Page 84 of Love at First Ride
Chase snorts, pockets yet another solid. ‘Since when did we give a fuck what Echo Salinger thinks?’
I look him up and down. He’s practically won the game before I’ve even got started.
‘I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately, man,’ Chase says with a sigh. ‘It’s like ever since Mo passed, you’re a different person.’
‘Maybe I don’t wanna spend the rest of my life being a dick. Or behind bars. If we go after the Flood brothers, that’s precisely where we’re gonna end up.’
I yawn. Chase frowns at me. ‘Not get your beauty sleep? Where were you last night, anyways?’
‘Nowhere. Hit the sack early.’
His gaze lingers, like he doesn’t trust what I’m saying. An image flashes through my mind, of Hollie and I in the shower this morning and I can’t help but smile. I’m excited to see her again.
Chase pockets the 8-ball. I roll my eyes because he’s won, and I didn’t even take a single shot.
Chapter Twenty-One
Hollie
Ten whole days.
AJ Callahan and I have been seeing each other for ten whole days. The slight problem being that apparently, we’re the only ones who know that we’re seeing one another. And so far, it would appear we are only seeing each other inside these four walls.
I’ve been home for a few hours after my shift, sitting cross-legged on my sofa, waiting to hear the low rumble of AJ’s motorcycle outside the window. The sound that awakens the daily hoard of butterflies in my stomach, and other parts.
Most days, he comes here straight after work. Our evenings follow a similar pattern. He’ll come through the door and tell me he’s missed me. We’ll start kissing and things inevitably escalate from there. I’ve gone from having zero sex to possibly having too much. In the morning, we eat breakfast together, and he kisses me sweetly before he leaves to go back to Rapture and I drive to Sunset Pines.
I keep telling myself that it’s perfect. That I want to spend my evenings and nights with him, existing in this bubble.
Except it isn’t quite perfect. In the last couple of days, I’ve begun to have my own nagging doubts. That maybe the reason why he always comes to me, is that AJ doesn’twantanybody to know about us. That maybe I’m a secret he’s happy to keep.
I was never one of the popular kids in high school.
I have to admit that maybe there is a part of him that is embarrassed by me.
My muscles tense at the sound of his bike. I get up from the sofa and walk barefoot to the window and watch him kill the engine. I frown at the sight of him offloading a box that’s been fastened to the back of his saddle. He carries it under his arm toward the security gate, then sees that I’ve seen him. He stops to hold it aloft, looking pleased with himself.
‘I got you something,’ he says once he’s inside my apartment, and has planted a single, lingering kiss on my lips. He seems excited. Under his usual jacket, he wears a beige T-shirt paired with faded black jeans.
‘What is it?’ I ask, as he hands me the sealed cardboard box. I look closer and realize it’s from a company that sells motorcycle helmets. ‘No way.’
‘Open it,’ he says.
He follows me as I go to the kitchen, puts his arms around my waist from behind, as I reach for a knife and cut the tape sealing the box. I lift the helmet out, just as he holds me close, resting his chin against my shoulder as I hold it up.
‘Wow,’ I breathe.
‘Do you like it?’ he murmurs against my skin. ‘It’s my favorite brand.’
The whole thing is black. Even the visor. It’s the sleekest bike helmet I’ve ever seen.
‘I love it,’ I breathe.
‘Echo’s girlfriend takes a small size, so I figured you’re about the same as her.’
‘Echo has a girlfriend?’
‘Her name’s Kat. She’s Ukrainian.’
