“We have the same interests,” I argued. “Does that make us soulmates, too?”
“Of course. Soul sisters.” She laughed. “But seriously, Nora, he told me the other night that you were “it” for him. That he’s known since you were kids. I think you feel the same way.”
“I think I do, too.” I sighed. “What if he hurts me again, G? What if I follow my heart and it just leads me right back to being depressed and numb?”
“There’s a chance that that could happen,” she said. “But, there’s an even bigger chance that if you don’t at least try, you’re going to spend the rest of your life feeling the exact same way.” She was right. I’d been telling myself that I wasn’t miserable without him, that I had a good life, but the truth was, the last time I truly remembered being happy was with him.
“I’m supposed to be the big sister,” I told Georgia. “Why are you so much smarter than me?”
She shrugged. “Not smarter, just well versed in the Nora/Reid saga.”
“He probably doesn’t even want to see me again.”
“Yeah, I doubt that,” she said, pulling her phone from the pocket of her sweats. “He’s texted me like thirty times making sure you were okay.”
I smiled. “I think I should go see him.”
“I think you should shower first,” she pointed out.
“Good idea,” I agreed. “Hey G,” I asked, before I headed down the hallway. She looked over at me from the sofa. “You think Jamie was your soulmate?”
“Maybe,” she answered. The sadness that came along with the mention of Jamie’s name was there, but there was something else. Hope. “But, there might be another one out there somewhere.”
“I think there is,” I told her. “You’re too fantastic for there not to be.”
The guilt I felt for making her think all I wanted from her was to hook up in a back alley behind a bar was eating its way through my stomach lining. Since I’d left her at the bar last night, all I could do was blame myself for her behavior. If I hadn’t kissed her at the party, she wouldn’t have felt the need to get wasted and throw herself at me.
Maybe I should just leave her alone.
I’d considered tucking my tail between my legs and backing away from this whole thing, but the thought of not being with her told me to shut the hell up. When her car came down the lane that morning and came to a stop in front of my house, I rushed out the door to meet her, anxious to apologize and let her know I’d back off if that’s what she needed. But before I had a chance to take the blame for what had been going on between us, she started talking.
“I’m so sorry for how I acted last night,” she said, meeting me half way between the porch and her car. She looked much better than she had last night, her eyes brighter, her skin glowing. Her hair was still damp from her morning shower and falling into loose waves as it dried on its own. The jeans and loose off the shoulder sweatshirt she was wearing made her look younger than she had in our past few meetings, especially with the little make up she’d put on her face. She was beautiful.
“I’m sorry for kissing you the other night,” I told her. “I know that you asked me for time, I just felt desperate and I couldn’t help myself. I shouldn’t have done anything to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“Uncomfortable is not the word I’d use,” she said, her teeth biting down on her bottom lip so that she didn’t full on grin. I wished she’d tell me exactly how it did make her feel, but her expression was saying that maybe she liked it more than she was letting on. “Want to hang out today?” she blurted out, when my eyes lingered just a bit too long on her mouth.
“Um, yeah,” I answered, trying not to look overly excited by her invitation. “What’d you have in mind?”
“I was hoping you’d take me for a ride?” It took every ounce of self-control I had to not make a sarcastic comment. “On your bike.” She chuckled.
“Get out of my head, woman.”
“Get out of mine first,” she said, playfully. The moment that passed between us, empty of tension and stress, was welcomed. She hadn’t mentioned a thing about Beau or staying away from her or needing more time, and I wasn’t about to bring it up. Not when she was asking to spend the day with me. I’d keep my mouth shut and enjoy her company for as long as I had it. “Lead the way.” She pointed toward the trailer where the bikes were kept and I took advantage of her hand being so close to me, and grabbed it with mine. When she didn’t pull it free, I felt a sense of security I hadn’t felt with her in a while.
“Yes, ma’am.”
* * *
Feeling the squeeze of her thighs around my body as she sat on the back of my bike ranked right up there with winning a race and busting a nut. Two of my favorite things. Riding and Nora. Together they had me feeling invincible as we raced across the open field and toward the pond.
She shrieked in my ear and her arms tightened around my body when we took the crest of the hill fast enough to cause her stomach to bottom out. The laughter that followed when she knew that I had complete control of the situation was refreshing. My wild, carefree girl was back, even if only for a moment.
I pulled to a quick stop at the edge of the pond. The momentum caused the bike to move forward balancing up on the front tire momentarily before bouncing to a still. Her body tensed, her arms wrapping around me so tightly that I could hardly take a breath as she pressed up against me.
“You think we were going in?” I laughed, resting my hand on hers as we looked out across the water.
“There might have been a moment of panic,” she confessed, laying her head against my back. It felt so natural and comfortable to not only be around her but to have her on my bike. I know it wasn’t just happy memories surfacing. That was part of it, yes. But more so it was her. I’ve never felt more myself than when I was in her presence and had her a part of my life.
“Eileen can stop on a dime,” I informed her, patting the tank of my bike. “She’s a well-oiled machine.”
“You named your bike Eileen?” she teased.
“I name all my bikes,” I said, turning just enough on my seat to lift the right side of my shirt. “Eileen, Caroline, Valerie. All the girls are here.” I pointed at the tattoos on my ribcage. The same ones that Nora had assumed were past conquests.
“I feel like an idiot.”
“Don’t.” I said. “If you had a bunch of guys’ names tattooed on your body, I’d be a little jealous, too.” I smirked.
“I wasn’t jealous,” she defended. “Well… maybe a little,” she said coyly, without me having to say a word. Hearing her say that she’d been a little envious of the other “women” in my life and the way she’d reacted when she’d seen me with Tally at the bar made it pretty clear that she still wanted me for herself. Now to just get her to admit it.
“Did it hurt?” she asked, trailing her fingertips down the ink. The sensation of her hands on me took my breath. I wanted more. I wanted both hands. And, no clothes. And complete surrender to what we’d been denying ourselves. I wanted all of her. Heart and soul.
“It didn’t feel good,” I laughed. “But once I started, I couldn’t stop. It’d look pretty silly with half a name.”
“True.” She agreed. “Roxanne. Of course.” She smiled and shook her head. “I remember. The bike you had,” she paused, not adding in the before you left part.
“See? You’re a smart cookie, Bennett.” I grinned, tugging my shirt back down before I did something stupid, like pull it completely off and beg her to continue touching me and scare her off.