His eyes were still crinkled in the corners with humor as he reached out and took my bag of books and my purse out of my hands and stashed them in his saddlebags.
I was seriously glad I wore pants as I climbed on the Harley behind him a few minutes later. I was also internally screaming like a twelve-year-old at her first boy band concert.
Riding on the back of a motorcycle wasn’t inherently sexy. I’d done it hundreds of times.
Riding on the back of a motorcycle behind a man that I wanted to sleep with? That was brand new. That was fuckingerotic.
I flipped the visor down on my helmet and wrapped my arms around his waist. As soon as he knew I was settled in, we took off slowly down the long gravel driveway. The wind was biting coldon my hands, and I wished I’d worn some gloves, but I wouldn’t have changed anything else even if someone paid me.
Molding myself to Bas’s back, I watched over his shoulder as we pulled onto the dark road and headed toward home. There weren’t any other cars on the road, and the rain had let up, thankfully, so it was a nice ride.
It got infinitely better when Bas’s hand found my thigh, his long fingers wrapping around it and his thumb rubbing from side to side. Nonchalant. Like he didn’t even know he was doing it.
By the time we pulled into my parents’ driveway, I was practically panting inside my helmet. All the reasons I knew Bas was a bad idea seemed nonsensical and unimportant. He’d raced to me when he knew I was in trouble. He’d followed us back to the garage to find out what had happened to my car. He’d driven me home even though it was completely out of his way.
And he touched me like he couldn’t help himself. Even after that argument we’d had at the club, the moment he’d seen me, he’d wrapped his arms around me. Comforted me. Kissed my head.
We parked in front of the house, and the moment we were off the bike, I flipped my visor up.
“What are you doing tonight?” I asked, tipping my head back to look at him.
“Tonight?”
“Yeah.”
“Thought I’d throw a kegger,” he joked, completely deadpan. “Maybe get a tattoo. Fly to Hawaii.”
“So, you’re busy,” I said in mock disappointment.
“All booked up.”
I took a deep breath in and then let it out with a loud sigh. “Okay, then. Thanks for the ride home.”
I turned to walk away but didn’t even make it one step before his hands were on my hips.
“What were you thinkin’?”
Turning back around, I smiled. “Hang at your house?”
His hesitation made my guts twist.
“Or not,” I said quickly. “We could go get a beer or something.”
Bas shook his head. “I was just tryin’ to remember if I picked up after work or if I’d be bringin’ you into a mess.”
“I don’t care if it’s messy.” That was a lie. I’d judge if he was a slob. I just didn’t really think he was the type.
“Guess I’ll take the chance then,” he said.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, stay right there.”
I turned and jogged to the porch, not bothering to remove my helmet. It was in place now, for better or worse, and I didn’t really feel like going through the whole ordeal of putting it on more than I had to. The front door was locked, so I pushed in the code and stepped inside the entryway.
“Hey, Ma,” I yelled.
