Peyton

 

 

He leaned into my window and kissed me on the lips, first softly, and then with passion. “I’m glad I met you,” he whispered, touching my cheek as he slowly pulled away.

“Same here,” I said, stunned.

Smiling, he walked over to his motorcycle and got on. As he started it, heat rushed through my body as I imagined the two of us doing more than just kissing.

Slow down, I told myself. It was just a kiss. And we were just having dinner.

 

***

 

 

I drove home and was just walking through the front door, when my cell phone went off. It was my friend Stephanie.

“Hi, Steph,” I said, answering the call.

“Hi. We missed you at dinner last night,” she pouted.

Stephanie and I had known each other since high school and she was probably my closest friend. Although we didn’t get together much, I enjoyed our monthly dinners and regretted having had to cancel last night.

“I missed you, too. Did everyone else show?”

“Yes. It was a nice evening.”

“Figures. So, what’s new with everyone?”

“Joy is pregnant and Abigail is dating someone new,” said Steph. “And very happy, for once.”

 “Seriously? That’s awesome,” I replied. I knew Joy had been trying to get pregnant for the last few months and Abigail’s ex-boyfriend had cheated on her. To find out that both of my friends were happy was music to my ears.

“I know, right?”

“So, what about you? Anything new?”

“Not really.”

“How’s the job going?”

Stephanie was a nine-one-one operator and always working crazy hours.

“Same as always,” she replied. “Busy. I did have a crazy call the week before, though. A woman called up and wanted her husband arrested for impersonating her.”

“What? That’s crazy.”

“I know. Apparently, she caught him dressed in women’s clothing and wearing a wig. If that wasn’t bad enough, he’d stolen her driver’s license and one of her credit cards so he could go clubbing.”

“Wow.  That’s just… wow.”

She laughed. “Oh, and last month a guy called up thinking that there was a UFO hovering over his house. We were going to send someone out there to check it out, but then he called back explaining he’d made it mistake. It was the moon.”

I chuckled. “You’re serious?”

“Believe me, I wish I wasn’t. What’s scarier is knowing that these people live in our city. I don’t know how they function in normal society.”

“No doubt.”

“How’s your job? Ready to jump ship yet?”

She knew how much I despised John. “If I find another job, yeah.”

“You should come and work with me.”

“You know I can’t handle stress the way you can. You have so much patience for these people.”

“It’s definitely challenging.”

We spoke for a few minutes longer and then she asked if I wanted to grab a bite to eat.

“I can’t,” I replied.

“Are you working at Olive Garden tonight?”

“No.” I told her I had a date.

She sucked in her breath. “Really? Who’s the guy?”

I knew that if I told her he was a biker, and with the Gold Vipers, she wouldn’t understand. Instead, I said that he was one of John’s clients and explained how we’d met.

“Wow. That’s kind of romantic—a lonely guy goes house-hunting and finds both a place to put both his shoes and his heart.”

I laughed. “Who’s the sap?”

“I know. I am. Anyway, I hope it works out for you. It’s been a long time since you’ve dated, hasn’t it?”

It had been almost a year, and the last guy I’d gone out with had been dull and boring, both in and out of bed.

“Yeah, I’ve just been so busy,” I replied. “Working two jobs and… I just haven’t met anyone, until now, who is interesting.”

“Well, I hope it works out for you.”

“Yeah, me, too,” I replied, although part of me was nervous about the fact that he was in the Gold Vipers. As much as I wanted to believe that they really were just a club with a bad rap, I had a niggling feeling that it was wishful thinking.