I shrugged—or kind of did. Even with two hands it took some work to push my bike through the grass. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not. I screwed things up with the first girl who’s really interested me in years. There’s nothing fine about it.”
“Don’t make a bigger deal out of it then it is. We went out a few times, you don’t owe me anything.”
“Does that mean you’re going to give me another chance?” he asked with a note of excitement in his voice.
I didn’t answer right away. On the one hand, he’d dropped the ball. On the other hand, he probably wouldn’t try to talk me into a threesome with his wife. “Sure.”
“Yeah? Cool. When are you free? We’ll work around your schedule this time.”
I readjusted my hold on the handlebar. My hand was getting stiff. “I have Tuesday and Wednesday off.”
“Great. Tuesday night then?”
I nodded. “Sure. When and where?”
“My place at seven?”
“Your place?” I wasn’t sure how I felt about the suggestion. Sex with Colin sounded good—but like many things in life, just because something is good doesn’t mean you should indulge in it. Kind of like eating the second piece of cake—or a cake donut.
“I want to make you dinner.” He smiled. “Absolutely no expectations for any non-food dessert, I promise.”
“Non-food dessert? Is that what you’re calling sex nowadays?” I enjoyed talking about sex with Colin. The idea had my heart beating a little faster.
“It sounded wittier in my head.”
“I bet.” We reached the little park, and I set aside my bike. Colin joined me on a bench, leaving the socially acceptable amount of space between us.
“So what have you been up to? How were those big plans on Friday?” He opened the little sip spot on my coffee and handed it to me
I half coughed and half laughed. “Not going there.”
He grinned. “Oh, come on. Now you have to tell me.”
I shook my head. “No way.”
He leaned in and gave me that puppy-dog look of his. “Please. I want to know.”
I thought over all the reasons not to tell him, and then realized it wasn’t something that reflected bad on me.
“I went out with a guy who tried to get me to have sex with him—” I purposely waited a beat. Colin looked confused. “And his wife.”
“What?” He’d been ready to sip his coffee but stopped. “You can’t be serious.”
“Uh-huh. Evidently, being a bartender means I’m that kind of girl.” I left out the part about egging on the college guys.
“Well, I can promise you I won’t ask you to do that.”
“Yeah?”
“I mean, I don’t have a wife. It would have to be a different girl.”
I playfully pushed his shoulder. “Needless to say, I didn’t stick around long after that.”
“I bet. See? My non-food dessert thing isn’t that bad, is it?”
I laughed. “No. Not at all.”
***
“I need to get a car.” Finally satisfied with the way I looked, I waited for Brody by the front door. I felt like a fifteen-year-old waiting for her dad to drive her somewhere. Colin said he’d pick me up, but he was cooking so it seemed annoying to have him come over and get me, and I didn’t want to have to leave my bike at Colin’s when he drove me home.
“Yes, you do. Just find something cheap and used.” Brody was always the practical one.
“Or get your damn car back from your parents’ house,” Macon called from the kitchen.
“No. That car comes with strings attached.”
“You make it sound like it’s a freaking Porsche. It’s a ten-year-old Civic.”
“I’m not going to get it.”
“Because you’re too cheap to pay the insurance on it?”
“No, I don’t want to admit I need it.”
“Ohhh, the truth comes out.” Macon hopped up to take a seat on the counter. “Quit being such a baby.”
“I don’t want to face them.”
“You’ll have to eventually. They’re your parents. Seeing them kind of goes with the territory of being their child.”
“Says the guy living in his parents’ condo.”
“Hey, I don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
I sighed. “I know. I can’t change it tonight anyway.”
“If you want to get there on time, we should go.” Brody gestured to the microwave clock. I’d have asked Macon for the ride first, but he was taking out a night dive.
“See you later, Macon.”
“You mean tomorrow?”
“You have a date I don’t know about?” He was never out too late with a dive.
“I’m talking about you not being home until tomorrow.”
I thought about Colin’s ‘no non-food dessert’ comment. “I doubt that, but you never know.”
Macon smiled. “Yeah, you never know.”
***
Brody stopped outside of a two-story beach house. I wasn’t sure how much Colin raked in, but that place couldn’t have been cheap. I double-checked the address he’d texted me. It matched.
Brody stared out his window. “Damn. Nice place. Have fun, Maddy.”
“Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem. Call me if you need a lift home.”
“Thanks. I owe you.”
“Do my laundry again?”
I laughed. “Sure. Do you hate it that much?” I didn’t like having to drag my clothes to the laundry room in college, but I didn’t mind now that I had a washer and dryer in the condo.
“I can’t stand it.”
“It’s a deal then.” I held out my hand to shake his. “See you later.” Laundry was one of those chores I enjoyed. I’d never admit it to Macon though, because he’d be having me do his clothes every week. Fun or not, washing the underwear of a guy you weren’t dating was weird. It was bad enough doing it for Brody a few times; I didn’t need to do Macon’s too.
I slowly walked up the porch steps. Going to Colin’s place was nerve-racking. I turned around and noticed Brody waiting. He was too nice of a guy.
I knocked on the light yellow door, trying to make out the faint music coming from inside.
Colin threw open the door. “Hey. Come in.” He smiled, looking beyond appealing in his light green shirt.