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Lena double tied her running shoes, picked up her iPod, and slid the slim device into the hidden pocket on her joggers. She pushed the earbuds into her ears and started her playlist before pulling the hood of her sweatshirt over her head. From her front door, she could run the length of six blocks and back home again in an hour, completing one and a half miles.
She picked up the key to the house and slipped it into her bra between her breasts and added the mini can of mace to her side pocket. Other women hated any jostling against them when they ran, but she liked music, and she wasn't stupid enough not to have some kind of protection on her.
Stretching her arms behind her, she walked across the room and opened the door. The chill in the air swept over her, and she inhaled deeply, loving the cooler weather when she exercised. She jogged down the driveway taking note of her neighbors. Mrs. Shop-addict carried her Nordstrom bags into her house across the street. Two doors down, Mr. Big Hat stood at his workbench in his garage, adding another birdhouse to his collection. None of her neighbors had names because she'd never introduced herself to them.
Preferring to be a loner, she took advantage of watching their lives from the outside. She found it entertaining to look into their houses at night before the drapes were pulled. Nobody ever believed someone was watching them and went about their normal activities. Viewing the behaviors of families who had successfully found love, happiness, and laughter somehow always made her feel better without the added pressure of knowing them personally.
Though, she never left her curtains open once the street lights came on because she protected her privacy. She never wanted someone to look at her and think she was abnormal.
At the corner, she looked up and jogged in place as a motorcyclist roared down the street toward her. She watched as he zoomed past her, remembering Thad and fascinated at the dynamics of riding a motorcycle. Something she'd never given much thought to before meeting a biker.
The rider braked and turned the motorcycle around on the road. She looked in the opposite direction and stayed on the sidewalk in case there was a chance of her getting run over while attempting to cross the street. Instead of going past her, the biker pulled up in front of her and shut off his bike. She backed up, planning to run back to her house and wait until he was out of the area when he called her name.
She turned back around. The biker took off his helmet. She relaxed and jogged over to him.
"I didn't know it was you," she blurted, warmed that he was here in front of her.
He frowned. "You were scared?"
"No." She stepped closer, pulled off the hood to her sweatshirt, and then ran her fingers over the handlebar of his motorcycle. "Cautious."
He leaned back while sitting on the motorcycle and eyed her from head to toe and back up again to her eyes. "You're a runner?"
"No, I run because I pigged out on Chinese food and s'mores ice cream last night with you." She laughed. "I keep trying to convince myself that if I worked harder on having will power, I wouldn't have to force myself to pound the pavement on my days' off. So far, I'm stubborn and like to eat."
The corner of his mouth lifted. Her stomach fluttered. She was more nervous than she'd been last night around him.
He was a man whose looks spoke of his past. The lines on his face from age, weather, and life gave him character and transformed when he smiled. Every line fell into place marking the times in his life he found joy, the times he squinted showed his stubbornness, and the times his brows drew together perplexed her. It was as if he'd lived two lifetimes and seen heartbreak. Something she hadn't really noticed last night in the darkness.
There was something about seeing him during the daylight, on a street corner, while wearing her joggers and her hair up in a ponytail that made her want to rattle off a line of excuses for why she was out here.
"I was coming to your house to see you." He squinted. "But, if you're going out for a run, I'll let you get to it and swing by later."
He'd come to her. Had he thought about whether she was worth his time to get to know her better? He was here, obviously.
"Don't be silly." She waved her hand behind her at her house. "Would you like to come in?"
He nodded. She grinned and turned around, retracing her steps. The roar of his motorcycle filled the air. She wanted to jump in excitement at seeing him again, and so soon, and instead hurried toward the front door. Her plan to exercise a forgotten good intention. She rather have more time with Thad to find out if he could step up and put some serious effort into finding out if the chemistry bouncing between them could turn into spending quality time with her.
She stood in the doorway looking at Thad leaving his bike in her driveway. The scene of a biker parked at her house, coming in her home, was an image she never thought she'd be excited over.
The closer Thad came, the more her lower stomach clenched in pleasure. She stepped back as his boot landed over the threshold. Inhaling deeply, loving the rugged leather and freshness coming off his body, she bit her lip to keep from telling him she liked his smell. Half high on the endorphins his body threw off, she yelped in surprise when Thad hooked his arm around her back and hauled her up against the front of him.
He captured her mouth. She fell into the kiss, opening her lips at his urging. He could've walked away without seeing her again, and he'd sought her out. He'd made the step toward her.
Thad pressed his hand against her lower back, holding her close. Every hard muscle on his body made an imprint on her. She slipped her hands underneath his vest and closed her eyes at the sheer pleasure sweeping through her.
"Just so you know, I want to be here." He pulled back without letting her go. "You understand?"
An instant smile came over her. "Good."
"Now..." He bent his head and kissed her neck. "Do you want to show me your bedroom?"
She laughed and quickly sobered. "What are we going to do?"
"Fuck," he mumbled with a grin.
She pushed him away, amused at the attempt. If he was anything, he was determined.
"Okay. Sit anywhere you want in the house, except the bedroom." She stepped away from him and swung her arm around. "I'll get you something to drink or eat. Are you hungry?"
He sat on the couch. "Relax. I don't need anything."
