Page 52 of Love at First Ride
‘I did. It’s my fault you’re here.’
‘Did they say how long it might take?’
‘Uh. They can’t tell me that yet. No.’
The silence that follows is a little awkward. The air in the room grows thicker with every passing second. I can see that he’s torn between not wanting to leave me behind and his eagerness to get back to Rapture.
‘At least let me give you some money for the room.’
‘Nah. You’re all good. I appreciate what you did for Noah.’
He looks to the carpet, and I feel a cross between annoyed and guilty. ‘You need to get going.’
He raises dark brown eyes to me. For a moment, he says nothing. ‘You wouldn’t mind? If I went on ahead?’
‘I mean… I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble with Echo, but—’
‘It’s cool. I can wait. I can handle Echo.’
A turgid silence fills the room.
‘Look, just go if you need to go,’ I say, and it comes out a little more aggressively than I intended. ‘It’s my shitty car that’s the problem here. It’s not worth you losing your job over. Jesus.’
He’s quiet, like he’s trying to ratify any decision he makes.
‘I’m a big girl,’ I add, to reinforce my case. ‘If I have to call Triple A, I’ll make up something to tell my dad.’
‘If I ride fast, I can make it back by lunch.’
‘Just don’t kill yourself.’
The next thing I know, he’s pulled a wad of dollars from his jeans pocket. ‘This is for you,’ he says.
‘Oh,’ is my response. I look down at it. It takes me a moment to move the bag of donuts to my other hand and reach for it.
A smile tugs at his lips. ‘Thanks, Hollie. It’s been, uh… it’s been, um, been good seeing you again.’
A jolt goes through my chest, because it sounds like a goodbye, and I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again.
‘It’s been good to see you too,’ I murmur, the money now in my fist. In my head, I add,oh, by the way, it was me. Yet the words still aren’t there, and this isn’t the time.
We face each other. There’s an awkward moment where AJ holds out his arms, but not fully, and I’m not sure if he’s going to hug me, because I’m still holding the money, my coffee and donuts. I step forward into a slightly limp embrace. But in that one second, I close my eyes and breathe him in. Because this might be the final moment I get to spend with AJ Callahan.
And then he’s stepped back, and there’s cool air between us. I feel an overwhelming sense of sadness that I didn’t get to tell him what I should have, last night and all those years ago. The knowledge of my own weakness consumes me from within.
I watch him bend to pick up his jacket and helmet, along with his bag. ‘Bye, Hollie,’ he says as he backs out the door. ‘Thanks for everything. Drive careful now.’
‘I will,’ I say. ‘Bye, AJ.’
Then he closes the door behind him.
And he’s gone.
Chapter Thirteen
Hollie
‘Hey, Hollie, there’s a guy at the front entrance holding some flowers and asking for you.’
