Page 13 of Backroom Boy
“Delta. I can’t take you on fancy dates. Hell, I didn’t even have a car to take you to this date put together and paid for by your parents. You wouldn’t want to date me. Trust me.”
She raised her arm and ran her finger over my chest. “Try me.”
“What?” She needed to stop touching me. I couldn’t think.
“Ask me out on a date. An official Lukas date. And if I can’t hang, then we go back to being coworkers. Letmedecide if I want to date you or not.”
I nodded slowly, knowing that agreeing with her would be the stupidest thing I could do. “Fine. One date. Next Friday. And when you decide slumming it isn’t for you, I’ll say I told you so.”
Her eyes flashed in the light of the streetlamp. “Deal. But I seal all my deals with a kiss.”
She tugged on my collar and I fell into her, our lips finding each other and knowing exactly what to do. And if my hands slid down her back and grabbed her ass, pressing her firmly into my growing erection, she’d only have herself to blame.
She’d pushed me.
And I was falling hard.
6
Delta
“Close your eyes,” Lukas shouted at me, the wind pulling at his words.
We were flying down the road on his motorcycle, my legs and arms wrapped around him from behind. I’d only been on a motorcycle once before when my uncle was showing off his brand-new Harley. This was an entirely new experience, having the guy I was crazy about between my legs while the motor created vibration below us. I could have ridden for miles and miles on the back of this thing with Lukas, but he was pulling off the road all too quickly.
“Okay!” I shouted back, squeezing my eyes shut and willing myself to go along with the surprise. I wanted so badly to see what he’d planned for us. For this date he’d put together on his own.
The week had flown by, all the menial tasks at the winery made better by having Lukas at my side. Plus all the sneaky kisses away from security cameras had made things interesting, while making me want him with an urge stronger than I’d ever felt before. I went to bed every night thinking of him and staring at his leather jacket hanging on the back of the chair in my room. If I could help it, I’d never give it back to him.
The motorcycle came to a stop and we leaned. I listened for the kickstand and felt Lukas pivot to get us both off the bike safely. Once standing, I fumbled to get the helmet off, knowing I looked ridiculous in it. It smelled brand new when Lukas handed it to me and I wondered if he’d bought it just for this date. Keeping my eyes closed was killing me. The anticipation of what he’d put together for our date had kept me guessing all week.
Lukas cleared his throat like he was nervous. “Okay, open.”
I popped those eyes open faster than Christmas morning and took in a familiar field. We were on the very edge of our vineyard property, the huge oak tree in the corner lit with a million little white lights under the canopy of leaves. A red blanket lay on the ground under the tree, a basket waiting for us. I gasped.
The scene was more beautiful than any fancy restaurant.
And more precious because Lukas had obviously put in the time to make this special for me.
A bolt of something fringing on giddy ran through me and I spun toward him to wrap my arms around his neck. “It’s beautiful. Thank you,” I whispered.
I felt him chuckle before he pulled back, grabbing my hand and tugging me toward our date. “It’s not fancy, but we are all alone, so I consider that the tradeoff.”
My face felt hot and that giddiness moved south. I liked the sound of that. Alone with Lukas. He helped me down onto the blanket while he turned on a speaker and started some soft music. Then he opened the basket and pulled out a white wine that I’d told him earlier in the week was my favorite out of all the Black Bishop wines.
“Hey! How’d you get that, Mr. Not Quite Legal?”
Lukas winked at me. “I have my ways and my sources, none of which I can divulge.”
I bit my lip to keep from smiling from ear to ear. This was already more fun than I’d ever had on a date. Glancing around at the vineyard behind us, I had to admit it made a romantic backdrop.
“Here you go.” Lukas handed me a glass of wine and poured one for himself before settling in next to me to watch the sunset.
I tried to watch it too, but mostly I was distracted by the way his shoulder would bump mine occasionally. Or the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed. Or the scent of cologne coming off him that I hadn’t smelled on him before today. Lukas was good looking in a boy-becoming-a-man way. He had a jawline that was on the cusp of sharpening into the type that made grown women swoon. Long, unruly hair that always looked unkempt in the best of ways. Bright blue eyes that made you want to stare into them and dig for his secrets. He didn’t speak unnecessarily, making each time he did feel like a treasure he entrusted you with. He may only be here for the summer, but I intended to enjoy the hell out of our time together while I could.
“Delta?”
I blinked and saw that the sun had set and Lukas was looking at me expectantly.
