The Shadow of Mudflap (A Foxtrot Team Novel #1) (4 page)

“Hell, yeah, football, baseball, basketball, hell, even NASCAR. I love it all.”

Mudflap grinned. “I think you’re gonna fit in just right here. What about poker?” It would be nice to have another ally against Riley.

Halftime Texting

Shanae
: All that build-up and you’re seriously not going to call me. I’m disappointed.

Mudflap
: Hey, give a guy a chance. There’s a lot of pressure here to get this right.

Shanae
: Sigh, I had such high hopes for you.

Mudflap
: Darlin’, I promise you the wait will be worth it.

Shanae
: Hmm, I may just have to take Tom up on his offer instead.

Mudflap
: Who’s Tom?

Shanae
: Just a guy, although he was really hot. Time’s a-ticking. Don’t wait too long.

Mudflap

Mudflap thumped the edge of his cell phone sitting on the counter taunting him. He needed to call her. She haunted his dreams and fantasies, both the ones at night when he slept and the ones during the day when he allowed himself to think about her.

But what if it had just been a case of misplaced adrenaline? Maybe their chemistry wasn’t as combustible as he remembered it being. Their exchange of texts so far had been flirty and fun. He really didn’t want to blow this on the first date.

Derek walked into the room and glanced between Mudflap and the phone he continued to twirl on the counter. “When did you turn into a pussy? You should know staring at a phone won’t make it ring, especially when you’re the one who’s supposed to make the call. Call her already.”

Mudflap scowled at Derek’s smirking face. His roommate was beginning to annoy him.

“I’m trying to decide where to take her on a date, assuming she says yes.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “She gave you her number, right? Newsflash for you, girls don’t give you their phone number just so they can have the opportunity to turn you down when you call. She’s gonna say yes.”

“So where should I take her?”

“You’re asking me? You know I’m the last guy you need to be asking anything about love. Obviously, I suck at it.”

“That’s not true. That girl was a bitch with a capital B. You just managed to find the one girl who couldn’t appreciate you and your stupid ideas of romance. Most girls love that.” Mudflap shook his head. Derek’s last girlfriend had left scars and it was going to take him a while to recover.

“Yeah, well I’ve learned my lesson. No more romance for this guy. From now on, I’m gonna be like every other guy out there. Get in her pants, then get out and go home. That’s my motto from now on.”

Mudflap watched Derek clench his jaw. “Come on, Derek, don’t be like that. Don’t let one girl ruin your view on all of them.”

“Okay, okay. Call your girl. Tell her you’ll take her out to dinner and I’ll help you set up a date which will completely sweep her off her feet.” Derek pulled a business card out of his wallet. “I have an idea. Just trust me on this.”

Shanae

Three days later, Shanae looked around the inside of the immaculate old Ford Bronco, anything to distract her from her nerves. What was up with that? She didn’t let guys make her nervous. Ever. “What year is this? A sixty-six, sixty-seven?”

Mudflap cast an appraising eye at her. “Actually, it’s a sixty-eight, but I’m impressed. You know old Broncos?”

She nodded. “Yep, I know cars. My dad was a racecar driver and I grew up at the racetrack. I had no choice but to pick it up.”

“I have a weakness for vintage cars especially the old muscle cars. I’d love to get my hands on one of those. So what do you drive?”

She could feel the heat creep up her neck. “Um, a 2010 Prius.”
And an original 1967 Shelby Mustang and a 2012 Hayabusa Motorcyle.
Those didn’t fit the image she was supposed to present to the world, so she didn’t mention them, although it sounded like Mudflap would really enjoy the Mustang. But honestly, there weren’t too many guys who wouldn’t love that car.

Growing up the way that she did, cars were a passion for her. Most people wouldn’t guess you could soup up a Prius engine to hit 248 mph like Shanae had been able to do with hers. It was probably time to change the subject so she wouldn’t blow her cover.

