Free Hard Love: A Bad Boy Fighter Romance by Megan West, Kristen Flowers

was
trying too hard to impress someone.

 
      His
mother, on the other hand, knew exactly who he was going out with and why. That
made her inclined to think he should look a bit more ‘fixed up’ for her no
matter how much he pointed out he was only going out with Claire as old friends
catching up.

 
    “This is fine,” he told her casually as he ran
his fingers through his hair and fixed a few strays before deciding he was
ready to go pick her up. His stomach clenched at the thought of what she might
be wearing and how she would look. He knew he would find her beautiful and
attractive no matter what, but he was also aware of the fact that this would be
the first time they would be hanging out as adults.

 
      Kurt
turned to look at is mother and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking her
right in the eyes. “Really.” His mother sighed and turned around to walk
downstairs. He swiped his keys and wallet from the dresser in his bedroom and
called out to his mom before walking out the front door.

 
    He climbed into his rental car, something his
father said was unnecessary, and pulled out of the driveway to drive over to
Claire’s house.

 
    As he pulled up in front of it a mere ten
minutes later he smiled. It looked just the way he remembered it. The little
wooden swing still hung from the branches of the tree in front and the old
swinging bench was still on the porch, only now it had been reupholstered and
some more modern looking throw pillows rested at its corners. He remembered the
times he had sat on that swing with her. His mind couldn’t help but ponder on
the handful of times he had decided to make a move, only to be interrupted
right at the moment.

 
    One of those interruptions had been by Tyler
just days before he got with Claire. Kurt sighed. If only he had been as
courageous back then as he was now, things might have gone differently. But
then he had to wonder how that would have affected his life. This was
definitely not the place he wanted to stay long term, much less for the rest of
his life.

 
    He called Claire and she was outside in less
than a few minutes. As she approached the passenger door, Kurt was too caught
up in admiring how stunning she looked to even think about stepping out to open
the door for her. She was wearing a casual dress, only this one was much
tighter than the one she had worn to the party.

 
    It was a soft pink color with thick straps and
a square neckline that did a great job of showing a good amount cleavage. Her
breasts, tanned like the rest of her, looked especially alluring against the
soft pink fabric of the dress. It hugged the curves of her small waist and
ample hips. Being a bit shorter than the dress she had worn to his party, it
revealed even more of her long, toned legs. It was a plain dress made of
cotton, but damn did she look hot in
it. And she had paired it with simple white wedge sandals.

 
    When Claire opened the door and leaned forward
to place her purse in the space between the driver’s seat and passenger’s seat
it took all Kurt’s self-control not to keep his eyes glued to her breasts, and
her legs, and every other part of her. She gave him a wide smile before
slipping in the passenger’s seat.

 
    “Nice ride,” she said with a giggle. His
stomach churned.

 
    He started driving toward the town’s biggest
square. He knew it was the best bet for them to find something to do. Plus, he
hadn’t been there in years so he figured it would be fun to take a stroll
around the area with Claire. He parked the square’s central parking lot and met
her at the front of the car. He looked into her eyes and chuckled somewhat
nervously.

 
    “What’s up?” she asked.

 
    The smile hadn’t disappeared from her face
since she had gotten in the car, but he still wasn’t that used to seeing it.
She was absolutely stunning from head to toe and he kept recalling old times
and how much fun they had together.

 
    It was no surprise