I might’ve felt guilty, but we weren’tquitethe last table in the place.
We still weren’t far from the Crescent building, or the parking deck where I’d left my bike. “I can take you home,” I offered once we got onto the sidewalk. After being with him for hours, I thought I was satisfied enough to hold it together. He’d held my hand, leaned into me—I could handle having him sit behind me. “I’ve just got my bike—or, you know, I’m happy to get you a ride?—”
Too fast, Landon shook his head, and I couldn’t help grinning.
“If you don’t mind taking me, that’d be great. It’s not too far.”
I slipped my arm around him and started off toward the garage a few blocks over. “No problem at all.”
Riding on my bike with Landon’s arms around me was something else. I’d been right to worry about getting distracted. All I wanted to do was let go of the handlebars and slide my fingers through his, guide his hand wherever it felt right.
Just... maybe not while we were zipping along the streets to his place.
Sure, he was in a helmet, but his first time riding, I wasn’t about to take my hands off and risk him.
By some miracle, we made it to the front of his apartment building, him tapping on my leg wherever I needed to turn, his voice muffled by the helmet and the wind around us.
I parked my bike out front and turned it off before removing my helmet. He slipped off the bike first, a little unsteady when his feet first hit the sidewalk. I steadied him with an arm on his back as I got off too.
“Thanks,” he muttered.
“You okay?”
His little laugh turned the corners of my lips up.
“Yeah, just—well, first time going that fast without a whole car between me and the pavement.”
I wished I could see his face, but he still had the helmet on, the visor down, so I had to guess whether or not it’d been too much.
I tried not to flinch. “I hope I didn’t scare you.”
“No! No, I mean—it was fun. I think it was fun? I had fun. But I’ll let you know if I, like... I don’t know... if I realize it was too much after my heart stops racing. But I think I’m good. Ten out of ten, would go again.”
I laughed. “Great.”
When he took off his helmet, his hands fluttered nervously. He hugged the helmet against his front, and his hair fell acrosshis forehead. Once I slipped the helmet out of his hands and set it in the storage at the back of the bike, I stepped in close.
Landon stilled, blinking up at me with wide eyes. I tucked that stray lock back in place, gratified when his cheeks turned red and he turned ever-so slightly toward my touch.
He lingered there on the sidewalk, swaying a little like he was unsure if he wanted to go inside or stay with me, and in his indecision, I was trapped there too. My feet were stuck to the sidewalk. The last thing I could do while he was there in front of me was turn and walk away.
I didn’twantthe night to be over.
Finally, he took a deep breath and raised his shoulders a little. “Do you... want to come up? For coffee or something.”
I cocked my head, trying to keep my smile from seeming too predatory. From the flush in Landon’s cheeks, I’d failed.
“If that’s okay,” I said, reaching for his hand. “I don’t want to keep you up if you’ve got a big day tomorrow though.” I rubbed the pad of my thumb across his knuckles, and he looked down at our linked fingers.
“There’s always tomorrow night,” I assured him.
Even if we parted ways right now, I didn’t want him to think I was uninterested in seeing him again. I wasn’t interested in playing games with him, leaving him wondering what I wanted to—what? Try and make him desperate and uneasy?
No, thanks.
We’d had a great time, even without a bunch of planning. We’d gotten coffee, stopped at a bookshop, gone to dinner—none of it was outside of the realm of something I’d have justdone, but every second of it was better for having done it with him.
“I’m free tomorrow,” I said. “We could go out again.”
