“Are you here to freak me out in any other way?""Nope.""This would include asking me for a date," I warned."Babe, don't date," he replied."You don't?""Do tequila shots followed by 5 hours of sex count as a date? he asked."Um... no," I answered."Then I don't date."I smiled at him.Then, stupidly, I asked. "You can have sex for 5 hours?"He smiled at me.Yikes.Moving on.”

“It was silly, but I couldn’t let go of the hope that one day he’d walk in, look at me, smile and maybe popby my table to have a chat where I would boggle his mind with my brilliance. I’d charm him with mymanner. Then he’d ask me out on a date. At the end of which, maybe, hopefully, I’d finally be able totouch his hair (amongst other things).This never happened.”

“It isn't that it's too soon, you're on the back of my bike, it ain't too soon. You can buy sheets. You cannot install blinds." "um..." I mumbled. "Can you explain the difference?" "Sheets are chick territory," he said without delay. "You gotta use tools, that's dick territory." "Oh," I whispered. "Don't tread on dick territory," he advised. "So, um... is a paintbrush a tool?" I asked cautiously. "If you're paintin' the side of the house, yeah. If you're painting mud colored paint in a room, no." "It's terracotta," I said softly. "Whatever," he muttered, his mouth twitching. "Or, the paint chip called it Mexican horizon. The blue is dawn sky." "Definitely chick territory," Tate replied, losing the fight with his grin. "What about...pictures for the walls?" I asked. "Chick," he answered instantly. "Um...could I ask that, instead of you getting angry and being a jerk, maybe you give me a head's up when I'm doing something stupid?”

“You’re stuck,” I blurted, his grin died and he blinked.“Come again?”I swallowed, sucked in breath and forged ahead.“I was lost but you… Tate, you got stuck,” I told him.He stared at me and it took a lot but I braved his stare.Then he asked, “You up for the job of pullin’ me out?”“I…” I swallowed again. “No,” I answered truthfully.“No?” he asked, his eyebrows lifting, his face getting dark, his armsgrowing tighter.“I…” I pulled in breath then whispered, “I kinda like it here.”

“An accountant would not make his girlfriend worry he while he was away at work”“Yeah,” Jonas shot back with a smile, “but he also wouldn’t have a milf girlfriend either.”I felt my eyes round as Tate said in a father’s warning tone but still I could tell from his voice he was smiling huge, “Bub.”“Dad, seriousloy, she’s milf,” Jonas returned.“Think it, boy, don’t say it.” Tate replied.“Right,” Jonas muttered but he was still smiling at me and his smile was unrepentant. Jonas had called me a milf. I knew what that meant and I didn’t know what to do with it.Seriously, Tate from head to toe.”

“I’ll call you Tuesday,” he whispered. I lifted my wineglass his way and invited, “You do that.” He didn’t move. I took another sip of wine. When I lowered my glass, reading me yet again, he noted, “You’re not gonna answer.” “Nope,” I replied, sounding shockingly cavalier considering my insides were bleeding.”

“My eyes narrowed and I snapped, “You’re not allowed to do that shift.”His head jerked slightly and he asked, “Say again?”“Be sweet and make me all melty and want to jump you when I ‘m celebrating my heretofore unknown badassness with a bunch of bikers and their bitches. Not to mention, I’m hungry.”Tack grinned as his arm snaked around me and he yanked me close.“You wanna jump me?” he asked.“I always want to jump you,” I answered.“Good to know,” he muttered.”