Monica starts backing away and for the first time in her life, she seems to be doing the right thing. “That’s right, Monica,” Noah continues in that tone that terrifies me. “You’re done.”
She swallows visibly and I watch with drawn brows as Noah holds out his hand expectantly. Monica looks down at it in confusion. “Phone,” he demands.
“What?” Monica sputters.
“I won’t ask you again.”
Reluctantly, Monica pulls her phone out of her pocket and hands it over, seeing that she clearly has no other option. I watch as Noah flips it over and starts taking it apart. He pulls her sim card out of it before flicking it back towards her. It falls to the ground and she dives after it as Noah hands me the iPhone. “You owe Henley a phone,” he explains.
Monica’s fingers curl around the little sim card as a defeated squeak sails out of her. The second she straightens out again, I see the desperate need to escape and I’m just about to step out of her way when Tully speaks up. “Oh, Monica,” she says stepping forward.
The moment Monica’s eyes focus on Tully, her fist pulls back and she slams it hard across her face like a fucking MMA fighter. Her face rebounds off Tully’s fist like a bobble-head and I stand there, gawking as Monica lets out a squeal.
“Get the fuck out of here, Monica. You’re done,” Tully demands.
Whoa. Is it inappropriate to high five her right now?
Monica scrambles away with a hand pressed to her face as I gawk at my best friend. Noah grins like he’s never been so proud while Rivers looks as though he’s about to fall at her feet and kiss the ground she walks on.
“Holy shit,” I say, nudging Tully who starts rubbing her knuckles. “What was that?”
“Sorry,” she murmurs as we watch Monica dive into her car. “Couldn’t help it.” Rivers picks up on the fact that she’s hurt her hand and is beside her in the blink of an eyes, rubbing it and checking over her knuckles, making sure she’s alright.
The sound of Monica’s car door slamming has all our attention drawn back to her. I cringe with the way the blue ink instantly stains her car seats, but I honesty couldn’t give a shit. She deserves to spend the next few days scrubbing them clean. “You’re just going to let her go?” Tully questions.
“Just watch,” Rivers murmurs for only us to hear before placing a discreet kiss at her temple and pulling her into his side.
Monica fumbles with her car keys and eventually jams them into the ignition. The second she gives the key a twist, smoke billows out from under the hood, stalling the engine. “What?” I laugh in shock. “Did you guys do that too?”
Noah shrugs with a proud grin. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Monica dives out of the car, probably terrified that it’s about to explode, but surely the boys wouldn’t be that stupid, right?
Without bothering to check on her car, Monica races back from where she came, no doubt, so she can escape through the front gates and run her blue ass home.
Chapter 21
My eyes rake over Noah’s body as he pulls his shirt off and tosses it to the side before leaning back over the hood of his Camaro and managing to get grease everywhere.
It’s race day and I’ve never been so excited, but if this is the kind of show I’ve been missing out on over the past few weeks, I need to be apologizing to my soul. Hell, I don’t even know if he realizes what kind of affect he has on woman kind, or at least me. The tattoos, the muscles, the light sheen of sweat, the sunkissed skin, the grease smeared across his chest. My God, this shit is too good.
“You’re drooling,” Rivers grunts as he drops down in the seat beside me before handing me a drink.
I reluctantly tear my eyes away from Noah’s strong back and focus on Rivers’ smirking face beside me. “Jealous?” I question. “No one’s been staring at you like this.”
“Fuck off,” he laughs. “And trust me, she looks at me like that all day long. It never gets fucking old.”
I grin back at him, loving how he knows that I’m referring to Tully. “What’s going on?” I ask, cracking open my soda and taking a quick drink as my eyes slide back towards Noah as he changes out the oil before tonight race. “Don’t you usually help him with this shit?”
Rivers shrugs. “Sometimes,” he tells me, “But he’s a big boy. He can handle it himself.”
I can’t help it, the words just come tearing out of me. “Damn straight, he’s a big boy.”
“Shit, Henley,” he groans. “I don’t want to hear that shit.”
I chuckle to myself as I realize Tully hasn’t followed him outside. “Where’s Tully gone?” I question. “Don’t you two usually stick like glue when Noah’s distracted?”