“What makes you think I’d ask you to sneak around? Who would we be hiding from?”
“I don’t know. But something is going on, and I want to know what it is, or I’m not leaving this bus stop.”
Right on cue, the bus pulled up with a squeak of its brakes. The doors hissed loudly as they opened and a small group of people piled out, pulling up their hoods to protect them from the rain.
Tyler glanced at the bus and then back at me, his gaze a little frantic. “I swear to you I’ll explain everything. But first, I just…” He closed his eyes, exhaling loudly. When he opened them, he was once again calm and collected. “I just want to have a fun night first. A fun night with you. Can we do that?”
My heart dropped as I stared at him with suspicion I didn’t even try to hide.
He walked to the bus and waited for me to get in first. I glanced at the bus driver, then back to Tyler.
Why did I suddenly feel like this was a goodbye date?
CHAPTER11
Tyler
The bus took us to the Snoqualmie Casino. As we pulled up to the front doors, Ailee turned to me with a quizzical look.
“We’re gambling?”
That wasn’t why I’d brought her here, but I’d come prepared with funds. Just in case. “Sure, if you want.”
She turned away to peer out the window. “Believe it or not, I’ve never been here.”
“Really? Never? You live, like, ten minutes away.” Hard to believe, but secretly I was thrilled that it would be her first time. No matter what happened between us, if she ever came here again, she would remember being here with me.
I planned to make this night unforgettable.
“I don’t exactly have money to throw away on slots.”
“Well, there’s other stuff to do here, too. There are a few different restaurants and a show a little later I’ve got tickets for.”
“What kind of a show?”
I stood and held out my hand. “You’ll see.”
She eyeballed me for a few seconds, but I stayed steady, and in the end she took my hand and allowed me to lead her from the bus.
Inside, I was hit from all sides by the delightful gaudiness of the place, the bright red and gold decor a perfect match with the clink of coins being dropped into a hundred slot machines, audible even over the music streaming through the sound system and the low roar of laughter and shouts from the other patrons. Flashing lights halfway blinded me, and cigarette smoke burned my lungs. All in all, a perfect distraction from my problems.
I started coughing. “I completely forgot people can smoke here,” I croaked out. Ailee wasn’t faring much better. “We can go somewhere else,” I told her when I could manage it. “If you’d like.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s okay. You said you bought tickets for the show. I’ll survive one night.” She waved her hand in front of her face as the lady in front of the nickel slots beside us blew a cancerous cloud in our direction as she looked around, presumably for the waiter to bring her another drink. “However, now I remember why I don’t hang out here.”
I grabbed her hand again and tugged her away, and we hightailed it out of there and headed to a side of the casino where the air was distinctly clearer. “So, what do you want to do first?” I asked her when we could breathe again.
Her free hand went to her stomach. “Um…food would be good.”
I grinned down at her and squeezed her hand. “A woman after my own heart.”
We picked the place with an all-you-can-eat buffet and I let her go in front of me, watching with amusement as she piled her plate high. It was fucking refreshing. I wondered if she’d be as free with her choices if it wasn’t a buffet. I hoped so. People needed to eat, and I was one hundred percent about keeping those luscious curves on her well filled out.
We ate in silence, both of us digging into our dinner with gusto. I didn’t know about her, but I was fucking starving. It was a good five minutes later when I noticed she’d laid down her fork and was eying me with a thoughtful look on her face. “What?” I asked around a mouthful of pasta.
“I was just wondering if maybe we should lay down some rules.”
I almost choked on my mac and cheese. “Rules?” I set down my fork and gave her my full attention. This should be interesting. “What kind of rules?”
