My elementary school teachers would be so glad I took their bicycle safety training seriously.
I leave my car in a small lot near a trail to a picturesque park. This is one of the things I love about Las Vegas. It’s part of why I decided to move here when I needed a fresh start. It’s actually really pretty. And there’s so much to do. Beyond the tourist traps on the strip, but there is so much to live and experience.
I look forward to living and experiencing everything Vegas has to offer.
I just need to not let my fear of failure get in the way.
With a few minutes to go until the appointed rendezvous time, I find a nearby bench and settled down. I don’t know much about my date beyond the fact that he has dark brown hair and a full beard. From the little glance, I had of him at the auction, dressed in a suit and tie, I could also tell he had broad shoulders and a full chest. He’s fit. Brawny. Maybe not quite as lean as I would expect from a cycling instructor or competitive cyclist.
Then again, who am I a judge? Bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and they are all capable of doing amazing things.
Like, right now, my heart is racing a mile a minute. Who knew it could do that when my body is at rest?
“Calm down, Mindy,” I hiss at myself. “So it’s your first date since… it… happened. Big deal. Just pull the Band-aid off and have fun.”
It’s not like I’m going to end up marrying this guy and having babies with him.
In an effort to distract myself, I study a nearby shrubbery, wondering to myself if it’s a shrub or in the cacti family—whatever it is, I’m definitely not in Kansas anymore—when the roar of an engine nearly makes me jump out of my skin.
Heart galloping, I turn to the parking lot as a man clad in leather from head to toe zoom’s past on a motorcycle and comes to a halt.
“Sheesh. Why do motorcycles have to be so freaking noisy? That almost gave me a heart attack.“ I shake my head. “He’s probably trying to compensate for something.”
Taking a few deep breaths, I’m about to return my study of the local flora and fauna when I see the motorcycle list approached me. He on straps his helmet and gives his head a shake. His thick, dark hair sways, and his swagger has my heart thundering again.
Piercing blue eyes. A strong jaw underneath his whiskers. And the leather jacket clings to his broad shoulders, as if it’s another skin. He’s… Hot. Really, really hot.
Not that I’m gawking at a man when I’m about to go on a date with another one. I’m not that kind of girl. But I don’t suppose there’s any harm in looking.
Especially after he nearly scared me to death.
He comes to a stop in front of me. My breath catches.
“Waiting for someone?”
The man beside me smiles, easy and unbothered, like he hasn’t just short-circuited my nervous system with three casual words.
He’s… big. Not bulky exactly, but solid. Broad shoulders stretching the seams of his black leather jacket. Dark jeans. Heavy boots planted confidently on the pavement. His hair is dark, cut short at the sides, longer on top. His jaw is shadowed with stubble that looks intentional, not lazy.
He doesn’t look like he belongs with the cyclists.
Which is probably why my brain does a strange little stutter as I take him in.
“Sorry,” I say again, because apparently that’s my word of the evening. “I’m just a little jumpy tonight.”
“No worries.” He leans back, resting his forearms on his thighs. The leather creaks softly with the movement. “First dates are nerve-wracking enough without worrying about being late.”
I blink. “First dates?”
He tilts his head, studying me in a way that feels curious rather than intrusive. “Let me guess. First one in a while?”
“Is it that obvious?”
He grins. “Only if you count the way you’re looking around like everything might bite you.”
I laugh before I can stop myself. “Fair enough.”
“I promise I won’t,” he says. Then he offers his hand. “I’m Jesse.”
