Chapter 23
“Hi, Russ.”
He walks out to greet me, light brown curly hair and olive skin, with the biggest blue eyes you ever
saw.
My mechanic Russel is the hottest man in Greenville, not in a handsome bachelor kind of way. In a
subtle the way he smiles kind of way.
Getting my car serviced is the highlight of my life.
He smiles and our gaze stays locked for a beat longer than it should. “Been too long since I saw you,
Violet.”
“Well..” I drag my hand through my hair, he makes me giddy. “I can’t have my car serviced any more than I do, Russ. I think they call that stalking.”
“You can stalk me any day.” The air swirls between us.
My eyes drop to the tight blue jeans and his red flannelette check shirt.
He has thick quads and ropey veins down his forearms, big broad shoulders.
Everything about Russ screams raw, unfiltered man.
We’ve had this flirty banter going on for over a year now but it never seems to eventuate to
anything. I know he’s single and not a player, but that’s all I really know; he lives a little out of town and grew up here, but the rest of him is a mystery. From what I gather, nobody seems to know much
about him.
He leans his behind on my car and crosses his feet at the ankles. “You know, I’ve been thinking.”
“About what?”
“How…” He cuts himself off.
“What?” I ask impatiently. “Go on.” “Do you want to go out some time?” The floor spins.
“Like on a date?”
“Yeah.” He gives me a smile. “I mean… I know you have the twins and it’s not?
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“I have a nanny now.” I cut him off.
His eyebrows shoot up. “You do?”
“Uh–huh.” I shrug. “So, I can go out now…” I shrug again. “I mean, not all the time, but…sometimes. I
have a little more freedom.”
He smiles and I feel it all the way to my toes. “Saturday night?”
“Uh–huh.”
“I’ll pick you up around seven?” he asks.
Is this really happening?
“Uh–huh.”
He walks over to me. “You know, you’re saying uh–huh a lot.” He takes my face in his hands and
looks down at me.
The air leaves my lungs at his touch, and the only thing that will come out of my mouth is a weak
“Uh–huh.”
“You should probably kiss me to get me through until Saturday…uhhuh?”
“Uh–huh…”
His lips brush mine, softly but with the perfect amount of pressure.
Oh…
We kiss again and again and he pulls back and licks his lips as he stares down at me. “Your car isn’t
the only thing I need to service today.” “What?” I giggle, shocked.
“Grease and oil change.” He laughs.
“Pervert.”
“For me, I meant for me.”
“Sure you did.” I pull out of his grip and walk backward so I can keep looking at him. “I have to get to
work.”
“How are you getting there?”
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“Mr. Holdsworth, my neighbor, is picking me up from the main road, he’s out there waiting.”
“Did you forget something?”
“Nope, I think my work is done here this morning.”
He gives me a sexy smile. “I’m going to need your keys.”
“Oh, right.” Embarrassed, I dig through my bag and fetch my keys and hand them over, he grabs me
all rough like and kisses me again. “You behave in Mr. Holdsworth’s car now.”
I burst out laughing. “He’s eighty–nine.”
“You could bring a petrified rock back to life with that kiss.”
I walk off toward the main road and I can feel his eyes watching me, and I have to concentrate on
not jumping in the air and kicking up my heels in excitement.
Finally!
Saturday night, 7:08 p.m.
Headlights shine up the street and a car slowly pulls up in the driveway. “He’s here,” Maria calls.
“Okay,” I call back. Ever since Russ and I kissed last Tuesday, I’m like a little kid at Christmas. He woke something up in me that had been long forgotten, and I don’t remember ever being this excited
for a date.
I think I’ve turned a corner and finally realized it’s okay to want something for me. It’s taken me three years of being a mom and many lectures from Deb and Maria to realize that I don’t need to feel guilty every time I do something that doesn’t revolve around my kids. I guess I always felt that,
because I’m doing this parent thing on my own, that they should get every ounce of me and my time.
Tonight, that changes, no more all or nothing. I need to find a balance, happy home life and a man
who…I smirk, who am I kidding?
I want a hot man to fuck me well, to use my body like I want to use his.
It’s been way too long.
A knock sounds at the door, and my heart skips a beat. Maria and I purposely wore the kids out today and did every activity on earth so that we could get them to bed before I go out. That way I have no excuse to be preoccupied with worrying about what’s going on at home. We both know me
too well.
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“Hello.” I hear Maria’s voice as she opens the door.
“Hello, I’m Russel.” His deep voice echoes through the house.
I take one last look in the mirror; I’m wearing a black fitted dress that Deb and I bought during the week, my hair is down and I’m wearing makeup and black lingerie.
Lingerie.
With my heart beating hard in my chest, I come down the stairs to see Russel standing at the front door with a homemade bunch of flowers. Our eyes meet and he smiles softly. “Hi.” He looks me up
and down. “You look beautiful.”
“Hi.” I beam.
He passes me the flowers and I nearly melt into a puddle.
“I’ll put those into some water, you two get going.” Maria smiles as she looks between us as we stare
at each other.
“Thanks.” I pass her the flowers and float out the door and out to Russel’s truck. He opens the door for me and then leans in. “Do you have any idea how gorgeous you look?”
“You should kiss me.”
He rolls his lips. “Aren’t I supposed to wait until the end of the date to do that?”
“Nope.” I grab his face and bring it down to mine, our lips touch and the kiss is long, slow, and deep.
“Dinner?” I murmur against his lips.
“What?” he pants, overcome with arousal. We kiss again and again and I can feel his erection as it
leans up against my leg.
Yesssss…
Arousal screams through my body like a fire truck, we can’t go out like this.
“Takeout at your house?” I pant against his lips.
“Works for me.” He slams the door shut and nearly runs around to the driver’s side.
What the hell? We didn’t even make it out of my driveway.
{
We’re like animals.
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I don’t remember driving to his house, I don’t remember getting out of the car or what furniture he
has inside.
All I know is that now I’m in Russel’s bedroom and his eyes roam up and down my body as he slowly peels my dress off.
The lights are dimmed and the room is quiet, every breath between us is magnified.
Thump, thump, thump goes my heart. It’s been a long time since someone has seen me naked and
I’ve had two children since then. What if he doesn’t like what he sees?
Say something.
“You are so gorgeous, Violet,” he murmurs as he takes my face in his hands and kisses me deeply.
“You’re all I think about.”
He throws me back onto the bed and spreads my legs, he looks up at me as he licks me there and I nearly jump off the bed.
The first time he touched me was with his tongue. I smile goofily up at the ceiling.
I need this.
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