I reached her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You forgot to pull the clutch. Always pull the clutch when coming to a stop.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was busy trying to stay out of the bushes.”
“Maybe you’re not ready for this and we should quit.”
That challenge got the kind of response I’d hoped for. “Bullpucky. I’m not letting this stupid thing beat me.”
“Okay then. How do we restart?” I asked.
“I got this. Neutral, clutch, gas, starter,” she recited like I’d taught her.
I felt pride as I checked my girl over. She was no shrinking violet, and I’d need that spirit working for me when the week was over and I had to come clean about my past. “Good girl. Let’s try again.”
“Damned straight.” Her eyes lit up through the visor of the helmet.
Would she truly be my girl when the week was up? She would if I had anything to say about it.
Chapter 30
(Six days later)
Debbie
My head lay in Luke’s lap as the movie rolled. My hand played lazily on his thigh.
Now that the popcorn had run out and he wasn’t busy feeding me one kernel at a time, he cupped my breast through my T-shirt, his thumb occasionally circling my braless nipple. Luke was a definite tit man, and going braless in the evening for him had become my norm.
My new phone vibrated with a text, which was odd, because almost nobody had this number.
GARCETTI: I have a check ready for you to pick up or should I mail it somewhere?
Now it made sense. I’d called Mama Garcetti on my way out of town. She hadn’t asked any questions, so I guessed she’d heard about Dom’s visit to the store.
I sent a quick reply
ME: Be by as soon as I can to pick it up.
“What’s up?” Luke asked when I finished.
I showed him the screen, and he nodded.
Tonight’s movie, Titanic, was almost over, and with it our week of indulging in the present with no regard for the past. Tomorrow we’d return to the real world, and it’d demand I face the past and deal with it.
This week had been relaxing, just as Luke had promised, but it had to end, as all good things did.
When I’d learned he liked to run, a morning jog together through the wooded trails behind his cabin had become our daily ritual.
I’d taught him to cook things that didn’t come out of a freezer carton, and in turn, he’d taught me to drive a motorcycle.
All that had been interspersed with long walks, picnics, and spontaneous lovemaking everywhere—including outdoors. Movies and cuddling took over our evenings. Cuddling with a good man, watching a good movie—it couldn’t get any better than this.
I waited for a pause in the action before asking, “Do we have to leave tomorrow?”
He sucked in a breath. “I have to get back for an appointment.”
It had been worth a try, but now I felt bad for asking.
He’d put his life on hold for a week to give me, give us, back the week together I’d wasted by trying to escape to Texas.
I couldn’t expect him to drop his life completely so we could play house here, escaping reality forever.
Luke
I’d told Debbie I had an appointment, but hadn’t clarified that it was my monthly check-in with my parole officer. It was one thing I couldn’t reschedule under any circumstances.
Our week had been a good one, and I hoped we’d become close enough that she’d look beyond the label when we got back and I had to level with her about my past. The proper words still eluded me, or at least they didn’t sound very good when I practiced them in my head.
The movie finished, and the credits began. I turned down the volume.
Debbie rolled onto her back, keeping her head in my lap. “What’d you think?”
“I liked it,” I admitted.
She sniffed. “I didn’t like the ending. It was so sad.”
I pointed out the obvious. “Well, Titanic is a story about a real tragedy.”
“But the movie is really a love story between Rose and Jack, and it should have ended happily.”
I stroked her hair behind her ear. “It couldn’t work.”
She cocked her head. “Each was in love with the other. Of course it could. It’s a love story. That’s how they go.”
“It’s not realistic.” I countered. “It was never going to work between them.”
“Why would you say that? You saw how they were together.”
I stroked my thumb over her cheek. “They were from two different classes. She was from a rich family, and he wasn’t. That difference couldn’t be overcome.”
“Maybe it was tougher then than it is now, but they could have made it work.”
“Red, it hasn’t changed one bit. It still doesn’t work if she’s rich and he’s lower class.”
She ignored my comment. “There was room for him on the wood she was floating on. He should’ve climbed up there so they could both be saved.”
“No. He sacrificed himself for her. Getting on the raft would have endangered her. He was being a realist. He let her go and saved her in more ways than one. He knew it couldn’t work out.”
She sat up. “That’s ridiculous.”
I shrugged. “Just saying how it is.”
“They could have made it work.”
I huffed. “You saw how the family treated him. It would’ve forced them apart and destroyed them. It’s what the rich do.”
Her brows drew together. “You believe that?”
“I’ve seen it in action. They think they’re above everybody else. They don’t need to behave like the rest of us. They think their money buys them the right to ruin other people’s lives. The worst part is, they’re right. It does give them that ability.”
She was about to say something.
I cut that off by pulling her chin up with a finger. “Let’s not argue.”
The twinkle in her eye showed she got my drift. “What did you have in mind instead?”
I closed the distance and began the kiss that would answer her question.
Chapter 31
Debbie
The next morning, we got an early start back to town.
I would have preferred to spend the day in the mountains and ride back as late as possible, but it wasn’t my call to make.
As the trees zoomed past, I relished the feeling on the bike—one of complete freedom. We leaned into turns with the wind whipping by and the engine roaring. Without wings, it was as close to soaring like the eagles as we were going to get. And unlike being in a car, we weren’t separated from the landscape.
As the miles clicked by and the mountains receded, I began to dread our return to civilization. I knew it had to come, and the week Luke had promised had been a hundred times better than I could have hoped. I’d cherish the memories, and as I thought about it, I realized I’d also gone all week without one of my nightmares interfering with my sleep.