Vintage Volume One by Lisa Suzanne Page A

direction. He had no idea that he just wasn’t cut out for me. He had no idea that I was leaving with another man and that I wanted to let Parker fuck me for the rest of the night.
    I grabbed my purse and my keys out of the drawer where I stored them in the back room and headed toward the front to meet Parker.
    “Where do you want to go?” I asked when we walked out the front door together. I felt his hand on the small of my back, and more unfamiliar emotions rocketed through me.
    “I know a place. It’s a little bit of a dive.”
    “Sounds perfect.”
    “You drive a Porsche?” he asked as we approached my car.
    I nodded. “What do you drive?”
    He nodded in the direction of the car parked directly next to mine. A GMC Jimmy. It looked like it had to be twenty years old.
    “Ironic,” I said, a hint of a smile turning up my lips.
    He moved in close to me, so close that his body was flush against mine while my entire back side pressed against the door of my Porsche. His eyes never left mine.
    “Quite ironic, Jimi,” he said, his voice soft and his breath whispering against my lips. His eyes flicked for one second down to my lips, and he moved in even closer.
    “Where are we going?” I asked, breaking the spell between us.
    Parker cleared his throat and backed away from me. “Follow me. It’s not far. A little Mexican place in Culver City. You know where Washington is?”
    I nodded. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of Culver City, but chances were slim that I’d run into the only man I knew who lived there.
    I followed Parker’s old SUV through the streets of LA until we wound up in front of a taco shop. We both managed to find spots in the small lot behind the building. He met me just behind my car and pulled my hand into his as we walked toward the entrance.
    A little shiver pierced my torso.
    I should avoid him at all costs. I knew that. I’d only end up hurt again in the end.
    Even his goddamn warm hand in mine was comforting.
    There was no way I’d be able to stay away.

ten
     
    “Who gets a cheeseburger at a taco place?”
    Parker glared up at me over the top of his Coors Light. “I do.”
    “Strange.”
    “Best burgers in LA. But I guess you’ll never know since you’re a walking cliché with your tacos.”
    I held up my drink. “Don’t forget my margarita.”
    He smiled.
    I was biting into the best shrimp taco I’d ever tasted in my life when the chimes over the door jingled. I glanced in that direction.
    An immediate chill floated through the air despite the warmth Parker made me feel.
    Three men walked through the doorway. They were all big, burly men. Individually, they would have been intimidating. But together, the three men walking through that door scared the hell out of me.
    Mostly because I recognized one of them.
    I shifted my gaze down to my plate. I felt my hands trembling, so I placed them on either side of me.
    Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me.
    “What’s wrong?” Parker asked, alarm in his voice as he set down his cheeseburger. I felt his eyes on me from across the table, but I knew if I looked up, if I made any movement at all, I’d draw attention to myself. So I stayed still as I felt the eyes of the three men at the door roam around the restaurant.
    What the fuck were the chances that I’d run into the one person I didn’t want to see who I knew lived in Culver City?
    Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me.
    I kept repeating my mantra, hoping for its effectiveness.
    Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
    “Roxanna Price!” My name boomed out of his slimy mouth. He walked over to our table. I kept my eyes lowered. “How’s little CC doing?”
    “Fine,” I said, my voice quiet.
    “And how’s the old man?”
    “Fine.”
    “Fine. Fine? You got anything else to say, girl?”
    I shrugged.
    “You need anything else?” Parker asked, eyeing the man hovering over our table.
    Fuck.
    “Parker, don’t.” My