“His name is Dante, and I met him at my gym. I don’t know if it’s an actual date, but I did ask him for drinks, and he agreed.” I admit.
“Wait…you asked him? Who are you, and what have you done to my best friend?”
I laugh. “It’s more of an apology because I bumped into him at Pyre last night, and I may or may not have run off like a lunatic while we were dancing.”
Olivia gasps again. “Wait, last night? Is that why you went home? Hold on, Luna, I don’t know about this.”
“It wasn’t his fault. I was overthinking about Greg and nearly gave myself a panic attack. I promise I wouldn't ask him out if it were him.” Olivia nods, her shoulders relaxing. “I’m sharing this because I’m giving you my location, and if I’m not in my apartment by 3 am without a message saying I’m staying out later, you can start to worry.”
Olivia hugs me. “I’m sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have pushed you to go when you said you weren’t ready.”
“It’s water under the bridge. I’m sorry for leaving you.” I hug her tighter until the sound of an engine revving separates us, drawing our attention to the front windows.
A few people standing outside, chatting, blocked our view of the commotion beyond. Olivia and I shift to get a better angle when a man on an all-black Yamaha YZF-R6 with blue lights pulls up in front of us. I watch as he takes off his helmet, and my jaw drops. “That’s Dante.”
“Forget what I said. You should absolutely go on a date with Dante and share every detail afterward.” Olivia says, her mouth hanging open, too.
I turn to Olivia, my excitement evident on my face. “I’m grabbing my jacket. I’ll be back later to pick up my car.” She hums in response, nodding. I could sense what she was thinking without her saying it:If you come back later and don’t end up inhis bed.
I make it back to her office, grabbing my purse as my phone buzzes inside. I pull it out, a message from Dante flashes on my screen:
I hit 'send' and shared my location with Olivia. I put my phone back in my purse, slip on my jacket, and head towards the front.
Olivia stands there, arms open for a hug. “Get home safe, okay?”
“You, too. Text me when you get home after closing. Does my makeup still look okay?”
“You look gorgeous. Have fun tonight.” Olivia waves me off, and I push through the front door.
Dante stands there front and center, leaning against his motorcycle. His smile is the first thing I notice, followed by how his eyes look over my body from head to toe. “Wow. You look incredible, Luna.”
I look to the ground, feeling shy under his stare. “Thank you. You look pretty good yourself.” I bite my lip, meeting his gaze again. “So, where are you taking me?” I'm curious to see if he’ll tell me yet.
“That would ruin the surprise, Luna. Get on my bike and find out for yourself.” He cocks his brow, tilting his head, his hands folded across his chest. “I promise I don’t bite. Not unless you ask me to.”
I suck in a breath and try not to imagine his lips on my neck from last night. “Yeah, about that. I don’t have a helmet, and I’m not dressed appropriately for riding a bike.”
“Do you trust me?”
It’s a straightforward question with a simple answer. I shouldn’t trust Dante because he’s still a stranger…but something about him makes me feel like he wouldn’t hurt me. It’s silly for me to think that, but Dante seems like the type of guy who would risk himself before he ever let me get hurt. “I do. I trust you.”
Let’sbothhope you don’t make me regret it.
Dantesmiles and pulls out a full-faced helmet like his, only smaller. “This is for you. It should fit.” He mounts his motorcycle and extends his hand to me. “Let’s get out of here. There are a lot of eyes on you right now.”
I look to my right to see some people from the event lingering and whispering to one another. “Trust me, they are looking at you more than at me.” I grab his hand and straddle his motorcycle. I quickly slip on the helmet and tighten the chin strap.
“How does it fit?” Dante’s voice comes through the helmet, and I gasp, taken aback. He laughs, a low chuckle that sends a shiver right to my clit. God, even his laugh is sexy. “Sorry. I should have told you the helmets have speakers in them.”
“Oh, so you can hear me, too?”
Danted nods. “There’s a button on the side of the helmet, and if you press it, it will turn off the speaker.”
I find the button and click it several times, turning it on and off. “Okay. Got it.”
“Good girl.” I can hear the smile and teasing tone in his voice. It sends another jolt to my clit, and I involuntarily squeeze my thighs together. I quickly recover by scooting back farther, trying to distance myself as much as possible. “You ready?”
“Yeah. I’m ready.” It’s not the entire truth. I’m nervous about being on a motorcycle, but also excited. I feel like my body is buzzing all over.