She glanced back over to Mudflap as he negotiated traffic. He looked gorgeous. For their date, he’d stepped it up. He wore a black suit, with black shirt open at the collar. It revealed enough so she could see just a glimpse of his dark chest hair underneath. That little tease made her fingers itch with the need to explore under the buttons of his shirt. He’d tamed the dark curls of his hair with some sort of styling gel. The dark color of his hair extended to the scruff on his face. He was one of those guys who had a perpetual five o-clock shadow and it was really sexy on him.

“You look nice tonight,” she told him.

He flashed a quick smile which showed off his dimples, but then scanned down her simple teal-colored sundress. From his appreciative look, she’d chosen well. He’d already told her, but it was nice to see he continued to think so. “Thanks, I have to look like I belong with such a beautiful lady.”

“Thanks.” She gave him a soft smile. “So, are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

Shaking his head, his eyes reflected his anticipation as he said, “Nope, it’s a surprise. But you won’t have to wait long. We’re almost there.”

They pulled into a deserted parking lot in front of a high-rise bank and Shanae glanced over at Mudflap, questioning. “We’re here?” She ducked her head to look up at the darkened, obviously closed building, her internal alarms flashing. Had she read this guy all wrong? The slight pressure on her thighs from her knife sheaths and the weight of her clutch purse holding her gun gave her some comfort, but that didn’t completely dispel her wariness over this dark, empty venue.

Mudflap sent her a charming smile before exiting his side of the Bronco to come around to open her door. He extended his hand to help her out of the vehicle. Brushing a light kiss across the top of her head, he whispered, “Trust me.”

Butterflies danced down her spine at the whisper of his breath on her forehead. Just that slight glance of his lips and she was ready to melt in a puddle at his feet. Even though her highly trained head told her to be on alert, her heart already trusted him completely. Not a good position for a spy to find herself in.

He threaded his fingers through hers and pulled her to the front door of the building where he ran a key card through the security lock. They entered the foyer of the building and headed directly toward the elevators, where Mudflap again ran the key card through a slot. The elevators opened immediately and they entered. He pushed the button for the top floor and gave her a secret smile before pulling her tight against him so her back was pressed up against his chest. It was a bit scary at how natural this all seemed. It would be so easy to let this guy sweep her off her feet.

The elevator dinged the arrival at their floor and Shanae couldn’t hold in her gasp as the doors opened up to a rooftop terrace which literally took her breath away. Dusk was fading into the night sky and made the multitude of twinkle lights across the rooftop garden sparkle like stars.

“Oh, wow.” She stepped out of his arms and into the lush vegetation. Everywhere she looked candles and twinkle lights created a mystical glow. Set up in the very center of it all was a cozy table for two, complete with wine glasses and a tuxedo-clad waiter. Light notes of sultry, romantic jazz played in the background from a built-in speaker system.

“This is amazing.” She turned to Mudflap and kissed his cheek. “I love it. How in the world did you do this?”

He shrugged. “My roommate works in marketing and he has connections. He helped a lot.”

She swirled in a circle, overwhelmed by the complete romantic beauty of it. She’d never had a guy do anything near this amazing to impress her.

While she took in the ambiance, he’d poured them both a glass of wine and brought hers to her. He handed it to her and then grasped hold of her hand. “Come here. I want to show you something.” He pulled her to the edge of the roof and the nighttime lights of the city were spread out before them. Who knew that Lubbock could look this gorgeous at night?

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

He brushed his thumb across her cheek. “So are you.” He gave her a soft, lingering kiss, the softest pressure of his lips sending tingles down her spine. She swayed slightly when his lips left hers and he steadied her with a gentle touch to her elbow and a satisfied smile on his rugged face.

“I think our waiter has laid out dinner. Let’s go sit down and eat.” He gently guided her to their table set with beautiful plates topped with pork tenderloin. The smells emanating from the dishes were mouth-watering.

She glanced around, but the waiter had disappeared. As they sat and began to eat, Mudflap asked, “So tell me about growing up at the racetrack. How did that work?”

“I don’t know how my dad did it. He was a racecar driver and my mom left him when we were babies. I’m a twin and I guess two babies were two too many for her. So we were raised by all the guys in the garages. We grew up with tools as toys which sounds totally bizarre now, but was just normal to us back then.”

