Page 39 of Flash

“Chicken it is.” He nods, then without even looking at Bas, says, “A dozen chicken.”

“Coming right up.” Bas drums his hands enthusiastically on the counter again and disappears.

“Tater Tot?” I ask blandly.

“Coming up with a pet name on the fly isn’t as easy as it sounds.”

“Honey, sweetie, baby…” I rattle off a few options and he waves his hand dismissively.

“Those are cliché, they have no personality at all. I could call anyone ‘baby,’ but only my man is my little tater tot.”

My cheeks burn hot again, and emotion clogs my throat. Fuck, why is Arrow so goddamn cute? Motorcycle riding badasses are not supposed to be this sweet. I swallow around the lump in my throat and bite back the urge to propose to him here and now before my usual luck catches up with me and he turns into an asshole.

“But why Tater Tot?” I ask again with a laugh.

“Because you love tater tots,” he says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“I do actually love tater tots,” I concede with a chuckle.

“I knew it. See, so much more personal than ‘sweetie.’” He dips his head and drags his nose along the shell of my ear, sending hot jolts through me. “He’s just my taco dealer, by the way. We’ve never fucked and I have absolutely no interest.”

Relief whooshes through me.

“It’s none of my business.” I shrug.

He growls quietly close to my ear and nips at my earlobe. I gasp and my knees tremble.

“I thought we already agreed on this. As long as we’re giving each other screaming orgasms, who I fuck is your business,” he says firmly. “And vice versa.”

Possessive heat burns in his eyes, making my knees weak and my heart thunder. I nod wordlessly, unable to take my eyes off of his for several long seconds.

“Here you go.” Bas pops his head back out through the window, breaking the moment by dangling a bulging paper bag in one hand. “That’ll be twenty bucks.”

I let out a shaky breath and reach into my pocket for my wallet.

“I can get it,” Arrow says, dropping his arm and reaching for his own wallet at the same time.

“I invited you, so I’m paying,” I insist, handing Bas a twenty before Arrow gets the chance and stuffing a few extra singles into the tip jar taped to the counter.

Arrow grunts and frowns. Obviously, he’s not used to guys paying instead of him.

“You can pay next time if it makes you feel better,” I offer, nodding towards a shady picnic table near the fountain in the middle of the park.

“Next time?” His frown morphs into a grin. “Does that mean I’ve passed the tryout?”

“Maybe,” I hedge, but I’m sure the smile on my face is giving me away.

Of course he fucking passed. He passed with flying colors. This date isn’t even over yet and he has obliterated the grading curve.

I’m definitely falling for Arrow, now I just have to hope he’s going to be there to catch me.

Chapter 13

ARROW

The sky has gone dark and the lights lining the park paths have flickered to life by the time we’ve finished eating and found a pause in our conversation. My cheeks hurt from laughing at Lewis’s silly, witty, snarky commentary about each and every topic that’s come up, from our high school experiences to the worst dates we’ve been on.

He nudges his foot against mine under the table and a faint blush stains his cheeks.

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