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Oh, she loved thisfeeling. Dre preferred a racing-style bike, so they both had to lean forward, but Jake’s bike was a cruiser. His legs rested forward, and he sat tall in the seat. The passenger seat on Jake’s bike sat up a couple inches higher than his seat, so Petra wrapped her arms around his chest instead of his waist. His body flexed and stretched within her hold, and yeah, she loved the feeling.
He’d put his hair back in a ponytail before they’d started off, so it wouldn’t blow in her face. She held him snugly, rested her chin on his shoulder, and enjoyed the ride and the company.
Going through downtown, they didn’t have much chance to gain speed, but they had lots of chances to corner. Jake took the first few carefully, until somebody cut him off and he had to swerve a little. She laughed, just a reflex, as much surprise as enjoyment, but it gave him some confidence to take the corners more sharply.
The rest of the ride was magnificent. She laughed at every turn and every jump off the line at a stoplight.
At the restaurant, he parked and helped her off, then swung off himself—and immediately grabbed her and kissed her fiercely, slamming their bodies together, pushing his tongue into her mouth, all before she could do more than gasp.
He hadn’t made a move like that before. In another context it might have given her pause, but now she was juiced from the ride and possibly still feeling a little frantic after the phone call she’d gotten right before she’d gotten ready for tonight.
Also, shelikedhim. So the kiss was perfect. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back with the same ferocity.
And what a kiss—like the lip-smacking version of turning a sharp corner. She kept trying to hold him as tightly as he held her, until her efforts had her climbing him and he simply lifted her from the ground.
Finally, he settled her on her feet and turned slightly, bringing that moment to a close but not letting her go yet. With his lips on her cheek, he rasped, “I really like you.”
“I really like you. But we need to talk.”
He nodded and released her from that magnificent clutch. Then he took her hand, and they went into the restaurant.
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~oOo~
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They agreed on stuffedmushrooms as an appetizer, and Jake let Petra choose the wine. He said she should do it since she was the ‘expert,’ but considering his red cheeks and side-cast eyes, she thought he was embarrassed not to know much about wine. Since they were starting with stuffed mushrooms and Jake had ordered a filet with linguini marinara and she was ordering Pollo di Napoli, she selected a mid-range pinot noir. Pinots were versatile little wines.
Once the bottle was uncorked and served and the server had absented himself again, Jake dug into the basket of bread. Petra got the sense he was delaying their talk. She wouldn’t let him do so for long.
“Would you like some?” he asked before he tore a piece off.
“Sure, thank you.”
He set a piece on her bread plate and tore off another for himself. As he spread butter across his piece, he said to the piece of bread, “I’m really sorry I left like I did. I don’t know why I did that.”
Petra stopped smoothing butter on her bread and looked directly at him. “Don’t you?”
He stared back. She could see that he knew but didn’t want to say.
“I was ... scared. I guess. I know that’s lame.”
“It’s not. It’s scary to make yourself vulnerable. I’m scared, too.”
“Right now?” he asked, frowning. “You’re scared right now?”
“A little, yeah. I’m scared I’ll say something that will make you want to run again. I’m scared that you won’t run and we’ll start something. I’m scared that if we do, I’ll lose my best friend over it—”
“That’s Dre, right? You mean Dre.” When she nodded, he added, “Yeah, we’re not gonna be friends, I don’t think. I hate them right back.”
“And that’s scary to me. I’m scared about a lot, actually. And all this is assuming you want to be with me. As a couple.”
Before he replied, he had a bite of bread and chewed it thoroughly, then washed it down with a large gulp of wine. He couldn’t possibly have tasted it.
“I do, I think. I don’t really do that—have a girlfriend. Not since high school. But I like being with you. Not just the fuc—he glanced furtively around the restaurant and dropped his voice—"the sex, but ... being around you. I feel good when I am.”
“I feel good around you, too. I’ve been really stressed out lately, and the stress recedes to the background when I’m with you.”
