Page 17 of Riding with the Bad Boy

Rocco

Heartstone, Missouri, was exactly like I expected it. The town reminded me of a tourist stop where everything was centered on families and fun. Driving through, I saw so many places that if we had time, I would love to visit. The Dream Adventures Amusement Park was at the top of the list.

“I bet that would make for a fun day.” I tipped my head toward the turn-off for the park.

Danielle had been pretty quiet since our talk about her past. I had given her space, for the most part. I was sure that opening up to me had brought up a lot of memories and feelings. I didn’t want to push her further. Right now, I was just glad I could be here for her, and I was determined that no matter what happened in the future, if she decided to look for more information about her family, I would support her.

“What?” She looked up at me.

“The park.” I pointed out. “I was saying it would probably be fun.”

“I don’t do roller coasters.” She shrugged. “They kinda freak me out.”

“Really?” It was interesting to learn all these new things about her. “I’m sure they have things other than roller coasters.”

“Maybe, but we don’t really have the time.”

“I know, but maybe we could come back.” Now that I was letting myself think about a future with Danni, I couldn’t stop thinking about all the different things we could share together. Especially with this rig. There weren't a lot of places we couldn’t explore, and once I got the bike, we would be able to do even more.

We were getting close to our destination, and somehow it seemed like Danni was further away than when we started. Yet there were moments like earlier or at night when she was asleep in my arms that I felt closer to her than I have felt to anyone in a really long time.

This was our last stop before we got to Saddleback. It was decision time, and as nervous as I felt, I was sure I could be the man she deserved. It had been easy playing the boyfriend for a few days, but now that I had, I wasn’t ready to let her go. It was scary as fuck to imagine committing again and I still wasn’t sure I could trust that I wouldn’t mess things up, but that didn’t change how I felt. My biggest fear now was how she would react if my life went to shit again. Would she actually stay? Just the thought of losing her made me nervous. Recognizing that had been the turning point. If I couldn’t stand the idea of losing her, then perhaps I was already committed, whether there was a label on our relationship or not.

I found the RV park where we were staying and checked us in. They were nice enough to have someone show us to the spot we would be using and explain everything about the hook-ups. I let him walk me through the process of setting everything up. The park that we stayed in when we stopped in Foxfire Valley also had water and electricity, but because we were only staying one night and had gone out exploring, I hadn’t bothered connecting. Since we would be here a couple of nights and I needed to get used to using them before Saddleback, this seemed like the perfect test run.

By the time we got everything turned on and I was good at how to disconnect them, it was too late to go check out the car shop. We were going to have to do that in the morning.

“Would you like to make something or maybe go out to eat?” I asked when I came back inside. “I saw a really cute diner as we drove in.” I had also seen what looked like a racetrack for go karting that I was dying to check out.

“I’m kinda tired.” Danni shrugged. “And I’m not all that hungry.”

“Are you sure?” She didn’t sound like herself. “I can make you something small.” I offered.

“I’ll probably just make a cheese board, but if you want to go to the diner, don’t let me stop you.”

“I’m good.” I smiled. Maybe I could talk her into the race track tomorrow night. “I can always do cheese for dinner.” It was a joke that I hoped would lift her spirits.

She narrowed her eyes. “You’d be willing to just have cheese for dinner? My cheese?”

She knew I wasn’t a fan of all the fancy cheeses that everyone seemed to lose their shit about these days. What was wrong with a good old-fashioned cheddar cheese? When did a plain slice of American go out of style?

“Sure.” I offered.

Danni stared at me for a long time before I saw a small smile start to crack across her face. “You are really going all out to get me back in bed.” She shook her head.

“What does that mean?” Is that what she thought was going on? “And for the record, we’ve been sharing a bed all week.”

“You know what I mean.” She let out a quick laugh. “There’s no way you would eat the cheese I like unless you were desperate to get laid or you lo...” She cut herself off. Her eyes went wide as she held her mouth open. A ripple of fear shot through me.

“Unless I was?” I wasn’t sure if I wanted her to finish that sentence or if her saying it would freak me the fuck out.

I wasn’t ready for the word. Not yet. Not until I had a clue how she felt. I was completely being a chicken-shit, but I couldn’t be the first one to say it again. The first to acknowledge it. I couldn’t risk that kind of heartache.

“Nothing.” She swallowed down whatever she had been about to say. “Um, why don’t we check out the diner?” She suggested.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

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