“Okay,I can only assume you’re responsible for this new addition to my wardrobe,” Briar says.
Releasing the seat of my bike, I turn to find her skipping out of the garage. At first, it’s hard to look away from the clunky black boots on her feet because fuck me. She’s worn them before, but tonight feels different. Like this time, she wore them just for me.
Despite the pink laces, they’re as black as the night around us and go hand in hand with the new jacket hanging off her shoulders.
I’ve never seen anyone pull off a leather jacket the way she does, let alone one cropped just below the belly button with pink flower petals stitched over the right breast.
The boots and jacket are enough to have me spiralling on their own, let alone in addition to the skater skirt and lace tights she’s still wearing from earlier. I think I’m in the middle of a wet dream.
“Why do you say that?” I manage to ask.
She stops on the cement and does a twirl for me. “Because it matches yours. Without the flowers, of course.”
“I could add some.”
With my bike at my back, I lean against the seat with my feet planted wide, legs parted with enough room between them for her to step in close.
She doesn’t hesitate to take her place, two hands gripping the collar of my jacket. “I like yours the way it is. It suits you.”
“Are you saying I have dark energy?”
Her mouth twists as she thinks. “No. More like a light grey.”
“I’ll take it.”
“Will you tell me where we’re going now?”
“Ever wanted to ride on the back of a bike?”
Excitement glimmers in her eyes. “Only yours.”
“It’s your lucky day, then.”
And mine.
I reach behind me to the furthest handlebar and tug free her helmet. It’s slick from the sprinkle of rain we got earlier, and I think that makes the shimmer I added to it more obvious.
“Is that for me?” she whispers, lips staying parted.
“Yeah. Got it custom-made weeks ago. My guy finally finished it yesterday.”
With a cautious touch, she takes the sparkling black helmet from me and strokes a finger along the flower petals painted on the side. They’re identical to the ones on her jacket.
“I know it’s not anything you’ve always wanted or might even use that often, but it’s—” I uncurl my fingers and press them into her back instead. “We could make memories in them. You and me. On this bike.”
She shakes her head twice, a hard-to-read expression appearing on her features. I bite my tongue, growing flustered.
Did I make a bad call?
“You’re softer than you let people think, Ronan.”
“Is that a good or bad thing?”
Her chin falls forward as she bends over me to kiss my cheek. “The best thing. You’re thoughtful and kind and gentle. Everything I’ve known I needed in a life partner.”
“Don’t forget tough. Real fucking tough.”
She smiles and uses her grip on my jacket to tug me up until our mouths hover. “The toughest.”