Page 6 of Lack of In-between
“Nice. I’ll stop by next week, take a look around.” Doug took a step away. “You need a ride somewhere?”
“Yeah, but I—”
“I’ll be your ride.” He turned to see Rose approaching, purse in hand. “My car’s behind the diner.”
Doug ceased to exist in that moment. Rose had taken her hair down from the tidy bun she wore when working, and the curls flowed to her shoulders, ends curving around the sides of her throat. He looked closer and saw her smile was strained, lines on either side of her mouth.
“You okay?” He reached for her, surprised when she dodged his hand. “Rose?”
He lost sight of her green eyes, that auburn hair hiding her face for a moment. “Yeah, I’m okay. They cut me loose a few minutes ago. I’m ready to go, if you are.”
“Yeah.” He paused. Something wasn’t right. This was a different vibe from her than a short time ago, when he’d found out how well they fit together, her body against his. Sure, it might have been a comforting hold for both of them in the moment, but simmering underneath had been the knowledge that this was the woman he was interested in and would be pursuing. “Rose?”
“Uh-huh?” She tossed it over her shoulder, not slowing down as she strode away from him.
We’ll be in her car in a minute, and she can’t run away there. “Nothing. Thanks for the ride.”
She pointed her keys at a car, and the lights blinked as she unlocked it. “No worries, Wolf.”
He waited until she was inside and buckled to correct her. “Paul.”
“Right.” Pulling up to the edge of the parking lot, she glanced in each direction, then at him. “Which way?”
Without hesitation, he tipped his head to the right, away from town and home. Maybe driving awhile would give him a chance to figure out what had changed.
Wordlessly, she angled the car up the highway. He saw her adjust her grip on the wheel, and a moment later, low music swelled, blocking out the road noises. “How far?”
“Four or five miles.” That’d put them on a parallel country road, which would take them over to another small highway, that would, in turn, lead them back into town. He lifted a hand and fiddled with the radio knob, lowering the volume. “What branch were you in?”
“Huh?” She glanced at him. “Oh, Air Force. Security Forces.” She stared out the windshield, that tension returning to her face. “I’ve been out, DD214, for three years.”
“Where were you deployed?” He shifted, settling his shoulders against the door so he could better watch her.
“Op Enduring Freedom. ILO to a Marine patrol there.” Her hands moved back and forth across the top of the steering wheel, gripping to white-knuckle intensity before releasing. “Years and miles ago.”
“Military police, that’s a hella job. ILO, that means it wasn’t a permanent posting, in lieu of, right?” He watched a muscle tick along her jaw as she nodded. “I was a scout, predominantly recon. We depended on our SF folks a lot. The job isn’t just ticketing speeders on base anymore.”
“No, it is not.” The finality in her voice lent weight to her brief statement. “I’d prefer to not discuss it, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind.” He did, but that line of questioning could wait. There were other, more pressing areas to question. “I like you.” Her head whipped to the side, and she stared at him, whites showing all around her eyes. “Watch it,” he cautioned, and she looked back to the road, correcting their track, which had been about to lead to the ditch. “I don’t know how to state it plainer than that. I like you, and I’m interested in you.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Romantically.” Wolf was near enough he heard her breath catch in her chest. “You do it for me, Rose. And I want to get a green light from you to see where this goes.” He settled back, shoulders against the door again. “I’m getting mixed signals from you tonight, and I wanted you to know where I stand.”
“You wanted me to know where you stood?” Her eyes flicked sideways and back front.
“Nope.” He smiled as he corrected her. “Where I stand, present tense. This is me right here, right now, talking to you about the current situation.”
She didn’t respond, and beyond indicating when the turn was coming up, he didn’t, either. His statements stretched out between them, and the tension grew as he waited for her to react. They’d reached the other highway, and she laughed softly when he had her turn right again, creating the third leg of the box route back to town.
“What?” Not trying to deny the intentionally circuitous route taken, he shrugged, arms folded across his chest. “I wasn’t ready to go home.”
“You could have just said so. I’d have driven around for a while if you needed me to.”
“Wasn’t a need, Rose. Was a want. To spend more time with you. That was my want.” His gaze fell on her chest, and he watched her breasts rise and fall as she pulled in a deep breath.Killin’ me, woman. “Thought it was easier to beat around the bush a little.”
“You consider earlier beating around the bushes?”
She gave that soft laugh again, and it went straight to his dick. He shifted in his seat, adjusting his stiffy. “Rose,” he began, but she cut him off with a brusque headshake.
“I saw you tonight.” Wolf opened his mouth, but she barreled over him. “At the cookout. I went because I hoped I’d see you there. True statement. I’ve enjoyed our talks at the diner but wondered if there might be more. Thought I’d get a chance to see if I was there and you were there, and we had a chance to talk.”
