Somethin' About That Boy

I reluctantly pulled myself out of his lap, shivering at the slight nip in the air.

This room always got colder than all the others. I never understood why.

But with my body pressed up against Banner’s, I hadn’t even noticed.

“I guess I should get to writing my English paper,” I admitted. “I don’t want to have to do it after our cross-country meet Thursday.”

He stood and gathered our trash, tossing it in the trashcan that was near the end of the couch before coming back to me and offering me his hand.

I took it, allowing him to peel my body from the couch where it’d accepted me as one of its own.

He grinned when the groan slipped free.

“Cold?” he asked, running his hands up the length of my arms.

I nodded. “It’s always cold in here.”

He winked and held out his arm like a gentleman.

“Walk me to the door, Perry Cat.”

“Perry Cat?” I laughed.

He winked. “My head is a weird place to be sometimes. Words just come out without me telling them to.”

I winked, pouting slightly when I realized he wasn’t going to give me more than that.

“Okay.” I sighed.

He grinned wickedly at me, making my heart start to beat rapidly in my chest.

Damn, the boy had a way with those lips.

And I doubted I’d even seen a hint of what he could do with them.

Which made me blush even more thinking about all the things that he could do, and all the things that I wanted him to do with them to me.

“What was that look for?” he asked curiously as we headed through my now-quiet house.

My parents had likely gone to their room over an hour ago.

Both of them had to be up extremely early for work.

Where my mom worked at the school, my dad worked at a plant as the paramedic on shift. It was actually a nuclear power plant where the makings for bombs were started.

Needless to say, my father needed to be there, alert and oriented. Hence the reason he got there so early and left so late.

Though, he made good money, according to him. So it was worth it.

We finally reached the door, and I was hit with a sudden wave of sadness that he had to go.

I literally just met Banner, yet it felt like I’d known him a lifetime.

When the door opened, I wanted to grab his hand to stop him.

Instead, I tucked my hands underneath my arms and stared at him with a neutral expression—at least, I thought it was a neutral expression.

He laughed when he saw my face, though, pulling me in tightly to his chest.

Before I could get comfortable, though, he was letting me go and jogging down the steps.

I would not let him see my disappointment. Which was why I decided to stop mooning and not watch him leave.

“Hey, Perry?”

I paused with the door almost closed.

“Yeah?” I asked quietly.

“Can we make this official?”

I blinked. “Make what official?”

He grinned wickedly. “You and me.”

I opened my mouth and then closed it, confusion. “You want to… with me?”

He all but laughed in my face as he leaned in, his breath close, and said. “Yeah. And this weekend I want you to meet my parents.”

I felt a nervous twitch go through me. “You want me to meet your parents?”

Did my voice sound as shrill as it seemed?

“Yes,” he said. “And my sister-in-law and my brother are going to be coming, too. And since my sister-in-law is pregnant, there’s no doubt in my mind that my mother will totally focus on her. You don’t have to worry. They’re cool.” He paused. “But, I’m just gonna tell you now, my dad’s part of a motorcycle club.”

My eyes widened. “Really?”

My face must’ve shown how shocked I was, because he immediately soothed my fears.

“Not like the killing people and running guns kind of thing you’re thinking of,” he said. “The Dixie Wardens. They’re a really popular club around here. They have chapters all over the south. But they’re not bad. My dad’s a cop. My mom was a teacher before we were born.”

I licked my lips.

“Maybe you should let me talk to them and visit this weekend before we tell my dad,” I admitted. “Because he might really not let me go if he doesn’t meet them first so he can judge their character.”

“Up to you,” he said. “So is that a yes?”

“Is it a yes to going, or a yes to the other thing you asked?” I fidgeted with my shirt.

His eyes went to where I was wringing it in my hands, then to my face.

“Both.”

I took a step forward, a boldness to my movements that I certainly didn’t feel, and walked until I was standing directly in front of him.

“I’m kind of a loner, Banner,” I said softly.

He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “I know.”