Page 20 of Brighter than the Boss
"Goodnight, Hessa. Goodnight Bailey."
"Jesus Christ, goodnight already. Everybody go home!" Bailey cracked the whip and we all sputtered out one last laugh before climbing into our cars and going home.
I jammed my helmet on my head and fired up my sweet Vespa. I pulled out of the lot and took a right, heading back to my apartment. Most of the streets were empty, most sane people having gone to bed already. At the first light, I had to stop and wait awhile for it to turn green. No one was out, but I still wasn't going to run a red light.
Right as it turned green finally, a loud Harley pulled in behind me and followed me down PCH. I glanced back warily, not trusting anyone out this late. Yeah, I knew I was out late too and what did that say about me, but I was totally normal. Guys on Harleys at 2 a.m. were suspect, okay?
I crept my speed higher and hoped he'd turn off before I made it home. I couldn't lead him to my apartment. What if he was some crazy stalker? I figured if he hadn't turned off by the next light, I'd make a right and head back toward downtown where I knew the police station was.
"Green, green, green," I chanted.
The last light before my apartment complex turned red. Of course.
I stopped, leaving my hand on the clutch, ready to peel out if this guy tried anything.
Watching in my tiny rearview mirror, I saw him stop behind me. My tired brain didn't compute who it was, just that he looked familiar. Then he nodded at me, like he knew I was checking him out. And it dawned on me, my eyes widening.
Creepy Harley guy was Cain.
The light turned green and I ripped my gaze away from his gorgeous image in my tiny mirror to take off. I made the turn into my complex and wound around to my section of the parking lot, his bike following me the whole time.
I didn't even bother to get off gracefully, just putting the kickstand down and jumping off, ready to give him a piece of my mind.
He was stopped behind me with one foot down, motor still running, probably waking up all my neighbors.
I advanced, hands on hips. "What are you doing, Cain?"
"That's a cute helmet you got there." His eyes flicked up to my white sparkly helmet with the Wonder Woman logo on the front.
I snatched it off my head, having forgotten it was still on. "Answer my question."
His eyes sobered and he spoke over the engine. "I didn't mean to scare you. Just making sure you got home okay."
That didn't compute. "What— How did you know where I was?"
"You're a beautiful woman, Sunny. You attract attention wherever you go." The compliment rolled off his tongue easy, but his eyes looked sad as he flicked his head to my front door. "Get on in the house and I'll leave your neighbors in peace."
I nodded, still not understanding how or why he was there. Then again nothing about this man had made sense since the day I met him. A beat passed. I couldn't seem to look away nor walk away.
He broke eye contact finally. "Haven't got all night, Sunshine."
I blinked, my entire body drooping without his eye contact, then stepped forward to squeeze his big hand on the handlebars before turning around and running into my house.
Chili greeted me with kisses and barks, happy to see me.
At least someone was.
* * *
It took all of Sunday to get back to feeling normal and I remembered why I didn't like to drink. I called Mom and Dad, talking to them for over an hour. Her latest tests came back showing that she was responding well to the chemo treatments. The doctors had high hopes that she'd come away from this in total remission. You could literally hear it in Dad's laugh. That carefreeness that came with peace of mind. That new development took some of the weight off my shoulders.
I spent the rest of my day thinking about Cain and what was happening there. He'd followed me home. Why? He'd kissed me multiple times and they were my very best kisses, yet they ended with devastation each time. Would he ever kiss me again and then not pick a fight with me? He was dark and scary, then playful and teasing. Who was this man?
He was an enigma. A puzzle. A tall, dark, and handsome question mark I wanted to straighten out and figure out, followed by making out. My brain was completely stumped, but my body was very clear on what it wanted.
By the time Monday morning rolled around, I was back to my normal, happy, positive self, ready to handle another day of lifeguarding and ignoring Cain. I had so many reasons to smile, including my mom's prognosis, the mid-seventies weather the meteorologists were predicting, and a group of new friends who were texting me on the regular like I was truly part of the group.
I slid into a chair in the meeting room at Headquarters with several minutes to spare. A couple coworkers were debating the merits of a kite with a long tail versus the new double-layer kites we kept seeing out on the beach. Considering my dad and I had built and tested our own kite when I was a kid, I dropped my educated opinion into the conversation and didn't even notice when Cain entered the room and stalked up to the table at the front. Score one for me.
