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“Are you up for it?”

I picked up my spoon and held it in the air like a sword. “Bring it.”

We didn’t manage to finish the whole thing, so Delaney asked for a box and I said she could have the leftovers.

When the bill arrived, Delaney snatched it.

“We could have split it,” I said as she shoved her card in the book and set it back on the table for our server.

“Next time,” she said. I couldn’t stop my eyebrows from going up.

“Next time?” I asked.

“Next time,” she nodded.

Oh.

* * *

Delaneyand I walked back toward the gym together. “Where are you parked?”

“I walked,” she said.

“Do you want a ride? My car is right there.” I pointed a few spaces away where I’d somehow managed to snag an on-street spot.

She shrugged. “Sure.”

For the few steps it took to reach my car, I panicked that there was something embarrassing inside.

I unlocked the doors and blurted out “sorry, it’s a mess,” before Delaney shoved herself into the passenger seat with her bag and her rolled up yoga mat.

Chucking my stuff in the backseat, I winced at the amount of random crap scattered around. A bag of old clothes I intended to donate to the thrift store, a box with something I was supposed to return but had forgotten about, more than a few receipts and spare napkins. My car wasn’t dirty, but it was messy. There was a difference.

Delaney didn’t seem to mind, and she hummed softly to herself as I pulled out of the space and onto the street.

“So, um, where do you live?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t asked her.

“Oh, sorry.” She gave me the address and I put it into my phone that I set in the holder attached to the dash. A detached British voice told me to turn left at the next intersection.

I was going to see where Delaney lived, and I was trying not to read too much into that. She wasn’t going to be inviting me up for coffee or anything, so it wasn’t that big a deal. Still. It was another peek into her life. Another layer of her that I was getting a peek at.

Less than three minutes later, we had arrived. She really did live close to the gym.

Her building was brick and rectangular and pretty nondescript, but it looked homier and nicer than so many of the newer construction gray boxes that had popped up around the city.

“It’s not the best, but it’s not the worst,” Delaney said, her hand on the door. “Um, thanks for the ride. I guess… I’ll see you later?”

I gripped the steering wheel with both hands and told my heart to calm the fuck down. It had gotten confused and had decided this was the end of a date and there was the possibility of a kiss.

There was absolutely not going to be a kiss. Not in a million years.

“Yeah, you’re welcome. And thanks for the burger. It was just what I needed.”

“Okay, bye.” She pushed the door open and I watched her walk into her building. I stayed in my spot until I was sure she was safe inside.

My phone lit up with a message.

Going to eat this in bed laterDelaney sent with a picture of the box with the leftover cookie in it.