Page 9 of The Girlfriend's Guide to Dating a Biker
Him: starts walking towards me “Let’s fix that.”
What I wanted to say: “Yes, please fix everything including my inability to function as a human when you look at me like that.”
What Mr Weatherby was probably writing in his “surveillance notes”: “Potential exchange of secret codes observed. Suspect romance novel research continues.”
He handed me his phone and directed me to put my number in. When I passed it back to him, he sent me a text so that I had his.
AND THEN.
AND. THEN.
His phone rang.
The change in him was instant. One second, he’s looking at me like I’m water in the desert; the next, his whole body goes rigid. Three words into the call (“Yeah?” “Where?” “When?”) and he’s already moving. It was like watching someone flip a switch from “devastatingly hot neighbour” to “man who makes the underground nervous” and I’m not going to analyse why both versions are doing inappropriate things to my insides.
Him: “Gotta go, darlin’. This isn’t finished.”
Me: “The bike?”
Him: that smile that really is a deadly weapon “Wasn’t talking about the bike.”
Then he grabbed his shirt (moment of silence for the end of the no-shirt era), his leather jacket, and his helmet. The next thing I heard was his Harley roaring to life and then he was gone.
Me
MEGAN HE WAS DOING THE THING
Megan
Which thing?
Me
THE LOOKING THING
Megan
Use your words.
Me
asdfghjkl MY BRAIN IS BROKEN
Megan
This is why Brad wants to study you for his thesis.
Just me, standing in a car park, trying to remember how to breathe while simultaneously trying to figure out if “this isn’t finished” means what I think it means. Mrs Primrose is definitely adding this to her “Suspicious After-Hours Activities” bingo card. I heard her whisper-shouting to Mrs Everly about “clandestine car park rendezvous” and “potential romance novel research reaching critical phases.”
Current status: Googling “how to tell if you’re being smoothly seduced or having a complete mental breakdown” and “is it normal to be turned on by motorcycle sounds now?” Also “how to explain to your building’s gossip club that you’re not actually conducting a literary study of modern romance tropes.”
UPDATE (11:58 p.m.): Just heard multiple bikes roll in. Definitely not looking out my window.
UPDATE (11:59 p.m.): Okay, I’m a filthy liar. I’m looking.
UPDATE (12:01 a.m.): Mr Weatherby just texted the building group chat about “suspicious motorcycle activity.” Sir, the only suspicious activity is how you manage to be at your window for literally everything that happens in this building.
UPDATE (12:02 a.m.): Still no sign of him. Not that I’m watching. (I’m watching.)
