Page 12 of Your Pucking Mom

“See, you just made it weird,” he quipped back, holding the door open for me once again. “Come on, Sunshine, let’s head inside.”

He had just asked me if my panties were fucking wet, and I responded truthfully. I couldn’t dare go upstairs with him to his apartment, especially since…

“Wait.” I paused, and he sighed, closing his eyes, but released the door yet again. “I don’t know your name. I can’t go anywhere with a stranger.”

That charming dimple was on full display as he responded, “Ledger.”

“Ledger,” I repeated to myself. The name didn’t ring a bell as I tried to remember the roster of names on the team. Wait a fucking second… “Why am I following you inside?”

For a moment, hesitation washed over me. Why was I even considering going up to his apartment, and why was he inviting me? Sure, he asked me out earlier, but going to his apartment was entirely different from just having dinner with him.

Plus, I didn’t want to be put in a position ever again where I didn’t have control over my voice and my body. By going up there, I was risking giving up control to a man I had met three times in a few days by off chances. I didn’t know him enough to know he was safe.

“I just want to replace your dinner,” he said, pulling away from me slightly. The rain must’ve picked up in the last twenty seconds…or was that the sound of my heart thundering in my chest?

“My dinner?” I asked, then felt stupid for repeating things he was saying.

“Yeah.” He lifted the rain-soaked bag from the pavement. “Dinner.”

I stared at him, swallowing. My instinct was to fucking run, but I was trying to think of what my best friend would say in this situation. Ledger wasn’t anyone I’d known in my past. There had to be a reason we kept meeting in the way we did, and in no way did his demeanor scream scary or terrifying. My hands clammed up.

“I, um…” I stumbled, trying to find the right words to say but coming up blank.

“You don’t have to, but I promise…just dinner.” He shook his head. “I would offer to take you out to a restaurant, but since you already turned me down once?—”

“I did, didn’t I?” I gave him a crooked smile, appreciating the joke to lighten the tense atmosphere.

“You’re soaked,” he said, pointing out the obvious with no sexual joke this time.

My eyes flicked back down the street to where my car was parked, feeling like it was miles away. I hesitated at the thought of sitting down to share a meal and a conversation with a man who smelled like a deep pine forest and campfire. He seemed safe, but I couldn’t be sure.

I drank him in, up and down, desperately scanning him for any signs of danger—anything that would cue me into the fact I should not be going upstairs with him—but I came up short. The sincerity in his eyes told me he provided a safe space for me to just…be.

Emma would be so proud that I was considering going upstairs with him for dinner.

“I guess you kind of slid your way into a date with me, then?”

His grin displayed his massive dimple once again as he said, “Didn’t I tell you it was my plan all along?”

I hesitated for a moment. “Will you leave your door unlocked?” It was an anxiety thing that I had. I needed an escape route. If I needed to leave, I could always head to Austin’s apartment.

He looked taken aback by my question, searching me as if I wore the answer on my sleeve, but little did he know how deep the truth was buried inside me.

“Auburn.” My name was a whisper on his tongue. “Of course.”

Then I did the one thing that fucking scared me. For once in my life, I chose myself. I walked over to the door and took hold of it. Despite valuing his gesture to open it for me, my strong sense of independence compelled me to ensure he understood I needed that little bit of control.

He chuckled and said, “Yes, ma’am,” as if understanding the underlying message of my actions. The soft patter of water droplets hitting the marble floor was the only sound in the entire lobby, emphasizing how embarrassingly soaked I was. As we walked in step, I couldn’t help but notice the mischievous grin forming on Ledger’s face at every squeak of my shoes. The noise seemed to grow louder the closer we got, so I needed to fill the silence.

“You’re not going to be creepy, are you?” I asked as he showed me to his elevator. It wasn’t the same one Austin used, which meant he was up on the higher floors.

“Me?” He pointed at himself, then laughed. “Never.”

I flashed him a soft smile as he held the door to the elevator open.

“Auburn,” he said, his voice gentle within the confined space of the elevator. The tension became a palpable force that wrapped around us, creating an atmosphere thick with anticipation and need.

What was I doing? I was not the type to randomly follow someone to their apartment. I guess this new truth-telling me was taking it to the next level. As each second stretched on, the air was charged with an unspoken energy. His words lingered in the air, adding to our heightened sense of expectancy.

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