And now, here we were: meeting up again, even though I knew exactly where this would end.
Then again, we hadn’t made it to a bed last time. I still drew the line at having sex anywhere in or around a bar.
“So, what do you do here in Boston?” Dylan asked.
I looked over at him, surprised to hear him making small talk. I didn’t know what I expected—it wasn’t like we were going to sit there in silence while we finished our beers and then head back to his place. Still, the fact that he wanted to know more about me confused me. Just what the hell were we doing here?
We were supposed to fuck once and get it out of our systems. Instead, it had only made me want him more.
“I’m a student,” I said belatedly.
Dylan choked a little on his beer. “I didn’t realize you were that young.”
“I’m not,” I admitted. “I’m doing the five-year plan. Or more than that, really. I’m twenty-six.”
“Oh,” Dylan said, processing my words. “Couldn’t figure out what you wanted to do?”
“That and it’s hard to keep a full-time status when you’re working at the same time to put yourself through school. Bobby’s helping me out this year so that I can focus on my studies, but there were a couple semesters when I could only take a class or two at a time.”
“Fair enough,” Dylan said.
“And you?” I asked.
“You already know what I do,” Dylan said, raising an eyebrow at me. “Or did you forget that I’m in Boston to fight your brother?”
I blushed, realizing what a dumb question it was. I couldn’t help it, he seemed to get my tongue all tied up in knots. Even when we weren’t sleeping with each other, it felt like I could barely string together a coherent thought. I tried to elaborate. “Where do you live when you’re not here in Boston for a tournament?”
Dylan shrugged. “Here and there,” he said.
I frowned. That wasn’t any kind of answer. Didn’t he want me to know anything else about him? Then what were we even doing here?
In spite of myself, the doubts started to creep back in. I had thought that he was at the ring looking for me, and he had seemed on board to meet me for a beer, but now I wasn’t so sure. Had I misread the whole situation?
He didn’t want to share anything about himself. And why would he? This wasn’t a date. And who was I trying to kid? He could have anyone in this city if he wanted.
I mean, I had heard what the other women had said at the barbecue. They all thought that Dylan was hot. He deserved to have some skinny, sexy model on his arm, not someone like me. I wasn’t feeling sorry for myself—I had long since accepted that I had more curves than most women. But at the end of the day, I would be crazy to think that Dylan was that interested in me. He probably just liked that I was such an easy target.
“I joined the military right out of college,” Dylan said suddenly. “I mean, even before that, I didn’t really have a home, per se. I bounced around a lot growing up, and like I’ve said before, I spent a lot of time up with my cousins in Belford. I didn’t have the greatest family life.” He shrugged. “I joined the Navy and by the time I was discharged, I didn’t have any roots, or really any desire to put some down.”
I suddenly understood him better. It wasn’t that he was trying to hide anything about himself. He just didn’t know how to explain that he’d never had a place to call home. I felt silly for having thought otherwise or believed the worst about him.
“Have you always lived in Boston?” Dylan asked.
“Yeah, pretty much,” I said. “I grew up on the South Shore. We didn’t have the best home life either, but we dealt with what we had, I guess. Bobby pretty much raised me.”
“He’s very protective of you, isn’t he?” Dylan asked carefully.
I nodded my head. “Sorry if he’s giving you grief about it,” I apologized, feeling surprisingly sincere about it. I should’ve been siding with Bobby over this guy whom I barely knew. Still, I didn’t want Bobby to chase Dylan away from me. I wanted to explore whatever this thing was between us.
“I never had any siblings,” Dylan said, shrugging. “To be honest, it’s kind of endearing.”
I laughed. No one had ever thought Bobby was endearing before. I finished up my beer and stood up. “Well?” I asked.
Dylan raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to say more.
I rolled my eyes and sighed in frustration. I didn’t want to spell it out to him. “Well, am I ordering a ride or are you going to take me home?” I asked, point blank, while trying to hide how nervous I really was.
Dylan looked surprised, but he got to his feet. “Are you okay with riding a motorcycle?” he asked.
“I should be able to manage,” I said, grinning at him and ignoring the shiver that ran down my spine. God, I couldn’t imagine how good it would feel to ride with him, my body pressed up against his. That was a better outcome than I could have ever imagined.
Granted, if Bobby somehow found out, I was dead. We’d just have to keep it a secret.
I followed Dylan outside, playfully knocking my shoulder against his. To my surprise, he wrapped his arm around me. “I hope you know, I’m not as
