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Her expression has an overlay of delight. “You were the youngest brother when I was growing up, the one closest to my age. Don’t tell me you didn’t know I had a gigantic crush on you.”
I freeze with my helmet above my head for a brief second, before forcing it on. I scroll back in my mind’s eye, trying to recall if there was any indication Serena was partial to me back then. I remember her smiling at me a lot and teasing me, but I believed until this moment that she was that way with all the brothers. I never felt singled out in any way by her, or her older sister either for that matter.
“I think you’re pulling my leg,” I say lightly as I get onto my bike. “Where do you want to go this afternoon?”
“Anywhere you want, as long as it’s a nice long road trip.”
I glance over my shoulder, “We can’t stay out too long, so a road trip is out of the question. I’m sure you want to get back in time to get your beauty sleep tonight, right princess?”
She playfully slaps my shoulder. “It’s Saturday. We can both sleep in tomorrow. Don’t be such a spoilsport.”
“I believe in giving the lady what she wants,” I respond smoothly.
When her hands slip around my waist, I rev up my engine and take off. Going out alone with Serena feels like doing something wrong. She’s an adult who is quite capable of making decisions for herself. So technically, I’m not doing anything wrong. However, Siege might very well rip my head off when he finds out. But my all-encompassing goal today is to keep Serena happy, no matter the cost. I’d be lying if I said that was some kind of burden. Truth be told, pleasing Serena pleases me.
Chapter 8
Smoke
I get onto the interstate and ride up along the Pacific coast. I love everything about this situation from how she came to me, told me what she wanted and allowed me to meet her needs. She could have gotten on any brother’s bike today, but she chose mine. I don’t know that I believe she used to have a crush on me. I’m certain I would have noticed if she had developed a romantic attraction to me, back then I used to hang out with Siege at her family’s home pretty regularly. It’s not out of the realm of possibility, but some small part of me thinks she’s just being complimentary.
Her hands tighten around my body, and I feel her lay her cheek against my back. My feelings for her double and then triple. I try to relax and enjoy the moment. Little Serena is all grown up. If she wants to take a long ride with me, no one should give her grief about it. The thought of someone giving her a hard time makes my protective instincts kick into high gear.
We ride for three hours before I am forced to stop for gas. It’s early evening by the time I pull in to the service station. If I had thought that Serena was getting tired of holding on, I would have been very much mistaken. She bounces off the bike enthusiastically while I fuel up and I watch her run into the convenience store. She looks nice in her dress pants, but those high heels aren’t doing her any favors when it comes to being on my bike.
She comes out of the store a short time later with a couple of bottles of water and hands me one. “I thought you might be getting thirsty. I’m parched.”
I gratefully take the bottle from her and unscrew the lid. “I’m dry as bone as well, thanks.” I bring the water bottle to my mouth and drink half in one gulp. Stopping long enough to swallow, I down the rest before pitching my bottle into a nearby trash can.
“Wow, you really were thirsty.”
Serena is sipping her water like the princess she so clearly is. It’s cute to watch but I’m eager to get back on the road. She must be able to sense that, because she screws the lid on her bottle and drops it into her crossbody purse. Everything about this woman is classy and ladylike. I’ve never found that quite so alluring as I do right now.
“You ready to head back home? We’ve got a long ride.” I ask.
Serena suggests, “Yeah, let’s head back, but why don’t we make a stop at the scenic overlook when we get to Las Salinas? It’s been a long time since I’ve been there, and I’ll bet the view will be amazing tonight.”
Without missing a beat, I agree. “Sure. We can do that.”
It takes almost three hours to get back and it’s fully dark by the time we pull into the small parking area. This overlook is set back from the road and shadowed by foliage. Back in the day it was one of the places couples came to hangout because the benches were comfortable, and as Serena said the views were amazing. Though most people who came out here, weren’t here for the scenery. I hold back the branch of a weeping willow so she can step out onto the overlook and then follow her as she reaches out to grip the railing.
“It’s just like I remembered,” she gasps. “You can see the whole town from up here.”
This has always been one of my favorite places to visit. It seems like everyone who used to hang out up here on the weekends has found better things to do with their time. I know a bunch of the kids hang out at the lake these days. That means we’re not likely to be disturbed tonight.
After a few minutes of taking in the view we both step back and make ourselves comfortable on the bench.
“It’s a nice night to take in some scenery,” I comment casually.
Serena lays her head against my shoulder. Intuiting that she wants me to cuddle her up, I lift my arm and wrap it around her smaller form. We sit there for a minute just enjoying the cool breeze.
Finally, my curiosity gets the better of me and I ask, “Were you serious about what you said earlier?”
“You mean about being on your bike fifty-eight times? I guess it’s fifty-nine now.”
“No. I meant about you having a crush on me when you were young.”
“Oh yeah, of course I was being serious. Every young girl has infatuations. Like I said, you were the closest brother to my age. I think that’s why I got a little obsessed with you.”
