Page 18 of Cross Check Daddies
Dance barefoot on the beach at night. No music
Eat dessert before dinner
Sleep under the stars
Ride a motorcycle
The list goes on, the words scrawled quickly, casually, like she didn’t think anyone would ever see them. I close the notebook, grab my keys, and head for the parking lot.
She’s just climbing into her car when I jog across the pavement.
“Brooke!”
She turns, one foot still outside the car. “Yeah?”
I hold the notebook up. “You left this.”
She lets out a breathy laugh and walks toward me, taking it from my hand. “Lifesaver. Lisa would’ve killed me if I’d lost this.”
“Had to flip through it to find your name,” I lie easily. “That list in the back… You gonna do any of it?”
Her smile turns lopsided. “What list?”
“Thirty before thirty?” I wink at her. I just can’t help myself.
“Old notebook. I already turned thirty.”
“But the list’s still good.”
She raises an eyebrow, arms crossing beneath her chest. “You reading my personal scribbles now?”
“I mean,” I say, “youleftit. Can’t blame a guy for being curious.”
“Half that list is ridiculous. I suck at surfing. I tried it once and nearly drowned.”
“I could teach you.”
Her expression falters just slightly, like she wasn’t expecting that. “What?”
“The motorcycle one too. I have a bike. I could help you knock a few of these off.”
