“I like spending time with you. Getting to know you,” I said. “And, I want to be able to touch you in a way that two people who are more than friends touch each other.” I held her gaze for a moment and when she didn’t look away from me I knew she was at least considering the idea. When she reached out across the table and placed her hand on mine, I felt my heart stutter. “But I don’t want to scare or overwhelm you. And I definitely don’t want to piss you off and send you running for the hills again. So if you need a warning before I touch you, say the word and we’ll come up with a signal or something.”

Her chest rose as she took a deep breath. “I’m not saying that I’m ready for us to jump into bed, but I’m not opposed to the idea of seeing what this is between us.” She sucked in a shallow breath as soon as the words were out of her mouth. She had no idea how much I appreciated her saying that she’d give me a chance. Hoyt was right. The girl sitting across from me was special and I had a lot to prove if I didn’t want to screw this thing up. “Maybe just keep it casual,” she suggested.

I didn’t really know any other way to have a relationship so I’d play ball.

“Casual,” I told her. “Simple.”

“Yeah,” she nodded her head in agreement. “No pressure. No expectations. I mean it’s not like you’re going to be in Halstead forever. Not to mention, I’m so busy with work and school that I don’t really have time for anything serious.”

“Serious isn’t really my thing anyway.” At least according to most. If she wanted a fling, I’d be more than happy to help her out in that department. It was my specialty.

Part of me felt relieved and part of me felt…conflicted.

I didn’t want anything serious. Did I?

“Perfect.”

“Then it’s settled. We’re into each other. We’re adults. We’re on the same page. I’m all for seeing what happens,” Brett accepted my proposal with a smile. “And we can take it as slow as you’d like,” he promised.

I might not have been completely ready for a relationship of any kind, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like if I denied myself the opportunity to find out if there was anything between us. Maybe the goosebumps in the diner were a fluke. Maybe once I knew him better I wouldn’t be as physically attracted to him as I thought I was. Maybe this whole thing would fizzle out before it even got off the ground. Whatever the outcome was, I had to know.

I had to take a chance.

I nodded. “Slow sounds good.”

Once we’d agreed that the idea of something more was on the table, we shared the pizza I’d brought and picked up our normal conversation like our weird encounter yesterday had never happened and no major changes to our relationship had been made. It was easy with him, nothing ever felt forced or uncomfortable. He somehow managed to keep my mind off of a lot of things I felt constantly bombarded with. He asked me about school and I had asked him how he spent his day.

One thing I liked about being with Brett was that he seemed genuinely interested in what I did every day. My routine had been so rigorous for so long, most people didn’t even ask anymore. They knew my schedule, and me. I’d been in this town my entire life, so there weren’t many surprises. But to Brett I was all new and shiny and kind of a mystery. I had to admit, I liked being intriguing to someone.

When he asked if I wanted to watch a movie, I had a better idea. The television screen in the living room was displaying a still screen of the motocross game I’d seen him playing before.

“Teach me how to play?” I nodded toward the game console.

His answering smile made me smile back.

“You bet.” He grabbed one of the wireless controllers from the coffee table and directed the game back to a home screen where he selected two players. “So who do you want to be? The best?” He winked giving me a devilish grin.

“You’re on a video game?” A character of his likeness popped up on the screen. The semblance was uncanny. His dishwater blond head covered by a backward flat-billed hat. The animation of his face was even spot on. The signature smirk and cocky lean as he crossed his arms, waiting on the player to select him as their avatar. “Oh my God.”

“Pretty cool, right?” He chuckled as he sat down on the sofa next to me. His weight caused the leather cushions to sink and me to shift in my seat until our shoulders were barely touching. I could feel the heat of his body against mine. He briefly bit on his bottom lip before grinning. “I’m kind of a big deal, huh?”

“Only person I know who has his own video game character.”

“Not true,” he replied with a shake of his head. “If you feel like coming in second place, you can always go Team Travers,” he said, taking the controller from my hand and scrolling over until Reid popped up on the screen. I wondered if Nora had seen this yet. It was surreal to see people I actually knew on a video game.

“That’s crazy.” I shook my head as I pointed up at the screen. “Look, they even got that serious scowl thing he does so well.”

“You can even see that little vein that pops out of his neck when he’s trying to look all tough.”

“Holy crap, you can!” I laughed as I picked up the other controller and started to scroll through the available players. Reid and Brett were the only familiar faces. “Maybe I’ll be this guy.” I settled on one with a red and black jersey. He wasn’t bad to look at and the stats on the screen said he was capable. Not that it mattered. I was a novice gamer at best. The last video game I’d played was Mario Kart when I was in the eighth grade. With Jamie.

I tried to push back the memory—even though it was a good one—and focus on what was happening right then. I had to do this. I had to move on and make new memories with new people. I wanted to. It was time.

“Yeah, he’s all right.” Brett shrugged. “He’ll get the job done.” He selected himself—of course—and the screen split between us. “Okay, you’re on the right. I’m on the left.” He gave me a quick tutorial of toggles and buttons and I nodded my head when I thought I had it down.

“Let’s do this,” I said feigning confidence. The race started and our two racers took off on their dirt bikes. It took all of two seconds for me to realize I was in completely over my head. I couldn’t steer straight. I kept hitting the gas when I wanted to hit the brake. My rider fell off his bike almost instantly. “Shit.” I huffed.

“Get back up. Press X.” Brett laughed as his rider zoomed through the pack and 1^st Place flashed on the top of his screen.

I did as he said and my rider was back on his bike. I did my best to keep my guy on two wheels, but by the time I’d made one full lap the race was over. 12^th Place.

“That’s last isn’t it?” I asked.

“Best last place finish I’ve ever seen,” he said sweetly rocking his body against mine. “You’ll get it. It’s a hard game to master.”

“I’d say you’ve got it down.” I laughed, pointing out that his character was standing on a podium surrounded by two top-heavy women in bikinis and holding up a first place trophy. The smile on screen matched the one in real life.

“I’ve had a lot of practice. Especially now that I can’t actually ride a dirt bike. This is the next best thing.”

“Is that what a real win is like? Girls hanging all over you and a big trophy?” If that was Brett’s real life, it was no wonder he’d gotten himself such a reputation. Beautiful women fawning all over him. Constant applause and accolades. The game was painting a very interesting lifestyle.

“It can be.” He shrugged. “It has been,” he confessed. “Some of the excess gets old after a while. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”