Valentine (A Standalone Novel) (Bad Boy Romance Book) (6 page)

"Well, you're not worthless. That's
your fucking mother making you think that. You're beautiful, insanely talented,
and one of the best people I know." Amy patted her chest. "In
here."

"Thanks." I gave her a quick hug
and moved up to help Lucinda pick out a few flavors. Seeing Tate wasn't a good
idea with me feeling as shitty as I did right then. Besides, my dad would have
a mechanic on the nice side of town. There was no way he would pay for anything
unless it was done just the way he wanted it done.

And, I had nothing other than a small
allowance.

No money. No boyfriend. No hope.

Maybe I wasn't being fair by looking down
on people who appeared to be needy. It was hypocritical in the worst way because
the truth of the matter was that I was the neediest of them all.

Chapter 6

Tate

I laid on the couch until the sun broke
through the window behind me. Sleep had avoided me since getting back from the
party and taking a long shower, but I wasn't surprised. I felt dirty, angry, and
used. I'd done it to myself again, and I would do it a million more times.

"You up yet?" My mom walked out
of her bedroom and stopped by the opening to the kitchen.

"Yeah. I didn't get much sleep."
I sat up and ran my fingers through my short hair as a loud yawn escaped me.
"You sleep okay?"

"I did." She coughed as she
walked into the kitchen, and I cringed at the sound of it.

"Mom. You gotta have that cough
checked out, for real. Sam said that it sounded like bronchitis." I
readjusted myself and pulled on my t-shirt before walking into the small
kitchen.

She was busy making coffee and seemed to
be ignoring my request for her to see the doctor. There was no surprise there,
either. She was just as hard-headed as I was.

"You want me to make you some eggs
before you have to get off to school?" She looked over her shoulder and
gave me a warm smile.

"Mom, you heard me. Get a doctor’s
appointment today or have one of those doctors you work with listen to your
lungs. They have those stethoscope things around their necks all the time. Tell
them to use it."

"Stop worrying about me. I've
survived a lot in my life. You want breakfast or what?" She handed me a
cup of coffee and turned away to cough again.

"Yeah, but I'll cook. You sit down. I
don't think you realize how bad that sounds." I let out the growl of
frustration that I was hoping to hold in.

"Tate. I don't have the money to see
a doctor, and those guys at the hospital aren't kind to me or anyone else
that's not wearing a white coat and sticking their fingers up people's asses
for a living. Okay?" She walked to the table and sat down before pressing
her hands to her face. "And, I'm late on the rent."

"I'll pick up a few extra shifts.
It's okay. We'll work it out." I sat my cup down and moved to stand behind
her, rubbing her shoulders softly as my heart contracted in my chest. I needed
to bring more home in terms of money, but balancing everything was getting to
be too much.

"No. You're trying to get through
school and manage your job. I'll figure things out. I just need you to
understand why I'm not rushing to the doctor’s office. I'm sure it is
bronchitis, but I'll beat it. I always do." She patted my hand.
"Hurry up and make some eggs. You'll be late to your first class and then
drive like a bat out of hell. That scares me more than the thought of losing
this old house."

"You're not losing the house. School
can take a back seat. I'll drop out and start again later next year when we're
back on our feet." I squeezed her shoulders once more and moved to the
fridge to start pulling out stuff for breakfast. We had a few eggs left and
some cheap bacon that burnt no matter how slow you cooked the stuff. It was
sad, but I was used to it. Besides, anything was better than living on the
streets.

"No, you won’t. The reason I'm in
this situation is because I didn't go to school like you are. My mom and dad
warned me a million times before they passed that I should go get my RN, but I
just didn't listen." She let out a tired sigh that turned into a terrible
hacking.

I stifled the fear welling up inside of
me. She wasn't doing well, but if anything happened to her, I wouldn't make it.
Outside of Sam, she was the only person I had in the world. "This isn't
about a degree. Life's tough sometimes, and we're good people because of the
shit we've been through. I stopped to help some rich girl last night with her
car because I'm a nice person."

