25. Good Luck
25
Good Luck
Anticipation for our haunted house date–and a suitable place to fuck–bubbled up to the surface on the actual day. We’d been texting and talking, but I still didn’t know what either of us wanted besides a good time. I dangled my hosiery options at Jinx. “What do you think? Socks or tights?”
He batted at the thigh-highs in my left hand.
“Thigh-highs? Good idea.” I sat on the bed and wrangled them on, my cat wiggling nearby as if ready to battle with their floppy ends if they turned on me.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. Was Victor here early? I leaped across the bed–earning a disgruntled yelp from Jinx–to check the notification.
Tori: Good luck on your date tonight! [fingers crossed emoji]
What a sweetheart. I smiled and shot her a text while stroking Jinx to appease him.
Me: Thanks! Should be fun. [skull emoji]
I sent her a mirror selfie with my hand in a rock-on pose to show off my outfit: a form-fitting tank dress with a rib cage painted on the front, black fingerless gloves, and matching thigh-high socks with heart-eye skulls on them.
She called me within seconds. “You can’t wear that; you’ll freeze to death.”
Well, Jinx approved of it, I almost joked. “It’s not going to be that cold. My arms are half-covered, and my legs more than that. Plus, I have shorts underneath. Want me to send you an upskirt shot to prove it?”
“No,” she said, aghast. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
I curled my toes. “Yeah. If things get too cold, Victor could always warm me up.”
“Don’t be gross,” she said.
I rolled my eyes. “Such an innocent. Well, I should go. He’s going to pull up any second.”
“You’re letting him drive?” she asked, her tone steeped in disbelief.
Yikes. Maybe I should’ve left that out of tonight’s updates. “Listen, I know it’s kinda murder bait not to drive myself on a second date. But in the age of taxi apps and location-sharing, I trust Victor not to dump me at the haunted house, and I trust myself to be able to find a way home should something happen. If all else fails, I’ll call my smart, amazing sister for an exit plan.”
“Kat,” she chided, but I caught the reluctant pride in her voice.
Hopefully, humoring her meant she wouldn’t worry (or tattle) to our parents.
I twisted the black cord of my cross necklace around my fingers. “Can you have a little faith this won’t be a total disaster? You already met him. You know where he works. Plus, he put actual effort into planning something I’d enjoy. It’s been a while since a guy did that.”
“I guess,” she said.
“So protective,” I teased. “Some guy has to be good enough for us, eventually. Don’t you think?”
Jinx’s ears perked up, and he focused on the window. A headlight glimmered through the crack between the curtains.
I dashed over to peek outside. A black car rolled into the complex’s parking lot. The driver fussed with his swooping, scythe-like bangs in the fold-down mirror. Aw, my man wanted to look good for me.
“He’s here.” I streaked across the room to grab my bag. “Oh, thank god he doesn’t have a BMW or something.”
“What does he have? A motorcycle?”
I loved the idea of my man in a long, leather coat, revving an engine via steel handlebars, but I didn’t have time to drool over the prospect. “I don’t know what it is. A Honda?”
“Oh, that sounds sensible. They have pretty good safety ratings,” Tori said.
“I’m just happy it means he’ll probably let me get in without having to wipe my feet.” I took a deep breath and stroked my cross. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck,” she said.
“I was talking to Jinx.” I bit on my tongue to keep from laughing. “Byeee, have a great night.”
I hung up, then kissed my cat’s forehead. He closed his eyes and purred, rubbing his face on my chin.
“Thanks for the good luck, buddy. I’ll be back tonight.” I peppered him with a few more kisses before my phone pinged.
Victor: Your chariot awaits, milady.
This man. I smiled and shook my head. I loved this playful pretentiousness.
By the time I got outside, Victor was leaning against the trunk of his car, his hands in his pockets, the very image of a cool man in a sexy waistcoat-vest.
“Hello, Miss Katherine,” he said, his voice draping me in velvet sin.
Fuck, I wanted to mount him.
“Good evening, Mister Victor.” I giggled, rolling onto my toes to hug him. “You’re extra handsome today.”
He smiled and held my waist, even as I eased onto flat feet. “You look magnificent,” he purred.
“Good enough to eat?” I asked, basking in his wolfish gaze.
“Absolutely.” His teeth gleamed. He flexed his grip on my hip. “But we do have appointments to keep.”
“Oh, appointments, yes. We must depart at once, please.” I kissed him, then bounced back to curtsey.
He chuckled and fussed with his bangs as he bowed to me.
We were so fancy, going someplace that required a reservation.
He lengthened his strides to get to the passenger’s side of his car, then opened the door for me.
“Thank you, sir.” I slipped into the seat and took inventory. No lipstick in the cupholders. Great sign he wasn’t seeing someone else. No trash, either. But a decent amount of crumpled leaf debris, which meant he didn’t vacuum obsessively. A strip of interior LEDs hugged the windshield frame and dashboard.
“Oh my gosh, what are these?” I poked the plastic strips.
He buckled himself in. “Um, a present.”
“From whom?” I grinned.
“Family,” he muttered, inputting the haunted house in his GPS.
“Your family is fucking epic.” I leaned back in my seat. With this all-black interior, the lights would glow like the inside of a spaceship or the Batmobile or something. “Do they work?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s see.” I sat forward and placed my hands on the dashboard, half expecting us to back up at warp speed.
Victor eased out of the parking spot. “They’re kind of distracting.”
“Oh, really? That sucks. I thought they’d be pretty.” I crossed my ankles. “But safety first, obviously.”
His gaze fretted across my face. “You expect they’d make for a prettier drive?”
“Yeah.” I smiled and shrugged. “This would be like a superhero pod. But I’ve already got a lot to admire next to me.”
Flushing, he turned away, clearly fighting a smile. “Okay, I’ll turn them on. But only for a second. And only when it’s dark.”
“Ooh, living dangerously,” I teased, threading my fingers through his.
He smirked and lifted my hand to kiss my knuckles. “I suppose you have a knack for tempting me into doing your bidding.”
Pleasure flicked through my chest with the smug snap of a cat’s tail.
Perhaps we were living dangerously. But we also had a lot of luck from earlier. And a lot of something else if I let myself feel it.