Always Beautiful Read online

  My eyes widened and I shot my friend an “I’ll kill you” glare. She ignored me and smiled. “Is that okay with you Zeppelin?” Hannah asked sweetly. I rolled my eyes. “Of course, no worries, is that okay with you?” He asked me. “That’s fine.” I mumbled and covertly elbowed my best friend in the ribs. She slapped me on the ass and walked away.

  As soon as everyone had left and things were cleaned up in the basement, we all made our way up stairs. I wasn’t looking forward to walking through the dimly lit hallway again and tried to ignore the ominous noise of the single fluorescent light in the middle of the ceiling. Zeppelin walked beside me as we trailed everyone else. I felt his finger graze along my arm from my shoulder to my wrist. He inclined his head toward me, his lips close to my ear. “I can’t stop thinking about your lips.” He whispered. I felt a warmth wash over me and my lips parted in a shallow gasp. How the hell did he do that to me? He righted his posture just as Hannah turned her head to look at us. She wore a sweet smile and winked at me before turning back around.

  She thought she was so cute and clever. I wasn’t sure what she expected to happen between me and Zeppelin. I had no freaking clue what I even expected to happen. He was hot, he was a good kisser and I was most definitely sure I wanted to kiss him again. This was new territory for me though. Would he expect me to sleep with him? Did I want to sleep with Zeppelin? I took a deep breath and held it for a moment before releasing it slowly. I needed to quit over thinking this. I mentally decided that I would just take each moment at a time and see how it played out. I took another cleansing breath as we exited the hall and made it to the door to get outside.

  “Tucker, you’re riding with Dixon to the house.” Zeppelin declared and slapped him on the back. I saw Tucker roll his eyes and shake his head as he sauntered over to Dixon’s truck. Dixon stopped walking and turned to stare at Zeppelin. “Go easy with her in the car.” He said. Zeppelin nodded. “I can take care of myself.” I claimed. Dixon ignored me and continued speaking to Zeppelin. “This is my girl, my family. You take her for a ride if you want but I want her back in one piece.” “Cross my heart.” Zeppelin replied and used a hand to make an “X” across his chest. Dixon turned and grinned at me. He raised his eyebrows. “I love your car Lucky, but his ride is as bad-ass on the road as he is in the ring. I know you can handle yourself, but I have a feeling you’ll be begging him to drive fast. I know you well enough to know that. You won’t listen to me, he will.” He stated. With a nod at Zeppelin he opened the door to his truck and got in.

  “What do you want to drink tonight Lucky?” Hannah called from where she was standing at Josh’s car. “Surprise me.” I told her as I followed Zeppelin to his car a few spaces over. The parking lot was dark, but I still took in the beauty of his car. “It’s a ’67…” Zeppelin started to say. I nodded. “I know, Pontiac GTO and in pristine condition. Did you restore it yourself?” I asked. I glanced up at Zeppelin who looked at me, his brow furrowed. “You know cars?” He wondered. I smirked. “I know a lot about cars. Didn’t Dixon tell you I have a ’66 Coronet 500? I used to race it out at the track back home.”

  Zeppelin’s eyes widened slightly. “No shit?” I chuckled and nodded again. “Dead serious, I’ll show it to you when we get to the house. I keep it in the garage. She’s my baby.” I walked around the car slowly, making my way to the passenger side. “You want me to leave you two alone for a minute?” Zeppelin teased as he stood on the driver’s side. I giggled and looked up at him. “I’m sure it would only take a minute. This car is definitely hot.” I joked. Zeppelin shook his head, “Checking out another car while yours is safely tucked at home.” He said wistfully. I rolled my eyes and opened the passenger door. “I have to find her a man don’t I?” I quipped. “She’s lonely in that garage. I think Penelope would love a big strong car like this one.” Zeppelin chuckled and opened his door, throwing his duffle bag in the back.

  We both got into the car and I took in the feeling of the black, leather bucket seat. The car smelled woodsy and musky on the inside. My gaze shifted to the center console made of Cherry wood with a long metal gear shifter. The shifter knob was a black and red swirled, marble ball. I closed my door and reached for the seatbelt. Zeppelin’s hand came across the center console and he placed his hand on my cheek. He gently turned my head to face him. The inside of the car was dark and I could just barely make out his blue eyes as he examined my face. My hand fell to my lap before I was able to connect with the seatbelt.

