Page 71 of S.O.S. Billboard

“First of all, I’ll tell you that I feel awesome. You know that sex between us was fantastic; a moon shot if ever there was one.”

That got her a ghost of a grin.

“And I also think we’re doing a really good job of getting to know each other.”

Whether he agreed with that or not was up for grabs, but O’Shea wasn’t going to give him a chance to argue.

“Also, whether it slipped your mind or not, we, uh, kind of messed up your agenda on not getting all sexy and shit before you spilled your guts. But in defense of that, you haven’t been exactly quick on the trigger to tell me all the things you’ve alluded to that I should know, so…we did the deed.”

“Yes, we did.” His gaze heated.

“Now, I think we should give ourselves a little space, so you’ll eventually come to grips with whether full disclosure is important or not.”

“It’s important,” he began, but O’Shea thought differently and kept talking.

“Maybe. But Billboard, I don’t want to force you into revealing anything before you’re ready. If you have to gird yourself to get the information out, which is clearly what you’ve struggled with, then maybe it’s not quite time.”

“A nice, polite way to say I’m chicken-shit,” Billboard huffed. “But I get it. The more comfortable we are with each other; the more likely things will be revealed organically.”

“Exactly.” O’Shea gave him a huge smile. “I’m glad you see it my way.”

He rolled his eyes.

“But that’s not the only reason I think I should relocate for a while.”

Billboard pointed at her with his spoon. She could see his brain cooking. “Ahh. You think, like I do, that there’s more going on at the Jakes’ household than they’re saying.”

“One hundred percent,” O’Shea agreed. “And if I’m on premise, maybe I can get one or both of them to talk.”

Billboard sat back in his chair and gave her a crooked smile. “I hate to say that you have a point, but…”

“…I have a point,” she finished for him, taking another bite of her cereal. “And besides, now that you’re going back to work, I’ll be bored to tears just sitting around waiting for a phone call from the Police Commissioner’s office.”

“True. But to make your new independence happen, you’ll need transportation,” he added reluctantly.

Good.He was thinking logistics, which meant he was onboard with her plan. Not happily, but at least he wasn’t trying to talk her out of it.

She posed a solution to her wheels issue. “I figured you could drop me at a rental place on your way to work today, then after a phone call to Anna, I’ll pack up the cats, my stuff and theirs, and head over.”

“You think… You think it will all be done today?” he asked gruffly.

She reached out a hand and covered his. “It’s okay, Billboard. I’m not trying to ghost you, I promise.” She gave him her brightest smile. “Just the opposite, in fact. This way we can go on dates, make-out in the back seat of your Bronco, and flirt outrageously in front of your team.”

“We could do that, anyway,” he replied with a grunt.

“Yeah, but you’d always be sweating over when you should tell me your secrets.”

Billboard grudgingly nodded.

“AndI think the atmosphere here at your house could get pretty uncomfortable, having that sword hanging over your head. The tension might even derail what we’re trying to build.”

Were they trying to build something? In her mind they were, and Billboard didn’t refute it, so maybe he thought so, too.

“Okay. Point taken.” He gave in again. “Ithasbeen on my mind almost constantly, and I’m…not quite ready yet.”

“So,” she gave his hand one more squeeze before attacking the milk that was left in her bowl. For her, that was the best part of the cereal. “Car rental agency?” She tipped the bowl, slurping up the remains, and Billboard didn’t bat an eye at her crass manners.

One more point for him.

---