Seriously, you’d think I’d just told her I was a serial killer. That, or I wipe Carrick’s arse for a living.
“But isn’t that a man’s job?”
“Depends on who you’re asking.”
“Hmm…well, yes, I suppose…looking at you now, I can see that you are well suited to men’s work.” Her eyes give me the up and down. “You have the right build and a very”—she waves a hand at me—“masculine vibe about you.”
Masculine vibe? The right build? What the fuck? I’m the same size as her!
Seriously, who is this chick?
I couldn’t care less if she is in the UK’s biggest pop band. She’s mean. She might be pretty on the outside, but she’s plain ugly on the inside, and I’m getting that from just spending less than ten minutes with her.
I’ve met mean girls before, but she is a bitch through and through. I have never met someone so confrontational in all my life.
My body tenses, my hands balling into fists, and I’m just about to open my mouth and let the pop princess know exactly what I think of her when Ben slings his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close to him.
“Take it easy,” he whispers in my ear.
I flicker a glance at him, and he gives me a calming smile.
“She’s not worth it.”
“Yeah…” I exhale. “You’re right.”
Loosening his hold but keeping his arm around me, he leans forward and says loudly, “Actually, Sienna, Andi is our best mechanic. She’s better than all of us put together. She’s the most talented mechanic I’ve ever worked with. Honestly, I don’t know what the team would do without her.”
I know he’s just saying it to be kind and to stick up for me, but irrespective of why, it works because I feel a hundred times better than I did a moment ago. And I kind of love Ben in this moment,
Grinning up into his face, I say, “Are you drunk? Because it’s not like you to give me a compliment.”
His eyes smile at me. “I give you compliments all the time. You just never listen.”
“Aw.” I grin at him, and then I lean in and whisper, “You’re a good friend, Ben.”
He shrugs, and then he says quietly, “I can’t have our best mechanic getting sacked because she knocked out Carrick’s latest squeeze.”
Laughing softly, I pat his arm, which is still around me.
Ben lifts his arm from my shoulders, and I turn to the table to get my drink, but I freeze at the sight of Carrick’s angry eyes on me. His jaw is set so tight that it looks like it might shatter.
Then, without warning, the anger in his eyes flames into something else entirely, setting my body on fire. I have to press my thighs together to contain the sudden ache, and I can feel my body quickly stirring to life as memories of our one night together flicker through my mind.
Coming back to my senses, knowing there’s a table full of people here, I break our stare. Then, I catch sight of Sienna’s eyes swinging between Carrick and me, and I know that she saw the look that just transpired between us.
Her brows pull together, like she’s working something out.
And then I see it settle on her face. She knows Carrick and I have slept together.
Fuck.
Something really uncomfortable stirs in my stomach.
She twists in her seat to face me. “So, your name is Andi?” she says, her tone biting.
“Yes…” I answer carefully.
“Andi…” she says in a bitchy singsong voice. “Andi, who has a man’s job and a man’s name. Maybe you should just go the whole hog and have a sex change, not that there’s much to change!”
She belts out a laugh like it’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard. She glances around the table, expecting the others to be laughing with her. But what she’s failing to realize is that these are my friends, not hers. And no one is laughing.
“Sienna,” Carrick snaps out her name in warning.
“What? It was just a joke! Can’t you people take a joke?” She lets out an awkward laugh.
God, I’m so fucking done here that it’s not even funny.
“Sure it was a joke.” Pushing my chair out, I get my jacket off the back and pull it on. “Just like your face. But the thing is, Sienna, yes, I could trade my vagina for a cock, but sadly for you, you can’t fix ugly.” Throwing a quick glance around the table, ignoring Carrick’s eyes and Sienna’s open mouth, I say, “I’ll catch you all tomorrow.” Then, I turn on my heel and start walking away.
I hear Carrick calling my name, but I just ignore him, moving my legs as fast as they’ll go.
“Jesus, Andressa. Just wait up, will you?” He finally catches up with me. He tugs on my arm, pulling me to a stop.
“What?” I shake my arm free of his hand. My skin is left burning where he just touched me.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
I turn away and start walking again.
“Jesus, just…wait!”
Sighing, I turn back, putting my hands on my hips. “What do you want, Carrick?”
“I just…” His eyes go to the ground. He looks unsure for a moment. Then, he lifts his eyes back to mine, his confidence back. “Where are you going?”
“To the hotel.”
Then, wouldn’t you know? Little miss pop princess comes marching up in her pretty heels. “Carrick!” she cracks his name out like a whip. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
He turns his head to her and gives her such a stare that I even shudder. Seriously, his look could take down a bear. I’m not surprised when she shrinks back because I probably would at the level of anger emanating from him.