Page 26

“…What now?” I asked, tapping my fingers on my folded arms.

Leo chuckled, making me turn around to see him brace one of his large hands on the top of my car, his head nodding to the open driver’s side door, “You start the car.”

I frowned and glanced at the large jumper cables connecting the two vehicles.

“…It won’t blow up?”

Leo snorted while Brandon fought a smile and explained, “Your battery has no juice. Starting the engine just means it’ll take some of mine to start yours. It won’t blow up.”

I shifted from foot to foot, knowing that my impatient urge to start listening to music again was making me anxious.

“…Do you want me to—”

“Yes please,” I interrupted Leo’s offer by stepping back and gesturing for him to take a seat. Leo nodded, a smirk on his face as he folded his large body into my driver’s seat.

“Damn, you have short legs.” He yanked the seat back just enough for him to fit with one of his legs stepping outside the car, his foot flat on the asphalt. I noticed that my phone was face down on the center console still, and I felt a little bit of relief that he couldn’t see my screen.

Then Leo turned the keys and started the car.

The sound of my little engine roaring to life made my shoulders sag with relief.

The sound ofBlink-182’s“Feeling This” blasting from my speakers a second later, made me want to throw up.

I dove into the car to grab my phone.

I knocked it into the passenger seat, so I crawled after it.

Finally grabbing my phone in my hands, I tapped the screen and paused the song.

I sighed, hanging my head for a second before I noticed a pair of large warm hands on my waist.

I jolted, realizing that I was currently bent over Leo’s lap, still sitting in the driver’s seat of my car. I panicked again, trying to crawl back out of the car so I was no longer inappropriately draped across him, but his fingers flexed on my waist, holding me in place.

“Please don’t,” Leo groaned through gritted teeth. I looked over my shoulder and saw his eyes squeezed shut, his face twisted in a grimace, and a muscle popped in his cheek.

“What?” I asked, before noticing exactly where my knee was.

Right on top of his groin.

“Oh no!” I gasped, immediately adjusting my position so that no part of my leg was resting against him. This caused my feet to dangle out of the car uselessly, my weight supported by both of my hands and his. With his eyes still closed, Leo used his grip on me to slowly guide my body out.

“What just happened?” Brandon asked, his dark blonde brows pinched in confusion while I regained my footing. I ignored Brandon’s question and crouched over the driver’s side door to look at Leo, who released a large exhale. He was still hurting.

“Do you need…ice?” I asked, unsure how to handle a situation like this. I had never kneed a man in the groin before. I hadn’t even accidentally hit a man in the groin before. I had no idea what to do here.

Leo huffed out a small, unimpressed laugh, shaking his head, “Just give me a minute.”

“I’m so sorry,” I leaned forward to rest a hand on his leg, the one still hanging out of my car, “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Oh…sorry, man.” Brandon looked uncomfortable after realizing exactly how I had hurt our coworker.

“It’s alright,” Leo sighed, “Heaven forbid we learn about Jacqueline’s taste in music.” He finally opened his eyes, and though they weren’t as light and humorous as they usually were, I found myself removing my hand from his leg and standing tall enough to cross my arms over my chest.

“I just didn’t want to blow out your eardrums,” I lied.

“I’d take your car to get checked out, maybe order a new battery,” Brandon added, completely changing the conversation as he pulled his vibrating cell phone out of his pocket. He frowned at it once before answering with a “Yeah?”

He glanced at the two of us, and I waved him off to let him know I didn’t need him to stick around.