Page 50 of Eight Steps to Alpha

Chapter 16

It turnedout that holding onto a man she barely knew on the back of a motorcycle was exactly what she needed. The wind in her face, the rumble of the engine between her thighs, caused a mixture of adrenaline, excitement, and fear to pulse within her—But at the time, she felt more relaxed than she had in days.

“Where are we going?” she asked when her feet hit the pavement again. They were down town, she could tell that just by the proximity of the buildings, but not once had he mentioned their destination. Until this moment, she hadn’t even thought to ask.

Colton took her helmet from her fingers and quickly secured it back in the saddlebags. “That depends,” he said, squinting against the sun.

For the first time the evening, she really looked at him. Into his eyes that were dark brown, but sprinkled with traces of green and gold throughout. So different than his brothers. “On what?” she asked, forcing herself to look away.

“On what you like.”

The flirtatious tone of his voice twisted in her belly. Not that there was anything wrong with him flirting with her, but for some reason, her insides turned to knots. As though she were cheating on a test… as though she were cheating on Elliot. Which was silliest thing she’d ever thought of. Elliot knew she was out with Colton. Had basically given his blessing, so she really had nothing to feel guilty about.

Then why did she feel this way? Why did she have this intense urge to call Elliot to see if he was okay? “I like just about anything,” she said instead.

A gentle smile turned at the corner of Colton’s mouth, and he grabbed hold of her hand. “Do you like sushi?”

She met his stare and nodded “Yes.”

He gave her an affirmative nod, like a drill Sargent, and took off walking. “Well that’s where we’ll go then.”

He stepped off of the sidewalk, paused for a moment, then immediately turned around and began walking in the opposite direction.

“Do you even know where you’re going?” She laughed, following a half step behind his steady pace. He made her nervous, but he was taking her mind off of Elliot, and that was exactly what she needed.

A dimple flashed on his left cheek and he shot her a grin. “Yes ma’am. Or I will before the night’s over.” They walked a block or two, his pace picking up a little with each step.

She was pretty sure that by this point, they were lost, or maybe the restaurant didn’t exist at all, but her suggestion of a Google only seemed to prompt him to take wider strides.

Sometime later, when they rounded a corner she was pretty sure they’d been to before, Fe noticed an elderly woman sitting alone out on the patio of a small cafe. Fe met the woman’s kind eyes and smiled, realizing she probably looked ridiculous being dragged block by block, at a pace reminiscent of jogging.

It was in that second, however, when the elderly woman scanned over Fe’s face, to Colton’s body, to their joined hands, that things immediately changed. She thought they were together. There was no doubt in Fe’s mind, this stranger, this woman, thought her and Colton were a couple.

Something immediately churned in her stomach, because before that moment, she’d almost forgotten about the fact they held hands. She hadn’t paid any attention to how warm and strong his fingers felt wrapped around hers, or how intimate the act really was, walking down the streets, hand in hand like this. The last thing she wanted was to give him the wrong impression.

Easing her fingers out of his grasp she stuffed them deep into her front pockets, not breaking her stride. To her relief, Colton didn’t even seem to notice. Probably because his attention was focused on finding the non-existent restaurant.

“Are you always so stand offish?” he asked, stopping in his tracks to turn and face her.

Her cheeks warmed instantly, because maybe he’d noticed after all. “I’ve spent less than an hour with you since you walked into my apartment. How can you possibly know if I’m stand offish or not?”

He grinned. “Cause you are.”

Her brow creased “Are you always so forward?”

“No one’s complained yet.”

She wasn’t sure if she should be offended, or annoyed, but for some reason, she couldn’t be either. It worked for him. This cocky, aloof, dry humor of his. Because in the root of it all, he was teasing her. She tried to think of something witty to say, something that would keep him on his toes, but she had nothing.

A broad smile spread across his face at the simple win, and he turned on his heels, quickly opening the door behind them. “After you,” he said, bowing his head down toward the floor.

Dumbfounded, and trying not to let on how shocked she was that he’d been standing in front of the restaurant for a good two minutes without her noticing, she stepped through the door.

To be fair, from the outside, it was easy to miss, but the inside… It looked like everything you’d imagine an authentic Japanese restaurant to be. Low tables, dim lighting, lanterns everywhere.

“Two please,” Colton said, as he walked up to the woman standing behind the front desk.

They were quickly escorted though a wooden archway, to a room with rich black walnut accents, and crimson pillows on the ground.

---