Page 77 of Lucky Strike

Sam reached across the gap between them and stroked her arm. “We’ll still do something nice for your birthday. Maybe I’ll hire a clown or something.”

She rolled her eyes, not amused in the least. “What about my other idea?”

“What other idea?”

“We can take my car and go to the coast.”

“Why do you want to go so far? What if we just do a day trip to Sacramento or something?”

“Because I don’t want to go to Sacramento. What am I going to do in Sacramento?”

“It’s a major city. They have lots of things to do there.”

“I’m sorry, is this my birthday or your birthday?”

“It’s just a long way to go on my motorcycle and if there’s an apartment issue—”

“So, you’re never allowed to ever take a vacation? I find it hard to believe that Leslie couldn’t handle emergencies while you’re away for a few days. And you wouldn’t be taking your motorcycle because we’d take the SUV.”

Sam didn’t reply, working the muscles over his jaw.

“Now what’s the problem?” she asked. “I’ll have you know I’m a careful driver. I’ve never even gotten a speeding ticket.”

“No, you just ran out of gas.”

“Are you kidding me? That was one time. And all you’re doing is playing games with me, which I hate. If you don’t just tell me straight what the issue is than I’m going to—”

“I don’t like riding with other people.”

She stopped again. “You haven’t ridden with anyone since the accident?”

“Not if I can help it.”

“So, are we just never going to share a car together? What if we go on a trip somewhere? Or what if we have kids someday? Is Daddy just always going to ride separately?”

Sam removed his hat to run his hands through his hair before replacing it. He honestly hadn’t allowed himself to entertain any of these imagined scenarios. He was surprised she had. Had she meant it when she said she loved him? Was she considering a real future with him? “I don’t know. I don’t think this is something I’ll have to deal with anytime soon.”

The expression on her face was dangerous, as though she was trying to decide whether or not to dump the entire bowl of popcorn on his head. Sam wasn’t sure how to get things back on a non-aggressive track when the whole conversation hadn’t put him in the best mood either.

“How about we worry about this later. Your birthday isn’t until after Thanksgiving, so we have a few weeks to figure things out and come up with ideas.”

Her expression softened and Luna scooted closer. “What are you doing for Thanksgiving?”

“Nothing much. I just go to my mom’s house and eat whatever she makes.” ‘Nothing much’ was right. These days, Sam wasn’t sure if his mom could cook a full meal considering she didn’t leave herself any countertop space. He should text his mom and see if he could bring burgers or something easy.

“Ross and Mia are having Thanksgiving at the judge’s house because he bought all the stuff to deep-fry a turkey. They invited me along but, you know, I can’t stand the man so…” Luna shrugged.

“Is he an actual judge or is that his name? I’m so confused.”

“He’s a real judge. Or was. He’s mostly retired now.”

“You don’t think it’s weird that he makes his own family call him by his title?”

“Whatever. All I know is I’d rather avoid him and that includes holidays.”

“You get to eat fried turkey and see the baby. It doesn’t sound too horrible.”

Luna’s forehead pinched together, but her face switched to a hopeful expression. “Okay, but what if I go with you? I’d like to meet your mom.”

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