Page 97 of Forbidden Billionaires, Vol. 9

Saturday

I changed my shirt for the fifth time. Kristen had gotten into my head about my outfit and I’d spent all morning obsessing until the point where I decided I hated everything in my closet.

But what I wore didn’t matter at all. I was thinking too much.

My lifeguard and I were just friends. That was it.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

A tank top was a tank top. Which was kind of Kristen’s point.

It was tempting to go to my closet and pull out a few dresses, but I knew that I was being ridiculous.

I blamed the butterflies in my stomach. They were betraying my mind.

We’re just friends, butterflies. Fly away.

Or stay. Oy vey. I laughed out loud at the weird rhyming in my head.

Oh God, I’m losing my mind. Maybe the butterflies had scattered and some had gotten stuck to my brain.

I shook my head, like that would fix the problem.

A knock sounded on my door. My heartbeat kicked up a notch. Calm down. I leaned closer to the mirror to check my makeup one last time. I added a bit more mascara, grabbed my purse as I rushed through the apartment, and opened the door.

My lifeguard was leaning against my doorframe with his arms crossed.

He looked like sex on a stick. I had only ever seen him in his lifeguard swim trunks.

He had ditched the sunglass and was wearing khaki shorts and a tight V-neck shirt.

His eyes matched his shirt and I had the strangest sensation that I wanted to maul him.

“Hey,” I tried to say casually, but it came out breathless after my rush over to the door. I needed to start exercising, I was truly out of shape. Or maybe I was breathless because of him.

He smiled and looked over my shoulder. "Nice place."

"Oh, thanks." I stepped to the side to block his view of the clothes strewn all over the studio apartment. If he was waiting for an invitation in, that was 100 percent not going to happen. I wasn’t sure if I knew how to keep my hands to myself, so being alone with him was out of the question. You weren’t supposed to touch friends inappropriately. Even sexy ones.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Mhm." I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. Luckily he didn’t reach for my hand or anything. If he had, I probably would have melted into a puddle at his feet. Instead of turning into liquid, I walked down the wooden steps after him.

There was a motorcycle parked in the driveway and I almost felt compelled to roll my eyes. Of course he rides a motorcycle. Because his current hotness level wasn’t already off the charts.

He grabbed a helmet off the seat. "Have you ever been on one?" he asked and handed it to me.

"No, I haven’t. But I've always wanted to." My mother had warned me at a young age that only bad boys rode motorcycles. Boys that I shouldn’t get tied up with. Not that her love life could be trusted. She’d probably dated more men than she could ever remember.

Including said motorcycle guy where her advice had originated.

And honestly, being a good girl hadn’t exactly landed me in a good place. My life was in shambles.

All my own issues rolling around in my head came to a stop when I thought back to my mother’s warning. What the heck did she even mean by boys I shouldn’t get tied up with? What kind of kinky stuff was my mom into? God, why am I thinking about this?

"It's your lucky day then." He picked up another helmet and put it on.

It did feel like my lucky day, and I was glad he was here to distract me from my overactive imagination. Besides, how much of a bad boy could he be? He was wearing a helmet, so he was at least practical. I pulled my helmet on and fumbled with the straps.

"Here, let me." He clipped the straps together and then looked into my eyes as he tightened the cords.

I gulped. The way he was looking at me made my whole body feel warm. I was glad I remembered deodorant or I’d be a few seconds away from embarrassing pit stains.

He let go of the straps and got onto the motorcycle. "Hop on," he said.

I climbed on behind him and held my breath.

Was I supposed to grab onto him? Would I fall off if I didn’t?

Just grab him. Get it over with. I lifted one arm and right before I touched him, I pulled back.

Maybe you only had to hold on to the person in front of you in movies.

Like a romantic thing. And this was a friend date.

It wasn’t like I’d go flying off the back of it.

I could just lean forward a little without actually touching him.

He laughed and turned his head. "You have to hold on to me."

Well, since he was offering…I wrapped my arms around him right away. I could feel his abs through his shirt. This really is the best day ever.

