At seven o’clock on the dot, a knock sounded on the door, and I had to hold onto Roscoe’s collar to keep him back as I pulled it open.
Bones stood on the other side holding a bouquet of pink carnations in one hand and, as promised, a box of milk bones in the other. “For you,” he held out the flowers to me.
I took them, smiling. I couldn’t remember ever getting flowers from a man before.
“And these are for you, buddy.” Bones knelt in front of Roscoe, sticking his hand inside of the box and pulling out two.
I let go of his collar as he lunged forward, his tail wagging wildly as he gobbled up the snack.
My affection for Bones cranked up a couple of notches as I watched him pat Roscoe’s head with a happy smile I recognized as one every animal lover got when interacting with dogs. They brought out a natural joy in people.
I grabbed a vase out of the kitchen and filled it with water before popping the flowers inside. I placed it in the center of the kitchen table and then I turned back.
Bones still stood by the door watching me. “You look beautiful.”
His sweet sincerity made me blush. “You don’t look too bad yourself,” I said, moving closer.
Bones cupped my cheek but didn’t swoop in to kiss me. Instead, he stared into my eyes, and the moment was somehow more intimate than any other that we’d shared before.
I felt like he was looking into my soul.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked after a minute.
I nodded.
“Watch the place for us, Roscoe, we might be late,” Bones told him.
The dog responded by nudging between us and jumping up on Bones and looking up at him with a doggy grin on his face.
“Maybe you can come along next time, buddy,” I said, urging him back down to four legs.
We left.
This time, Bones handed me a different helmet. A white one with a black piece of plastic attached to the left side.
When I looked inside, there was a little microphone that would be right in front of my mouth when I wore it. “What’s this?” I asked.
“A Bluetooth headset. I already had one on my helmet, so I could make phone calls or listen to music from the playlist on my phone while I ride. When I bought this helmet for you today, I went ahead and had them install another in your helmet. They are synced up, so we can also communicate while riding if we want to.”
“You bought this for me?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged like it was no big deal. “You need one if you’re going to be riding with me.”
“Thank you.” I was touched by how thoughtful he’d been and the humble way he acted made it more meaningful.
Bones got on the bike, firing it to life.
The engine rumbled loudly on the quiet street and I climbed on behind him, my legs stretched wide on either side of his thighs. Just like last time, there was something erotic about our positioning, and an ache formed inside of me, one that demanded more from Bones. I wanted to be touched by him, to know every inch of his body…
I kept my arms around his waist as the bike took off, feeling the ridges of his chiseled abs underneath his shirt. He was leaning slightly forward, and every time he turned, I leaned with him to the left or right. I felt connected to him on the back of the bike, which was part of the enjoyment of the ride. But I also liked the rush of the wind blowing across my body, reminding me that nothing separated me from the elements. I liked feeling like a part of my surroundings, instead of driving in an enclosed car. This was such a fun way to travel.
I wasn’t very familiar with Holbeck yet, so I had no idea where we might be heading as he turned off the main street, in the same direction as Wheelz. Surely, he wasn’t taking me to the bar where all his buddies would be? That wouldn’t feel like much of a date.
I soon realized we weren’t going there at all. Bones turned to the west, taking us through a residential part of town, and if the look of the houses was any indication, it was the wealthiest section of Holbeck. Many of the houses were stately manors, with porch columns, gables, and perfectly maintained lawns. There were wrought-iron street lamps on the corners, casting a yellowish glow on the road, but there weren’t any other vehicles on the street in this area.
Once we’d passed through that neighborhood, we were riding up a hill. The incline was slight, but we were going that way for a while, maybe ten minutes. There were trees on each side of us, and it was dark here, the only illumination being the motorcycle’s headlight.
I had no idea where we could be going. What kind of a date could we have out here? I doubted there was a restaurant or movie theatre in this area.