Page 4 of The Overdue Kiss

“It’s like wearing a seatbelt in a car. You won’t notice your gear the more you ride. Now the helmet so we can get going.”

“Getting rid of me so soon?” I joke, then blush. Why does it sound like I’m flirting?Stop talking, Maya.

I smash the helmet over my head so fast, flattening my wild curls. A surprise waft of floral perfume hits me, and my heart sinks. Another woman has recently been wearing his extra helmet. Here I’ve been shooing off the butterflies in my stomach when he’s a taken man.

“May I?” he asks, pointing to the helmet’s chin strap. As soon as I nod, he clicks it in place and smiles. “They can be tricky with gloves on.”

Why is he so nice and not single? It seems unfair. The good guys are always taken, leaving the rest of us with the Felipes of the world.

“Thanks,” I say, disappointed for some reason.

Desmond places his helmet on and swings his leg over the bike with the grace of someone who’s done it a thousand times. Muscles from his biceps strain through the white dress shirt. For a split second, there’s a strange crackling in my ears as he adjusts his helmet.

Goodness.Seeing him up on his bike twists my insides into heart-shaped knots. Who knew bikers were so sexy?

Shutting my visor, I give myself one last pep talk before I hop on. “Maya, get it together,” I whisper to myself. “You’re acting like you’ve never seen a hot guy before.”

Desmond whips his head toward me, probably at the end of his patience.

“Now stop ogling the man and get on the bike before he drives off without you,” I scold under my breath. My eyes catch on the metal piece that suspiciously looks like how I’m to mount the bike. “Is that little peg going to hold me?”

He clears his throat, and it pipes into my helmet in surround sound. “It will. Feel free to hold on to my shoulders for balance if you need it.”

“¡Ay!” My heart nearly explodes out of my chest. “You can hear me?”

Chapter Two

Hot flames of embarrassment nip at my neck. Horrified, I stare at him through my visor as everything I said replays in my mind.

His soft chuckles come in crystal clear. “Yeah, sorry. I should have warned you the helmets are synced.”

“That would have been nice,” I croak.

Maybe dying on the side of the road would be better than the awkward fifteen minutes I’m about to spend on the back of his bike.Oh, man. Had I confessed to ogling him?

“I hear you groaning. It’s fine—a compliment, really.”

I duck my head.

“Seriously. Don’t worry about it,” he soothes and pats the tiny seat behind him. “Hop on.”

“It’s easy for you to say.” My sentence ends with a squeak as another car zooms around the corner and blares its horn at us.

“Maya.” There’s a gentle sternness to my name. “We are running out of daylight, and I need you to get on the bike before one of these cars crashes into us. Please.”

“Okay... okay.” I swallow my pride, step up on the peg, and propel myself onto the motorcycle. It isn’t elegant or graceful. In fact, I think I might have strangled him when I used his shirt as leverage so I didn’t tumble over the side.

“See? Not so bad,” he says, adjusting his neckline.

I lean away, giving him an appropriate amount of space. What am I supposed to be holding on to? There are no handles.

“You comfortable?”

“Well, I’m on, if that’s what you mean. Comfortable is a strong word.”

The engine rumbles to life, vibrating through me.

“You’ll get used to it. Oh, also make sure your skirt isn’t anywhere near the back wheel.”

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