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“I didn’t drive. I was at…and the book…and…I…” Maybe I was just nuts. It could explain a lot about my current situation if I could use that as a defense.
He looked down at himself, sniffed in a breath and said, “Yeah, I definitely need a shower.”
“I think you smell great.” I squeezed those fingers and realized I still had a hold on his hand. I let go and said, “Sorry!”
He was smiling at me again. “So…let me run grab my keys. You can wait in my car. I will make it quick, okay?”
I nodded because I thought my heart was going to jump out of my throat if I opened my mouth to say anything else. I started toward his car as he headed into the building. He emerged without all the gear on, just the bottoms and a pair of recovery slippers. I gawked at the sight of insane abs coming my way. The car made a noise and I jolted, then realized the locks were undone so I could get in. I opened the passenger side and got into the seat. As I settled, he handed me the keys and said, “Don’t run off with my car and I will be judging your music selection when I return.”
He was off and running back to the building before I could say a word, which was for the best because all I could breathe out was, “Damn.”
I had been with one person my whole life. My freshman year of high school boyfriend. We did a lot for that age and with both of us having braces, we made do with what we knew. Basic stuff. Not the oral stuff. Not the orgasmic stuff. At least not for me anyway.
After that, I guess all those romance novels had messed me up. I stayed away from all the contemporary stuff because I thought those heroes didn’t really exist and I didn’t want to put expectations any higher than I already had on some guy that was never going to live up to them.
This guy was exceeding all my preconceived notions and I realized maybe I had too low of expectations for regular guys in the real world. I was under no delusion that Brady Parker was or would become interested in my…son of a bitch, why did I put that pair of underwear on today? Didn’t matter. He was not going to see my underwear. He was not interested in my underwear.
Still, if he did want to see them, I would have to say no because I did not need him aware that my underwear had little spaceships that glowed in the dark on them. I had one major freak flag and it was those books and I had waved it high and wildly if my memory served correct. I really hoped some of what I remembered was not accurate.
The back door opened, and a bag was tossed in. I plastered on a smile of fake confidence as he got into his car and said, “I was kidding.”
“What?” I blinked.
“You didn’t even start the car, much less pick a station. You’re not cold?” he asked. Now that he mentioned it, yes, I was a bit chilly, but since I had been flushed with the heat of embarrassment for the majority of this encounter, I was unaware the temperature was dropping.
“I uh…”
“Here.” He reached back and then handed me a zippered hoodie. “Your cast should fit.”
“Thank you.” He really was a good man.
He started up the car and said, “What do you want to eat?”
“Anything. I really want to—” Because I was struggling to navigate the jacket in the space, I knocked the cast against the door. I sucked in a breath as I winced and said, “Fuck.”
He snickered and said, “I was thinking something less aggressive, like a restaurant.”
I shook my head. “You must think I am the stupidest, strangest person—”
“I think you’re interesting.” Once my seatbelt was on, he pulled out of that parking space and started driving. I blushed, looked down at my hands. He said, “So, you sort of told me why you wanted to be abducted by aliens, but you didn’t tell me you were reading books about it.”
I closed my eyes and felt the embarrassment from my toes to my hairline. I looked over at him and didn’t know what to do or say here.
“Tell me.” He motioned with his hand as if to say out with it.
“My parents never really checked what books I was buying and downloading. Just like music, right? So, when I was sixteen, I saw this cover and it was so pretty, so I bought the book. Well, I mean…none of that was how it happened for me…so…I read the next one and the next one. I found other ones, and before I knew it…I…know a lot about alien…romance.” I held my head high and tried not to be ashamed of it. I wasn’t ashamed of it in front of the few girlfriends I had. They read all sorts of stuff, too.
“Which one is your favorite?” he asked, and I thought my jaw was going to fall right off my face it dropped open so fast.
“Seriously?” I finally asked. He nodded. I took in a breath, started to relax, started to tell him about my top five favorite alien romance reads. At the end of that I asked, “What are your top five?”
“I haven’t read any romance books. Not really. I mean, some of the books have relationships in them, but that is not the focus, you know?” He was serious.
“Okay. So…what are your top five?” I asked. I just wanted to know what he was reading. I hadn’t paid nearly enough attention when I was at his apartment. Brady read a lot of mystery and suspense. A lot. I was a bit surprised, but also aware that I was more interested in him with every minute we were together.
At the end of his top five we were pulling into a parking spot. I looked at the sign and he said, “Never met someone who couldn’t find something on this menu.”
I admitted, “I’ve never been here before.”
He looked at me and then something in the air changed between us. I knew it right before he said, “We’ll take it slow.”
He got out and I tried to process the tingles that shot throughout my body from the words, the images it conjured. He opened the door and reached his hand out for mine. I didn’t mean to sit there like I expected him to do that, but when my fingers slid along his, I was so glad he did.
