Page 21 of Bullet
“You arenotallowed to put anything on Twitter.”
“Oh, comeon,” Laura whined, reaching out and pulling on my arm as she did so. “Stay-single Celia pinning back her hair. I feel like I need to memo the President.”
“You’re being overdramatic.”
She flopped back on her bed. “You’re being underdramatic. You never told me about how your first date with this guy went,” Laura said.
“It was a date.”
She scoffed. “Whatever. Tell me, come on. I loaned you that bangin’ dress, you owe me.”
I turned around and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Laura so I could pull on the white, strappy, platform heels I was wearing with the dress. “It was really nice. He took me out to a sort of ritzy club where we could have dinner on the mezzanine and then go down to the main floor for dancing. He’s light on his feet. I guess his dad liked to dance a lot and it was just something he picked up.” I smiled, remembering Harry spin me around the dance floor. “The food was delicious, and we ended up talking forever and ever about damn near everything.”
Laura sat up and kicked her legs over so that she was sitting right next to me. I continued reminiscing. “We stayed there literally until the club closed, but we weren’t done yet, so he invited me back to his place. He asked if I wanted coffee, I said yes.” My face started to warm as I imagined Harry walking back out of his kitchen after he’d put the coffee on and the sudden impulse I had to jump him. “For all I know, that coffee is still sitting in that pot.”
Laura giggled. “Wow. Sounds wonderful.”
“It was, it really was.” My eyes flitted up and I caught a glimpse of the stupid smile on my face in the mirror. I wiped it off quickly and cleared my throat, doing my best to shake away the memories. “I mean, it was a date, you know? I’ve had better.”
If I wasn’t careful, I was going to let Harry’s unconventionally handsome looks and straight-shooting personality sweep me away. I had a goal in mind, and I needed to achieve it. My dad would be rolling over in his grave if he thought I was falling for the man who killed him.
Which I wasn’t, of course. It was all an act.
“Here we go,” Laura said. “You’re already opening that door of doubt. I should have known.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The shoes were secured so I stood up and walked into the living room to start packing up my clutch with my phone, keys, cards, and cash. “Please quit stressing me out. He’ll be here soon.”
“Why aren’t you having him pick you up at home again?” Laura asked.
I used the chain on the clutch to sling it over my shoulder. “You know how weird my godfather gets about me dating and stuff. I figured it didn’t make sense to get him all riled up about nothing.”
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” She slumped down on the couch and I couldn’t stop her from taking a picture. I opened my mouth to protest and she held up her hand. “I’m not posting it anywhere. I’m just taking it, you know, like a ‘just in case’.”
“Just in case of what?”
“In case, you know...” She shrugged with a coy grin on. “He’s the one.”
In case he’s the one?It made my heart compress just to think about. “You’re leagues ahead of yourself, Laura.”
She chuckled. “I’ll remind you of that when I’m framing it for your wedding.”
I left that comment where it sat. Marriage simply wasn’t something I thought much about. Could I see myself marrying someonelikeHarry? Sure, but he wasn’t the one.
He couldn’t be.
As if to save me from the uncomfortable conversation, my phone finally buzzed. I’d instructed Harry not to come up, but just text me when he arrived, and I’d come down. When I noticed the text come through and given that I couldn’t deal with the heft of the conversation anymore, I nearly ran out the door, despite Laura trying to say goodbye in a more friendly way. I gave her a quick, one-armed hug, and rushed down to the stairs leading down, slowing only when I was well outside of Laura’s influence. I took a few deep breaths and then lingered for a few minutes so it didn’t seem like I was bolting out to him, and when I was convinced I’d communicated “aloof” effectively, I walked out the front door where Harry was parked on his bike, waiting patiently.
I took a few minutes to take in the sight. He was wearing a white t-shirt underneath a black button-up, that was unbuttoned and rolled up to his elbows. A pair of simple dark blue slacks were on his legs, and brown Doc Martens were on his feet. It was oddly designer for such a muted guy, but thinking back on it, he wore a similar look to our first date. He was leaned back and had his helmet off and balanced against his hip, and when he saw me, a sly smile slipped across his face. It made me burn all over in an instant.
“Hello,” he greeted. “You look amazing.”
“Thank you.” I leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek, letting it linger and then pulled away. “You do, too.” With a smile, I scanned his rumbling bike. “I get my first ride on the monster, huh?”
“Is that okay?”
“Of course. I’ve been anxiously awaiting the moment.”
He reached into the back compartment and pulled out a spare helmet. “Would have been sooner if you’d answered my phone calls.”
