Josie appears at my elbow. Sasha glances over at her and her expression closes up.
"My car broke down. Zack said I need a new battery and a bunch of other stuff that I didn't understand."
"Your car is in good hands. He's so much nicer to cars than he is to people." Josie smirks at Zack.
His fingers tighten around the pen he's holding. I'm not sure why Josie loves to annoy him so much but it's been going on since high school. I've given up on ever figuring out their weirdly antagonistic relationship.
"Actually, I haven't found that to be true at all. Zack was just giving me some advice about my new business venture, actually. I had no idea he was a musician, too." Sasha grins at Zack affectionately.
The sight sends a sharp stab of envy straight through me. When I look over at Zack, he's watching me closely. So I work to keep the scowl off my face. By his smirk, I'm not successful. My brother loves screwing with me.
"Zack, Josie needs to pick up something at the house. Would you mind giving her a ride? I have some paperwork I need to finish up before I can leave." If nothing else, it'll get him away from Sasha so I don't feel this insane urge to reach over and drag her away from him.
He nods and then chucks Sasha under the chin. "Hang in there, Maestro."
I grit my teeth against another shocking spear of jealousy at seeing that casual touch. Josie and Zack leave so I walk over and sit in the chair behind the desk. Sasha watches me and then clasps her hands in her lap.
"So … Zack is really nice."
"You said that already."
Sasha smiles knowingly. "No, I didn't. How come you're here with me and not going back to the house with your girlfriend?"
"Josie has never been my girlfriend. Why are you here? No auto shops in New Haven?"
She looks away and the tops of her cheeks color slightly. I instantly feel like an asshole.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
"You were just pointing out the obvious. That I'm stupid for coming here. I wasn't going to and then I just found myself looking up the number for your shop."
Her words bring a smile to my face. She's been thinking about me too. The pissy mood I've been in all day seems like a distant memory.
"I'm glad you did. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since last night. I shouldn't have kissed you but I'm not sorry I did it."
"Neither am I. But I'm still stupid for coming here. I doubt I'm your type." Her eyes skitter away from mine and one hand comes up to play with the ends of her hair.
"I don't have a type." I'm not sure if she's trying to make a reference to skin color or not but I definitely can't let her leave thinking that has anything to do with why I'm keeping my distance. "I've dated women of every background."
She laughs. "Of course you have. What am I thinking? I'm sure your ex-girlfriends could all compete in the Miss Universe pageant too. You probably have one from every country. Like stamp collecting."
Now that makes me laugh. She has such a snarky sense of humor. In a way she reminds me of Zack. That's probably why they seem to be getting along so well.
She stands and grabs her coat from the back of her chair. "Look Gabe, we both have our reasons for not wanting to get involved. I'm not sure what I was thinking by coming here. I just wanted … " She stops talking and suddenly looks down at her hands.
"It's okay. I know."
And strangely enough, I do. She was struggling with the same thing I am. The same thing that had me tossing and turning in my bed all night imagining her under me. I've never considered myself that creative but last night my brain conjured up a hundred alternate endings to the night, each one culminating with me and Sasha in bed together.
"Gabriel!"
At the shrill call, all amorous thoughts leave my mind. I stand and rush to the open doorway. If I have any chance at all of keeping Sasha on the outskirts of my life, I need to head Paula off before she sees her. I skid to a stop in the doorway right before she enters the office.
"Hey, are you looking for Zack? He went back to the house already."
Paula regards me with shrewd eyes. She tries to look around my shoulder but I lean against the doorframe, effectively blocking her.
"I know. He's the one who told me you were here. I was coming to invite you and your friend for dinner at our house."
I groan under my breath. If Zack told her I have a girl here, there's no stopping her. Paula is relentless when on the hunt for information. I move back and allow her to push past into the office. As soon as Paula sees her, her eyes swing back to mine. She's practically beaming.
I am going to kill my brother.
"Sasha, this is Paula. Paula, this is Sasha Whitman. She's friends with Finn and Tank."
"It's so nice to meet you. Zack told me that you were stranded here. If you're stranded, you might as well stay for dinner."
My eyes close and I have to take a deep breath. This is going too far. Zack has no idea how he's tormenting me. He thinks it's funny but he wouldn't laugh if he knew how hard I was struggling to keep my hands off this girl. I'm pretty sure our new relationship with our brothers won't withstand what will happen if I get involved with Sasha and things go sour.
"She's not stranded, Mom. I was going to take her home." I'll take her home and then that'll be the end of it. Now that I know she's friends with Finn, I can be prepared to avoid her in the future.