Chapter 2

Two Years Later

Ginger had just gotten her certificate from beauty school, and her mom had promised to take her on as her assistant. She was excited because she would be working on a new movie, The Secret Circle. Filming didn’t start for a few weeks, so she had some time off before she began her career as a makeup artist.

It looked like things were looking up in her love life, too. After she kicked Kevin to the curb—which turned out to be the best thing she ever did—she met Tom at church. He was a little older but a devout Catholic, which pleased her parents.

Kevin turned out to be involved in a car theft ring. He and a couple of his buddies figured out that for specific models of Nissan, they could clone the vehicle keys using reprogramming tools. He and his friends used hardware that allowed them to intercept the key signal and use it to unlock the vehicle’s doors and start the engine. This was done when the car was close to the key, whether it was in the driveway or at a store.

They then posted videos of themselves driving crazily around town. For example, they would drive down a sidewalk and make people dive out of the way.

Kevin got caught, and the dumbass bragged about stealing other cars on a phone call from the prison. The police tied him to four other thefts based on his unwitting confession.

The only problem with Tom was his best friend, Dan. Dan was a bad influence, always talking Tom into going to bars or other stuff. Dan’s latest thing was that he wanted Tom to come with him to Vegas. She overheard Dan telling Tom that he’d get them some hookers, and Tom could finally lose his V card.

After Dan left, Ginger put her foot down and forbade Tom from going on the trip. Thankfully, Dan went on his own.

Ginger still lived with her dad, with plans to get a place with Jan once she started making money.

There was a knock on her bedroom door.

“Are you getting up? I’m going to work and need you to run some errands for me,” her dad said.

Ginger groaned because she’d promised to go to the farmers’ market and buy some stuff. It was best to arrive early if you wanted the best produce.

Ginger was tired, so she decided to go back to sleep. She reasoned they would have good stuff all day, so why rush? She finally rolled out of bed at ten and made herself a plate of frozen waffles. Ginger was putting her plate in the dishwasher when her doorbell rang. She checked the video, and it was Dan.

“What’s he doing here?” Ginger muttered.

She opened the door, and he made a show of checking her out in her nightshirt. If she’d had her first coffee, Ginger would’ve realized that probably wasn’t the best idea. As predicted, she’d had a late growth spurt like her mom had. She now had a C-cup and noticeably curvy hips.

“Damn, girl! Who knew you were so sexy? No wonder Tom bailed on going to Vegas.”

Ginger couldn’t help it; she felt her face flush. She glanced down, saw that her nipples were clearly visible under her shirt, and quickly folded her arms over her chest to hide them.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“No need to be hostile; I come with an olive branch. Tom told me you overheard our ‘guy talk’ and nixed our trip. I can tell he’s serious about you, and I’m not going away, so I thought we should talk,” Dan said.

“Now’s not a good time.”

“Now works for me,” Dan said and pushed his way through the door.

He had a profile that belonged to history, a proud, down-turned mouth, and a powerful jaw. Something about the way he stood and how his old woolen jersey and jeans fit did conflicting things to her heart and stomach. She didn’t know what Dan did for a living, but if he told her he was a model or actor, it wouldn’t surprise her.

He was in many ways different from Tom. Her boyfriend was slightly overweight; she thought of him as her big teddy bear. Dan was also closer to her age, which made her wonder how he and Tom had become friends.

Dan caught her checking him out. She wanted to slap that grin off his face.

“Just leave. I don’t need you putting bad ideas into my boyfriend’s head,” Ginger said.

“I tell you what: you blow me, and I’ll quit hanging around Tom so much. That sounds like a good deal for both of us,” Dan said, shocking her to the core. “Besides, I see the way you look at me. You must be curious.”

“No, I’m not.”

He laughed.

“It’s written all over your face. Your body also gives you away,” Dan said, looking at her nipples.

“What? No!” Ginger exclaimed as she crossed her arms again to hide the obvious truth.

She was pissed that he’d called her out. Why did her nipples have to out her?

She made the mistake of glancing down at the bulge in his jeans. Dan took that as a sign she would do it and stepped closer.