When my eyes made their way back up to his face he stuck out his tongue to flash his silver barbell at me and then winked. "I figure if I'm going to a honky-tonk with guys in boots and cowboy hats I needed to stay true to my roots. Rock and Roll is in my blood. I can't pretend to fit in anywhere else."
I laughed as he smirked at me. "You're going to look as out of place tonight as I do at your parties. This should be fun. Come on, rock star spawn," I teased and headed for the door.
Rush opened the door and stood back so I could walk outside. The guy could be so strange when he wanted to. "Since your friend is riding with us, why don't we take one of my cars instead? We'd all be more comfortable than in your truck."
I stopped and glanced back at him. "But we'd fit in better if we took my truck."
Rush pulled out a small remote and one of the doors on his four car garage opened up. A black Range Rover with metallic rims and a perfectly shiny paint job sat in the spotlight. I couldn't disagree with him. We'd be much more comfortable in that vehicle.
"That's certainly impressive," I replied.
"Does that mean we can take mine? I'm not crazy about sharing a seat with Bethy. The girl likes to touch things without permission," Rush said.
I smiled, "Yes, she does. She's a bit of a flirt, isn't she?"
Rush cocked an eyebrow. "Flirt is a kind word for her."
"Okay. Sure. We can take the badass Rush Finlay's killer wheels if he insists."
Rush shot me a cocky grin and headed toward the garage. I followed close behind.
He opened my door for me, which was sweet but made this feel more like a date. I didn't need him messing with my head. I was firmly set that we were just friends. He needed to play the game right. "Do you open all your friend's car doors?" I asked, standing there looking at him. I wanted him to see the error of his very polite ways.
His easy smile disappeared and a serious expression took its place. "No," he replied, stepping back to head for the driver's door. I felt like a complete jerk. I should have just said thank you and overlooked it. Why did I have to be the one to remind him of his own rules?
Once we were inside the Range Rover Rush cranked it up and pulled out without a word. I hated the silence. I'd made it awkward. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound rude."
Rush let out a sigh and his shoulders eased. Then he shook his head. "No. You're right. I just don't have any female friends so I'm not good at balancing what I should do and what I shouldn't."
"So, you open doors for your dates? That's a very chivalrous thing to do. Your mother raised you right."
I felt a twinge of jealousy. There were girls out there that got that kind of treatment from Rush. Ones that he wanted to take out and be more than friends with.
"Actually, no I don't. I... you... you just seem like the kind of girl who deserves to have her door opened. It just made sense in my head at the moment. But I get what you're saying. If we're going to be friends I need to draw a line and stay behind it."
My heart melted a little more.
"Thank you for opening it for me. It was sweet."
Rush shrugged and didn't say anything else.
"We need to pick Bethy up at the club. She'll be at the office back behind the clubhouse at the golf course. She had to work today. She's showering and dressing there."
Rush turned toward the country club. "How did you and Bethy become friends?"
"We worked together one day. I think we were both in need of a friend. She's fun and free spirited. Everything I'm not."
Rush let out a laugh. "You say that like it's a bad thing. You don't want to be like Bethy. Trust me."
He was right. I didn't want to be like Bethy but she was fun to be around.
I sat quietly while Rush messed with the very expensive and complicated looking stereo system. We drove the short distance from his house to the country club. "Lips of an Angel" by Hinder began to play and it made me smile. I almost expected to hear some Slacker Demon.
When the Range Rover came to a stop outside the offices I opened my door and stepped out. Bethy wouldn't be looking for this ride. She'd be looking for my truck.
The office door swung open and she sauntered out in a pair of tiny red leather shorts, a cut off white halter-top, and white leather boots up to her knees.
"What the hell are you doing in one of Rush's rides?" she asked, all smiles.
"He's going with us. Rush wants to check out a honky-tonk too. So..." I trailed off and looked back at the Range Rover.
"This is seriously going to cramp your chances at picking up a man. Just saying," Bethy said as she walked down the steps and did a quick look at my outfit. "Or not. You look hot. I mean, I knew you were gorgeous but you look really hot in that outfit. I want me some real cowgirl boots. Where'd you get those?"
Her compliment was nice. I hadn't had girlfriends in so long. When Valerie had been killed the girls we'd been close to kind of faded out of my life. It was as if they couldn't be around me without remembering. Cain had become my only friend.
"Thank you, and as for the boots, I got them for Christmas two years ago from my mom. They were hers. I had loved them since she bought them and after she got, after... she got sick... she gave them to me."
Bethy frowned, "Your mom got sick?"
I wasn't in the mood to put a damper on things tonight. I nodded and forced a bright smile. "Yeah. But that's another story. Come on let's go find us some cowboys."
Bethy returned my smile and opened the back door on my side of the Range Rover. "I'll let you ride up front because I have a sneaky feeling that is where the driver wants you."