  Zeppelin slowly leaned closer to me, his forehead resting against mine. His thumb stroked my cheek and slid down to my lower lip, gliding back and forth. “Can I kiss you again angel?” He whispered. My heart began to race and I immediately nodded. Our lips met, parting slightly as they glided against each other. I raised my arm and wrapped my fingers in the hair at the back of his head, pulling him closer to me. His tongue mingled against mine and I heard a small moan escape his throat. Zeppelin’s hand slid down my neck to my shoulder and along my arm. I felt goosebumps rise and my body trembled as his hand sought out my upper thigh, grasping it tightly.

  I could feel the heat of his hand through my jeans, his fingers dangerously close to where my body was beginning to ache with need. His hand slid up slowly as his tongue caressed mine. The moment his fingers pressed against me, I whimpered and fisted his hair firmly. Zeppelin’s lips disconnected from mine and he tilted his head back to look at me. His chest rose and fell and he let out a staggered breath as he began to move his fingers up and down. I moaned at the feel of the glorious friction he was creating. My eyes began to close. He continued stroking me as he spoke in a gruff whisper. “You’re fucking stunning.” I peeled my eyes opened sluggishly and met his heated gaze.

  Zeppelin stopped moving his fingers and began to slide them up to the waistband of my jeans. My breath hitched and I bit down on my bottom lip. He trailed his index finger along my stomach. “I don’t know what it is about you Lucky.” He began, his smooth deep voice drawing my attention away from the feel of his touch. “Something about you calls to me. I can’t help but want to touch you.”

  My heart skidded to an abrupt halt before picking back up in double time. His finger drew small circles on my skin and then he pulled his hand away from me. Zeppelin took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. He ran his hands through his disheveled brown hair and turned toward the steering wheel. I was frozen, my body yearning for his touch again. I didn’t want him to stop. I tried to regulate my breathing.

  After a few moments of silence, Zeppelin turned his head to look at me. “We should get to Dixon’s before they start to wonder where we are.” He said quietly. I nodded slowly. “Okay.” I mumbled. Zeppelin let out another long breath and then started the car. The roar of the engine was music to my ears. His car was definitely amazing. I reached for my seatbelt again and buckled up. Zeppelin pulled out of the parking spot and drove down the alley.

  “Where are you from?” Zeppelin asked as he turned out of the parking lot and onto the street. “Medford. I grew up there and decided to come to Portland for school.” “What are you studying?” “Medicine, well the field of medicine, I want to be a Cytotechnologist. You know, studying cells and trying to find out abnormalities in a lab.” Zeppelin glanced at me briefly with a raised brow and then looked back to the road. “That’s pretty amazing.” He said. I shrugged. “It’s kind of been my dream job for a long time. Dixon said you went to school in Seattle?” He nodded. “Yeah for a while, my parents moved there right after I graduated high school. I wanted to stay in Portland, but some things came up and I had to go back there.” He explained.

  “What did you study?” I inquired. “I took some business courses, but I never finished. Like I said, some things came up.” He replied. “Are you going to go back?” Zeppelin shrugged. “Maybe, I’ll see how the summer goes.” The way he spoke, left me wondering if he was omitting details. It seemed that he wasn’t all too sure what his future held. That was definitely opposite of me. I needed a plan
. I couldn’t just take a day at a time. I thought about what Hannah had said earlier about me simply being a twenty one year old and taking the summer off.

  I stared out the window and took in the buildings we passed. There were a few people every once in a while wandering on the sidewalks. Traffic was pretty minimal this time of night. I turned to Zeppelin. “Are you going to show me what this car can do?” I asked. A slow smile spread across his face. “Do you want me to?” He questioned. I nodded eagerly. “Show me what you got.” Zeppelin studied my face a moment. Shrugging, he shifted gears as he sped up.

  The engine rumbled as the GTO smoothly flew down the road. I glanced over at the speedometer that was gradually lifting to sixty miles an hour. Zeppelin down-shifted to turn a corner and then immediately sped back up. I began to recognize my surroundings and knew we were getting closer to Dixon’s house. We stopped at a four way stop momentarily and then Zeppelin hit the gas and brake at the same time. The smoke from the burning rubber billowed behind us before Zeppelin took off again. “Damn.” I muttered. This car could do a serious burn out.

