Nitro Crew Complete Series, page 22
I stood by the passenger door and nodded at it. “Either you grab the keys out of my pocket, or you need to hold this.”
She snatched the carrier out of my hand before I could get the last word out and stood back. “Just take me home, Brooks.”
Instead of doing what she asked, I took a step toward her. “I get why you hate me, Frankie,” I said quietly. “I did things wrong. I have a lot of shit on my plate right now, and I was trying to get everything done at once. Going to Roc about everything and giving him the praise was easier than telling everyone individually. I’m sorry, Frankie. I can’t say anything that will make it better, but I’m sorry.”
I needed to get that out. I knew I had fucked up. The pressure of winning, my dad on my back twenty-four-seven, and my mother slowly slipping away had taken its toll on me the past months.
“We all have things going on in our lives, Brooks. That doesn’t give people the right to be huge douche canoes.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “I get that, doll. That’s why I just apologized, and I hope you’ll let me make it up to you.”
She shook her head and took a step back. “You don’t just get to say sorry and I’m supposed to come crawling back to Cummings Racing. You say I don’t know you, well you really don’t know me if you think what you just said is going to change everything for me.”
I followed her retreating step with two steps, putting me close enough to her that the carrier hit my chest. “But it changed something, right?”
She glowered at me but didn’t say anything.
I might not have completely thawed her glacial hatred toward me, but it might have melted a little bit. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I always win.” I pulled Kurt’s keys out of my pocket and beeped open the locks. “We should get going before all of this ice cream melts.”
She ducked around me and yanked open the passenger door. She had the door shut and was buckled in before I had the chance to open my door.
I licked the ice cream that was dripping down my hand and looked into the car.
She was mad at me.
Pissed.
But I had just given her a lot more to think about. I had fucked up before, but I was going to fix it.
*
Frankie
The man was maddening.
I hated him. I truly did.
Well, at least, I had.
Now my brain was trying to figure out what shit Brooks Cummings could have going on in his life. He was the prodigal son of Roger Cummings. Sure, he might have had to prove he was just as good as his dad, but that shouldn’t have been hard since he is as good as his dad was.
My eyes darted over to look at him.
What was going on with Brooks Cummings?
And why in the hell did I need to know?
I hated him, right?
*
Chapter Six
Frankie
“I’m really sorry.”
I pushed my sunglasses on top my head and watched Leelee and Kurt hustle over to her car. “Uh, why?”
Kurt laughed and slipped into the passenger seat.
Well, that wasn’t a good sign.
“Nos called in sick today,” Leelee explained. Nos was the parts guy who took care of the front office for Leelee. I had planned on staying back in the bays with the cars and not having to deal with anyone. But, no.
I was on my own for the rest of the day. “You really need to get someone else to help out, Lee.”
She looked at the shop and shrugged. “Uh, I’m sure you’ll be fine today. I left you notes about everything that needs to be done. It’s not a lot.” She ducked into her car and took off like a pack of demons were chasing her.
I turned to look at the shop and sighed. Kurt better have left me some damn donuts since he had left me take care of the shop by myself, and those notes Leelee left better be short. Three cars were parked on the side of the building, and I could see through the windows on the bay doors that all of the lifts were full of cars.
I pushed open the front door and was thankful they hadn’t left any actual customers there. I dropped my wallet on the countertop and spotted the box of donuts on the back counter. I made a beeline over to the box and flipped the top back to see that four donuts were still left. “There is a God,” I mumbled as I grabbed one covered in white powder sugar. “Heaven.” I inhaled the sweet scent of the donut and sighed. Maybe this day wouldn’t be as bad as I had thought.
Two bites into the donut, I had powder sugar coating my lips and sweet strawberry jam dripping down my chin. “So good,” I mumbled around a mouthful.
“Hey, I was going to eat that one.”
I whirled around and came face to face with Brooks fucking Cummings. “Wa health rr ya don her?” Powder sugar puffed from my mouth, and I wasn’t even quite sure what I had just said.
“You want to try that again without your mouthful?”
I watched Brooks wipe his hands on a maroon shop towel and shove it in his back pocket. His white shirt had a smear of grease across his chest, and the knees of his jeans were dusty with dirt. It looked like the man was actually working. I swallowed and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “What are you doing here?”
Brooks walked to the open box of donuts and pulled out the one I had been eyeing up for my next treat. “Hot damn,” he muttered around a mouthful. He swallowed and looked at the chocolate dipped long john. “You guys have amazing ice cream and donuts that taste like heaven. Not fucking fair.” He took another huge bite of the donut and moaned.
“What are you doing here?” I repeated.
He swallowed and grabbed a half-empty soda bottle off the counter. “You got a little something on your…well…face.” He circled his hand in front of his mouth then pointed at me.
Gah, son of a bitch. Of course, I had something on my face. I had been thoroughly enjoying the best donut of my life before I had been rudely interrupted. I swiped at my face and wiped my hand on my pants. “Do I really need to say it again?” I bitched. Could the man not answer my simple question?