“You have a twin sister?”

“Yes, Emma. She’s married and lives here in Lubbock, too. We’re pretty close although things seem a bit different since she got married.”

“How long ago did she get married?”

“About a year and a half ago. It’s just odd having to share my best friend with someone else. She’s always just been mine, ya know? But they seem happy together so I’m happy for her.”

She took a sip of her wine and looked at him appraisingly. “Okay, now it’s your turn to share. Tell me how in the world you got the name Mudflap. It has to be a nickname, right?”

He chuckled mockingly. “Unfortunately, no. It’s the name that my parents gave me on my birth certificate.”

“Why? And please tell me you’re an only child or that they didn’t do the same thing to your brothers and sisters.”

“Are you making fun of my name?” His eyes sparkled with amusement although he tried to sound annoyed. 

She worked to straighten her grin. “No sir, I would never make fun of a highbrow name like Mudflap.” She giggled. “Come on. You have to tell me the story.”

He sighed deeply. “I have a brother who’s seven years older than me and twin sisters who are five years older.”

“Ooh, twins run in your family, too. That settles it. We’re never allowed to procreate. We’d end up having a litter,” she teased.

His eyes darkened for a moment as he considered her. A shiver of awareness rolled up her spine, but then he continued. “I wasn’t planned. My mom never forgave my dad for getting her pregnant. To add insult to injury, my dad was out hunting when mom went into labor. I’m not sure what the story is, but mom swears the night I was conceived dad was so horny, he got turned on by a mudflap girl. Obviously, that’s not even possible, but I honestly don’t really want to know what the whole story is. All I know is that mom was hormonal and ticked at dad and I paid for it with my name. She’s since forgiven me for being born, but I’m stuck with the name.”

Shanae snickered. “That is so wrong.” But it was hard to keep her lips from twitching. She’d always been a sucker for a guy with a sense of humor.

“Tell me about it. I’m the one who’s had to live with the name my whole life.”

“Have you ever considered changing it?”

“Yeah, it’s crossed my mind a time or two or hell, one hundred times, but I figure it’s a good reminder to always use birth control.”

She full-out guffawed at that. “Oh my God.” The snorting continued. “That’s absolutely priceless.” She giggled into her hand.

“Oh yeah, just continue to laugh it up. I see how you are.”

“I’m sorry, but it really is a great story.”

They shared a smile before he reached across the table to her. While they’d been talking they’d finished their delicious meal. “Dance with me before dessert?”

He pulled her out of her chair to hold her close as they began to slowly sway to the music. “There’s dessert, too?”

“Of course, every good meal needs to end with a bit of chocolate.”

The guy thought of everything. She pressed closer to him, loving the feel of his chest muscles against her. “You really are too good to be true, aren’t you? Tell me, you don’t have three wives and fourteen kids hidden in the basement of your house.”

“No, the only thing in my house is Derek and he doesn’t know how to stay hidden. I keep trying, but he never stays where I put him.”

She smiled at him, melting into the warmth of his gaze. His focus shifted to linger on her lips and the low tingling of electricity she’d been experiencing all night quickly turned into a high-voltage hum. She wanted to feel his lips against hers. Raising her chin, she reached behind his head to pull him down to meet her. Tentative at first, the kiss quickly deepened and her pulse sky-rocketed at the first swipe of his tongue against her lips. She wanted more, but suddenly he pulled back, his breathing as harsh as hers.

His voice had deepened when he said, “You’re ringing.”

She looked at him, confused. Throbbing, yes, in all the right places, but ringing? “What?”

He smiled with a slight grimace and clarified, “Your phone, in your purse, it’s ringing.”

Damn, it was. She hadn’t even heard it and double-damn, that ring never meant good things. “I’m sorry. I have to get it. That’s my ringtone for work.”

Regret showed in his eyes, but he nodded as she scooped up her purse from the ground.

Unfortunately, this call meant they were at the end of the date for the evening. Disappointment rolled through her. She wasn’t ready for it to end.

Game 2 Results:

Texas Tech (21): 31

vs.

Florida State (24): 21

Week 3: Take One for the Team