“Oh, right. Okay. I’m studying.”
“Come down and say hi, then you can go back to studying.”
I let out a quiet huff, because normally I would have, and rushed down the stairs. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
Dad smiled. “Past behavior indicates you do.”
“Whatever.” I turned to Aero. “Hi. I’m studying for my final tomorrow, so don’t think me rude if I don’t interact with you.”
Aero grinned, his eyes shining with mirth. “It’s all good.”
“Cool.” I turned to my dad again. “Can I go back to my books now?”
“Yeah, baby girl. Don’t give my recruit any shit, yeah? That’s my job.”
“Sure. Whatever,” I said, and rushed upstairs.
I ran to my window and peeked out, watching as my dad climbed on his bike and rode away. The beauty about Harleys was you could hear them coming, so I knew Aero and I would have a little time to ourselves.
Once Dad was clear of the house, I ran back downstairs and practically threw myself into Aero’s arms. “How the hell did that happen?”
He chuckled, giving me a gentle squeeze. “I was up next.”
I rubbed my hands together and grinned. “We have at least two hours to ourselves.”
“Don’t you need to study?”
“I’m good. If I look at my screen anymore, I’ll confuse myself.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. Absolutely,” I said. “I do have a question, though.”
“Yeah?”
“How did you get the name Aero?”
He chuckled. “Rocky and I were talking about flyin’. I’d thought about going into the Air Force and have always had a love of planes, so I was telling him about my recruiting interview. It sucked, but regardless, I was telling him about it while I was on a ladder cleaning out gutters at Hatch’s shop.”
I frowned. “Oh my god, don’t tell me you fell.”
“I fell.”
“Were you okay? When did this happen?”
“A while ago. Once he knew I was okay, he pointed out how I should learn to stay on a ladder before attempting to fly, because I obviously wasn’t aerodynamic. He has called me Aero ever since.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Well, that’s mean.”
Aero laughed. “I’m countin’ my blessings. It could have gone a different way.”
“I guess that’s true,” I conceded. “Are you hungry? I feel like a snack.”
He gave me a look that made me think he’d rather snack on me and I nearly lost my panties. “Stop,” I ordered.
“Stop what?”
“Oh my god, Jasper, you’re standing here looking sexy as hell—”
