“Mom’s downstairs with some guy, Clint.”
“And I’m pretty sure they’re both knocked out. Or in a trance. She hasn’t looked out the window at me yet.”
I watched her bite her lower lip, and the motion tugged at my gut. She looked so cute like that, with her hair in a bun. I preferred it down, like it had been the other night. I saw a smile creep across her face before she closed her window, then the light to her bedroom went off.
At first, I thought she was turning me down.
Until the front door opened.
“Come on. We have to hurry.”
I smiled as I tossed her the helmet. She slid it over her head and I chuckled at her pajamas. She had on these flimsy pajama bottoms that had all sorts of stars and hearts and sparkles all over it. And the tank top she wore barely stayed on her body. She whipped some sort of woven jacket or whatever around her shoulders, then leapt onto the back of my bike.
And when I felt her arms wrap around me, my world slowly settled into place.
“I hope you’re hungry. Because there’s a diner I’ve got my eye on tonight.”
Rae giggled. “And here I thought you had your eye on me tonight.”
I grinned. “I have my eye on you tonight for dessert, that’s for sure.”
“You’re so bad. But you better hurry. If there’s a promise of food, I can’t hold my stomach off for long.”
“A girl that eats. I love it.”
I backed out of her driveway and we tore off down the road. She squealed, clinging to me as I raced us into town. I adored the feeling of her wrapped around me. The way she fisted my jacket and buried her helmeted head against my back. I smiled brightly as we cruised through town. I took the long way to the diner, just so I had more time to savor the moment with her.
Eventually, though, we pulled into the parking lot. And I was all too eager to escort her inside with our hands tangled up together.
“You know, my mother would have a heart attack if she knew I got on the back of some guy’s bike.”
I slid into the booth. “Some guy?”
Rae nodded. “Well, you. But yes. To her? Some guy.”
I chuckled. “I’m not just some guy, Rae.”
“Oh, yeah? And what are you, then?”
I winked. “I’m the guy. You really should know this by now.”
“Idiot.”
The waitress brought us menus, but I was too busy staring at the flush in Rae’s cheeks. Oh, she was so easily flustered. And I loved it. Her nose wrinkled up as she put the menu in front of her face. I reached out and slowly slid it down. She was too cute to cover up, with her freckles and her tinted cheeks and her wild hair.
Since when the hell did girls become ‘cute’?
Rae cleared her throat. “Whatcha thinking about getting?”
I shrugged. “The usual.”
“Care to fill me in on what that is?”
“A double cheeseburger with everything, a chocolate shake with extra cherries, and extra crispy fries. Two orders of them.”
The waitress walked back up. “Well, now that I have his order, are you ready, hun?”
I grinned. “Yeah, hun. You ready?”