AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dad chuckled, and a look of sadness entered his eyes. “If only I could, son. Thanks for the offer, but I can't ride bikes anymore.” He held up his left hand. “Carpal tunnel syndrome,” he said. “Can hardly do anything with this left hand of mine. Certainly can't operate a motorcycle clutch.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Emerson said. “But I'll take you on the back if you want,” he added with a chuckle.
My dad laughed. “Only if you promise you'll hit one-sixty.”
Emerson laughed. “So, you were a speed demon back in the day, huh?”
“Damn straight. I used to race in the ’80s before this one was born,” he said, nodding his head in my direction. “But then the wife decided it was too dangerous a hobby, and she made me hang up my racing leathers.”
“That’s too bad. Geesh, Brooke, why’d you have to go and make your dad quit racing?” Emerson teased with a cheeky wink.
I laughed in response. “Well, gee, I'm so sorry for, you know, existing and all, thereby making Dad give up his hobby!”
“You should be!” Dad retorted, but then immediately pulled me in for a close bear hug. “Aww, you know I can't joke about stuff like that. You're my sweet baby girl, best thing that ever happened to me. I'd give up everything, a thousand times over, for my little BeeBee. Don't ever forget that!”
“Dad!” I exclaimed, blushing furiously. “You're kind of embarrassing me.”
We all laughed. I couldn't believe how well Emerson was getting along with my dad. I immediately thought of how Dad had been with Andrew. Not that Emerson was in the running to take Andrew’s place; we were just friends. Or so, I kept telling myself. But the difference in how they interacted was distinct. Dad had disliked Andrew from their first meeting. He’d always been polite, but very cold with him. I guess he had had some sort of fatherly instinct about the kind of person Andrew really was. But with Emerson, they had only just met, yet they were laughing and joking like two friends who had known each other for years. It made me wonder if maybe I had misjudged Emerson since the day I’d met him.
Chapter Twenty
Emerson
I sat on my bike watching as Brooke said her goodbyes to her parents, and something twisted inside me, just like it had the moment I saw her genuinely laugh and let go. Around her parents, I'd gotten to see a different side of Brooke, one that wasn’t hidden behind walls—the side she’d been trying so hard to keep concealed from me. It was a side that was extremely warm, loving, and caring. A side that was open to so much laughter and so many smiles. As she walked toward me, every fiber of my being was aware that things had changed. What had begun as a simple physical attrac
tion to this woman had turned into something much more than that.
I didn't know what to call it at that exact moment, so I tried not to think too hard about it as she climbed on the bike and wrapped her arms around me. I knew all I could do was just let things happen; go with the flow, and see where it carried us. I wasn't sure if she was ready for anything serious after what she’d told me about her ex and all she’d endured. Hell, I wasn’t sure if I was, but I couldn’t keep lying to myself and trying to pretend I didn’t feel something more than friendship for Brooke. Something told me things may end up taking a turn in that direction and I was okay with that.
If there was anything I knew for sure, it was that Brooke made me feel something other girls didn't. Not only was the physical attraction there—and always had been—but getting to know the real Brooke amplified that attraction, making it so much more intense than I could have imagined. Having her pressed against me as I weaved in and out of traffic for the thirty-minute ride back to our apartments hadn’t helped.
These thoughts were running through my mind when we pulled up outside the apartment building and I parked the bike. Brooke hopped from the back and pulled off her helmet, that adorable grin pasted across her face again. She looked as if she was really at home on the motorcycle now. Perhaps a few latent genes from her dad had started to kick in.
“Thanks for the ride, Emerson,” she breathed, still beaming a smile.
“It was my pleasure. Glad you enjoyed it. But I should be thanking you for inviting me to the barbecue. It was awesome meeting your family.”
“I can tell you mean that,” she replied. “Especially since it was kinda hard to get you away from my dad. It was like you two were old friends!”
“We did have a lot to talk about,” I said. “He's a great guy. Hopefully, I'll get to hang out with him again sometime soon.”
“We'll see,” she countered with a cryptic smile until our eyes met for a brief moment and a jolt of energy rushed through me. It was so obvious, she had to have felt it, too. “Anyway,” she broke the connection. “We should get upstairs. I've gotta shower, and I've got a bunch of work I need to get done.”
“Yeah, me, too,” I replied.
As we walked up the stairs, I realized I didn't want to let the rest of the weekend go by without another chance to spend some time with Brooke.
“Hey, uh, since I've just eaten the equivalent of like three meals at your family's expense, how about I repay the favor?”
“What do you have in mind?”
“How about I make you dinner tomorrow evening? We should both have finished our work by then.”
“That sounds great, actually.”
A gust of excitement rushed through me. She actually sounded eager. I hadn’t even had to try to convince her, which I had mentally prepared myself for. That had to be a good sign. It had to mean she at least felt a little something for me.
“Cool. I can make enough for Leslie, as well.”