  Within a few minutes, we were on the street where the house was. Zeppelin slowed to a normal speed and pulled up in front of the house. I noticed that Josh and Hannah hadn’t arrived yet, but Dixon’s truck was here as well as Matt’s. My heart pounding and breath heavy, adrenaline pumped through me as he shut off the car. I immediately looked over at Zeppelin who was gazing at me. The corner of his lips tipped upward.

  “Judging by your heavy breathing I would say that was good for you?” He spoke in a soft voice, a voice that did nothing to quell the pounding of my heart. “Yeah that was really good.” I responded breathlessly. “Do you get worked up from the speed or the car itself?” He questioned. My eyes widened. Clearly he could tell I was amped up from the ride. To be honest I hadn’t really cooled down after our little make out session.

  I shook my head. “I’m not worked up.” I lied. Zeppelin leaned forward over the console of the car. His face was a few short inches from my own. “It’s the speed for me. The adrenaline really gets me going.” He admitted in a gruff whisper. A small gasp escaped me at his declaration. He brought his hand up and gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

  Just then, headlights came up behind us and I turned to see Josh’s car. Zeppelin pulled back from me and took the keys out of the ignition. Shooting me a panty dropping grin, he smoothly got out of the car. I let out a long sigh and grabbed the passenger door handle. “I am so screwed.” I muttered before stepping out.

  Hannah ran up to me and handed me my purse. I had forgotten that I had left it in Josh’s car. “Thanks.” I said as I slung it over my shoulder. Josh and Zeppelin began to head up to the house. Hannah gripped my arm and held me in place. “So…” She said, shooting a questioning brow at me. “He kissed me again.” I whispered with a smile. Hannah grinned and shook my arm. “That’s more action than you’ve had in…ever!” She exclaimed. I pinned her with a glare. “I’ve made out before.” I protested. Hannah rolled her eyes. “Yeah, with lame old Jeremy the goody-too-shoes.” She muttered. I couldn’t even be mad at her. It was the truth.

  “Can we go in and drink now?” I asked as I started to wander up the driveway. Everyone else was inside at this point and I didn’t want it to seem obvious that we were talking. Hannah trailed behind me. “Do you think you’ll sleep with him?” She asked excitedly. I froze and my brow furrowed as I thought about how to respond. I had definitely been close to wanting something with him twice tonight. If the opportunity presented itself would I want to go all the way? If Zeppelin found out I was a virgin, would he still want me?

  “I don’t know.” I said slowly. “I hardly think the opportunity would present itself tonight.” “That’s true, alright let’s go drink!” Hannah flung an arm around my shoulders and we walked up to the porch.

  As soon as we stepped inside, I noticed Dixon, Matt, Tucker, and Josh standing around in the kitchen. I heard Chevelle coming from the stereo in the living room. Hannah set the bag of our favorite kind of bitch beer down on the counter. She popped off the tops of two bottles and handed me one before making herself comfortable next to Josh. I propped myself up on the counter by the stove and took a long pull of my drink.

  “How did you like the GTO?” Dixon asked. “It was awesome!” I replied excitedly. “I’m pretty sure at one point we topped out at a hundred.” I grinned widely at him. “Haha.” Dixon said sarcastically. “Relax. I got here in one piece. I’m sure it was no more than like seventy anyway.” Dixon nodded. “He might give you a run for your money in a race.” He said. I shrugged. “We’ll have to see won’t we?” Matt looked at me with a raised brow. “Are you coming out on Thursday?” He asked. “I was thinking about it.” I replied. “Cool.” He smiled.

  Just then Zeppelin came wandering out from the hall. His hair was damp and he wore only a pair of dark jeans hanging low on his hips. I couldn’t help but take in his bare chest and chiseled stomach. I noticed a glint of something silver on the left side of his chest and swallowed roughly. Holy shit, he had his nipple pierced. He must not have worn it in the fight tonight. I didn’t recall seeing it last night either, but his tattoos had distracted me then.

  I quickly looked away from him before anyone caught me staring, but I didn’t miss Hannah’s sly smile as she gazed at me. I rolled my eyes and turned to my cousin who stood across from me in front of the sink. “If you run your car, you have to be prepared to leave in a split second though.” He told me. I nodded. “I can handle that. Do a lot of people go to this thing?” I wondered. Tucker answered. “There’s usually a bigger turnout later in the summer. We’ve got about ten drivers signed up for next week.” “Who signs up?” I asked. I tried to keep my gaze on Tucker, but I couldn’t help glancing sideways at Zeppelin as he grabbed a beer from the fridge.

