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Tank

“Again?”

I shrugged on my jacket and didn’t even try to hide it. “Yeah.”

Moose stared at me like I’d lost my damn mind. “Bro, are you serious?”

I grabbed my bike keys from the dresser. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I mean, are you serious right now? This chick doesn’t sound like one of the girls you normally hook up with.”

I grunted but didn’t say anything.

Maddie wasn’t like other girls.

If she was, I would’ve already slept with her. Simple as that. I wouldn’t be standing here, fielding Moose’s judgment and heading out into the night for the second time in a row just to see her.

If she was working by herself again, I was going to be there. No question. If her friend was there too, I’d check in, maybe talk to her for a few minutes, and head back here. Harmless.

“She’s got a kid, man,” Moose said. Normally, that would be a dealbreaker.

“Yeah. I know.”

He gave me a look like I’d just told him I was planning on marrying a nun. “And that doesn’t scare the fucking shit out of you, man?”

It didn’t.

Which was… weird.

There’d been plenty of times when the second a woman even mentioned she had a kid, I was already mentally packing up and moving on. Ghost mode. No hesitation.

But Maddie hadn’t made me feel that way.

She’d told me about her son, and instead of running, I’d found myself wanting to know more. Not just about him, but about her.

I shrugged. “Not really.”

Moose let out a low whistle, then shook his head and leaned back against the headboard. He laced his fingers behind it like he was watching a slow-motion train wreck. “Man, you are crazy.”

Maybe I was. But I didn’t care.

Something about Maddie just felt… right. I didn’t have some deep poetic reason for it.

And I knew I wouldn’t sleep worth a damn if I didn’t at least check in to see if she was working by herself again tonight.

I headed for the door. “Don’t wait up for me.”

Moose chuckled behind me. “Yeah, I won’t, man. Have fun.”

I gave him a quick nod and stepped out into the night.

The air was brisk, same as the night before. Not cold enough to see your breath, but enough to wake you up the second it hit your skin. My boots hit the pavement with a solid rhythm as I crossed the lot to where my bike was parked.

I turned the key and twisted the throttle. The engine cracked to life with a deep, satisfying growl that vibrated through my chest and into my bones. I let it idle for a second, then popped it into gear and rolled out.

The wind tugged at my jacket, but I leaned into it. There was something about riding at night that always settled me—like the dark stripped everything else away.

But tonight wasn’t about the ride.

Tonight was about Maddie.