your shirt? We didn’t—”
“No, nothing happened,” he replies quickly. “You threw up all over your Little Red outfit, and that’s all I had for you to wear.”
“Really? Why on Earth would you tell me I did that? Please don’t say it’s ruined,” I ask, hoping it isn’t. I really love that costume.
“No, I washed it for you.”
“Thank you,” I say with a sigh of relief. “At least that’s one less thing my dad’s going to kill me for.”
When I turn on my phone, there’s the missed call icon at the top of the screen with a number seven next to it. “Dammit, I’ve missed seven calls today. And they’re all from my dad…great. Wait! My car…it’s still parked in the woods! We have to go get it,” I exclaim.
“Okay, calm down. Go get dressed and then I’ll drive you out there. You’ll have to wear your costume again though, you know that, right?” he says, taking a seat next to me on the bed.
“Yeah, I don’t care. I just need to get my car.”
“Well, your Little Red outfit’s in the bathroom hanging up,” he says, motioning to the open door off to the side.
As I go to push myself off the bed, I stumble and fall into Parker’s arms. He steadies me until I’m able to regain my balance. “This is quite the compromising position, huh?” he asks smoothly, and I notice my hips are positioned right in between his legs. Our faces are so close together that I feel the caress of his breath on the tip of my nose when he speaks. “So, about our little chat last night…I didn’t get a chance to ask you something before you passed out.”
“Oh, really? And what was that?” I ask, ignoring my inner voice that’s yelling at me for not pushing away from him.
A smile shows across his face, and the sight of his picture-perfect dimples brings one to mine. “I wanted to know if you’d be willing to forgive me and possibly take a chance on us again. I’ve missed you like crazy and—”
“I’ll need some time to think about this, okay? I can’t just jump back into the thought of us together,” I reply, pulling away from his arms and standing on my own. “I’m sorry. That’s probably not what you wanted to hear.”
He grins. “Actually, the simple facts that you didn’t punch me in the face just now, and you’re considering us again, are all I need to hear,” he says while moving to be right in front of me.
I nervously brush my hair back, dodging his intent gaze. The moment he reaches up to touch my face, I interrupt the action by backing up. “So, you said my costume’s in the bathroom?”
He drops his hand to his side, clearly picking up that I need some space. “Yeah,” he answers, sounding let-down as he nods toward the bathroom door.
Entering the bathroom, I close myself in and remove the costume from the hanger that rests on the shower curtain rod. I slip into the garment after removing Parker’s shirt, and then study myself critically in the mirror. The first thing I notice is that the costume still has a lingering vomit smell. The second thing is how ridiculous I’m going to look while walking around outside in broad daylight in this getup.
Parker is standing right there to meet me when I open the bathroom door. He’s wearing a sleek, black leather jacket, and has two motorcycle helmets tucked under his arms. “Ready to go?” he asks, handing me one of them.
“You have a motorcycle?”
“Uh-huh.”
“How did you get me home last night if I was passed out?”
He laughs. “It was quite the challenge, that’s for sure.”
“I can’t believe you,” I say, giving him a playful slap on the shoulder. “You risked my unconscious life on your death machine?”
“Relax. I drove my friend’s car to the party last night.”
“Oh.”
“So, do you want head out? Or not?” he asks, motioning with his thumb to the front door.
I nod. “Sure,” I respond, and then follow him out of the room.
When we reach Parker’s motorcycle, he puts on his helmet and proceeds to straddle the bike. After positioning himself, he taps the back part of the seat and waits for me to join him. This should be interesting since I’m wearing a short, puffy skirt. At least I’ll be able to hide my face behind the helmet.
I ease a leg over the bike, trying my damnedest not to flash possible onlookers. I have