He snorted and Simone had to nudge my foot with hers to stop me from gaping at him. Jasper responding well to my jokes was so rare, I was pretty sure it’d only happened once since he showed up. I didn’t know how to react.
“Don’t feel bad for me. I like math. And it’s kind of fun being smarter than my cousin who’s like ancient compared to me.”
That time, my mouth really did fall open. “Ancient?” I squawked in protest. “I’m thirty five!”
He eyed me up and down, his nose wrinkled. “You sure? You look older.”
I wasn’t sure whether to complain about the insult or rejoice the teasing tone. He was playing with me. I’d take him talking shit if we made it to a point where we got along. Even if he made me feel old.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
SIMONE
We decided we would head to the mall after getting a plan into place. There was a baby store there that would have educational toys, and Jasper wasn’t willing to wait for anything to be ordered online and delivered. Neither of the boys was brave enough to wake Isla before she was done with her nap, so Jasper disappeared upstairs for a little while, leaving me and Elias alone.
“Hey, thanks for doing this. You didn't have to.”
“In any normal circumstance, I wouldn’t have. Jasper is a special case. And he asked me himself. That to me shows a lot of progress. He’s a sweet young man when he wants to be. I want to foster that if I can.”
Elias nodded slowly, lips pursed. “Kinda wish it was because you wanted to visit me, but I can accept that reasoning.”
A flush burned in my cheeks. I’d considered a few times the night prior keeping the dynamic as it was. We had no clue if Jasper would do well in John’s class or not, but looking at thosebaby blue eyes, I found myself speaking before I’d thought it through. “Maybe it had a little to do with you.”
His eyes widened and he lit up, like the comment meant something to him. Clearing my throat, I absently gathered the papers we’d spread out on the table, avoiding eye contact as I pointed out, “Jasper starts his trial run in a new class on Monday. We could…”
“Go on a date?” he prompted with a big grin on his face. It helped settle me a little, seeing how eager he looked. The attraction definitely wasn’t one sided.
“I was going to suggest that, yes. I–”
Before I could blink, my chair was yanked back and turned and Elias looked over me, one warm hand cupping my jaw as he captured my lips in a fierce kiss. It was demanding and a little rude, and a gasp escaped unbidden. I hadn’t realized how sexy it was for a man to take charge like that. He took full advantage, tangling his tongue with mine, and my body lit up like an electric line. Who knew such a chaotic and goofy man could kiss like this?
When he finally released me, I sank back into my seat, breathing heavily and staring up at him in shock. “What was that for?”
A smirk stretched across his lips that was entirely too smug when he casually lifted one shoulder. “I’ve wanted to do that since the last time. Thought if I had to wait any longer, I might go insane.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me. “You know, I’d been struggling to see where the biker thing fit in with your personality. Now I realize you were just hiding it from me.”
His grin was unrepentant and I could see more of that confident biker peeking out. He was doing his best for the kids, and his life was a little chaotic, but his real personality was still there, just hidden behind dark circles and a general air of chaos.
“Want to see my bike?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Is that a euphemism? Because there are children in the house.”
He barked out a laugh, shaking his head. “I promise it’s not. Come with me.”
He offered me his hand and laced our fingers together when tugging me to my feet. While I put my shoes back on, he disappeared long enough to let Jasper know where we were going and put on socks before slipping into his boots by the door and leading me outside. His garage was unattached, near the back of the property down the long driveway. It passed the backyard, which was empty for now, but would likely be filled with toys once Isla got a little older. The house itself was nice enough, a warm contrast to the windy weather, and Elias was quick to tug me into the garage proper to escape the weather, closing the door behind us to block it out.
The lights flicked on and I took in the mostly empty space, frowning at the lack of boxes or tools. “Have you not lived here very long?”
I didn’t do much with my garage, but even I had more in the space than he did. Boxes of donations, old school paperwork, gifts my students made me that I couldn’t make myself part with, lawn equipment. This garage was mostly empty.
He huffed a laugh, nodding as he released my hand and wandered closer to the motorcycle parked in the middle. “Yeah, I rented the place right after the social worker showed up. Used to live in the clubhouse because it was just easier for me. I was single and unattached. I didn’t have a reason to get a house before now.”
“You got a house so you could take in the kids?” I asked, surprised. Not many could say they’d do the same. His housing situation would have been a simple excuse he could’ve used to not take on the responsibility of two grieving kids.
He shrugged. “Well, yeah. Couldn’t keep them in the clubhouse. I love my crew, and they’re all great with kids, but they get rowdy sometimes. Not the kind of place I’d want to raise two kids. Though I’ve been trying to get them to visit. Jasper especially will like it once he gives it a chance. Last year a few of the guys put together a track in the lot right behind the clubhouse. The kids ride dirtbikes back there. I think he’d like it if he gave it a chance.”
I made a face. The idea of kids on dirtbikes made me nervous. Growing brains were too important to risk riding around like that.
