“Belittle yourself. You were good company. Me falling asleep proves it.”
She frowned and turned into the strip mall parking lot. “I’m not following.”
Another long pause, and she had parked next to his motorcycle by the time he spoke again. “I probably shouldn’t admit this.”
Uh-oh.She put the car in park but kept it running for the AC.
He turned to her. “I’ve battled insomnia for a long time. Lately it’s been worse. The last few days it’s been terrible, although I have an idea why.”
She wondered if he was referring to whatever had been bothering him earlier. He still hadn’t mentioned the cause, and she didn’t want to pry, even though she was curious.
“There’s something about you that’s calming,” he said.
Britt almost scoffed. “Really? Because most of the time I feel anything but calm.”
“That might be so, but outwardly you’re cool as the clichéd cucumber.” He gave her a crooked smile.
Oh no.Not the crooked, charming smile that made every nerve in her body blissfully misfire. Her palms grew damp again. Forget anxiety. This was...yearning. Double oh no.
“You also have a soothing voice. I...” He hesitated, as if he were unsure about what he was going to say. “Anyway,” he suddenly continued. “The fact is that when I’m with you, I’m relaxed enough to fall asleep. That’s a good thing. Averygood thing.”
Her entire body felt like it was glowing inside, and she was elated that she could help with his problem. Art lessons didn’t seem enough for what he was doing for her. Despite the difficulty, today had been a milestone. She’d been able to go to a crowded place with someone besides her mother and Savannah, and in the end, she’d managed to somewhat enjoy herself. That was Hunter’s doing, and she was grateful.
“So don’t sell yourself short, Britt.” His smile was in full force now.
And so was her galloping heartbeat. The space between them seemed to suddenly shorten, even though neither of them moved. Then she thought she saw his gaze drop to her mouth, only to meet her eyes again. It was so quick she was sure she imagined it.
But her body thought it was real.
He opened the door. “See you next Monday?” His voice sounded quick, like he was in a hurry.
“Sure—”
“Great. Bye.” He shut the door, and in seconds he had his helmet on and had cranked up his bike. Then he sped off.
She fell back against the seat. Huh. Had she done something? Said something? She didn’t think so. Then again, she wasn’t sure. Maybe she’d given him a weird look and wasn’t aware of it.
Her chest tightened and she headed home. Somehow, some way, she had to stem her growing, and futile, crush on Hunter Pickett.
***
Hunter opened the throttle on his bike until he was flying over the speed limit. He raced back to the apartment as if the cops were chasing him. They actually had at one time, when he was twenty and drunk driving the Porsche Taycan he’d gotten for his birthday two weeks earlier. He ended up crashing it into a tree, fortunately escaping with only scratches and a warning when he told the police officer he was Arthur Pickett’s son. Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t believe the man hadn’t hauled him off to jail. Hunter certainly had deserved it then.
He took a curve sharper than he should have and quickly counterbalanced the bike, slowing down his speed. Talk aboutdumb. He was about to wipe out because he’d wanted to kiss Britt so badly, he was afraid if he hadn’t dashed off, he might have given in, ruining everything. He still marveled that she had no clue how adorable she was... and desirable.Sooodesirable.
That was a huge problem.
He whipped into his apartment complex lot, parked the bike, yanked off his helmet, and jogged inside. He needed a cold shower, and not because of the muggy air.
When he entered the apartment, he saw Sawyer mashing the buttons on the video game controller and yelling into his headset at his competition. “Dude,” Sawyer said, pointing the controller at the TV and swerving it around. “That was not cool!”
Hunter went to the fridge and grabbed a Coke, keeping the door open to let the cold air cool his body. But it had no effect on his mind, and he was back to thinking about Britt again.
She’d been expectedly nervous when they went inside the café, and he’d made a mental note to never take her to Yo Jo’s on a Monday again. He was unaware of their special, and he didn’t want her to think he’d pulled a fast one on her. When she decided to stay, he was proud of her. Once the place cleared out, she became more at ease, and they were able to talk. Surface conversation, of course. Favorite foods, colors, their work, stuff like that. He had no intention of talking about personal things, especially his family. She didn’t seem eager to talk about her family either. Which made him curious, but he didn’t ask.
“Hey!” Sawyer yelled at Hunter. “You’re letting all the cold air out.”
Hunter quickly shut the door. “Sorry,” he mumbled, starting for his room.
