Free Love Required by Melanie Codina

men’s butts, but now she saw what all the fuss was about.
    Her cheeks warmed below her sunglasses, and she found herself once again needing to redirect her thoughts. This was Darlene’s fault for bringing up the differences between a gentleman and a man who was seeking a way to spend time a woman.
    To take her mind off Jason’s tight ass, she asked, “Only nieces and nephews? No kids of your own?”
    He started the car before giving her a sideways glance. Maybe it was more of a cocky smirk, as he said, “Only nieces and nephews so far. Haven’t found the woman meant to have my children yet.”
    He winked at her, turned his attention to driving, and pulled the car away from the curb. He didn’t even notice the fire he just lit in the seat next to him.
     

CHAPTER SIX
    JASON parked the car opposite the large open garage doors of the tire shop, glad he’d called his buddy ahead of time to make sure he was working. Looking toward Tori, he said, “I’ll just bring the tire in and see how long it’ll be.”
    “Oh. Is it something that takes a long time to do?” Tori asked. “I really hate keeping you from whatever your plans were for today.”
    “No worries, Tori. I rather like how the day has turned out.” Opening his door, he stood to see his friend, Garrett, stroll from the garage. Moving to the trunk, he popped it and hoisted the flat tire out and to the ground. When Garrett reached him, he looked up and said, “Good to see you, man.”
    Jason grabbed his friend’s outstretched hand before giving a one-armed guy hug. “Yeah, you too. Thanks for taking my call earlier. You got these in stock?”
    “Yeah, you said you needed two. Where’s the other rim?” Garrett asked.
    “It’s still on the car, so I’ll bring that one back later,” Jason told him. “This is the spare, and it was flat, too.”
    “Okay, but since when do you drive late model imports that sport these kind of wheels?”
    Before Jason could answer, Tori stepped out of the car. It didn’t take Garrett but a few seconds to figure out why Jason was bringing him a wheel that belonged to a car he would never drive.
    Garrett nodded to Tori. “Morning. We’ll get this tire patched up for you as quickly as possible, ma’am.”
    Tori smiled and made her way toward them. Jason caught the not-so-subtle perusal his friend made of Tori when she came into view. “Great, thanks so much. Do I take care of paying now or when you’re done?”
    “When we finish is fine.”
    “How long do you think it’ll take?” she asked.
    Garrett made eye contact with him, giving him a considering look before turning back to Tori. For whatever reason, Jason wasn’t too pleased with his friend’s wandering eyes. He was proud of his ability to resist throwing something at Garrett’s head. Although that probably had more to do with the fact that he had nothing to throw, but he’d gladly accept credit for his restraint.
    “Not too long. About an hour or two. It should be enough time for you all to grab a bite to eat.” Garrett then looked back at him, flashing a cocky smile—like he thought Jason now owed him one. “I can just text Jason when we’re all done.”
    Yep. He was going to owe him one all right. Jason held back his urge to smirk. An hour or two of time where Tori couldn’t escape him was just fine. Something told him this woman was strong-willed and didn’t usually make herself completely dependent on another person. Especially a man. A momentary flash of guilt for feeling like he manipulated the situation in his favor came and went. He wasn’t doing anything harmful, and if she wanted to go, she could. He would just make sure he was accommodating enough so she wouldn’t want to.
    When Tori looked at him, he gave her his best can’t-say-no-to-this-face kind of smile and said, “Are you hungry? ‘Cause I know a place not too far from here that has great burgers.”
    There was a pause as she once again considered what he was saying. Jason