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VALENTINE
I’d put away the idea of telling the men the plan was off after Cameron left me hanging the way he did the night before. They were grown men and could handle whatever came their way. Besides, I was going to spontaneously combust if one of them didn’t alleviate this burning need that would not go away. Or all three of them.
It was ridiculous how I couldn’t get them off my mind.
I got ready for the date with Diesel we’d arranged earlier that day. I had to go to work tonight, but I wasn’t expected to be there until well after the date would end.
The sun had only just started to set when Diesel showed up in my driveway, his motorcycle noisy. I was excited to be going out with him but also so nervous I kept doubting what I’d put on for our date. I looked down at my black skirt, wondering if I should go in and change. The temperature was warm though, and I didn’t want to change. I grabbed the extra helmet he’d clipped to the backrest of his bike and put it on. My backpack was in place, and I was ready to go.
“You look nice, Val,” Diesel said from behind the faceplate of his helmet, his sunglasses still on.
“Thanks, so do you,” I said, meaning it. He had on a gray cotton shirt, with three buttons at the neck. He’d left the buttons open, revealing tan skin that no doubt ran along his entire body, even over the skin covered by the dark blue jeans he wore with black motorcycle boots.
I looked down at my black canvas shoes, reminding myself to get some proper boots to wear on a motorcycle. I had no doubt I’d be riding my fair share of bikes if this trio of ours kept up for long. I don’t know why I’d expected him to show up in car, but I had.
“You ready?” Diesel asked once I was on the back of the bike, my hips nestled against his ass intimately.
I wasn’t, not really, being this close to Diesel was making my pulse race and my brain spin around in my skull. But I wanted this, needed it, so I had to find the brainpower to answer him. “Mmhmm.”
“Good. Hang on,” he warned as he turned the back around in my yard and drove back onto the driveway.
“Where are we going?” I asked, knowing he’d hear me with the microphones and speakers in the helmets.
“It’s a surprise,” Diesel answered. When he’d texted me to ask if we could go out tonight, we hadn’t talked about where or anything like that. I’d told him to surprise me, I guess he was taking me up on that offer.
I held tightly to him as he drove us towards Chicago.
“I was surprised when you texted me,” I said as he took the exit onto the highway.
“Why?” Diesel asked, opening up the throttle to pass a car that wouldn’t get over.
“I don’t know. I guess I thought you’d just come by the house, or we’d meet up at the club or something.”
“That’s not a proper date, Val,” he responded, shaking his head in his helmet.
“I know, but I guess, I don’t know,” my words trailed off and I let my head rest on his back. “It’s nice, going out for real.”
“You deserve better than a date at your job or at your house, Val. A lot better than that. If I’m going to take you out, I’m going to do it properly.”
I smiled at that as we raced down the highway together. I’d never really been anywhere with without our parents or Derek there, so it would be a new experience. I clutched at his abs, trying not to touch him too intimately, but that was kind of impossible on a bike. I’m not a novice when it comes to riding bikes, so I knew distracting the driver wasn’t a good idea. Even if I wanted to let my hands wander down to grasp at his crotch. Or move up under his shirt to touch his skin. Or along his back.
I satisfied myself with letting my head rest on his back. I couldn’t hear it, but I felt the way he purred as I did that. Good.
The drive was faster than it would have taken in a car but Diesel moved us in and out of traffic, avoiding the usual snarls that kept people in cars sitting for ages. I felt the rush of excitement increase as he raced around another car, laughing with the sensation of freedom as he merged back into traffic, totally comfortable with his experience as a motorcycle driver.
I knew that sensation of freedom, of bliss, would increase when he drove me home later in the dark. I loved being on the back of a motorcycle in the dark.
“You good, Val?” I heard him ask from the speakers in my helmet.
“I’m fine, just hungry,” I answered, eager for food, but just as eager to quench another kind of hunger.
A Japanese restaurant came into view and Diesel parked up expertly in the back. I grinned from ear to ear. He’d brought me to my favorite place. “You are so clever.”
“What? It was always your favorite place to eat.” He shrugged, but I saw the pleased way he smiled.
“I didn’t think you’d notice something like that,” I said, admitting my surprise. “It’s nice that you did.”
“I made the reservation so they should have a table ready for us,” Diesel said, taking my hand as we walked into the place. It hadn’t changed, even though it had been a couple of years since I’d been to the restaurant.
Having to work and not having any friends meant I hadn’t come back to the restaurant since my graduation. I’d thought about coming on my own, but I hated eating out on my own. I always felt as though people were looking at me, pitying the sad fuck on her own.
I wouldn’t feel that way tonight.
“I had a reservation for Whitlow, party of two,” Diesel said when we reached the hostess.
“Of course, sir, follow me.” The older woman smiled, and turned. She was a nondescript woman wearing a white blouse, black pants, and black shoes. Her blond hair was tied up in a ponytail, but I couldn’t remember her face once she was turned away from me.
That might be because of Diesel, though, his arm was around my waist so that I was tucked up close to his side. “You smell good.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, thinking he did too.
I was a little nervous being this close to him. I wanted to know what he was hiding from all of us, wanted to know why he looked so haunted sometimes. I’d caught that look a few times, lately, when he thought nobody was looking. Curiosity and nervousness ate at me, but I held it all in check. This was our first date, and I wanted it to go well, not go down in flames because I was a bundle of nerves for the wrong reasons.
For a long time, I’d been crushing on him and never thought anything could happen between us. So this date felt surreal, exhilarating, taboo.
“How do you feel about this? Being out in public this way?” I asked, broaching the subject I suspected we both wanted to avoid. I didn’t want to dance around it all night.
“I’m good with it. You’re my stepsister, not my real sister,” he whispered, dropping a kiss on my nose as we waited for the hostess to come and get us. I smiled letting that sink in.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, dating him openly?
The hostess showed us to a table for four, so we sat down next to each other, rather than across from each other. Diesel kept me close to his side, so I followed his lead, not minding a bit.
We’d all agreed to this, and now that we had, I accepted that intimacy of all kinds was on the table. That included being close to each other. I was kind of glad he’d chosen a place that was out of our hometown, though. I didn’t want to confront reality until I had to.
“Are you okay with this? We can go somewhere else if you’d be more comfortable?” Diesel volunteered as we waited for a server to come to us.
“I’m fine here, really. I think I’d be nervous back home, but I’m okay here,” I answered, smiling again when he seemed to relax.
Once the server had brought us two menus and taken our drink order, I looked at Diesel. “You okay?”
