Love on the Lake (Lakeside 2)

Aaron is still hanging around when I cash out, so he walks me to my car. I can’t decide if I want to invite him back to my place again or if I should wait to see if he brings it up. I frown when I notice one side of my car sits lower than the other.

“That doesn’t look right,” I mutter.

“Oh shit. You’ve got a flat.” Aaron rounds the side of my car and bends to look at the driver’s side tire. He has to use the flashlight on his phone since the lights in the parking lot aren’t that bright. “That tire is going to need replacing.”

“Do you think someone did this on purpose?” I bite my fingernail. My car stands out in this lot. Mostly it’s work trucks and older cars. There aren’t a lot of BMW convertibles on this side of the lake.

Aaron arches a brow. “Not likely. It’s probably a nail or something. That kinda thing happens all the time around here.”

“You’re sure? You don’t think I made someone mad? Maybe I need to trade in my car for something less”—I motion to the convertible—“pretentious.”

“You’re literally the friendliest person on the face of the earth. Everyone here loves you,” Aaron says.

“Right. Okay.” I blow out a breath and drop it. This isn’t the city, where people slash tires because they don’t like the make of your car. Or the fact that your younger brother is a convicted felon. “I have a spare. It’s in the trunk. Should we put it on?”

“I can do that for you,” Aaron offers.

“Maybe you could show me how?” I’d like to be able to change my own tires.

“Yeah, for sure I can, but it’d probably be better in the morning, when we can see what we’re doing.”

“That makes sense.” I’ll either have to call a cab in the morning or have Dillion drop me off, and walk here after my shift at Bernie’s to pick up my car.

“You wanna stay at my place tonight? It’s real close by. We could come back before I go to work, and I’ll show you how to change the tire. You’ll still have plenty of time to go home and shower before you need to be at Bernie’s, if we get up early enough.”

“Are you sure?” This is the first time Aaron has invited me back to his place in the weeks that we’ve been seeing each other. I don’t want to pass up the opportunity, but I also don’t want to make this his problem.

“Yup. It’s right on my way to work.”

“Let me check to make sure I have what I need.” I pull the rolled-up pants and shirt I always carry around in my purse out and hand them to Aaron.

“Not sure pink is my color,” he jokes.

“Ha ha. I always bring an extra set of clothes, especially after a night at the pub, since there’s a solid chance I smell like stale beer and french fries.”

He steps in close and drops his head, nose skimming my throat as I rummage around in the side pocket of my purse, checking to make sure I have my extra medication with me. I fumble around and tip my head to the side as he inhales and murmurs, “Nope, you don’t smell like beer and fries, you smell like dessert, and I can’t wait to devour you when we get back to my place.”

I lean back into him, body already warming. “Is that one of your cheesy pickup lines?”

“It’s not cheesy, it’s true.” He nibbles my earlobe.

I elbow him playfully in the side. “We’re in a parking lot, not your bedroom. Cool it.”

“We’d be in my bedroom a hell of a lot sooner if you stopped searching for the closet to Narnia in your bag.”

“I need to make sure I have one more thing.”

“I have extra toothbrushes, so you should be good there.”

“I need to make sure I have my prescription.”

“You can’t skip it for one night?”

I shake my head. “I have to take it at the same time every night, or it throws me off.”

“Right. Okay. We don’t want that,” Aaron says.

I typically carry enough for a couple of days in my purse, in case of unexpected situations like this. I finally snag the little case and give it a shake. It makes a rattling sound, which tells me I’m right: I have what I need. “Yup! Looks like we’re all set. I can stay at your place tonight.”

“Great.” He grins and laces our fingers together, leading me down the next row, where his truck is parked.

He wasn’t lying when he said his place was close. It’s only a short drive from the pub. Aaron turns down a bumpy side road and then down an even narrower driveway. It widens after about fifteen feet, opening up to a circular driveway. A small log cabin sits in the middle of the clearing, and to the right is a garage, or maybe it’s more of a shed. It doesn’t look big enough to house the truck, but I imagine it’s where he keeps his tools. The moon hangs low in the sky, reflecting off the water in the distance.