Waiting for You(37)
“That sounds nice. I can pack a basket and—”
“No, I don’t want you to do any work. I’ll be in charge of lunch.”
“Really?” She sounded skeptical, and he laughed.
“I won’t let you go hungry.”
“All right, then. What time should we meet?”
“I’ll pick you up at one o’clock.”
“I’ll be ready.”
He flipped the phone closed, and flipped it open again to call Allison. “When’s the last time I asked you for a favor?”
“I think it was twenty-two years ago. You asked me to take care of your pet frog while you were at summer camp.”
“So I’m due, right?”
“Depends on the favor.”
“I need a picnic lunch for tomorrow.”
“For how many people?”
“Just two.”
“Two, huh? And who’s the lucky—”
“It’s Erin, and it’s not a date. Just a friend thing.”
“I see. So you want me to prepare a friendly picnic for two.”
“Or to give me the phone number of someone who can.”
“Nope, I’ll be happy to do it. I’ll bring it by your place tomorrow.”
“I’m picking Erin up at one, so...”
“I’ll be there by twelve-thirty.”
Allison was as good as her word, dropping off a picnic basket the next day that smelled so good it made his mouth water. Jake carried the basket out to his truck but stopped before he opened the door.
It was warm for May—seventy-five degrees with fluffy clouds scudding across a blue sky. He looked from his truck to his Harley and made a decision.
Maybe he couldn’t sleep with Erin, but he could have the next best thing. He could get her out of her comfort zone and onto his bike.
He set the picnic basket on the ground and packed the contents into his saddlebags.
It was such a gorgeous day that Erin decided to wait on the porch. She sat with Pepper curled up on her lap, scratching the black cat behind his ears until the motorcycle came roaring down her road and into her driveway.
Jake was wearing a black leather jacket over a white tee shirt and jeans, and when he pulled off his helmet and grinned up at her she felt her insides melt.
“You came on your motorcycle. Does that mean we’re taking my car?” she asked as she came down the steps towards him.
Then she saw the second helmet in his hand—the one he was holding out to her.
“Oh, no. No way.”
“Come on, Erin—take a walk on the wild side.”
“I don’t have a wild side.”
He grinned again. “I’ve seen the way you look at my bike. Maybe everyone else in your life thinks you’re tame, but I know better. Don’t you want to live a little?”
Looking at Jake as he sat there on that big machine, she wanted to live a lot. She wanted to do things she’d never done before. She wanted him. The only problem was, she couldn’t have what she wanted.
Then she looked at the bike.
She remembered the thrill she’d gotten just putting the photos together for his website—the thrill she got when Jake showed her a bike he was working on, or when she saw him riding his own. Her attraction to motorcycles was like her attraction to Jake—an irresistible pull towards an energy completely different from her own.
And for once she was going to try it on for size.
“I better love this,” she said, taking the helmet from him and putting it on.
“You will,” he promised, and from the way his face lit up she knew he hadn’t been sure she’d say yes. “Now climb up behind me and hang on tight.”
How could a girl resist an invitation like that?
Jake put on his own helmet and faced forward again, and Erin scrambled up behind him. Her seat was higher than his and it seemed natural to move close. When the engine roared to life and they actually started to move, she squeaked and slid her arms around his waist.
Fear gripped her, but only for a second. Then she felt the wind, and saw the world rushing by, and felt the sheer masculine power of the man in front of her and the machine they were riding.
And she was hooked.
She loved the way Jake leaned into turns. It felt more like riding a horse than riding a car, the way he seemed so in tune with his machine and the way he guided all that raw power with his body. Peering over his shoulder at the road stretching out in front of them, she wished suddenly that they could keep going forever, towards the horizon, racing the sun and then racing the moon.
When they reached the lake and Jake turned off the engine, she didn’t let go of him right away. She didn’t want to lose this feeling.
Jake pulled off his helmet. “You okay back there?” he asked over his shoulder.