Smex Scene “better late than never” Sunday on Tuesday

Hero: Rome. Member of the Nighthawks MC. He let Randi slip through his fingers twice for her own good. But now she’s back and he’s never letting her go.

Heroine: Randi. Is back in town for her high school reunion. She’s always had the biggest crush on Rome but the two times they went out, he never tried anything. She’s willing to try one more time but now she’s playing for something bigger.

**The following scene is set in a grocery store where Randi runs into Rome and they attempt to set up a date only to have Randi’s younger sister, Lexi, butt in.**

“You got plans for tonight?” he asked.

I shrugged again, because my plans were way too boring to share. I was going to balance my mom’s checkbook and then go through the giant stack of bills sitting on her counter, paying them in order of importance. If things got wild and crazy, I might eat some microwave popcorn. Yup. I knew how to have a good time.

“Funny,” he said, cocking a brow. Just the sight was enough to send a shiver of excitement through me. God, I felt twenty again. “That’s a lot of condoms for a girl with no plans.”

My eyes flew to the cart. Fuck. There they were, staring up at us. I opened my mouth to tell him that they weren’t mine, then snapped it shut again because no way in hell way was I announcing that I’d gotten them for my teenage sister. For one thing, Lexi’s sexual activity was her own business, push-up bra or not. For another, I was a twenty-eight-year-old woman, which meant I was mature enough to buy condoms any damned time I wanted to. Without blushing. Except I was fairly certain that the blazing heat in my cheeks meant I wasn’t quite there yet.

“She likes to keep her options open,” Lexi announced, choosing the worst possible moment to come back. She looked Rome over curiously. My pulse quickened, because when Lexi got curious, things went bad. Fast. “Why? You interested in my sister?”

I jerked my hand out of his, mortified, then turned on Lexi. The little rat smirked. I was going to kill her. Kill her dead. With my bare hands. As for Rome, he seemed to be biting back a laugh.

“And what kind of options is she keeping open?” he asked.

“All of them,” she responded, snapping her gum. “Consider me her agent. In charge of booking appearances and such. You asking her out?”

“Lexi, shut up!” I hissed.

Rome burst out laughing. A real laugh, deep and every bit as sexy as I remembered.

“I was thinking about it,” he said. “Although usually there’s a little small talk first.”

Lexi gave him a slow once-over, biting her lip thoughtfully. “

You got a job?”

“Lexi, seriously. You need to stop talking right now,” I told her.

“Yeah, I got a job,” he replied. “And a condo. Not married, no kids. Used to have a beta fish, but it died. Is that a deal breaker?”

“Rome, this is ridiculous. You don’t have to answer—” He smiled at me, and my words trailed off, because I’d forgotten just how beautiful he was when he smiled. Not that he was classically handsome, not at all. But there was something about him. His eyes were almost… kind. Which didn’t make sense. I knew he was in a motorcycle gang—and I was pretty sure that the Reapers were a gang, despite what Tinker insisted—and the guy was clearly a badass. Yet he’d been gentle with me eight years ago, that was for sure. Looking back, I could see how easy it would’ve been for him to push, but he hadn’t. Not even when I wanted him to.

“Randi, I’d like to take you out tonight,” he said, the words formal, even while his eyes danced with laughter. “Assuming your agent here will allow it.”

“You can pick her up at seven, and I expect you to take her somewhere nice. Eleven-twenty Maple Street. Unit C. You keep her out past two in the morning and I’m calling the cops. I’m also taking a picture of you and your license plate before you go.”

Rome and I both turned to her, startled by the ferocity in her voice.

“What? I take my job seriously,” Lexi said, rolling her eyes. “Now scoot. She needs time to get ready and we got more stuff to buy.”

With that, she grabbed the condoms from the cart and studied the box carefully. Snorting, she put them back on the rack and picked out another style. Ribbed, for her pleasure, according to the packaging.