He chuckled softly.“Yeah, figured.”
I twisted the rag in my hand, suddenly aware of the way my heart had picked up just a little.Not racing.Not fluttering.
Just… there.
“I’m headed out of town for the weekend,” he said.
I blinked, shifting my weight.
That wasn’t something he’d mentioned yesterday.We weren’t… anything official, not really.We’d gone out a couple times, talked, kissed a little.
That didn’t mean he owed me his schedule.
“Oh,” I said.“That sounds like fun.”
“Just meeting up with some old friends,” he said.“Nothing crazy.”
“Nice,” I said, nodding even though he couldn’t see me.
There was a brief pause, like he was about to say something else.“I’m about to pull up,” he added.
I straightened.“Pull up?”
Before he could answer, the low, unmistakable roar of a motorcycle cut through the air.
My head snapped toward the open door.The sound got louder, closer, until a bike rolled into view and slowed right in front of the Dairy Bar.
Jesse.
“Here,” he said through the phone.
I huffed out a small breath, already moving toward the door.“Okay.”
I ended the call and stepped outside, the heat hitting me immediately as I crossed the short distance toward him.
He was already off the bike, helmet in one hand, hair slightly messed from it in a way that somehow worked for him.He smiled when he saw me, easy and relaxed like he hadn’t just shown up out of nowhere.
I lifted my hand to shield my eyes from the sun.“Need a vanilla cone before leaving?”I teased.
He laughed, shaking his head.“Kind of hard to eat on the bike.”
“Fair,” I said.I shifted my weight, glancing at the bike and then back at him.A thought flickered through my head.What the hell was he doing here?“You could’ve just called,” I said.
He stepped a little closer.“Wanted to see you before I left.”
My heart stuttered.It wasn’t dramatic.Not like in movies or books where everything slowed down and music started playing.Just a small, sharp hitch in my chest.“Oh,” I said, the word coming out softer than I meant it to.“Well… hello.”
He laughed under his breath and closed the distance between us; his hand came to my waist.
It caught me off guard.
Not because it was wrong.Just because we hadn’t done much of that yet.
We’d kissed.Held hands.Kept things light.
This felt… closer.
I placed my hand against his chest without thinking, keeping a small space between us even as he pulled me in.
