Free What You Always Wanted by Kristin Rae

innocently, a hand on my chest. “Anything you say to me from now on gets locked in the vault.” I pretend to zip my lips.
    Nothing but a smirk. This is going to be like pulling teeth.
    â€œSo you’re a good actor, then? Do you dance?” My heart flutters at the thought. I let my eyes fall to his legs, remembering how muscular they looked when he was working in the yard, but his jeans hide them now. Even though it’s wishful thinking, I continue, “If you sing too, you’d be a triple threat.”
    If only I could find a triple threat . . .
    â€œOh, I’m a triple threat, all right,
mi reina
.” He winks.
    There’s no way. He’s probably just messing with me. “Sing something.” I hold my breath and stare at him.
    He turns down our street. “Nope.”
    â€œCome on, it’s just me. Let me hear what you got.”
    â€œNope.”
    â€œWhat are you afraid of?” I huff.
    Jesse’s jaw sets in a hard line. “Just drop it, Madison.”
    I shrink back into my seat and watch the drizzle outside until we make it to my house. Without even trying, I’ve become an expert at irritating him.
    â€œYou got a key yet?”
    I peek up the drive. No one’s home. I retrieve my key from the front pocket of my backpack and dangle it so he can see.
    The sky rips open with a flash and tear of thunder. The truck gently rocks with the sudden onslaught of heavy rain.
    â€œGreat timing,” I groan. I hug my backpack close to my chest, ready to bolt.
    â€œHang on.” Jesse unbuckles his seat belt and leans toward me, reaching behind my head for something. My eyes find the strip of tan skin exposed just above his jeans.
    I don’t look away.
    He returns to his seat, clutching an umbrella. I try to take it but he’s out his door and opening mine in a matter of seconds. He holds it high over us as I slide off the seat and shut the door. But it doesn’t close all the way. I turn, preparing to slam it with my hip, but Jesse extends his free hand, palming the door just next to my head. He pushes hard and it clicks, his arm brushing across the top of my shoulder in the process. I refrain from looking up into his eyes and instead study every detail of this potentially romantic scene.
    The darkened sky, the grumble of thunder. Water coming down in sheets around us. The black umbrella. Black with an old-fashioned hook handle. Just like the one from . . . My heart kicks up speed. I look at Jesse just as a stray droplet falls along his temple, and I’m sucked into one of my favorite scenes.
    The sky turns to night and I’m standing on the front stoop of an apartment, sporting a bright yellow rain slicker. Jesse’s plaid, button-down shirt transforms into a gray suit, and a dark brown hat appears on his head. The taxi in the street waits for him to kiss me good night and then get back in the car.
    I lean into him. “Take care of that throat,” I say, flipping the collar of his jacket to cover his neck. “You’re a big singing star now, remember? This Texas dew is just a little heavier than usual tonight.”
    â€œUh . . .”
    Please tell me I didn’t say that out loud.
    â€œWhy are you looking at me like that?”
    My eyes clear and I realize my hand is resting against Jesse’s chest. I shake my head and shrink against the truck as much as possible, completely mortified I zoned out right in front of him. This is not
Singin’ in the Rain
.
    â€œWhat’s going on
here
?” a voice calls from down the driveway.
    The vehicle in my periphery isn’t a taxi. It’s a little blue car. And Brian.

CHAPTER NINE

    Jesse removes his hand from the door and turns toward Brian. “Who’s this?”
    Brian moves closer to us, hiding a small book under his shirt from the rain and holding a flat paper grocery sack over his head. “Who am I? That’s really funny,