Page 31 of Big & Bossy

“Do you want to fall off while I’m going eighty miles per hour?”

“No.”

“Then hold on tight.” I placed my helmet on my head, clicking the visor down. One swift turn of the key and my bike roared to life, the warm hum radiating up through my legs and pelvis. The crowd of paparazzi parted, giving us an easy exit, and as I revved the engine with my hand, Mandy’s arms flew around my waist. The feeling really shouldn’t have been as exciting as it was but the instant her arms wrapped around me I felt a rush of adrenaline.

————

We drove around the outskirts of town before making our way through the peaks, down along Boulder Canyon Drive then all the way to Barker Reservoir before turning back. I made sure to check in with her occasionally, shouting over the surprisingly warm winter wind and the roar of the engine, and every time I looked over my shoulder she was smiling bigger than I’d ever seen. It was a smile I didn’t deserve, but one I planned on working hard to keep.

As we made our way back into the center of town, her arms seemed to grow tired from holding on for so long. They fell downward, each hand resting on the upper part of my thigh, her chest leaning against my back. The ring I’d given her shone brightly in the afternoon light. I almost had to pull over from how fast my heart was racing just from the sight.

If things were different, if I hadn’t grown up in the business that I had, maybe we could have been doing this for the last ten years and I wouldn’t have had to walk away.

I placed my feet on the asphalt as I pulled up to a red light. It had just turned, and I knew damn well how long this one took to complete its cycle, so I gave myself a moment to relax. I leaned back into her, and she didn’t seem to fight it. Her warmth was enough to drive me wild on its own.

“Where are we going now?” She asked, her tone gentle even as she shouted over the roar of the engine.

I lifted my visor so she could hear me better as I turned my head toward her. Without thinking my hand found her thigh, resting gently. She didn’t flinch. “I figured we could go on a walk around Pearl Street. Maybe some quick shopping if you’re up for it. Mostly for the press.”

“Okay.”

We fell into a shockingly comfortable silence as we waited for the light to change. Slowly, easily, I traced little circles on the outside of her thigh, wishing I’d let her wear the skirt instead so I was touching skin instead of jeans. She rested her head on my back, sighing into me, and fuck I wanted to hear that sigh in another context. I wanted to touch her so badly. I wanted to drive us to someplace private and fuck her on the back of my Harley.

The light changed, knocking me back into the present moment. I had to move but the mental strength it took for me to let go of her thigh was almost unnerving. As I began to drive again, I felt her chin on my shoulder and her breath against my neck.

————

Holding her hand was something I wished had happened naturally. But it was for the press, for the occasional snap of a photo that came as we walked down Pearl Street, the light turning low as the sun began to set just below the peaks.

“You can talk to me, you know,” I whispered, leaning down toward her ear.

“There’s not a lot to say. We’re engaged. Surely you know everything about me.”

I snorted a light laugh as I stood up straight. “We can talk quietly, princess. They don’t have to hear.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” She asked, her head snapping in my direction. Her fake smile was plastered on but no one would be able to tell the difference in photos. “It’s not like I still call you panda bear.”

Just hearing her old nickname for me was enough to knock the air from my lungs.

“Jack?”

“Sorry,” I rasped, clearing my throat. “Old habits die hard, I guess. Would you rather I didn’t call you that?”

She looked up at me, her eyes wide with far too many unasked questions behind them. She didn’t speak as she turned her head away from me. “You said we could do some shopping, right?”

My mouth was suddenly as dry as a desert and I licked my lips before answering her. “Uh, yeah, of course. What do you want?”

She tugged me toward a store before I could even catch a glimpse of what it was. Lululemon. I should have guessed.

I stood by her side as she browsed the items in silence, the little reprieve from the press a chance to act fairly natural. Before I knew it, her arms were full of workout clothes and she was headed toward the checkout counter. I followed her silently, trying harder than I thought would be necessary to not stare at her body as the woman behind the counter scanned each item of clothing. Higher and higher the number on the screen ticked, hundreds, then just over a thousand. She’s expecting me to pay, isn’t she?

“Your total is one-thousand, two-hundred, ninety-eight dollars and ninety-nine cents,” the woman said cheerfully, likely excited about the store’s commission sales from this purchase alone.

Mandy’s hand went to her pocket. “Oh, Jack, I seem to have left?—”

Beep.

She stared at my phone against the card reader, the sale going through in the time it took for her to catch on. “You paid for me?”

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