53. Foot Extrication
Foot Extrication
Fly
She quirks an eyebrow at me. “Will you be kissing me later?”
“Hopefully. After you forgive me, tell me more about yesterday, and why you aren’t excited about running with me.”
“That’s a lot to ask for.”
“I know, but I’m still going to ask you for it. Jealousy doesn’t seem to bring out the best in me.”
She glances down at her hands. “You have nothing to be jealous of. I’ve never wanted to kiss anyone else but you.
And even though I went to help Viola and she was playing matchmaker, it didn’t mean I wanted to be matched up.
My life is exactly where I want it to be, mostly.
Except I really don’t wanna run twenty miles this morning. ”
“Why not? What happened?”
“Can you handle this without turning green?”
“Right now, you can tell me ten men threw themselves at you, and I wouldn’t be at all jealous.” Much.
“Good, because no men flirted with me yesterday. I just facilitated two of them making friends. There was an Army guy there who had been hurt. He was a lot like Gabe, just off on his own with no family or friends. So I convinced the two of them to start working out together. And they both decided to pay me back by making me work out with them. I mean, it’s my fault.
What did I expect lifting weights with a professional athlete and a Spec Ops guy? ”
It couldn’t be. “Did he tell you he’s Spec Ops?”
“Yeah, right. They don’t just jump out and say, ‘hey, I’m a Ranger’ or whatever he is, but you can tell. They’re a different breed.”
Special Ops guy at a rehab facility…that’s just too much of a coincidence. “Was his name Deacon?”
“Yeah. He wasn’t joking then about being in a biker gang.”
“A motorcycle club. And no, he’s a good guy.” Wait…didn’t he tell his father he thought that something fishy was going on with the girl he met? Surely, Sheridan would tell me if she was getting threatening messages or some creep was sending her flowers.
Would she? Sheri hasn’t exactly been forthcoming about many details of her life. Especially any hard ones, which clearly there are a few.
“Good, then you won’t mind him becoming my pen pal.”
What? “Pen pal?”
“Yeah, you know where you write encouraging letters to someone who’s doing hard things. I already have a pen pal.”
She already…“How many men are you writing?”
Sheri turns and smirks at me. “Are you really that jealous?”
Yes. No. “Give me a break over here. I’ve never been in love before. It takes me a minute to adjust.”
“Fair enough. But you only get a short time to figure it out. It’s sweet, but also it doesn’t feel nice not to be trusted.”
“I trust you. I shouldn’t. We barely know each other. And you’ve told me next to nothing about yourself. But Sheri, never doubt I trust you. This has to do more with my own insecurity than you.”
“I don’t share because I’ve never had someone to trust my secrets with. My mind screams ‘no’ every time I think about telling you something deep…something scary about myself.”
“You can take your time. I’m in no rush. Share what you can, when you can. That’s just fine with me. But don’t feel the need to hide yourself from me. I can handle anything you’ve got to throw at me.” I reach across the seat and take her hand. “Anything.”
“What about the fact that I’m starving?” She reaches down for her bag. “Granola bar?”
***
“Woman, I thought you said you were tired and wanted a nice, leisurely run?” I try not to bend over and gasp for air, even though my body desperately needs to.
“That was. And you’re right, your trail is lovely. I would never stop running with that as my view.”
Good to know, because I hope you join me every morning.
Patience. Sheri’s already skittish enough.
“You ready for phase two of our date?”
“Only if phase two involves a shower and a change of clothes.”
“It does. I hope you don’t mind, but I didn’t want to waste a second today, so I got you a set of leathers to wear. If you don’t like them, we can stop at a store and get you something different.”
“You got me a set of leathers?” She stares at me like I have three heads.
Which, to be fair, I probably look like it, the way I’m shaking as I pant for breath. “A pair of leather pants and a nice warm leather coat. They’ll not only keep you warm on the ride, but if something should happen, they’ll protect your skin.”
“Um…that’s good.”
“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t do anything to put you at risk.”
“I know. Where should I shower?” She hefts her bag onto her shoulder.
“The outfit is laid out in the master bedroom. It’s through that door there.
” The double-door entry is made of hand-carved cherry and is absolutely stunning, which I don’t care one bit about.
But I really hope she likes the space, because more than anything, I can’t wait to see her hair spread out on my pillow and her asleep in my arms there.
“Thanks.” She turns and walks through the doors.
I let my body flop over and drag as much oxygen as I can get through my lungs. Training to keep up with her is going to kill me.
The master bedroom door opens, and I pop my head up.
“What’s this?” She holds up the jacket I got her.
“As I explained—”
Sheri turns it around so that the back faces me. “No, what is this?” She shakes it at me.
I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face. “That’s the mechanical symbol for chaos.”
“Not that—though cool fact—why does it say ‘Property of Children of Chaos’?”
The joy those five little words bring me. It’s like shouting ‘mine’ to the world. “That’s your jacket.”
“But what does it mean?”
It means you’re my old lady. You’re the woman on the back of my bike. You’re mine. “It means whatever you want it to mean.”
“No, it doesn’t.” She walks forward, shaking it at me. “This means a whole lot more than that, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.” I can’t lie about what I want desperately.
“What if something changes? What if you no longer want me to wear it? What if I no longer want to wear it? That’s big. It’s something we should discuss.”
She’s right, it is. Also, it’s never going to change.
“It’s just a jacket. Wear it as long as you want to wear it.
It isn’t a tattoo or a wedding band. If something changes in the future and you don’t want it to mean anything, simply take it off.
But if what it means scares you, I have some plain leather jackets you could wear.
” I hold out a hand for her to give me the offensive item.
“That’s not what I said.” She clutches it to her body. “I just thought we should talk about it, and we did. I’m going to go shower.”
Sheri walks away like she didn’t just leave my mind reeling in the best way possible.