Read Online Grounded (Grounded #1) by Heather Young-Nichols - Free Book Online
Authors: Heather Young-Nichols
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Aric to protect me. He kissed me good night, which lasted about ten minutes, then pulled away from the motel.
I repeated the same make-up and hair process the next afternoon and headed over to the shop for my oil change. After getting dressed, I was torn. I wasn’t sure there’d be time for me to come back and get ready for my date with Jensen and I didn’t want to throw anything in Aric’s face, since he’d be in the garage too.
The first person I saw when cool air from the reception area hit me was Jensen’s dad.
“Hey, young lady. Haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?”
He gave me a bear hug, lifting me a good foot of the floor. That was his small town charm, something rarely seen anymore.
“Good. You?” My voice was strained since he was squeezing the air out of my lungs. He put me back on the ground.
“Yup. So,” he went back around and leaned on his elbows on top of the counter, an unabashedly large grin on his face, “been keeping our boy busy?”
The old guy’s face was so bright with hope that it just about killed me, but I was also reminded that Jensen had plenty of people to occupy his time.
“Not just me,” I muttered under my breath. Mr. Burkhardt heard me and his face changed to one of a proud dad. Men.
“Dad!” Jensen came in just then. He must have heard that last bit. His white shirt was smudged with oil stains and a fine sheen of sweat covered his skin just enough that the fabric clung to the well sculpted muscles rippling down his abdomen. I dropped my keys in his hand, lightly grazing his palm. Even that small gesture sent sparks through my body.
Once Jensen brought my car inside and got started, I went through the door into the garage area and found a stool by the tool boxes. Jensen noticed me almost immediately and glanced over his shoulder often to catch my eye.
When he rolled out from underneath, I watched his eyes crawl up my calves until they met my skirt, then jump to my face. That gave me a thrill I wasn’t used to. Every time he looked at me, I became infinitely happier that I didn’t wear any shade of white because I would’ve attracted every piece of dirt in the place.
“Shit, shit, shit,” a voice boomed from my right. A wrench landed not far from my feet. “Alyssum,” Aric ran over, shocked to see how close the tool came to hitting me, “did that hit you?”
“No.” I laughed quietly. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t fix this damn car. It’s an electrical issue, but…”
“Stand back,” I whispered just to him. He hopped behind the steering wheel and, once Jensen slid back under my car, I casually looked around to make sure no one was watching, then twirled my index finger in the air, picking up some static electricity. A small spark shot out, hitting the car’s engine. Aric turned the key and the engine fired immediately. Aric gave me a small nod of thanks; it felt good to use my power. I hadn’t since before leaving Michigan and man did I miss how dominant, powerful and useful it made me feel.
My attention went back to Jensen, who’d not only finished the oil but also checked everything under the hood to make sure all the fluids were topped off. Apparently, I’d also neglected the windshield wiper fluid because it was bone dry. Oops.
He dropped the hood and turned to me while wiping the grease on his hands onto a rag.
“All set,” Jensen said. He tossed the blue cloth onto a tall silver box and waved his fingers, letting me know to follow him. We went back to the reception area. I think Jensen just wanted to get away from Aric since, once the door closed behind us, he turned to continue the conversation.
“So, I’ll go get cleaned up and we can head out.”
“Do you want a ride?” I scrunched my face because the dude was covered in dirt, oil and sweat and having him in my car was less than appealing.
Luckily, he shook his head. “I rode my bike in. If you want to come to my place to wait, I’ll be quick. I
I repeated the same make-up and hair process the next afternoon and headed over to the shop for my oil change. After getting dressed, I was torn. I wasn’t sure there’d be time for me to come back and get ready for my date with Jensen and I didn’t want to throw anything in Aric’s face, since he’d be in the garage too.
The first person I saw when cool air from the reception area hit me was Jensen’s dad.
“Hey, young lady. Haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?”
He gave me a bear hug, lifting me a good foot of the floor. That was his small town charm, something rarely seen anymore.
“Good. You?” My voice was strained since he was squeezing the air out of my lungs. He put me back on the ground.
“Yup. So,” he went back around and leaned on his elbows on top of the counter, an unabashedly large grin on his face, “been keeping our boy busy?”
The old guy’s face was so bright with hope that it just about killed me, but I was also reminded that Jensen had plenty of people to occupy his time.
“Not just me,” I muttered under my breath. Mr. Burkhardt heard me and his face changed to one of a proud dad. Men.
“Dad!” Jensen came in just then. He must have heard that last bit. His white shirt was smudged with oil stains and a fine sheen of sweat covered his skin just enough that the fabric clung to the well sculpted muscles rippling down his abdomen. I dropped my keys in his hand, lightly grazing his palm. Even that small gesture sent sparks through my body.
Once Jensen brought my car inside and got started, I went through the door into the garage area and found a stool by the tool boxes. Jensen noticed me almost immediately and glanced over his shoulder often to catch my eye.
When he rolled out from underneath, I watched his eyes crawl up my calves until they met my skirt, then jump to my face. That gave me a thrill I wasn’t used to. Every time he looked at me, I became infinitely happier that I didn’t wear any shade of white because I would’ve attracted every piece of dirt in the place.
“Shit, shit, shit,” a voice boomed from my right. A wrench landed not far from my feet. “Alyssum,” Aric ran over, shocked to see how close the tool came to hitting me, “did that hit you?”
“No.” I laughed quietly. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t fix this damn car. It’s an electrical issue, but…”
“Stand back,” I whispered just to him. He hopped behind the steering wheel and, once Jensen slid back under my car, I casually looked around to make sure no one was watching, then twirled my index finger in the air, picking up some static electricity. A small spark shot out, hitting the car’s engine. Aric turned the key and the engine fired immediately. Aric gave me a small nod of thanks; it felt good to use my power. I hadn’t since before leaving Michigan and man did I miss how dominant, powerful and useful it made me feel.
My attention went back to Jensen, who’d not only finished the oil but also checked everything under the hood to make sure all the fluids were topped off. Apparently, I’d also neglected the windshield wiper fluid because it was bone dry. Oops.
He dropped the hood and turned to me while wiping the grease on his hands onto a rag.
“All set,” Jensen said. He tossed the blue cloth onto a tall silver box and waved his fingers, letting me know to follow him. We went back to the reception area. I think Jensen just wanted to get away from Aric since, once the door closed behind us, he turned to continue the conversation.
“So, I’ll go get cleaned up and we can head out.”
“Do you want a ride?” I scrunched my face because the dude was covered in dirt, oil and sweat and having him in my car was less than appealing.
Luckily, he shook his head. “I rode my bike in. If you want to come to my place to wait, I’ll be quick. I
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