“I’m here because I stayed above the shop last night.”
I looked up at the ceiling and growled. “Why?”
Brooks’ chuckle floated around me. “Your brother insisted I stay there. He said I shouldn’t have to stay in a hotel when he had a perfectly good apartment that was sitting empty above the shop.”
It was sitting empty. Nos used to live up there with his girlfriend, but they recently bought their own place, and Kurt had yet to rent the place out. He kept saying he was going to keep it empty for those nights Leelee kicked him out of the house.
“Of course, he did.” I dropped my chin to my chest and shook my head. My head snapped up, and I pointed to the dirt on his clothes. “Why are you dirty?”
He hitched his thumb over his chest. “I was working on an oil change when I heard the bell over the door. I didn’t know if it was you or a customer.”
“You…you know…” I tilted my head to the side and squinted. “You know how to change oil?” Brooks Cummings looked like his hands had never been dirty a day in his life. Last night at dinner when I watched his hands as he ate, there weren’t any calluses or scars like there were on mine. My knuckles were a myriad of scars from scraping them and skinning my fingers on jagged fiberglass.
“Yeah, doll. I know a thing or two about working on cars.” He polished off the rest of his donut and wiped his hands on his jeans. “I did the first two things on the note that Leelee left you. All that is left is an exhaust on an Eclipse, and then a turbo on a Honda.” He shook his head and laughed.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“You’ll see when you get to the turbo, doll. It’s hard to explain.” He walked back into the shop, and the swinging door swung shut behind him.
I couldn’t wrap my head around Brooks Cummings changing someone else’s oil, let alone figure out what could be so funny about a turbo on a Honda. I walked over to the door that led to the shop and pushed it open a bit to see Brooks.
He was working under a Mazda up on a lift. He had the expandable drip pan raised to the oil reservoir, and he was watching the last of the oil drain from the car. His hands were on his hips, and the white t-shirt he was wearing was stretched tight across his muscular shoulders. Even with his shirt on, I could tell the man was built like a Roman god.
His left arm was covered with black tattoos that led up under his shirt sleeve. I bit my lip and wondered where they stopped. Did they span across his chest and back, or did they end at his shoulder? I shook my head and told myself Brooks Cummings’ tattoos were nothing I should be thinking about. The man was a dick, and I needed him gone.
I turned away from the door and snatched the two notes Leelee had left by the computer. Brooks had crossed off three things, including the car that he was working on. He may think they were done, but I was going to go over them to make sure they were done right. He may think he knew what he was doing, but that didn’t mean he actually did.
I had noticed the Eclipse up on the hoist next to the car Brooks was working on and decided to get that done first. All they wanted was a tip put on the tailpipe, so it would only take me an hour, tops. Adding a tip to an exhaust was the cheap way to make your car sound like it had something under the hood when you really didn’t.
Brooks watched me as I walked out into the shop, but I tried to act like he wasn’t there. He may think he was helping me and earning brownie points, but he was just pissing me off even more. I didn’t need his help. I didn’t need anyone’s help.
I stared into the toolbox next to the Eclipse, but I could still feel him watching me.
“Sleep good?”
“Like a baby,” I mumbled. I wasn’t about to let him know that I had lain awake for an hour trying to figure out just what was so hard in Brooks’ life that made him be a dick. As far as he was concerned, he didn’t take up one millimeter of space in my mind.
I looked over my shoulder and watched him roll his shoulders. “That at least makes one of us. I swear to God, the bed Kurt has upstairs is filled with rocks.”
I watched his muscles bulge and twist under his shirt and didn’t even hear what he had said. “That’s good,” I muttered.
Brooks stopped moving his shoulders and turned to look at me. “It’s good my bed was made of rocks? Damn, Frankie. You really do have ice running through your veins.”
My eyelids fluttered, and I tore my eyes off his body. “Say what?”
“You even listening to me, doll? Or have you decided to just completely tune me out?”
I shook my head and turned back to the toolbox. “I didn’t sleep very well last night. I guess I zoned out.” The minute the words left my mouth, I shut my eyes and prayed to God Brooks wouldn’t call me on my bullshit of saying I slept like a baby before.
“Yeah, I know how that goes.” His tone was light, and I could tell he was trying not to laugh.
Nice one, Frankie. I needed to stop checking Brooks out and start trying to figure out how to get him to leave.
We worked side-by-side for a bit ‘til Brooks finished his oil change and lowered the car from the air. “You want me to pull the Honda in?”
“Uh, yeah,” I said absently. I tightened the fasteners on the exhaust and finished the Eclipse while Brooks pulled his oil change out of the bay.
I ducked into the office to grab another donut and was shocked as hell when I walked back into the shop. “What in the hell is that?” I took a huge bite of my donut and eyed up the car.
Brooks stepped out of the car and slammed the door. “This, is a 2018 Honda Fit.” Brooks held his arms out in true Vanna White style and tried not to laugh.
