The Art of Seduction

Chapter 5

Nikki's POV

My southern accent really comes out when I'm angry and start to curse. I get out of the car and pop open the hood. More fumes and smoke jump in my face and I immediately call the one reliable person I know.
"Blake!"
"Hey sis"
"Heyy...I really wish you were here right now! My car just exploded!" He lets out a frustrated sigh and I know what's coming next.
"Let me guess...your hood is smoking?"
"Yup!"
"I told you! You needed a new engine before you left!" He said all aggravated.
"Well lecturing me about that won't help me get home!"
My little brother and I bicker like we are still twelve years old.
"Pop the hood!"
"Did that. I think I already have lung cancer from the damn fumes!"
"Does everyone in New York already think you're a hillbilly with that accent of yours?"
I throw my hand on my hip as if he's standing in front of me and let out an agitated huff.
"BLAKE! I will slap you til next Tuesday if you start with me!"
Blake moved to Virginia when he was ten so he doesn't have a strong accent as I do from growing up in Mississippi. I turned around screaming at the phone when I noticed a man approaching me. My heart sank to my stomach as I couldn't see who it was in the shadows.
Just as I was about to tell Blake I might be dead in a second, the man walked into the light illuminating his face. There they were again. Those ocean blue captivating eyes staring at me.
"Ok ok! Look and see if the smoke is coming from the radiator hose, or gasket. You could be leaking coolant. If not, the smoke is coming from the tailpipe and you're leaking coolant into the engine itself, which means I'm right and you're fucked!"
Hearing Blake nagging in my ear knocked me back into reality and I stutter trying to answer him on the phone as Jake keeps approaching.
"Ummm, Language! And do you seriously think I can understand your car lingo! How in the hell am I supposed to know what a damn radiator hose looks like?"
"You know you swear more than me!"
"You know what, never mind! I'll just call a tow truck. I'll call you back later, ok?"
"Alright, be care Nikki"
"I will, I love you" I hang up the phone and look back at Jake.

