Page 45 of A Second Chance

“You really are a mean cop, aren’t you?” she asked, smiling slightly.

“One of the meanest, ma’am,” he replied.

Weasel turned and marched back to the door that led to the ER. Ellen stood to follow and Jason and Dan stepped out of the way to let her pass. Jason returned to the seat next to Gwen; she’d wrapped her arms around her middle and shivered.

“You’re cold,” he said.

“Freezing,” she admitted.

“I have a fleece jacket in the back of the car,” Ben said.

“I’ll get it,” Jason said, standing.

Gwen stood. “I’ll walk with you.”

The parking lot lights made the middle of the night look like midday, except the world just behind them faded into an inky blackness. It reminded him of the bases in Afghanistan and Iraq, and he found his muscles and nervous system steeled for an attack and reminded himself there wasn’t one. This was White Oak.

Home.

He was safe. He took a deep breath and let it out. Gwen’s hand slid into his. He looked down at the hand, small and delicate, and he smiled at the memory that it was the same delicate hand that had given him the finger in The Bar parking lot a few weeks ago.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he replied, pulling the car key fob from his pocket and pressing the button. The lights of the gargantuan automobile flashed. He opened the back, and the cargo area was huge even behind three rows of seating. He couldn’t figure out why Ben needed such a car. Was he hauling eight people around town regularly? There wasn’t anything in the cargo hold except the fleece jacket in a lump. He grabbed it and handed it to Gwen. The jacket was Ben-sized, which meant it was a dress on Gwen. It was even longer than the skirt she wore.

Jason wrapped the jacket around Gwen and let his hands stay on her longer than necessary. She smiled at him. “I’d like a do-over for tonight’s date,” he said, sitting on the edge of the cargo hold.

Her grin widened. “It’s not over yet.”

“Any date that includes an ER visit needs a re-do. Even I know that this isn’t romantic.”

She laughed. “We’re not the ones in the ER, so I’d call that a win for the date.”

Now he smiled. “Darlin’, I need to take you on a real date.”

Gwen’s face sobered standing in front of him. “If you want me to tell you about that night, I will.”

He’d wracked his brain to the point of headache a few times trying to recall something about that night. But he’d decided to quit worrying about it. He didn’t need the story. “No.”

“No?” This had her stumped.

“I don’t want to live vicariously through a story you tell me. I’d rather make new memories with you.”

A smile spread over her face and pink blossomed across those pretty cheeks. She stepped into him, sliding her arms around him, and her kiss hitting his lips. Apparently, she liked what he’d said. They kissed, her tongue in his mouth still tasted like a hint of the citrus liquor, but she seemed to have sobered. His hands brushed up the backs of her legs and under the skirt, each upward stroke getting slightly higher. He expected her to stop his exploration, but his hand brushed up to her bottom and it was bare. He froze. “Are you commando?” His hand lingered at the place where the butt meets the thigh.

Amusement spread across her face. “Thong.”

He had to see this, glancing around them, the parking lot was quiet. Gwen squeaked in surprise when he pulled her into the back of the SUV and closed the door. He moved into the cargo hold, propping himself up on his elbow.

“Show me,” he said.

“What?” Gwen covered her mouth, a surprised smile peeking around her hand.

“You know what,” he said, nodding to her skirt.

She tried to bite back her smile and rolled her eyes; then rising to her knees in the confined space lifted her black skirt up briefly. But he glimpsed a wispy pink bit of lace.

All of his blood rushed south. She wore sexy underwear for their date. “Those are pretty… I wanna see more.” From his vantage point, he reached over and lifted the hem of her skirt. “Damn, you’re sexy.”

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