  “It’s all guys that have been racing for a few years. Some are older and some are younger. They’ve all got a title to defend as the best or they are trying to make their way to the top.” He explained. Zeppelin sauntered over to me and planted himself firmly between my legs, his back to my front. I felt my stomach coil and tighten and warmth washed through me. He smelled of body wash and I realized he must have taken a quick shower. I noticed Dixon raise a brow at him and then he looked at me. A small smile formed on his lips and he rolled his eyes shaking his head, looking away. I wasn’t sure what that reaction was about, but it was obvious he didn’t care about my sudden interest in his friend or his friend’s interest in me.

  “Are we calling some people up or what?” Matt asked. Dixon shrugged. “I don’t give a shit. I‘ve got nowhere to be in the morning.” He said. “No sleepovers in my room!” I piped up. Dixon chuckled. I took another drink, having to lean back a little so I didn’t knock Zeppelin in the head with the bottle. Matt got on his phone and began texting people while Tucker made a phone call. Zeppelin turned his head to look at me. “Are you going to introduce me to Penelope?” He asked with a smile. I grinned and nodded. “Yeah.”

  He stepped away from the counter and I hopped down, following him to the door in the kitchen that led to the attached garage. “Are you showing him the car?” Hannah asked. “Yep, he wants to meet her.” I replied. Hannah grabbed Josh’s hand and pulled him along. “You’ve got to see her car babe. It’s really cool. We used to cruise around in it in high school.” She explained.

  We stepped out in to the garage and I flipped the light switch. The fluorescent lighting buzzed as the bulbs warmed up and gradually got brighter. Zeppelin stuffed his hands in his pockets and wandered around my car. I watched him as he took in the long, mauve colored body with chrome detailing. He opened the passenger door and leaned in, checking out the white, leather bucket seats and bench seat in the back. Nodding, he righted himself and looked at me.

  “This is definitely a good looking car.” He said. “I know she is.” I replied. Josh checked out the car as well and Hannah opened up the driver’s door, firmly planting her
self in the seat. I shook my head. “I’ve missed this thing Lucky!” She declared. I giggled. “Well now you can take a ride with me anytime you want.” “Do you remember when we used to cruise up and down that street in Medford? All the guys wanted you to race them.” She smiled. I nodded and bit my lip. “I still haven’t told my dad about that.” I admitted. Hannah laughed. “He would flip the fuck out if he knew.” “I bet he would.” I turned my attention back to Zeppelin.

  “So what do you think, I bet Penelope and I can smoke you on Thursday.” I said with a playful smile. Zeppelin cocked a brow at me. “Oh you think so? You’re on angel.” He replied. Dixon came wandering out to the garage. “Brian and a few of his buddies are coming over with their old ladies and Regina is heading over with Lacey.” He announced. “Are you guys planning on staying tonight?” He looked between Hannah and Josh.

  Josh shook his head. “Nah, I’ll take it easy so I can drive us home.” He said. “What about you man?” He asked Zeppelin who immediately began shaking his head. “My back still fucking hurts from that couch of yours.” He said. My stomach did some sort of flip flop thing when he said he wasn’t staying. I don’t know why, but I didn’t want him to leave me. Zeppelin turned his attention to me. He cocked his head to the side and studied me for a moment. I wasn’t sure what expression he read in my face, but he furrowed his brow and looked down.

  “Let’s get the table set up!” Matt hollered from inside the house. Josh raised a brow and looked at Dixon. “Beer pong?” He asked. Dixon grinned. “Hell yeah, I’ve got to defend my champion status.” He said and strolled back into the house. “Come on Lucky, let’s go get another drink.” Hannah said as she stepped away from Josh and put an arm around me. I gave Zeppelin one last glance before letting her lead me back to the kitchen.

  As the guys set up the dining room table for beer pong, Hannah and I messed around with the stereo and tried to pick out some good music from Dixon’s IPod. People began to show up a little while later. The first group was two guys and a girl who everyone failed to introduce me to. I found out that it was the Brian guy and his friends that Dixon had mentioned earlier. A few more people filtered in here and there and I kind of stayed to my corner by the music with Hannah. Josh came over every once in a while to steal a kiss from her and grab her ass. He and Zeppelin were losing at beer pong and Zeppelin kept making him drink.