Page 83 of Bone’s Choice

He nodded once. “All right.”

That was apparently it.

I waited. Bone didn’t say anything else. Neither did I because I’d officially reached my embarrassment limit for the evening.

He started toward his bike. “I’ll see you around, Hazel.”

“Yep.” Yep? That was what I came up with? Yep. Excellent work.

Bone walked to his motorcycle and I took another drink, pretending I was extremely interested in the trees across the road.

The bike started. Bone backed out of Pink’s driveway, and for a second, I thought he might look over again.

He didn’t. He turned toward the dead end and headed down the road.

The sound of the engine followed him until eventually it faded into the distance.

I stared after him and then I let my head fall back against the chair.

“Stupid.” I closed my eyes.

Why had I asked?

I could’ve said hello. Asked how he was. Made some stupid joke. Anything.

Instead, I’d practically jumped off the porch yelling, “Take me now, Bone.”

Okay. Maybe it hadn’t been that bad, but it felt that bad.

I lifted the wine cooler and took a longer drink.

Friday night had seemed pretty clear. At least I’d thought it had.

Bone had followed me outside.

He’d admitted he’d wanted to talk to me alone. He’d told me he was checking me out. He’d said he didn’t plan on stopping. Then he’d invited me to go for a ride.

I’d thought we’d been... What?

Flirting? Obviously.

Interested? I’d thought so.

There had definitely been a pull between us. I could feel it every time he looked at me. Hell, I’d felt it the first day I’d met him.

Not some ridiculous love-at-first-sight thing. Nothing like that.

Bone was just a man I noticed. A lot.

When he was around, I knew where he was. When he looked at me, I felt it. When he got close, I wanted him closer.

Maybe I’d read more into Friday night than I should have. Maybe Bone was just like that.

Flirty.

Confident.

The kind of man who could stand six inches away from a woman, look at her mouth, and make her think he was about to kiss her without having any intention of actually doing it.