Page 62 of Crimson Promises
“No shot I’m getting on that death contraption again. I’ll pickyouup.”
I was looking forward to having an excuse to have her body wrapped against mine. Now, we would be separated by a console and I had no excuse to touch her.
“Fine. I’ll text you the address.” I’d have to play off the fact that my place is across the street from hers.
I was about to hang up when I heard a faint, “Wait.”
“Yeah?”
“What am I supposed to wear? Like heels or running shoes.”
The thought of her dressed up to the nines to go out with me shot a thrill through my body. But alas, not today.
“Wear whatever you’re most comfortable in. Definitely no heels, dresses, or anything that you would wear to a black tie function.”
“Got it.” Her tone warmer than it had been.
“See you soon.”
“Bye.”
For long seconds after our phone call ended, I remained staring at the phone. I was in deep.Might as well dive down and enjoy it while I can.
* * *
I leaned against the wall outside my building, waiting for Aurora’s red Nissan to putter up to the curb. My building didn’t have a doorman, but that was my preference. Small talk was one of the worst social constructs of this generation. People should say what they mean and bypass the rest of the bullshit. I preferred keeping my business private and not having my comings and goings constantly analyzed. I crossed and uncrossed my legs. She was late, reminding me of someone else I knew.
A shiny black Lexus sedan idled in front of the curb. I kept my eyes glued to the street, scanning the vehicles passing each lane. I could feel the bond going slack. She was close. The car window rolled down, and a female voice hollered, “Hey.”
I was not in the mood to get hit on, so I decided not to make eye contact.
“Ben!”
My attention turned towards the car. I had to duck down to see who the driver was.
“Aurora, hey, ” my eyes widened. I approached the door and slid into one of Hell’s outer layers. I pulled at my turtleneck.
“Sorry,” she said as she fiddled with the knobs on the car’s main console. “I haven’t quite gotten a hang of how to work the controls yet. It either ends up feeling like the Arctic or the Sahara.” She turned down the heat. “It should be more comfortable in a few minutes.” Aurora mentioned nothing about the proximity of how close we live.I shouldn’t feel disappointed or willing her to make some sort of joking innuendo about it. But I do.
“When did you get a new car?”
“How did you know I got a new car?” Her eyebrows wrinkled as she shot me a long side-eyed glance.
My jaw dropped.Shit. Shit. Shit. I came up with the first excuse that popped into my head. “Well, this looks like a brand spankin’ new car.” I snuggled further into the leather seats to emphasize my point. “It still has that new car smell, plus you mentioned you got into an accident recently, so I just put two and two together. Unless I’m wrong…”
“No, you’re not. What you said makes perfect sense.” She shot me another look but then focused on the road as we pulled into traffic.
Phew. That was a close call.How did I forget she had a new car? I needed to screw my head on right.
Being the passenger gave me time to study her without interruption. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, the tips of the strands brushing the top of her shoulders. A few pieces managed to escape and frame her face, or at least the side I could see. She was wearing light-wash denim and a white long-sleeve. I leaned forward to turn up the volume on the radio to get a better look and immediately sat back, looking out the window to hide my face. I bit down hard on my lip to keep myself from moaning. Her shirt fit like a second skin, nearly see-through thanks to being gossamer thin. Whatever Aurora wore underneath was camouflaged with the material, which drove me even more mad to find out what it could possibly be, to see it with my own eyes. I squirmed in my seat.This is going to be a long night.
I leaned down to check my chin. Good, not drooling.
Aurora darted a glance at me. “So, are you going to tell me where we’re going or at least how to get where we’re going?”
“Yup.” I reached for her phone sitting in the cupholder. “What’s your password? I’ll punch the address into the GPS.”
“Five, nine, four, oh.”
