Oxygen (Romance, Completed)

Chapter 19

When Linc asked me where I wanted to meet, I'd hesitated. We couldn't go anywhere someone from school might see us, but I didn't want to invite him over to my apartment. Meeting my son would be a big step, and it was too soon. I needed to get to know Linc better first. After the surprises I'd had on our first date, I couldn't help wondering what else lurked under the surface.

"I don't know the area very well. Maybe a coffee shop, or somewhere else we can get a bite to eat?"

"I know a place. Pick you up outside your place at eight?"

"Okay."

Now I was waiting in the lobby, listening for Linc's bike. The evenings were already getting colder, and if this kept up, I'd have to consider buying a leather jacket.

A roar sounded in the distance, and I stepped outside. That was another problem—with Linc's bike, there was no sneaking around.

He unstrapped my helmet from the back seat, but before I could put it on, he leaned over and pressed his lips to mine.

"Missed you," he said.

My skin burned where he touched me, but only in a good way. "You just saw me three hours ago."

"That's still too long."

I climbed onto the bike behind him, tucking my hands into his front pockets to keep warm. I needed to add gloves to my shopping list as well.

"Where are we going?"

"I know a family that runs a restaurant near here. We can borrow the room at the back for an hour. I hope you like Chinese food."

"It's just become my new favourite thing."

When I tried the array of dishes that arrived at the table soon after we did, I found I'd been telling the truth. This wasn't the egg fried rice and sweet-and-sour chicken I usually ordered.

"This is amazing. What is it?"

The grey-haired lady who served us laughed as she shook her head. "Ah, is secret recipe. My mother taught it to me. Is Mr. Lincoln's favourite."

He nodded in agreement. "She's not kidding. I could live on the stuff. Every time I came home back in my army days, this was the first meal I'd eat."

"I might just become a regular customer myself."

Every other dish tasted delicious too, but with the restaurant owner bustling around as if Linc was her long-lost son, we didn't get much beyond small talk. Each time we tried to turn the conversation to a more serious topic, she interrupted with a question or comment.

"It so nice to see that Mr. Lincoln has a girl. You come back soon?"

"We will, I promise." Linc bent to peck her on the cheek, and an irrational sense of jealousy burned in my chest. Crazy because she was old enough to be his grandmother, but I wanted those lips to myself.

"Well, that was the most excruciating experience of my life," he said as we walked back to the bike.

"She meant well."

"I felt like a spare part on my own date. I thought she was going to invite herself back for coffee."

"She probably has a special recipe for that."

On the way home, the weather gods conspired against us too, and big, fat drops of rain started to fall. Linc slowed down as the road surface got more slippery, and by the time he pulled up outside my apartment, I was soaked through.

"Go inside before you catch a chill," he said, leaving the bike idling as we both pulled our helmets off.

"But..."