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Something Junie said niggled at the back of my mind.
“Setting up? Setting up for what?” I asked.
“Drivetrain. They played Saturday night. First gig of the season.”
Junie’s fiancé, Lenny, played the drums for Drivetrain. Lucky played lead guitar, Barrett covered guitar and vocals, and they lost their bass player after she made a play for Barrett last summer.
Realization dawned. Maybe that was why we had an afternoon date. I had assumed he already had a sure thing lined up for Saturday night.
My eyebrows went up and I stared into space. It was still possible. If he played Saturday night, it’s more than likely he had the opportunity to hook up with someone afterwards. He said he wouldn’t while we explored what might be between us, but I wondered if that exploration period started before or after our clothes came off.
And if I’d decided this was going to be a sweet, sexy, romp, why did it matter?
Perhaps pursuing this thing with Lucky was a mistake but I was long overdue a bit of fun. Not everything had to be planned to the nth degree.
On Friday we had plans to go out for coffee. If I still felt this way, I’d lay out my plan for him then.
Chapter Eleven -Hands Down
Lucky
For the first time in my life, I found myself on the receiving end of the ‘I’m only in this for the fun’ talk.
It was far from enjoyable.
As much as I wanted to get her into bed, and in that respect, this felt like a win, I figured it was going to take me the entire summer to get her to trust me enough to loosen up.
And I desperately wanted her to loosen up.
Getting her to that point held all kinds of promise but based on her proposed timeline I guessed we would just be at the point where things were getting good when she would be planning her exit.
My mind spun with possibilities, or in Minty’s case, impossibilities.
Insecurities I never knew I had reared their ugly, misshapen heads. I’d grapple with those later, after dealing with the mystifying woman in front of me.
I sat back in my seat and studied her eyes. So much went on behind them, all the things to which I was not yet privy but hoped to access.
I never pegged her as the type of woman who would want a casual arrangement. The way Willa and Junie warned me to be good to her certainly hadn’t given me that impression.
She was protecting herself. At least, I hoped that’s what it was. Either that or she really wasn’t interested in anything deeper with me, and my over-inflated ego would not accept that.
“What do you find so funny?” she murmured, a small smile curving her pretty mouth.
I smiled wryly. “So, what I’m hearing is that you’d like to date and maybe fuck me for the summer and call it quits before Labour Day?”
Her back went ramrod straight. She blinked once, slowly, then raised her eyes to mine and answered me coolly. “If you strip it back to the bare bones, I suppose that’s exactly what I’m saying.” Whatever she saw in my face had her softening marginally. She sighed. “I like you, Lucky. I like you a lot. But the truth remains that you are thirty-eight and I am forty-four. I can’t give you what you want long-term.”
I mentally cursed myself for admitting I wouldn’t mind another child.
“And what if I decide it’s you I want long-term?”
Who the hell was speaking? It wasn’t until the words left my mouth that I consciously realized I’d been considering anything long-term. I dried my sweaty palms on my jeans and shook my head. Looked like things were about to get interesting.
She raised her hands then let them flop down on her lap. “See, that’s just it. Eventually you’ll resent me, and you’ll always wonder about the family you might have had. Lucky, you could go find someone like Willa and make a family. Someone like Hope,” she added pointedly. “I’m kind of past that.”
She deflated right in front of me. Her lips tipped up at one side. “Perhaps this was a mistake.” She twisted in her seat to gather her things.
“Hold up there, pretty lady. I accept your generous offer so long as we’re exclusive. Beginning right now.”
