SWNOVELS Taken by the Major: Chapter 12
I only ever really got one day off a week. This wasn’t it. Today, I had to run errands and do my weekly pick up and delivery at the bridal shop. I used to be able to do my weekly pick up after work at the restaurant, but apparently, someone complained about my smelling like French fries. They were worried that their dresses would smell like fry grease. It wasn’t like I would take their expensive dresses inside. I always left everything safely locked in the car.
Unfortunately, the change in scheduling for the pickup and delivery cut into my precious time off. If Tate wanted to see me, he would have to adjust to my schedule. Or he could wait, like Mac, and come pester me at the Burger Jeff.
I didn’t like that idea very much. And I didn’t like how low on gas I was. I had dresses and a tire to deal with today. And I could use some help.
I knew I was good for a few minutes on the phone. I tracked my usage religiously. I had just renewed my minutes for February, and any unused minutes in January rolled over.
I held my breath, nervous to even use the phone for something so frivolous, and turned the phone on. I had finite minutes and limited texting.
I texted the number I memorized for Tate.
I have the day off, would you want to run errands with me? Kenzie.
His reply came almost instantly.
I thought you didn’t have a cell phone?
It’s for emergencies. I’ll explain later. Yes or no? Here’s my address. I punched in my address and hit Send.
On my way.
I replied with a smiley face emoji and turned the phone off. Yay, Tate was coming over to help out. I gave the living room a quick tidying up. It wasn’t a complete mess, so that was good. And for once, he would get to see me when I didn’t stink. I spritzed myself again with the strawberry body spray that was probably an indulgence, but I considered it a necessity.
Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door. I checked the peephole, and seeing Tate’s broad chest filling the view, I pulled the door open.
“Hi,” I said. I wasn’t sure what to say next. I was so excited that he actually came over.
“I wasn’t sure I had the right address,” he said as he stepped in, a grin spread across his lips.
“Why’s that?” I asked.
He cast his gaze around the apartment before looking at me. “Making assumptions I shouldn’t be making, that’s why. You didn’t reply to my text.”
“Sorry. I turned the phone off. I only have so much texting I can do.”
“And you used some of it to text me? I’m flattered.”
“You might not be when I confess to asking you to run errands with me because I wanted you to drive,” I told him.
“I can drive,” he said.
“Yeah, but I need you to drive. I’m low on gas, and I need to get that tire fixed.”
Tate started nodding. The grin didn’t leave his face. “I see. Why didn’t you just ask if I could drive you around?”
I sucked in a big breath. “Tate, would you be interested in driving me around town today?”
He chuckled. “I’d love to. We can take that tire to be fixed. What else do you need?”
“I have to go to the Grocery Outlet, and Sally’s Bridal too.”
“The bridal store? Are you getting married?” He sounded amused.
I pointed to the pile of garment bags on the couch. “Somebody is.”
“Those wedding gowns?” He crossed the living room and began lifting the edges of the bags.
There were five dresses. “Two wedding gowns, a quinceañera dress, and two winter formals,” I told him. “I do overflow tailoring and hemming for Sally’s. I need to drop this bunch off and see if they have anything extra for me.”
“Sounds like we have a lot to get done.” He scooped up the dresses and looked at me expectantly. “Shall we?”
I nodded enthusiastically and scrambled to pull my coat on and grab my purse. I opened the door for Tate. He followed me out. I locked up, and then it was my turn to follow him down the three flights to the parking lot.
“You’re my hero again. It would have taken me at least two trips to get all of those dresses downstairs.”
“They are an armful,” he admitted. He paused next to his truck and then frowned. “Kenzie, I promise this isn’t a cheap come on, and I’m not trying to be a perv. But I need you to get my keys out of my front pocket.”
“You want me to stick my hand in your pocket?” I gulped.
“It’s that, or you take the dresses. I can’t carry these and get my keys.”
And there was no way I was going to be able to hold all five dresses at once. The quinceañera dress all by itself weighed at least twenty pounds with its exaggerated full skirt of layered tulle and satin.
“Okay,” I managed to say. I got up close and had to run my hand over his hip, keeping it between him and the garment bags.
“I’m not gonna lie, your hand tickles.”
“Sorry,” I said as I snatched it away.
“Don’t be. I like you touching me. But that was the wrong side. I figured I had better say something before you accused me of setting this up.”
“How could I have set this up? You picked up the dresses all by yourself.” I stayed pressed in close but this time reached around from the back, not his side. I let my hand skim against his jeans, over his hip bones. I found the top of his pocket and let my fingertips dip in. He twitched a bit as I pushed my hand deeper into his pocket.
“This isn’t fair. Your pockets are deep. The pockets on my jeans are a joke.” I had to talk about something to distract myself, or I would be too aware that my hand was very close to his inner thigh and his manhood. I found the keys and grabbed them, pulling my hand out and away as fast as I could. The temptation to linger was too much. His keys were warm from his body heat.
I beeped the lock open on the key fob and tried not to think about what I had just done.
Tate cleared his throat. I opened the back door to the extended cab, hoping there would be a space for the dresses.
He set the dresses inside and then turned to me. He held his hand out for his keys. I set them in his open palm. He closed his fingers over my hand, capturing it in place.
“I’ll need your keys to get the tire out of your trunk,” he said. “Unless you have them in your pocket and you want me to find them.”
He winked, and I think I might have died. My mouth went dry, and my pulse raced.
“No, no, my keys are right here,” I stammered as I fished them out of my purse.
“Too bad. Climb in. I’ll be right back with your tire.”
My body tingled as I climbed into Tate’s truck. Touching him had been amazing, awakening, more fun than I could have realized, tantalizing, teasing. It had bent my mind, and suddenly, I couldn’t think of wanting to do anything more than touch him more. I wanted to press against him and feel his hard muscles against me. I wanted his arms around me. What would it be like to have him touch me?
The truck bounced a bit as he tossed the tire into the back bed.
“Ready to go? Where to first?”
“Sally’s Bridal.” I gave him directions.
He was the best errands buddy I could have asked for. He carried the dresses into the shop and treated them as if they were fragile. Something it was difficult to even get the owners of the dresses to do. They wouldn’t break, but treating a gown that costs thousands of dollars as if it were a rugged pair of cargo pants or climbing gear always bothered me. Maybe it was because I didn’t know what it was like to spend that kind of money. Some of those dresses cost more than my monthly take-home from Burger Jeff. To me, something that expensive deserved to be treated gently.
“I’ll meet you back in the truck,” he said after hanging the dresses on a garment rack.
“Thanks. I should be out in a minute,” I replied.
“Oh, he’s attractive,” Connie said as she looked through the job tags, matching them up to the dresses.
“He really is,” I admitted. “And super nice. Do you have anything for me today?”
“I have one dress in the back.”
“Only one?” I needed more than one dress a week to be able to afford groceries. It was bad enough that I wouldn’t get paid for the five dresses I’d just turned in for another week, but then to drop down to only one dress… I let out a dejected sigh.
“Only one. So, is he single?” she asked.
“Who? Tate, who just came in with me? He came in with me.” I emphasized the connection a second time. There was no way I was going to let Connie try to set Tate up with one of her daughters. I was perfectly okay with her thinking he was with me.