He started the engine and the motorcycle roared to life. "Hold on tight!" he said as he pulled out of the driveway. As soon as the front wheel hit the pavement he really hit the gas.

I screamed and gripped him tighter.

He responded by accelerating even more.

If I hadn’t been holding on to him, I would have flown off the back of the motorcycle and onto the car behind us.

The way they showed it in movies was exactly right.

I needed to hold on for dear life. And the fact that his ab muscles seemed to tense beneath my fingertips was a very nice added bonus.

I pressed the side of my head against his back and watched as the houses flew by.

I felt alive when I was with him. It was the same feeling I had when I was in the water with him the other night.

That I wanted to cling to him and never let go.

I had wasted so much time believing that life had taken a crap on me and feeling sorry for myself about it.

But maybe I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Right here on the back of a motorcycle about to be tied up with a bad boy. As friends.

The ride ended far too soon. He pulled smoothly into a parking spot and pulled off his helmet. I was still holding on to him.

"So how was your first time?" he asked and looked over his shoulder at me. He put his hand on top of mine.

"So much fun. Why does anyone ever drive a car?"

"Probably so that they can go shopping and have a place to put stuff.” He got off the motorcycle. "Did I mention that I'm just going to abandon you here after we're done?"

I laughed. “That would be very ungentlemanly of you.”

He unstrapped my helmet for me, taking his time. He’d practically held my hand a few seconds ago. And now he was staring at me in that way again. It felt too intimate. Or maybe perfectly intimate. Which was why it had to stop.

I cleared my throat. “Stranding your friend at the outlets would also so be a very rude thing to do. Especially a new friend.” I pulled the helmet off and handed it to him.

As he put it down, I quickly ran my fingers through my hair to make sure it didn't look crazy.

"And it would also be an awful way to repay me for helping you. "

"We'll see how the day goes I guess.”

"Don't you dare leave me here," I said and lightly nudged his arm.

"I would never leave you." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked over at one of the signs.

I would never leave you. The words repeated in my head like they were lyrics in a super lazy and repetitive chorus.

Why was he making it so hard to just be his friend?

I would never leave you. My heart couldn’t even handle the sweetness after the months it spent turning sour and bitter.

I knew he just meant it in a today way. Like he wasn’t going to abandon me in the middle of a parking lot just because he needed space for his purchases.

But it still felt nice to hear. Especially after how Aiden treated me.

And my dad too. I would never leave you.

My throat suddenly felt like it was constricting, like I was holding back tears.

Do not cry on this friend date, Mila. Do not make this weird.

"So, where to?" he asked.

"Um..." Thank you for another perfect distraction.

I swallowed down the lump in my throat and willed it to stay away.

I hadn't really thought today through. I had never gone clothes shopping with a guy before.

The only store I knew on the sign that had men's clothing was Express. "This way," I said.

We walked together into the store and into the men's section. "What size pants do you wear?" I asked.

"Medium."

"No, I mean like the number size."

He shrugged his shoulders.

I laughed. "This is going to be a long afternoon."

We walked around and grabbed some work-appropriate things.

I stood outside the dressing room and waited for him.

He said he would never leave me. Why had he said that?

Of course he would leave me. All we had was this one summer together.

I was beginning to think that every relationship was limited.

Nothing was forever. Relationships were as fleeting as the summer sun.

When he came out, I couldn't help but laugh. The dress pants were too short, but the collared shirt fit really well.

"You're pretty terrible at this," he said with a smile.

"Actually, you look very trendy. Besides, you have other pants back there that are longer. I was trying to figure out your size. Come here."

He walked over to me. I rolled up the sleeves on his dress shirt so that his muscular forearms showed. He had looked good before, but now? He was going to go off to his fancy new job and get a new girlfriend in a snap. The thought turned my stomach.

"This shirt looks really good on you,” I said. “Don't I get any credit for that?"

"It's uncomfortable."

"What do you mean it’s uncomfortable?” I had just touched it and the fabric felt fine to me. “It's just a normal shirt." I reached behind his neck and looked at the collar. "It's 100% cotton."

"I'd rather wear a t-shirt."