* * * * *
Davis felt like a complete dumbass. He was a jeans-and-flannel shirt kind of guy, and though everyone said dressing up suited him, he wasn’t comfortable in the white dress shirt, charcoal dress pants and gray sports coat he had finally settled on after Gram got him all worried about how to dress for Scarlett’s office party. He’d never get back the hours he’d spent surfing the net for men’s New Year’s fashions. Thank God, Melly hadn’t caught me! She would have had a field day ripping on me about it. He shuddered but kept his eyes on the road.
The online preparation had done nothing to ease his anxiety during his horrible trip to the men’s section of the department store, where Gram had insisted he shop. The term “jackass” came to mind when he remembered the tongue-tied and clueless conversation he had with the sales associate. That poor man had the patience of a saint to put up with me.
None of that mattered now that he was on the tail end of his drive to Scarlett’s place. He was so excited his foot started getting heavy and he had to be careful not to speed. He didn’t need a ticket on what he hoped was the first of many visits to see his girl. When she’d shown up in the mountains, right next door to his place just before Christmas, it was like a dream come true. Scarlett was his perfect type, soft and curvy with a sweetheart face, big, blue eyes and a head full of long, blonde locks, but she was much more than just a pretty girl with a hot body and rocking, great big ass. She was adventurous, fun, straightforward and very easy to talk to, and that last thing was a biggie for Davis. Conversation skills weren’t his thing, but no matter how economical he was with words, she managed to ask the right questions and pick up on his meaning. Damn, I can’t wait to see her!
He had his truck washed and detailed and the tires rotated before starting the trip. Three hours hadn’t seemed like so far away but the physical space between him and Scarlett weighed heavily on him. He couldn’t stop thinking about her and knowing he couldn’t hold her and touch her every day gave him a crippling sense of loneliness he had never experienced in his whole life. Good Lord, it’s only been a few days…is this what it’s like to be in love? I always thought the tales about shifters who found their one true mate were a bunch of bull, but now I know those stories were true.
With one hand on the steering wheel, Davis ran his other palm through his shoulder-length, brown hair before putting on his right turn signal and then slowing down and making his turn. An odd vibration put him ill at ease, but he continued to drive at a low speed. What was that? Something definitely wasn’t right. He pulled over onto the shoulder of the dark road and put the truck into park. Davis opened the door and got out, using his cellphone as a flashlight until he could find his emergency road kit in the back cargo toolbox. Once he had retrieved a better flashlight, he took a look at where the vibration was coming from on the back left side. Lightly, he tapped his new dress shoe against the tire. The pressure seemed fine. Bending his knees, he balanced in a squat. Son of a bitch! Those two morons who’d rotated his tires hadn’t put the lug nuts back on correctly.
Frowning, his jaw tight with tension, Davis stood upright and shined the light on his watch. Damn it! He could call Scarlett and let her know he was running late, but those lug nuts were a bitch to tighten and he couldn’t show up all dirty. If he called for a tow, it would take at least an hour. He wanted to see Scarlett now. Opening the door to his truck, Davis grabbed the directions he had printed out from the internet, reading them over and taking a good look at the map. He was a little over a mile away. He could cover that much ground in no time.
He turned his head and spied his cousin’s messenger bag in the back seat of his king cab. Without the truck’s headlights or the light from the flashlight or his cell, it was pitch dark out there. He could pull off a shift without being seen. This wasn’t ideal but he’d come too far to mess up his date now. Davis got back behind the wheel, turned off his lights and the engine. He took off his jacket and laid it on the seat before stripping off his shirt, unfastening his belt and unbuttoning his pants. He took off his shoes and socks, placing his socks inside the shoes before placing them in the messenger bag. He removed his belt and slipped off his trousers. As carefully as he could, he folded his shirt and pants before placing them in the bag with his shoes, rolling up his belt and adding it as well. He also put his phone and the directions in his bag just in