"Was she pretty?" My mother
lifted her eyebrows and smirked.

"Yes. Very, but that's not why I was
telling you the story. She was shocked by my kindness, by my willingness to
help her out. Being good is free and more people should have to go through shit
to come out on the other side better for it in the long run." I shrugged
and cracked the eggs into a bowl. I was hungry enough to eat all five of them,
but we didn't keep much food in the house. Two would have to do. Besides, Jerry
always had a big box of donuts at the shop, and much to the other guy's dismay,
his secretary Sharon would save me a handful of them for my afternoon shift.

"This is true. You're a good man,
Tate. I'm very proud of you." She coughed again and stood up. "I'm
going to take a shower."

"No breakfast?" I glanced over
my shoulder after cracking the third egg in the bowl for her.

"Nope. Eat my egg this morning. I'm
too doped up on cough syrup to enjoy it, anyway." She picked up her coffee
and disappeared down the darkened hall.

Something had to give. I could keep living
like this forever, but she couldn't. She was sick and needed care; she was
lonely and needed a good man; she was everything to me, and I wasn't measuring
up.

"I'll fix it. All of it." I
swallowed my worry and forced myself to whistle while I finished making
breakfast. Today was going to be a good day. A great day, actually. I needed it
to be too much to give up hoping for it.

*

After a long ass day on campus, I took the
long way to the shop and tried to enjoy the feeling of freedom I had on the
bike. It was freezing outside and I was bundled up in three layers, but I was
happy. Content.

My classes had been hard as fuck, which I
loved. A good mental challenge was the best stimulation I could think of. Well,
almost.

I pulled up to the shop and parked my bike
outside next to a few of the other ones sitting under a large canopy. Jerry had
finally relented and let a few of us build the tent-like structure to keep our
bikes from getting covered in snow while we worked. Now, we just had to take
turns brushing the snow off the top of the contraption.

The familiar smell of oil and mint rushed
across my senses as I walked into the front door of the small two-room office
Jerry kept.

Sharon glanced up and smiled. Her red hair
was wild and unruly, but it fit her perfectly. I always wondered if she and
Jerry were seeing each other on the side, but never got up the nerve to ask
them. I'd been working there for three years, so I was still the new kid on the
block. It was getting old. I could run circles around most of the guys, Jerry
included, but I was still the rookie in their minds.

"Hiya, handsome. How's your day
going?" She popped her gum and handed me three clipboards with keys
attached to them.

"Good. I'm ready to get to work. I've
been sitting in a chair all day. My head is full of useless information, but
I'm antsy." I took the clipboards and glanced around. "Everyone out
in the shop working?"

"Yes, sir, they are. I saved you some
breakfast burritos that Jerry brought in this morning. They're in the bottom
left drawer of the fridge." She checked her watch. "You're a little early.
Get in there and scarf them down before they see you or find them in the
fridge. They were big, but delicious."

"Sounds good. Thank you, I'm
starving." I rubbed my hand over my stomach and made a beeline for the
break room. After setting down the orders that would fill up the rest of my
evening, I got into the fridge and pulled out what would be lunch and dinner.
My stomach was killing me, but it was nothing new. It was almost a comfortable
reminder that I still had more to do, more to strive to be. I wasn't there yet,
or anywhere close to it, but I was pushing hard and fast.

"There you are." Jerry's voice
pulled me from my thoughts. He chuckled and lifted his eyebrow as I turned
around. "Did Sharon save you those?"

"You know she did." I shrugged.
"I'm young and studly. What can I say?"

"Nothing, Mr. Humility." He
laughed and sat down at one of the three tables in the break room. "I got
a bike coming in later today, so I might pull you from one of those brake jobs
and get you to help me look at it. You know I hate doing those things. I'm an
auto guy."

"Yeah, sure. I'm a 'whatever gets me
paid' man, myself." I pulled the burritos from the microwave and sat down
beside him. "You want one?"

