Free Ride by Cat Johnson Page B

popped his head in. “Hey. Sorry. I just needed to grab something.”
    He moved to the mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of some sort of liquor and a few cans of soda. “I’m mixing up some bourbon and cola. Want one?”
    “No. Thanks, though.”
    Garret glanced at her from his position near the fridge. “You know, you look kind of familiar. Were you at any of the competitions this weekend?”
    Leesa wondered again what kind of competition he was talking about, but at least her other question was answered—he didn’t remember her from last night. Did Chase?
    She shook her head. “No. I wasn’t.”
    He grinned, wide enough to rival Chase’s usual expression. “Then you missed how great I rode.”
    “I’m afraid I did. Sorry.”
    Hands full, Garret shrugged. “That’s okay. Come next door and I’ll tell you all about it.”
    The door swung open again and Chase’s return interrupted them. His eyebrows rose high beneath the brim of his cowboy hat when he saw Garret here talking to her. He pointedly stared at the items tenuously balanced in Garret’s arms. “Got what you need?”
    “Yup.” Garret nodded but made no move to leave.
    “Good. Let me get the door for you since your hands are full.” With that, Chase effectively dismissed him.
    Garret shot him a knowing look before treating Leesa to a grin. “See ya later. Come on over next door when you get bored here.”
    Chase looked like he wanted to kick Garret in the ass over that comment, but instead he said, “That girl you invited from the meet and greet just got off the elevator. I saw her going into Aaron and Skeeter’s room.”
    “Really?” Garret’s eyes opened wide.
    “Yup.” Chase nodded, a self-satisfied expression on his face.
    Garret couldn’t seem to get out of the room fast enough. The door slammed behind him and he hadn’t even given them a backward glance.
    Leesa laughed. “That must be some girl.”
    Chase handed her one of the two cups he’d had balanced in one hand. It was filled to the brim with foam. “Eh. She’s his type. Not mine.”
    Leesa took a gulp of beer. Again it went down much too smoothly. She should really refill it with water from the bathroom sink and hydrate since she’d hardly drank anything for the past twenty-four hours. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she was until she’d started drinking.
    Feeling a bit lightheaded from lack of food and too much beer, she decided to ask the question uppermost on her mind, which was probably a bad idea. “What is your type?”
    “You,” he answered her with one word, but that was enough to send her heart reeling. Then he raised his cup to her in a silent toast and took a long gulp himself.
    To think she’d assumed he was the shy, silent type. It was true he wasn’t the biggest talker in the world, but when he did talk what he said could pack a real punch. She downed half the cup and wondered when the pizza would arrive. Then she realized that for the first time in over twelve hours, she’d actually forgotten about Jerry and Bruno and all the rest for a few minutes. Leesa wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, and at the moment she didn’t care.
    “I ordered half-pepperoni and half-plain since I didn’t know what you liked.” Back on his perch at the end of the bed, Chase continued the conversation like Garret had never been there.
    Leesa smiled. “You’re too sweet.”
    “Don’t let that fool you.” His cherubic smile held a touch of the devil and she regretted not sitting on the bed next to him. Maybe when the pizza came she’d remedy that.
    Glancing over the rim of her big red cup at the cowboy opposite her, she took another sip. She had a feeling he wouldn’t mind her joining him over there one bit.
    “So…” The shy cowboy she’d first met last night was suddenly back in full force as he kicked the heel of his boot into the carpet. “The pizza should be here soon.”
    “Yup, I guess so. Thirty minutes or less. Right?” She