AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She steps back and gestures to the hall. ‘Do you want to come in?’
‘I can’t. I’ve got to be somewhere.’
Her face drops a little, but maybe that’s wishful thinking. ‘Okay. So did you want me for something?’
He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jeans to stop himself from fidgeting. ‘Yeah. I want to apologise for what happened on the beach. I’m trying to deal with some stuff and I’m not sleeping great because of it. It wasn’t anything to do with you— er, me falling asleep I mean. I don’t want you to think I was bored by your company or anything like that.’
She smiles widely at him. ‘Yeah, I have to admit that was the first time I’ve driven someone to sleep before. It’s fine, really. I was just worried about you when you ran off like that.’
‘Yeah. Classic actions of a mortified man.’
‘There’s nothing to be mortified about. It’s not a big deal. Forget about it.’
He forces himself to smile, hoping it doesn’t come across as a grimace. Hurdle one safely negotiated over. ‘I actually wanted to ask you something. Do you have any plans for lunch tomorrow?’
Chloe frowns at him but doesn’t say anything for longer than he would have liked. ‘Me? No... why?’
‘I was thinking of taking my motorbike up the coast for a spin. I thought you might like to come... with me... on my bike. We could have a picnic. If you want... or not. We could do something else if you’d prefer. I’m not fussed about where we go, I mean. Not about you coming...’ For fuck’s sake Tate shut up! If he could punch himself in the jaw without scaring her away once and for all he’d do it. He throws her another uneasy smile and prays for the ground to open and save him from whatever the hell is going on.
‘I’d love that. A picnic sounds lovely.’
‘What? Really?’
‘Why do you sound so surprised?’
‘I don’t know. I just thought... Nothing. Okay, so I’ll pick you up about noon tomorrow. I’ll sort out the food.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yeah. Anything you don’t fancy?’
He could swear she looks him up and down before she shakes her head. ‘No, nothing I can think of.’
‘Great. So I’ll see you tomorrow. Oh and make sure you wear jeans for the bike.’
Her smile nearly knocks him on his ass. ‘I can’t wait.’
He nods and leaves the doorway before he makes a complete tit of himself. He climbs in beside Gregg and slowly turns his head to face his friend. ‘If you don’t wipe that fucking smile off your face, I’ll make you walk home.’
‘I take it the delightful Chloe accepted your proposal?’
‘You really want me to say it, don’t you?’
Gregg continues grinning.
‘Okay. You were right. Thank you for sharing your infinite wisdom with us mere mortals.’
Gregg nods and points down the road. ‘That wasn’t too hard to say, was it? Now, home please. You’ve got a picnic to plan.’
∞
Chloe tightens her grip around Tate’s waist and smiles widely under the helmet. When he called around yesterday and suggested they take a spin up the coast on his bike, she had said yes without thinking about it. Then the realisation of what she’d agreed to settled in and most of the evening was spent mentally kicking herself and trying to talk herself into it.
It had nothing to do with the picnic with Tate. It was entirely down to the motorbike part. It was one thing sitting behind him on Jove. It was quite another to be on the back of a motorbike when she could go flying off at any second and die in so many horrible ways. Her fear had diminished a little when she finally saw the bike in question. In all her scenarios, it had been a small, dirt-bike style thing that didn’t give much protection from the road. What he arrived on was an entirely different machine. The black and red Kawasaki was enormous and looked like something from a science fiction film.
After a few minutes she found herself enjoying the experience. Tate handled the bike like a pro, not once doing anything to make her feel uneasy. It also wasn’t overly unpleasant having to tightly wrap her arms around his stomach to stop herself from falling off.
He pulls in at a metal barrier at the side of the road and stands the bike up as he dismounts and unlocks the padlocks. He drives through and locks the gate again. The path weaves around the headland to a small clearing at the top. He stops the bike and kills the engine. Chloe takes off the helmet and accepts his help to dismount. She rearranges her hair as much as she can and glances up at him. When she sees his face she smiles widely. He looks so much happier than she’s seen him before.
