“So, who was that guy?” Sandy asked.
I furrowed my brow as I parked the SUV in the garage. “What guy?”
Cody clicked his tongue. “The guy with the leather jacket that you gave our dog to.”
Sandy nodded. “Yeah, do you know him?”
I decided a little white lie wouldn’t hurt. “Yes, we’ve known each other for a little bit.”
Cody furrowed his brow. “I thought you were giving Max away.”
I hopped out and opened the side door for the kids. “Now, what would give you the impression that I’d ever do that to poor Max?”
Sandy giggled. “Cody’s just jealous.”
“Am not!” he exclaimed.
I tilted my head to the side. “Jealous of what?”
Cody rolled his eyes. “I could’ve watched Max, you know. Dad says I’m the man of the house when he’s gone, and that’s a man’s job.”
I shook my head as I tried not to smile too much. “Actually, any job can be done by either a man or a woman. That’s the benefit of modern society.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Cody grumbled.
Sandy cackled with laughter. “I think he’s got a crush on you, Miss Molly.”
“I do not! Make her stop!” Cody exclaimed.
I held up my hands. “All right, all right, all right. I think you two need a nap before you eat.”
Sandy pouted. “But, but, but I’m hungry.”
I pointed to the house. “Then, get inside so I can feed you and stop making each other upset. You’re not that bored, you’re just that tired. So, come on. Let’s go. Out of the van.”
The kids grumbled and mumbled to themselves as they slid from their seats. They dragged themselves inside like they were strapped to fifty-pound lead weights and I giggled at their theatrics. Max flopped onto the cool marbled floors, his eyes already closing as I fished around for something quick to make for the kids.
And after they stuffed their bellies full of macaroni and cheese, I didn’t hear another peep out of them once they collapsed into their beds.
“Finally, some silence,” I whispered.
I went and filled Max’s water and food bowl for when he did wake up, then I started on some chores around the house. I emptied the dishwasher and filled it back up. I took stock of what we needed in terms of groceries. I checked my voice messages to make sure I hadn’t heard from their parents at all, and then I mopped the grimy kitchen floor so it would shine like I knew it could.
Then, I fell face first onto the couch in the living room and relished the silence.
I turned over and pulled a blanket over me from off the back of the couch. I worked my phone out of my pocket and scrolled through my social media, but in the back of my mind all I wanted to do was text Cole. I didn’t want to seem needy, though. He did say he’d call me tonight. But I found myself checking the clock on my phone a little too much and getting a little too frustrated when only a couple of minutes had passed instead of a couple of hours.
Why in the world am I so attracted to this stranger?
It was so unlike me, and yet it felt so right. Usually, I felt the need to get to know someone first before I determined whether or not I liked them. And while Bridget—my best friend—would tell people that it was because of my trust issues surrounding my father, I still didn’t understand why Cole was different.
Why he felt so different.
The idea of spending more time with him tomorrow spread a smile across my cheeks, and for once I was actually excited about something in my life. I mean, yes, I enjoyed nannying the kiddos. But my nannying position didn’t leave much room to be excited about other things in my life. I didn’t have time for hobbies or personal attachments. I didn’t have time to make a home for myself or generally maintain the apartment I did rent out. Bridget always hated coming over to my place whenever she came in from San Diego. There were no pictures on the walls, no decorations on any of the tables, and I had the absolute bare minimum in terms of furniture.
She likened my apartment to a grimy jail cell on Guantanamo Bay, and while that used to make me laugh, I also understood why she felt that way.
But who had the time to decorate when I spent almost eleven hours of my day in someone else’s house?
With someone else’s kids?
I turned over onto my side and kept scrolling through Facebook. I saved a few memes I thought were hysterical and came across a couple of news articles that dove me down rabbit holes. It kept my mind occupied enough to keep from checking the time every fucking minute, but it didn’t do much to abate my anxiety.
I mean, when would he call?
I tried to focus on something else. Anything else, other than when Cole might call me. If he’d ever call me. I kept myself as occupied as I possibly could, but I found myself fantasizing about what we might get into tomorrow. Would he take me out for dinner? Or possibly lunch? Maybe we’d go on a walk with his dog, or head back to the dog park and simply talk with to-go lunches in our laps.
I found myself preferring the latter alternative, if only because there would be less stress put on us to entertain each other.
I had always been terrible at entertaining people.
At least, that was what Bridget always told me.
I scrolled through my contacts and thought about texting her, but Cole’s number sat right beneath hers. My thumb hovered back and forth between their names, unsure of where to drop. On the one hand, Bridget would want every single sordid detail, even though there were none to be told. But on the other hand, if I texted Cole, I might look desperate or untrusting since he did say he’d call.
Nevertheless, my thumb pressed against Cole’s number and an empty text message popped up.
“Here goes nothing,” I whispered.
Me: Just wanted to let you know we got home okay.
I groaned as I dropped my phone onto my chest. What an absolutely pathetic thing to say to someone I had only just met. He didn’t give a shit that I had gotten home okay. We weren’t at that level yet. We were still miles away from that level, and I just made myself look like a desperate idiot.
That is, until he texted back.
Cole: Good. I’m glad. The kids asleep?
I smiled as I messaged back quickly. But not too quickly, you know?
Me: Oh, yeah. Passed right out after a hot bowl of mac n cheese. Max is snoring in the foyer, too. Poor guy didn’t even make it into the kitchen to eat.
I saw that he read my message automatically, so I waited eagerly for his response.
Cole: Yeah, I think Opie will be the same. I’m packing him up now. Give me a few and I’ll call.
Those four minutes were the most excruciating of my entire life. But when my phone vibrated in my hand, I picked it up immediately.
Only to hear his car engine revving in the background.
“On the phone while driving, you naughty boy, you.”