She pressed her hand to her stomach, sidestepped to the couch, and slunk down until she perched on the edge of the cushion. Last night, she'd had her shit together. Confident and ballsy, she'd told him exactly what she wanted and refused to settle for less. She'd been proud of herself because she figured with the way Thad looked and the way he acted, not many people stood up to him with a different opinion.
It was because he was a biker, she had hope that he'd understand what kind of relationship she was looking for and accommodate her.
She wiggled out of her hoodie and tossed it to the side of her on the couch. How come she was nervous and drawing a blank on what was expected of her now?
"So..." She looked at him and wrinkled her nose. "I'm sorry. Maybe it's having you here, at my house, or not knowing you were going to stop by—which is fine, better than that, it's great, and I'm being stupid. I just don't know what to say or do."
His gaze warmed and his mouth softened as if he enjoyed her discomfort. "It's eleven o'clock in the morning. What do you usually do on your day off?"
"Jog or go on a bike ride." He wouldn't want to do either of those things with her, and she shrugged. "Catch up on laundry, clean the house, and mow the lawn."
There went the neon sign above her head flashing 'BORING'.
"How about I mow your lawn. You get a load of wash going and clean what you want to clean. Afterward, we go over to Vavoom's for lunch. By then, you'll feel like yourself again, and I'll take you for a ride. Have you ever been on a motorcycle?"
She shook her head.
"Scared?" he asked.
"Are you kidding?" She laughed, relaxing at the plans and excited to spend the day with him. "The only thing better would be if you offered to teach me how to drive your motorcycle."
"Ride, not drive," he muttered. "That ain't happening."
She grinned, unable to feel the sting of his refusal when he looked sexy saying it. "Where will we go?"
"I'll let you know when we get there." He stood, grabbed her hand, and pulled her to her feet. "Is the mower in the garage?"
"Do you really want to mow, cause you don't have to?" She ran her hand through her hair, tucking the wayward strand back into her ponytail.
"Just tell me where the mower is," he said.
"The garage. There's a can of gas beside it. Also, there's a door opener on the wall so you can open the garage."
"Back door?"
She pointed behind her. "Through the kitchen."
Thad walked toward her, kissed her, and left the room. She reached out and held on to the back of the couch. The door closed with a soft click, and she laughed. The sound a little insane and giddy to have come from her. She whispered, "Well, he certainly goes full throttle when he makes up his mind, doesn't he?"
Over the next hour, she'd washed a load of clothes, cleaned her fridge out, and made her bed after putting clean sheets on. She transferred the clothes from the wash to the dryer when Thad yelled her name.
"In the laundry room," she shouted back, pushing the button on the console.
When he failed to find her, she walked out and found him standing in the garage with the door open. He pointed to his boots. "Are you close to being ready to go? I don't want to track grass clippings through your house."
She blew out her breath. His momma raised him right.
"Sure, let me change clothes and—"
"Why?" He frowned.
She tugged the material at her hip. "I don't wear these out unless I'm exercising."
He gazed lower at her hips and whistled low. "I still don't get why not."
"Uh...sloppy." She pulled the material up, wondering how it'd escaped her notice how the waistband of the joggers naturally fell to her hips and even the Tee she wore failed to touch the waistband.
He scratched the whiskers on his jaw. "You're sexier than hell, Lena."
"But, we're going to Vav—"
"A bar." He chuckled. "Grab a coat, cause it gets chilly on the bike this time of year. You're fine wearing what you've got on. Better than fine. You're beautiful, and it wouldn't matter what you had on...or off."
Laughter burst out of her, and she nudged his shoulder with her fist. "Tell me, you did not have that whole reply rehearsed and slip it into the conversation to try and get me naked."
He looked away, his eyes crinkled at the corners. "I had a lot of time to think of you naked while mowing your lawn."
She shook her head in amusement and held up her finger. "Okay, hang on. Give me five minutes to throw myself together, grab my purse and jacket."
Hyped that Thad found her sexy in anything, she hurried into the bathroom, used the toilet, brushed her hair, her teeth, put lipstick on, and spritzed perfume on the back of her neck. Then, she fanned the air and walked in a circle hoping the scent wasn't overpowering.
She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and groaned. Thad was waiting for her, and she was hiding away trying to fix the unfixable. She left the bathroom, grabbed a black and white coat that resembled a letterman's jacket with the word "FIERCE" across the back.
If he liked sporty, she had a whole closet full of athletic clothes to wear.
Finding him outside in her driveway, having closed the garage, she walked out the front door, locking it behind her, and jogged over to him. His double take, up and down her body, pleased her.
"I'm ready." She took the helmet from him, glanced at the strap, and put it on her head.
He hooked her chin with his finger. "You'll climb on behind me, hold on, lean into the curves. When we stop, you get off first."
"That's it?"
"It's simple enough if you don't get scared," he said.
"Got it. No fear." She followed the directions exactly and wrapped her arms around him once she put her feet on the pegs.
The sudden roar of the engine filled her with adrenaline. Exhaust fumes mixed with the sweetness of freshly cut grass teased her senses. She held on tight as he rode down her street. For more years than she could remember, she'd kept to herself, only knowing her neighbors by sight. Today, she had a sudden urge to shout and wave at everyone they passed.