On the short trip back to the condo, my focus kept moving from the unanticipated run-in with everyone from Shepherd, to the very unexpected quick chat with Roxy, to what was most likely going to happen tonight.
I had no idea what to make of the conversation with Roxy. I still felt like I was missing something, and honestly, I wasn’t used to a complete stranger being that friendly or welcoming, especially to me. More than once I’d been accused of being standoffish and bitchy.
The truth was, it wasn’t that I was mean or unfriendly. I just generally sucked at small talk with people I didn’t know, and most important, I had a severe case of resting bitch face.
If I had a dollar for every time some random person told me to smile, I would have more money than the Queen of England.
As soon as I entered my apartment, I gathered up the boxes by the door and quickly carried them out to the large Dumpster behind the condo. As I tossed them into the opening, I stared out over the neatly manicured lawn. There wasn’t a lot of land since the tall trees were thick, stretching into the night sky, their bare branches reminding me of skeletal fingers. Turning around, I hurried across the parking lot. At night, with the sound of distant traffic, it was kind of creepy back here.
When I returned, I checked the clock on the stove and then hopped down the hall, toward my bathroom. There was time for grooming—there always had to be time for grooming.
Grinning, I grabbed a fresh razor from the cabinet below the sink and got down to business, all the while my stomach dipping and twisting into pleasant little knots. I felt a little crazy as I got ready, as if I had downed a case of energy drinks.
Nervous excitement hummed through me like a persistent hummingbird. I wasn’t unsure about what I was doing. Hell, I’d known people who’d hooked up after even less time between the first hello and good-bye. I wouldn’t be stupid about tonight. If we got to the point where our clothes came off or a condom was required, I had them if he didn’t.
The nervousness came from the fact that I was brutally attracted to him on a purely physical level. Nothing more.
A one-night stand only left you feeling empty when you expected more, and I wasn’t expecting anything beyond a really happy smile on my face from this. To be honest, I hadn’t once in my life wanted anything more from a guy except the required things, like mutual respect, safety, and sometimes, friendship.
I’d never been in love.
Not that I didn’t believe in it. Oh, I so did. But I wanted the kind of love my parents had shared for one another—that everlasting, to the end, kind of love, and I had yet to get anywhere close to experiencing it.
And until I did, I had no problem sampling along the way. I mean, would you buy a car without test-driving it? Didn’t think so. I giggled at myself.
I pulled the jeans back on, left my feet bare and settled on a cami with a built-in bra. Leaving my hair down, I padded back into the kitchen, snatching a lighter off the counter. I lit the candle I’d placed on the end table. Pumpkin spice filled the air as I walked back to the kitchen, placing the lighter in the basket.
A loud engine rumbled outside, and I whirled around, glancing at the clock on the stove. Fifteen past one. Could it be him already? I dashed over to the large window and oh so carefully peeled back the curtain and peered outside, like a total creeper.
“Hot damn,” I whispered.
It was Nick.
It was Nick on a motorcycle.
I remembered seeing it parked outside Thursday but had totally forgotten about it. He’d parked right outside, near the front, and as he stepped off the bike, he tugged his helmet off. One arm went up and he scrubbed his fingers through his hair. I watched as he turned to the back, behind the seat. He started to lift something and that’s when I forced myself to turn away from the window.
Pivoting around, I took a deep breath and waited while my heart rate kicked up, doing a tap dance in my chest. Less than a minute later there was a knock at the door. Slowing down my steps, I went to the door and peered out through the peephole just to make sure it was him before I opened it.
“Hey,” he greeted me, his lips curling up. A blue plastic bag dangled from one hand and a helmet was shoved under his other arm.
I stepped back. “You said twenty after.”
He followed me, nudging the door shut behind him with his booted foot. “Or less. You’re forgetting that part.”
“Ah, I am.”
Nick lifted the bag as he strode past me, into the kitchen. “Brought us something.” He placed the bag down on the counter and reached in, pulling out two bottles. “Got an opener?”
Flipping on the overhead lights, I went to the drawer near the stove and pulled out an opener. “Apple ale? I like that. How’d you guess?”
He took the opener from me and flipped off the lids with expertise. “I figured you’d like something sweet.” He offered a bottle.
The glass was cool against my palm. “I also like it hard. . . .” His gaze cut to me, and I grinned. “My drinks, that is.”