He chuckled into my ear and it sent a shockwave throughout my entire body.
How the hell did this man have such an effect on me?
“Yeah, well, I’ve been known to do some pretty naughty things in my day,” he said.
I drew in a deep breath. “Well, don’t get yourself killed while being distracted. I’d hate to lose Opie.”
“Oh, yeah. Totally. I bet you’d miss him.”
“I mean, everyone would! He’s a very cute dog.”
“I could be a very cute dog.”
I snorted with my giggles. “You’re already cute, but are you a dog?”
His voice sounded in his lower register and my toes curled. “You want to find out?”
I swallowed hard. “So, these plans for tomorrow. What are they? Because you talk like you already know them, but you have yet to clue me in on them.”
His engine revved again as Opie barked in the background. “I mean, we could go get food.”
“Food is always good.”
“We could also take Opie back to the dog park.”
I smiled. “We could do that as well.”
“Or Opie could spend the day at home resting and I could take you out on a ride.”
“You know, I thought I saw you in a convertible, right?”
He chuckled. “Yes, I do have a convertible. But I was thinking more along the lines of taking you on a ride on my bike.”
I paused. “Your bike?”
“Yeah. My motorcycle.”
My eyes widened. “You have a motorcycle?”
“What? You think I wear leather for no good reason?”
I rolled over onto my stomach. “Clearly, you did today, since you didn’t ride out to the park on your bike.”
He paused. “You make a very good point.”
I barked with laughter. “How about we go on a ride on your bike, get food, and then if we’ve got time we can switch over and take Opie out for a walk or something?”
“I like the way you think, Miss Molly.”
My smile grew so big that it hurt my cheeks. “Then, it’s a plan for me.”
“Well, it’s a date for me, so I gotta figure out how to get you on my level.”
I blushed furiously. “All right, it’s a date, then.”
“Good. You had me worried there for a second. I thought maybe I gave off that ‘friendzone’ sort of vibe.”
“Trust me, you most certainly didn’t.”
He chuckled. “Really, now? And, uh, what kind of vibe did I actually give off?”
The kind that makes me want to jump your bones. “The kind of vibe that says you want to jump my bones.”
“Ho-ho-ho! I hear someone calling me out. Is that what’s currently happening? Because we can totally talk about how your tits stayed puckered for me through your—”
I gasped and sat upright in a flash. “You didn’t see that, did you?”
He laughed out loud. “Don’t worry, I don’t think anyone else saw. But I most certainly saw.”
“Oh, my God. I’m mortified.”
“Aw, don’t sweat it, beautiful. Just made me eager to see them for myself one day.”
I paused. “So, is that all this is?”
He paused along with me. “What?”
I drew in a deep breath. “Look, I don’t care if that’s all you want. You’re a very handsome man, and it has been a very long time since I’ve been with anyone. And if that’s all you’re looking for, that’s grand. I’m all for it. I just need to know upfront so I don’t misinterpret anything, you know?”
I heard him shuffling around and calling for Opie before a door closed on his end of the line. Or maybe it opened. I sat there on bated breath, waiting for his response. Waiting for him to tell me what was going on. Waiting for him to give me the “yay” or “nay.”
Then, after what seemed like an hour, he finally spoke. “No, sex isn’t all I want.”
I sighed with relief. “Oh, good. Okay. Because I was about to have to change my entire mindset to get ready for tomorrow if that wasn’t the case.”
I heard his grin through the phone. “I really made an impact on you, didn’t I?”
I rolled my eyes. “Says the guy who kept staring at me all day today.”
“You make very valid points, you know that?”
I giggled for the umpteenth time that day. “I’ve been known to hold my own in a lively debate.”
“So, is this the part where I ask for your address so I can pick you up tomorrow? Or are we going to do one of those things where you meet me somewhere other than your place because you don’t want some leather-bound, bike-riding stranger to know where you live?”
I leaned back against the couch. “I suppose that depends.”
“On…?”
“On whether or not you’re going to skin me alive in the middle of the night if I hand over my address.”
“Nah. That stuff has never appealed to me. I’d rather feel your entire body against mine instead of just your skin.”
I sputtered with laughter. “Jesus, Cole. You’re insane.”
“In all the best ways, or so I’ve been told.”
I sighed. “I’ll take a leap of faith and trust you with it, but if I feel weirded out at all—”
“As God as my witness, all I want is to spend time with you tomorrow, no matter what we get ourselves into.”
He sounded so sincere, and it warmed my heart. “I’ll shoot it to you in a text before I go to bed tonight.”
“Wonderful. I’ll keep an eye out for it. How does ten o’clock sound? I can bring coffee, we can chill out for a bit, and then we’ll take a nice bike ride along the oceanic route before we get lunch.”
I sighed. “That sounds perfect. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me, too. Now, you go and wrangle those kids before they wrangle you.”
I shook my head. “You’re wonderful, you know that?”
He laughed softly. “I’m beginning to form the same opinion of you.”
“So, up until this point you thought I wanted to skin you, too?”
“Hey, girls can be murderers, too. Just saying.”
I covered my mouth to keep from laughing out loud. “I have to go start figuring out what to do for dinner.”
“Then, you better get off the phone with this weirdo, that’s all I’m saying.”
My stomach hurt from laughing so hard. “I’ll text you soon, I promise.”
“Good. But just know that when I get impatient, I might blow you up until you respond.”
I closed my eyes and relished his words. “Sounds just fine to me, so long as you don’t mind the treatment back.”
“Trust me, I like a good clingy side in a girl. Makes me feel needed.”
Me, too. “We’ll talk soon. I promise.”
“Same. Talk soon.”
And when I hung up the phone, I found myself ecstatic about the idea of tomorrow.
So much so, that I shot him my address before my ass even left the cushions of the couch.
