Page 18 of Cowboy

Disappointment zinged through her. She didn’t know what she’d hoped for, but it was more than that. Checking the message from Belinda, she found the name and address of the restaurant they would be meeting at for dinner.

Ava didn’t yet know how to respond to Cowboy, so she didn’t. Instead, she sent a message to Belinda letting her know she would be there soon, squared her shoulders and left for the restaurant.

“Tell me about your date. Who was it with, how did it go?” Belinda’s eyes lit with excitement and curiosity as she turned to Ava. They’d already placed their orders, now had nothing to do but wait, and chat.

Ava’s face heated. She’d suspected Belinda would be asking but she hadn’t been expecting this much excitement or interest.

“It was good.” She didn’t know what else to say.

“Who is he? Where did you go? What did you do? Did you get laid?”

Ava’s face flamed. “His name is Cowboy. We had talked about a movie, but there was nothing interesting playing locally, so he asked if I wanted to go to Billings or find something else to do… I suggested we go bowling.”

“Bowling?” Belinda crinkled her nose.

“You should try it sometime. It’s more fun than you’d think. You don’t have to keep a running conversation because you take turns. And you get to see what kind of sport he is. How he plays and how he takes not being the best at everything, unless he bowls all the time. Because without regular practice, no one bowls well.”

“Valid points and smart too. Plus, it’s public and well lit, in case they turn out to be a creep.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, how did bowling go?”

“Really well. I had a lot of fun and I’m sure he did too.”

“Fun. I’m still stuck on fun bowling.” Belinda laughed.

“Have you ever been bowling?”

“No. It’s such an old folk sport.”

Ava smiled. Belinda wasn’t the first person she’d met to say so. She’d said something similar way back when they’d gone bowling in school, but she’d soon learned otherwise.

“Don’t knock it till you try it.”

“So where did you end up eating?”

“At the bowling alley. The food is pretty good. And we were having fun so why stop and go somewhere else?”

“You could always have taken him home. And don’t say you did, because if you had, you wouldn’t be that bright shade of scarlet. By the way, what kind of name is Cowboy?”

“A nickname. And I tried to take him home or rather I invited him in after he took me home, but he said no. He said,” she fell quiet a moment as she tried to remember exactly what Cowboy had said to her, “he said I wasn’t ready for what I thought I wanted, and he wanted to give me time to be sure. Then he planted what I think might be the hottest kiss I’ve ever experienced on me.”

Belinda blinked a couple times. “Not ready for what you think you wanted? What did he mean by that?”

Ava pulled her mouth to one side. “We’d done a lot of talking and getting to know each other. As much as I try not to talk about Hank, as we’re talking small bits come out.”

“Like?”

“Like that I was married young, only recently divorced, a very brief bit about how I ended up divorced.”

“Oh god. You didn’t tell him that bit about slipping her the holy ghost did you?” Belinda’s face turned red as she looked at Ava horrified at the idea.

“No,” Ava laughed, “but he would find it as funny as I do. Anyway, he’s kind of protective. He wants to make sure I’m not rushing into anything I’ll regret later or something really reckless that could get me hurt. He said he wanted me to be sure that a dirty old biker was what I really wanted.” Ava shook her head. “I get where he’s coming from. A lot of people get out of a restrictive relationship and go wild.” She wasn’t about to admit how she’d met Cowboy, and that she was one of those people who’d gone wild, or done something really stupid.

“That is sweet, as long as you’re sure he’s not going to be just as controlling and domineering as Hank was. You just got out of that situation. You don’t want to get into another one just like it.”

“I’m sure. He’s doing something I don’t think I remember Hank doing ever. Not even when we were first married or even dating. He asks what I want.” They paused as the waitress brought their food, noticed they needed new drinks, and disappeared.

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