“We’re putting a turbo on this?” I sputtered. This had to be a joke. The car could fit in my bedroom, and I would still have room for my bed and dresser. I jammed the rest of the donut in my mouth and chewed. I had to wonder what some people were thinking. This was one car I would never think to put a turbo on.
Brooks nodded his head. “I asked Leelee the same thing, and she swore up and down this was the right car.”
“Then I guess the next question to ask is if the owner is on crack?” I giggled. The work we were about to do on this car was probably the cost of half of what the car was worth. “Can you really fit five people in here?” The car was a four door, but the size of the doors were about half the size of a normal car door. This Honda Fit was bright red, small, and so not worthy of a turbo. I walked over to the car and leaned into the window that Brooks had left open.
“I asked Leelee the same thing, and she said she tried to talk the owner out of the turbo, but they were insistent.”
I sighed and nodded. “And at the end of the day, Leelee is here to make money so why the hell not put a turbo on the clown car?”
Brooks chuckled and leaned against the car. It rocked against his weight, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Easy there, Hulk. Don’t wanna push the car over.” I stood up and rested my hands on my hips. “Well, guess I better get to work.”
The bell above the door out front chimed. “You want me to get that?” he asked.
Hell yes. I hated working with customers. I did much better with Luke just handing me the work order when I worked for him than having to listen to the customer try to tell me what they wanted then to try to tell me how to do my job. “Yeah, that’s all you. Not really a people person.”
Brooks clasped his hand to his chest. “What?” he gasped. “I never would have figured that out.”
I flipped him off and pointed to the office. “Try not to scare the customer off, Hulk.”
He flexed his arms and winked. “I’ll try not to, doll.” He strolled into the office, and I watched the door swing shut behind him. I glimpsed two blonde women before the door closed and heard one of them squeal at the sight of Brooks.
I rolled my eyes and got to work on the Fit. Those chicks would hopefully keep Brooks occupied for a couple of hours. They seemed just like his type.
Not that I cared about Brooks’ type.
Right?
*
Chapter Seven
Brooks
Kill me now.
“I can’t believe you are that famous race car driver.”
I tried not to roll my eyes. This chick had said the same thing seven times already. I was about ready to grab my passport from upstairs and prove it to her. “Yeah, that’s me.”
“So, you’re working on our car?”
“Uh, did you have the oil change?” I grabbed the stack of work orders Leelee had stacked by the computer. She had told me before she left that a couple of people might be stopping by to pick up their cars. I had assured her that I could take care of everything for her. I hadn’t expected the Bobbsey Twins to come in to get their car. I much rather would have been back in the shop helping Frankie, but I couldn’t ignore these two.
“No, we were having a turbo put on.”
I slowly raised my head from the stack of papers I was digging through. “The Fit?” I asked.
“Yep, that’s us. Kurt took care of us before. We’ve known him since high school.” The one who had told me her name was Karrie fluttered her eyes and smiled. “He always takes care of me,” she cooed.
This explained so much. I pulled the work order for the Fit out and set it in front of me. “Leelee gave me the rundown on the car. Unfortunately, it won’t be ready for at least two hours.”
Karrie pouted out her bottom lip and leaned against the counter. She had her arms under her boobs and pressed them up so the collar of her shirt crept back, exposing her cleavage. “Oh no. What are we supposed to do until it’s done?”
I had to wonder how Leelee even let these two into the shop. I also wondered how she wasn’t sporting a black eye because I doubted Leelee liked her flirting with Kurt the way she was trying to get my attention. “Uh, I’m not from around here, but I’m sure you girls can figure out something to do while Frank finishes your car.”
The other blonde leaned on the counter, mimicking Karrie, and batted her eyes. “Who’s Frank? Is he knew?”
These chicks were shameless. They had gone from gushing over Kurt, to hitting on me, and then wanting to know if there was a new guy who worked here. “Just someone who is working today since Leelee and Kurt needed the day off.”
Karrie scowled at the mention of Leelee’s name. “She needs a day off. Hopefully it was at the spa to buff out those things she calls nails.”
And this is where girls lose me when they think I want to hear them bash some other girl. I really had no connection to Leelee before coming here, but Karrie’s words pissed me off. “Well, while Leelee might need her nails done, there really isn’t much that can be done for you two at any spa that could make you all pretty.” I pointed to the chairs along the wall. “You’re welcome to sit and wait for your car or you can come back in two hours.”
“Will you sit with us?” The one purred.
For fuck’s sake. I had just told these two chicks they were basically ugly, and they were still trying to hit on me. There was no help for mankind if these were the kind of girls who were single and ready to mingle. “I need to help Frank. Entertain yourselves, or come back in two hours.” I turned on my heel and ran straight into Frankie.
“Whoa there, Hulk.” She rested her hands on my chest, and I grabbed her arms to keep her from falling over.
Please don’t let her hear what I had just told the Bobbsey Twins. Frankie was liable to tell me to leave for the way I talked to them. “Uh, sorry.”
She patted my chest and looked up at me. “I just need the work order for the Fit.”
I reached over and grabbed the paper I had pulled out earlier. “Here ya go.”
