He was right about one thing, I didn’t want anyone at work knowing about our relationship. It wasn’t that I was embarrassed, but my job was still my top priority, and I wanted to keep it separate from my personal life as much as possible.
Despite this, I got a thrill from making out with him in my office and throughout the day, I found myself doing things like trailing my fingers across the back of his neck as I walked by him and lingering when I brought him drinks at the slot machines, even though I was fully staffed today and one of the waitresses could have done it. Our fingers would brush when I handed him something and one time, he dropped a coin and when I bent to pick it up for him, I could feel his eyes on my behind.
Having him around made my workday a lot more exciting.
Then, I went home. I wasn’t sure what Bones’ evening plans were, but I was willing to bet they were a lot more fun than watching Netflix with the dog and eating leftover Chinese takeout. I had known already how lonely I felt. It had been the reason I’d given that disastrous blind date a shot, but I hadn’t realized until Bones came along that I didn’t make enough time for fun in my life.
Would I have ever actually gone to the boardwalk if Bones didn’t take me?
Probably not.
And I definitely wouldn’t have gotten on the back of a motorcycle without his encouragement. Even his job had a recreational element, owning the biker bar where his club hung out.
This had to be part of his appeal for me, I realized. On the surface, he had this bad boy appearance that made me wary, not wanting to associate with a man like my stepdad, but I was discovering that not only was he a good man, but he was teaching me that there was room in life for the fun that I’d been denying myself for years. I just had to find the balance in life to allow for it.
My arrangement with Bones might have been temporary, but I intended to make the most of it while I could and hopefully ? I’d come out on the other side ? a happier woman.