“Wow, thanks,” I said, sliding into the seat. I tucked into breakfast and started on my juice when my mom handed me a white envelope. “What’s this?”
My mom sipped her coffee, looking at me over the rim. “I have no idea. It was on the floor this morning.”
She eyed me carefully as I took the envelope and tore it open. Tipping it up, I watched as a small note fell into the palm of my hand. There was nothing else inside the envelope.
I opened the note and read it to myself. ‘Walk down the driveway and turn left.’ I froze as a thought slammed into me, taking me by surprise. I shot up out of my seat, almost knocking the chair over, and rushed out of the room, my pulse pounding in my veins.
Oh, God, my mom’s gonna hit the roof.
“Kinsley, what is it?” my mom yelled, the sounds of her chair moving coming right after as she got up to follow me.
I opened the front door, and there, standing in the driveway, was Colby.
I skidded to a halt. “What the?” I moved slowly toward him. “What the hell are you doing here?”
More importantly, how?
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish, his face almost the same color of his burgundy sweater. “I thought you could use a ride this morning,” he offered, looking back to the red coupe at the end of the driveway. “After what happened, I figured you’d need it.”
“Who’s that?” my mom whispered from the doorway.
“This is Colby, he’s in my art class.” I turned back to him. “How did you know this was my house?”
Pink tinged his ears, and he glanced down to his feet for a second and scuffed his brown shoe on the ground. “I kinda asked Phoebe.” When my jaw dropped, he held his hands up. “I know, after what happened, she should be the last person I spoke to, but I figured she knew where you lived and, well,” he gestured to himself, “I thought I could be your ride today.”
A black motorcycle with silver waves on the tank pulled up to the curb. Even though I knew my mom would most likely have an aneurysm from what I was about to do, I had to take my chances.
Quinn, thank God.
He lifted his visor. “Hey, Kinsley, are you ready?” he asked, not sparing a glance to Colby, who’d turned as white as a sheet. Quinn waved, and my mom’s hand lifted, her face slack as though she didn’t know what the hell was going on.
“Yeah,” I replied and walked back into the house to collect my bag.
“Do not get on that motorcycle,” my mom hissed.
“Please, mom,” I begged. “Right now, I need you to just let me go. You can yell at me later.” Before she could respond, I left, and walked past Colby, speaking to him. “Thanks, but Quinn’s taking me. I appreciate the offer, though, it was sweet of you.” I glanced over my shoulder to see my mom’s stunned face, confusion and disbelief making her mouth open and close like a fish out of water. I widened my eyes, silently asking her to go along with me.
Quinn pulled a helmet from in front of him and held it out to me, identical to his only smaller, and I took it. I cocked my leg over the seat, slipped my arms around his body, and molded myself to his back, hugging his thighs with mine. I molded myself around him, fitting him perfectly.
We arrived at campus, and when Quinn cut the engine, I got off the bike and took off the helmet. “Jesus Christ,” I hissed. “Could you have been any more of a dick?”
He slowly took off his helmet, his dark hair mussed from the movement, and stroked the stubble across his chin. “Come to think of it, yeah. I could’ve been so much more. I’ll make sure I am next time.” He dropped his hand and grinned.
“There’s not going to be a next time,” I spat. “You know how my mom feels about motorcycles, and you completely disrespected that.”
“How do you feel about them?” he asked, ignoring me.
“What? What’s that got to do with this?” I asked, confused. “I made a promise to my mom—”
“Which you’ve broken three times in one week,” he stated.
“No thanks to you,” I retorted.
“Would you have rather I hadn’t stopped the other night?” He asked, folding his arms over the handlebars. “Not to mention, you called me yesterday. And this morning, well…” He gestured over to where my car was still parked. “You didn’t think I’d forgotten about that, did you?”
I turned back to him. “This morning could’ve been avoided, Quasi,” I said, staring pointedly at the bruising and still swollen areas of skin. “My mom was going to drive me while I called the garage, but thank you for completely disregarding everything I told you yesterday.”
Quinn leaned forward, his eyes piercing mine. “Colby looked all set to drive you,” he said, his tone stone cold. “And here I was, trying to keep you from further questioning by staying out of view of your mom. Hence my note so she wouldn’t see me.”
“There was no way I was getting in his car.” I snapped back. “I don’t even know him.”
Quinn studied me for a second. “You don’t know me either, remember.”
I dropped my head back and closed my eyes, releasing a frustrated breath. I then stared at him. “He’s after something you’re not, ergo not a chance in hell was I getting in there.”
His eyes narrowed, but then he slowly nodded, his bottom lip pouting as though thinking about what I said. “Makes sense, but here’s the thing…” Quinn slowly got off the bike, removed his gloves, and stood so close, his heat seared into me. I took a sharp breath when his jacket brushed against my front, the leather sliding over the thin fabric covering my breasts. “Remember our deal, Kinsley. You gotta ride with me sometimes, or I ride with you, that’s how it goes.” His hand touched my arm, sending shivers all the way up to my shoulder then cascaded down the rest of me, my skin firing up. “We gotta get to class.” His fingers stroked down to my hand, and just when I thought he was going to take it in his, he took the helmet instead. “Nobody’ll touch this,” he whispered, then placed it on the handlebars.
I held my tongue and walked inside with him next to me. Without saying a word to each other, he kept within my personal space until I got to the art studio. He stopped and faced me, leaning down. “I’m not gonna kiss you, so don’t freak out.”
“I wasn’t going to, and if you did kiss me, you’d lose a lip.”
He smirked. “Probably.” He straightened and winked at me. “See you later… Babe.”
I closed my eyes and counted to five, willing the butterflies to flutter their infuriating wings the hell away out of my insides. I blew out a long breath and went inside, ready to start my project.
“About yesterday,” Colby said about an hour into work. “I might have come on a bit strong.”
Ya think?
I didn’t lift my head from my computer. “Just a little. Showing up at my house today was worse.”
He cringed. “So, to apologize, I was wondering if I could buy you lunch?”
That’s when I looked up, stared ahead, then gave him a side-eyed glance. “No, I’ll be eating with Quinn, but thank you for the offer.”
“You are?” he asked incredulously.