“You don’t have to act a certain way to impress me. Just be yourself.”
“Promise me you’ll do the same.”
I grinned and told him, “Like I have a choice. I have no game whatsoever. All I know how to be is the hot mess you see before you.” That made him grin, too.
We stayed like that for a while, relaxed and comfortable with each other. When I felt myself starting to fall asleep, I sat up and said, “I hate to say it, but I should really think about heading home.”
“Can I give you a ride?”
“That depends. Is it on a motorcycle?”
“Yes, and I shouldn’t have led off with the driving off a cliff story. If you let me take you home, I promise I’ll be very safe and careful.”
I thought about it before saying, “Okay. It’s already been a night of firsts, might as well add one more.”
We both got up, and he started to push his hair back with one hand, in what would have been a very sexy move. But then he muttered, “What the hell?”
He used both hands to untangle something from his long hair. A moment later, he held up my toothbrush, and we both started laughing. I took it from him and said, “Oops,” as I returned it to my pocket.
Lucky shook his head as he reached for his boots. “I give up. Next time I see you, I’m just going to wear my glasses and retainer and a Dungeons and Dragons T-shirt. My cool façade has been totally blown.”
“God, I hope you’re serious,” I told him with a smile. “Biker you is hot, but dork you would be completely irresistible.”
“Careful what you wish for,” he said, with a teasing wink.
* * *
The best thing about riding on the back of his motorcycle was that I got to hug Lucky all the way home. The rest was a weird mix of exhilarating and terrifying, even though I could tell he was making a real effort to drive slowly and not freak me out.
When he finally pulled up in front of my house, I climbed off the bike and handed him his spare helmet and leather jacket. After he stowed them, he took his helmet off too and said, “Thank you for an unforgettable evening.”
I lingered on the curb and pointed out, “Unforgettable isn’t necessarily a good thing. If you fell into a huge vat of cow manure, that could also be described as unforgettable.”
He smiled at me and said, “I love your randomness.”
“Thank you. And thanks for the toothbrush.” I pulled it from my back pocket and grinned.
That definitely amused him. “You’re very welcome. So, would you like to come over next Saturday night? Or you could come over sooner than that, if you wanted to. You’d just mentioned something about next weekend…”
“Saturday is perfect, and I’ll shoot for nine p.m. My weeks are really busy, so I don’t think I could manage it sooner.” That was absolutely true, but I also knew I was going to need a few days to process everything that had just happened.
“I understand. Also, just to be clear, I have no expectations when it comes to us having sex. If you decide you want to, that’s great. But if you’d rather just hang out and criticize my chess game, that’s totally fine, too.”
“Noted.” I smiled at him before leaning in to give him a light kiss, but it instantly revved up into something more. Both of us were flustered by the time I finally stepped back and said, “Good night, Lucky. See you next weekend.”
He nodded and put on his helmet. Then he glanced at me one more time before starting the motorcycle and driving off into the night.
I watched him go, and then I took a deep breath. It was time to totally switch gears.
Once I went inside, I immediately headed to JoJo and Yolanda’s bedroom. They’d left their door open a few inches, probably because they knew I’d want to check on the baby as soon as I got home.
The couple was all wrapped up in each other and sound asleep in a cozy nest of plum-colored bedding. In the soft glow of the night light they’d left on for the baby, they looked like a renaissance painting of a pair of angels.
And there was Owen, snoozing right beside their bed in his portable crib, like a perfect little cherub. I smiled at the sight of him, and a sense of relief washed over me.
Okay, so I could actually manage some time for myself without the sky falling. Good to know.
I shut the door as quietly as possible before going upstairs and getting ready for bed. Once I was curled up under the covers, I placed the red toothbrush on my nightstand, and a smile spread across my face.
As the night finally caught up to me, I shook my head in disbelief and whispered, “Holy crap.” Not only had I just spent a few hours with my dream man, but we actually had a date planned. Talk about astonishing.
I had no idea what would happen the following weekend, but I couldn’t wait to find out.