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“That was awful.”

“The only awful part was that you believed me.” I ran my hands in front of my body to highlight my point. “Did you really think all of this came as a result of incest? If that were the case, then everyone would be doing it.”

It was her turn to laugh, finally. “I guess you have me there.”

“What about you?”

“What about me? My dad is definitely also NOT my cousin or my uncle,” she answered flippantly, proving she did at least have a bit of a sense of humor.

“Where are you from originally?”

“What makes you think I’m not from here?”

“I don’t know. You seem far more worldly than most of the women who are lifers in a small town like Sierra High.”

She scoffed at the idea. “I am nothing like the bumpkin women around here, that’s for sure.” That holier than thou attitude raised my hackles just a bit before she continued. “I was born and raised in Atlanta but came here for college. My dad wanted me to attend in a small town where I couldn’t get into much trouble.”

“How old are you?” I asked because for some reason I thought she was a bit older, and past typical college age.

“I’m 22. I graduate in a couple of months with my business degree.”

“Is that what you want to do? Go into business?”

“I haven’t decided yet, to be honest. All I know is that I will be happy to leave school behind and get on with whatever life throws at me. Who knows, maybe that will be a handsome biker man as well as a new job.”

She winked at me then as our food was served. Maybe it was just the fact that this was our first date, and she was already hinting at wanting so much more, but I got that uneasy feeling in my stomach again. The only thing pushing me forward was the fact that I couldn’t have the woman I really wanted. That meant whoever I ended up with for now on didn’t really matter. If Aubrey ended up with deeper feelings than I had, then that was on her. Hell, she’d be lucky if I ever developed feelings at all.

“Listen, I think there’s something you should know.”

“What’s that?” I didn’t miss the narrowed eyes or suspicion in her tone.

“I was just in a relationship with a woman that wasn’t ideal, but that is still fresh, even though things ended between us.”

“Okay?”

“I’m not sure I’m in the space to make big commitments right now, and I wanted to be upfront about that because you seem to be hinting at a future an awful lot and like I said before, this is just a first date.”

That brilliant smile was back on her face in an instant. “Never mind those worries. I’m one of those glass half full people,” she explained. “When I want something or someone, I go after it, and plan for the inevitable even if that’s not what ends up happening. Please, don’t be scared off by that. I don’t mean anything by it. I just, well, I like you. There’s something about you that calls to me and I can’t explain what that is. If you’re not feeling it, I will respect your wishes, obviously. I’m not crazy.” She giggled as she mentioned the last part.

“Wasn’t saying you were. Just wanted to clarify where I am right now.”

“I get that, and while I can’t say I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you before; I can say that I think the other woman must have been an idiot to walk away from you.”

“Who says she walked away?”

“I think that’s obvious, since your break is still fresh and affecting you this way.” I couldn’t argue with that logic, even though I wished things were different. “So, let’s just take it one date at a time. I’m going to keep hoping for more as we go, and you can come along for the ride until we get to where we need to be.”

For the first time that night, I felt a genuine smile tug at my lips. “Sounds good.”

“That’s a good look on you,” she told me.

“What is?”

“You, smiling like that.” Her face mirrored my own as she spoke. “I’m happy that I helped put it there.” There really wasn’t anything I could say to that without ruining the moment, so I tucked into the rest of my food and polished off the country fried steak, potatoes, and fried okra. She ate too, though I noted that it was modestly compared to… Dammit! I wasn’t going there. No more comparisons.

“I guess we should head on out,” I told her as I put my credit card back in my wallet after paying the bill.

Once we were outside again, she glared at the truck, not realizing I turned back to say something else to her. It made me thankful of my decision not to bring the bike. Apparently, she would have made too much out of that. It also made me change course and just hop in the driver’s side, rather than help her into the vehicle like a gentleman. Granted, based on things she had let slip throughout our dinner, I didn’t think she wanted a gentleman.

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