Page 33 of Ace of Spades

“Ready to head back?”

“Yeah, it’s getting late.” As they walked back to the bike, her hand in his, she said, “I guess this date isn’t turning out to be what you expected.”

He chuckled. “I told you I’ve never dated before. For my first one, it’s been ... Um, let’s say unusual. I’m really sorry about Henry. For a fish, he was a cool dude.”

“He was that.”

When they reached his bike, Nate handed her the helmet. “Ready?” he asked after she’d buckled the strap.

“Yep.” She climbed on behind him, once again wrapping her arms around his waist. That was her favorite part of riding with him. Too soon, they were back at her place. He parked next to her car, and when he cut off the engine, it seemed too quiet.

“You should wear ear protection before you lose your hearing,” she said as she hopped off and moved to face him.

“I usually do.” He leaned forward, draping his arms over the handlebars. “I should probably go home.”

“Why? I thought ...” She trailed off, not sure what she should say. Had he changed his mind?

He captured her gaze. “Are you sure it’s a good idea? You and I?”

She pulled off the helmet. “I do, but you seem to be having second thoughts.”

“Our friendship means a lot to me. I don’t want to screw that up.”

“I thought we’d settled this. The minute either one of us wants to call it quits, we do, and it has nothing to do with our being friends.” She sighed. “Nate, I’m a big girl. I’m going into this with open eyes, okay? Whatever this is between us isn’t going to go away. If we don’t douse the fire, we’re both going to end up combusting.” And far back in the recesses of her mind, so deep that she only got occasional glimpses, was the idea that someday, he might fall in love with her.

He laughed. That was the third time, and yes, she was counting. Hopefully with practice, he’d do it more often. “Come in with me.”

“For the purpose of fire prevention, then.”

“Well, listen to that. Nate Gentry made a joke.”

“Don’t get used to it,” he said as he swung a leg over his bike.

“Act tough all you want, but I saw that smile you just tried to hide.” After his bike was locked up, she slipped her hand into his as they walked to her apartment. “Why don’t you laugh? Is life really that terrible?”

“It made our old man mad if we laughed. If we were having fun, then we weren’t doing our chores.”

“What would he do?”

“Beat the ever-living daylights out of us.”

He’d been conditioned not to be happy, and that was sad. Sometimes he would open up about his childhood, and each time he did, it made her want to cry for him and his brothers. But she never let that show. He’d hate it if he thought she pitied him, and if he knew she did, he’d clam up and never share again. So she kept her pity to herself.

She handed him her door key. “You should start laughing just to piss the bastard off.”

He grinned as he pushed her door open. “That’s why I like you, tiger. Always ready to spit in the face of all the bad guys in the world.”

“I’d spit in his for sure.” Now that she had Nate in her house, nerves struck. When they’d returned from dinner and dancing, the sexual tension between them had been palpable, and then Henry dying had cooled them down. Should she take him straight to her bedroom? Let him take the lead? She hated being unsure of herself.