I caught a hint of his scent.Clean, a little smoky, and something distinctly him.
He reached across me, fingers brushing lightly against my side as he pulled the seatbelt across my chest.
Snap.The buckle clicked into place.
He didn’t pull back right away and just looked at me.“Ready?”
My breath hitched.“Never been readier.”
His mouth curved into a slow, almost dangerous smile.“Readier, huh?”
I blinked.“…more ready,” I corrected quickly, a laugh slipping out.“My brain is still asleep, okay?”
“Right, right,” he said, clearly amused.
He pulled back, shutting the door, and rounded the front of the car.
I watched him the whole way.
Because apparently, I did that now.
He slid into the driver’s seat and glanced at me.“All good?”
I nodded.“Yeah.”Then I hesitated.“It’s just… weird seeing you in a car.I’ve never pictured this.”
His brow lifted.“You’ve pictured me before?”
Oh my God.“I—what—no—I mean—”
He laughed.Actually laughed and it did something ridiculous to my stomach.
He started the car, shifting into reverse smoothly as he backed out of the driveway.
“Where’s your bike?”I asked, desperate to recover.
“Magnum rode with Tempi when she dropped this off,” he said.“Then he drove my bike over to your apartment.”
I nodded slowly.“You guys did a lot of maneuvering to get me back to my place.”
He shrugged like it was nothing.“Whatever you need,” he said.“I’ll make it happen.”
That hit me harder than it should have.
Because yeah, I had my mom.And Tyson.And Tempi.
But outside of them?There wasn’t really anyone who would just… do that.Show up.Rearrange things.Make sure I was okay without asking for anything in return.
It was different.
“Uh… well,” I said, suddenly aware of how weirdly tight my chest felt, “thank you.For doing all of this.I mean, I totally get it if you need to get back to doing… whatever it is that you do.”
He glanced at me and my stomach flipped.
“This is what I need to be doing.”Simple.Direct.And somehow… heavy.
I nodded and turned my head toward the window, watching the neighborhood pass by as we headed toward State Street.
He was a man of few words.But when he spoke?Those words meant something.
