Page 2 of Midnight Surrounds Us

Don’t be a baby. Man up and go get your girl.

Aubrey’s customer said her goodbyes and waved as she left Your Local Bookie, and I jogged across Main Street. I nodded to the woman leaving, took off my hat, and grabbed the door before it slapped shut.

“Hey there, Aubrey.”

She heard my voice and spun to face me. “Ryder.” She touched her hand to her stomach, below her breasts. “You scared me. I didn’t hear you come in. How are you? How’s your family?”

“Apologies, ma’am,” I said with a smirk. “Family’s fine. All’s well. I’m here in town helpin’ at my uncle’s store. Devo Mescal’s stuck workin’ there this week and?—”

“Yeah, I know all about it. She and your uncle can’t seem to coexist, so some judge made them trade places.”

“Right,” I said. “Anyway, I thought while I’m here, maybe I could take you out for some caffeine.”

She laughed, but when the expression on my face didn’t budge, she pressed her lips together. She took in my appearance: my worn jeans, black T-shirt with my uncle’s store’s logo on the front, and my messy hat hair. “Uh, no, thank you.”

Whoa. Really?

“Just like that? You ain’t even gonna consider me?”

“Rye, I’m not goin’ on a date with you. That’s what you’re askin’, right? You’re too young for me. Isn’t there a prettycowgirl or some young woman home from college you can take out?”

“Just how old do you think I am?”

She shrugged.

“I’m thirty-four, not twenty-four. I got no interest in college kids.”

She scoffed and set her hands on her hips, but I didn’t miss the way her eyes scanned Main Street. Was she scared of what people might say?

“Well, in a month, I’ll be forty-seven. So you see, too old for you.”

I shook my head. “You’re wrong about that.”

“Whether I’m right or wrong, I’m still sayin’ no.”

“Okay, that’s fair. I respect your answer. But when I leave here, don’t you go kickin’ yourself in the ass.” I looked at her hand still on her hip, trying to see behind it to her lush backside.

“Rye!”

“What? I can’t appreciate a beautiful woman?”

She blushed, and her eyes dipped down to my jeans too. I knew what she was looking for. I had to resist the urge to turn so she could catch a gander.

I smiled. Actually, it was more a grin, because that little slip of her gaze was a sure sign that, even though she was telling me no, she’d be thinking about my ass long after I left. It wasn’t the first time I’d caught her daydreaming about it.

She snapped her eyes to mine. “Why would I kick my own ass?”

“For lettin’ me walk away, even though I know you like to watch me go.”

Her mouth popped open and she gasped. “You got some nerve, kid.”

You got no idea, woman.

“‘Kid’?” I chuckled and set my hat back on my head, and Aubrey bit the inside of her cheek. Her pink lips pursed, and she narrowed her eyes. So at least she wasbeginningto consider me. “Seriously, don’t beat yourself up too much.”

“Andwhywould I do that?”

I tipped my hat in her direction and winked. “’Cause I’m unforgettable.”

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