"No, you need your strength." He
tapped the table and gave me the once over as I dug in, unable to hold back as
I scarfed them down. "Tate, you know I'm looking for someone to move up
and become the assistant manager for me at this place."

"Yeah, but you know that spot belongs
to one of the other guys. Lefty has been your right hand man for twenty years.
He's a good pick for that." I licked at my fingers and continued to eat.

"He's a good mechanic, but he has no
business sense." He reached out and squeezed my arm. "I know you have
a lot going on, but I see a ton of potential in you. I want you to think about
it. It's a three dollar an hour raise, which I know will help out at home, but
I need you here more."

I nodded and sat back in my chair as I
popped the last bit of food into my mouth. "I'll think it over. I
appreciate you thinking I'm capable of doing something so big around
here."

"We all have faith in you. You're
young, innovative, and full of energy. We need more of you, not less. Just
think about it." He got up and walked toward the door. "Oh, and
Sharon said some girl called earlier today and said you told her to bring her
car by for a new tire. Said you were paying for it?"

I laughed and got up as butterflies danced
around my chest. The girl from the night before, the one on the side of the
road. How many times had I thought about her over the last twelve hours? Too
many to count. It was weird, and I'd never label it as love at first sight, but
a slight infatuation? Yes. Wanting to get into her panties? Fuck, yes.

"I told her she'd have to pay for the
tire, but that I'd do the work for free. I'll do it after hours, though. I
promise." I threw away the trash in my hands.

"I don't care when you do it. Sounds
serious, though. You working for free? What I gotta do to get a little bit of
free action out of you?"

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over
my chest. "You gotta shave that scruffy-ass beard for starters."

He laughed loudly, flipped me off, and
walked out.

The feeling of fullness after eating so
much left me wanting to take on the world. It was crazy how much my hunger
affected my mood.

I jogged back to the front of the office
to give Sharon a smile. "That was fucking awesome. I feel like a million
bucks." I rubbed my stomach and licked at my lips playfully.

"Stop it, you're turning me on.
You're far too hot to be licking your lips like that. You'll make Jerry
jealous. Having me blush around you and such." She smirked and turned back
to her paperwork. "Who's the girl?"

There was no way Sharon was interested in
me. She was a good twenty years older than me at least and had her heart set on
the owner of our shop. They would be great together, but one of them was going
to have to make a first move.

Good
luck there.

"Just some hot girl I found on the
side of the road last night. I'm too much of a gentleman to pass up the chance
to help a lady. That and sell some business at this here lovely shop." I
shrugged.

"You're a good guy. Remember that
when she comes in here and steals your heart, hmm?"

"Nobody is stealing my heart. I have
my job, my school, and my mother. I'm good." I turned and walked down the
hall to the sound of her laughing. They all figured me to be a playboy, and
maybe in some respects I was, but I wanted far more out of life than an
occasional romp in the sheets. Funny how when I wasn't looking for anything but
sex, all I could find was girls with love on their mind and diamonds in their
eyes.

I finally grew up a little and decided
that love could quite possibly enhance the package and the sluts officially
came crawling out of the woodwork. Where were all these hot chicks who wanted a
casual fuck when I was in my late teens?

Sadness worked to wrap around me at the
thought, but I forced it back and walked causally out to the garage.

Everyone turned and nodded at me, some of
them throwing cat-calls for fun.

"I'm working, so you guys keep it
down. Alright?" I pulled on my goggles and barely caught a football that
was launched at me.

"Hey, grease monkey. There's a girl
up front asking for you. If you're too busy to take her...no worries. I'm more
than happy to help her out." Nix smirked at me and ran his hand down his
black hair before pulling at his ponytail a little. "She looks like she
needs to be reminded what a good man can do in her life."

"Oh, yeah? I guess I should help her
out seeing that you're anything but good. Scoundrel." I bumped my shoulder
by his playfully before walking back up front.

Please
let it be her. Please let it be her. Please...

Fuck.

It was her.