Rebound, Boundless Series, Book 1

Chapter Thirteen

I dressed for work, packed my frozen meals for the day in my cooler, and put my cellphone and wallet in my satchel, grabbing my keys to get to my 5:07 a.m. bus. I bounded down the stairs and unlocked the front door. After exiting into the darkened street, I closed the door behind me. When I turned around, I heard, "Perla."

Startled by the use of my name, I saw Dashing standing in front of the Range Rover, illuminated by the headlights.

"What? What are you doing here?" I asked, looking around before I walked toward him. Surprised and a bit weirded out by seeing him at my door at this inhumane hour, I inhaled a cleansing breath to gather my strength.

"I tried to call you last night. Your phone went straight to voice—"

"—Is there something wrong?" I asked, confused and agitated.

"No... No. I left you a message about wanting to drive you to work today. I figured we could spend a little time in between your jobs?" He walked over to me, stood close, and put his hands in his pocket, like a shy teenager talking to his crush. "Is that okay?" He asked sheepishly.

Upon an exhalation of relief, I put my hand on his shoulder and pulled him down to me. I tiptoed up to meet his lips and gave him a peck.

A car honked behind the Range Rover.

"What is wrong with this place?"

"I told you. Having a car in this corner of the city is inconvenient." I replied.

He walked me to the passenger side and opened the door for me to enter. He jogged to the driver's side, gave a quick wave to the other car, and entered. Then we cruised down the street.

I reached into my purse and searched for my cellphone. It wasn't powered on.

"My phone was off. Sorry." I turned on the phone and waited for it to power up.

"I called and texted you a million times, so ignore the obscene number of calls and the stalkerish messages I left," he warned.

Instead of deleting them, I decided to listen to them later while at work.

"It's nice of you to pick me up but you really didn't have to do that," I stated truthfully.

"I wanted to see you again. After your phone had gone to voicemail, I was worried you wouldn't want to see me." He revealed.

"Have I given you any indication I wouldn't want to see you?"

"You don't seem like the type to just hook up, so I thought you might be ashamed and uncomfortable around me." He kept his eyes trained on the road. "I don't want you to think I'd avoid you. I like you... I'd like to see more of you."

"I think you've seen it all," I said with a hint of humor in my voice.

He laughed.

Despite my joke, we had to be pragmatic about what we were doing. "You have to know, my life is super complicated. I don't have much time to devote to someone else." I answered honestly.

"I understand. The same goes for me. I'm busy with my practice and I travel a lot for work. I usually have evenings available but I know you don't." He turned onto the bridge back to Boston before continuing, "I'd like to try making our schedules work, even if we're stealing seconds in time." His words sounded so sincere.

"Well, I don't have to be at work until 6 a.m. I'll be too early to open up. How about we go to a café and get something to eat?" I replied.

"I was hoping we could do that. I know just the place." He looked at me with a delightful smile, scanning down the length of my body. "So you're not wearing a dress or a skirt. How will I make you come in my car again?"