckles along my jaw and then he walked away and, without looking back, I ran away.

* * * * *

When I hit the living room, Mom was in her chair at the window and Ada was standing beside her. “Is that Eddie?” Mom asked, not turning her head away from the window.

I went to the window and saw Eddie standing and talking to Mr. Greasy Coveral s.

“Yeah.”

“The Mexican man or the black man?” Ada asked, her eyes not leaving the window either.

“The Mexican man,” I told her, watching Eddie. He had put his mirrored sunglasses on and had his hands on his h*ps while he talked. He looked very cool and very hot.

“He’s cute,” Mom said.

Only Mom would describe Eddie as “cute”. He was a lot of things but he was not cute.

Eddie started to move away and looked up at the apartment building. I jumped out of the window as fast as I could, not wanting him to catch me checking him out. I had enough to worry about with the looming date to have him thinking I was some love struck cocktail waitress staring longingly out the window at him.