Rescued

Chapter 3: Re-entry

*** Charlotte's POV ***

I was pumping gas, reveling in the turn that this weekend had taken with Harley West walking back into my life. I couldn't believe he was here, let alone how he was treating me. Like he was truly interested in my life and not just being nice.

"Hey doll. You haulin' something illegal back there?" A scruffy looking dude asked, strolling up with his hands shoved in the pockets of his dirty pants. I was used to this.

I ignored him which worked usually two-thirds of the time. But this one kept coming. He pretended to peer into the tinted window. "Is that a mattress? If not, I got one in my rig we can break in."

I huffed and pushed my shoulders back. Never make yourself smaller. Never show fear. I locked eyes with the creep. "I'm not interested."

"You a bean-flicker or something?" He inquired, reaching out and touching my hair. I smacked his hand away and quickly tried to finish up without showing that I was flustered.

Next thing I knew this guy grabbed a healthy handful of my ass. My training kicked in. I was trained in self defense at my dad's urging. I drove my foot back into his knee cap and turned striking the heel of my hand up into his jaw.

He yelped. "Ugh, what the fuck?! Feisty bitch!" He managed to grab my elbow as I was fleeing and threw me against the side of the van. I clenched my fists and was ready to fight him off when Harley yelled.

I watched him drop all his snacks and advance on the guy. As much as I had this handled, Harley was undeniably hot as he took charge. And the guy responded to him, especially when Harley implied I was his. There was a wild idea!

Harley was revved up and gazing at me with something dangerous in his eyes. My heart was pounding and I couldn't tell if it was because of the altercation or how he was looking at me. Hell.

I forced myself to snap out of it. I overheard his phone call. He was taken. And besides, we were both here to work, not cave to unresolved teenage lust.

Just as he took a step closer, I pushed myself off the van and knelt down to gather his snacks. "Thanks. These road trolls sometimes act like it's their first time interacting with women."

I popped back up my arms full of his snacks. He looked at me and shook his head. "Uh no problem. Thanks for grabbing these."

"Sure. Are you ready to go?" I asked, feeling my cheeks flush as he took back his snacks.

"You don't want anything? I'll go in with you if you want." He offered awkwardly.

"Nah. I learned awhile ago to avoid the snack binge effect." I gestured to his arms. He looked so guilty and cute as he blinked back at me.

He finally chuckled. "I went overboard, didn't I?"

I nodded my head and laughed with him. "A common rookie mistake. Let me get a picture of you."

"Great idea. Uh..." He stepped closer to me and leaned his hip toward me. "My phone is in my pocket."

I instantly blushed at the thought of sticking my hand in his pocket. I shook my head. "I'll take it with mine and send it to you. Look hungry."

We both laughed and I snapped the picture. "What's your number?" I asked.

He stepped close, speaking to me softly over my shoulder. I punched in the numbers he relayed and sent the picture. We got settled into the van and we were both quiet for awhile as we munched.