"Need some help?"
"Well, as you can see, I'm in a bit of a pickle. But I'll just call a tow truck"
"They will take forever to get here. You shouldn't be out here alone. Let me drive you home" he offered.
"No, that's ok, really I'll be fine. I've been told I have a mean swing" I smile jokingly showing him my arm muscles and he laughs.
"You mean your swing is back up to your southern bite I just heard on the phone?" He said with a smirking smile.
"Come on, I insist. I'm not leaving you out here all alone"
"Alright then, if you say so," I grab my purse out of my car and he leads the way further up the street.
"So, who were you yelling at on the phone when I showed up?"
"My little brother. Blake. He's back in Virginia living with my Nanna. He is a car expert! Went to vocational school to be a mechanic. He can take apart any car and put it back together piece by piece" I say with a laugh thinking he's been doing that since I could remember.
"You must miss your family"
"Oh course" I didn't elaborate and I nervously turned the conversation to him.
"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"Two sisters. One older, one younger. I hated that sandwich," We both laugh as we arrive at his car parked on the street. He opens the passenger side door for me and I slip inside. As he entered the driver's side, I inhaled his masculine scent that was heaven to my nostrils.
"So, where to?" He looked over and he turned his key in the ignition.
"Asher heights" I replied and he looked at me concerned and paused a moment before speaking.
"You live in Asher Heights? I know you're not from around here but that isn't the safest part of New York"
"It's all I can afford" I look down at my fidgeting hands in my lap embarrassed to have to admit that, but it's true. I scraped up all the money I had saved to get myself to New York and enroll in school. With the money I make at Grohl's and now my internship, I send what I can back to Blake. I know my Nanna isn't able to help Blake out, so everything falls on me.
"Ok," He dropped the subject and started driving. I took out my phone and called a towing company. Jake was right, they wouldn't be able to get to my car for at least another hour. I couldn't imagine waiting by my car alone in that dark parking lot. Thank the lord for Jake right now. I hang up with the towing company and try to think of a way to break the awkward silence during the car ride.
"So, you're friends with Tony, huh? Rachael told me, we work together at Grohl's"
"You work at Grohl's? I meet with him there for drinks all the time but I've never seen you there before?"
"I've only been there three months since I moved here. And I'm only part-time"
"And you work at Webber's gallery too?"
"Yea, I started an internship there today. Trying to get my foot in the door, ya know"
"You're a busy woman"
"I guess I am. So, how long have you known Tony?"
"We went to school together so we go way back" He kept it vague as I also do when speaking of myself.
"That's nice. He's a great artist. I love his work. Do you have any expos for your work?" I could sense my question hit a nerve. I saw him grip the steering wheel firmly hearing the leather squeak. His jaw muscles clenched tight.
"No. I just focus on teaching now" Since he didn't elaborate, I figured he wasn't willing to share anything with me. It made me think of Rachael's comment. Something happened in his past that made him shut everyone out. Maybe it made him stop painting too?
"So, what made you want to become an artist?" He asked. I guess I should expect people to be asking me this question since I did enroll in art school. I just never wanted people to start asking further questions about my past.
"Umm, well, my Mamma. She loved to draw when I was little and she taught me everything she knew. She wasn't a professional or anything, she was just really good at doodlin' on any scrap paper." I smile at her memory.
"She did believe in me though. She supported and encouraged me to reach for my dreams when I told her I wanted to be an artist"
"She sounds like an amazing woman"
"She was." I bowed my head thinking of her memory. I prayed to the Lord he wouldn't ask me any more questions that would make me elaborate she wasn't alive anymore. Thankfully he didn't. Instead, he let the car fill back with awkward silence.
"Sooo...tonight would have been our date..." I tried to change the mood of the car ride and poke fun at our awkward situation. Also, a little devious since I wanted to see how he would react. If Rachael was right. If he was really interested in me, would he be able to deny his attraction?
"Yes, it would have"
"Well, where were you going to take me?" I said with a joking smile but he lets out a heavy sigh.
"Nicole, we shouldn't even entertain the idea since I'm your-"
"Professor, I know. But it is a little ironic that it was supposed to be tonight and here you are, driving me home."
"I'd be an asshole if I left you on the street with a broken-down car." He looks over to me with those abyss of blue eyes. "I'm trying to do the right thing here and not be an asshole"
"So it matters then...that I'm your student now? If I wasn't would things be different?" I didn't break from his eyes but he did. He grips the steering wheel harder as he doesn't answer but his eyes tell me he's arguing with himself in his head.
"How old are you anyway?" He asks aggravated.
"Eight-hundred forty-two..why does that matter?" I answer with sass.
He looks over at me disgruntled and frustrated at my sarcasm and waits for the real answer.
"I'm twenty-four ok...how old are you then? Fifty?" Again with my sarcasm but this time I got a rise out of him and he shook his head and let out a chuckle under his breath.
"I'm thirty, you wise-ass"
We arrive outside my building and he pulls to the curb, parks the car, and shuts it off.
"Thank you, really. I do appreciate you driving me all the way out here. I guess I'll see you Monday"
"I'll walk you up"
"You don't have to do-"
"I said I'm not an asshole! It's not safe in these parts Nicole" He didn't even give me a chance to argue with him. He was already stepping out of his car and walking over to open the door for me. He stopped at the door of my building and turned to me.
"Your keys?"
I gave him my set of keys not willing to argue. He took them and opened the building door and walked so close to me as if he was shielding me with his body from any danger that may be lurking around the corner. I had to admit to myself, I did feel safer with him around. And I couldn't help like being this close to him.
I told him my apartment number and he led the way down the hall. He opened my apartment door almost poking his head in and checking that everything was clear before stepping aside to let me in and not stepping in himself. I walked into my apartment and turned around leaning against the door frame.
"Do you want to come in?"