Page 18 of Timeless
“Don’t worry, Lils, I’d never let anything happen to you. You’re safe with me always.”
He handed me his leather jacket to put on over the long-sleeved shirt I’d borrowed from Arizona, paired with blackleggings she’d brought me in a bag of miscellaneous clothing that morning, and reached for a spare helmet on the shelf in his garage. I hated to think who might’ve worn this before me, but I dismissed that negative thinking since I had no right to be jealous.
“Just wrap your arms around my waist, keep your feet on the foot pegs, and leanwiththe motorcycle—not against it—through the turns. Think you can do that for me?”
I nodded, before Jaxon offered me his hand for support as I climbed onto the back of the Ducati. The seat was tiny compared to his, and equally terrifying, but a wicked dose of adrenaline surged through me when the engine rumbled to life.
“Hold on.” The helmet muffled Jaxon’s voice when he called over his shoulder, but there was no missing the pleasure in his tone that let me know he was going to love every second of our ride together.
I pressed my chest into his back and wrapped my arms firmly around his waist, with my palms flat against the warmth of his torso, and squeezed his thighs with my knees. The vibrations from the bike ran up through my legs, through my chest, settling deep in my throat like a second heartbeat. Once Jaxon was satisfied with my hold, he eased off the clutch, twisted the throttle, and the Ducati launched forward with a deep, hungry roar beneath us.
It wasn’t long before we were outside the little community of homes, and the forested side roads blurred past us in streaks of vivid green, while the wind teased strands of hair against the back of my neck. I realized pretty soon where he was taking me, and I couldn’t help but smile behind the face shield of the helmet. I made a conscious decision to be present and sankdeeper into the warmth of his back, while the steady rhythm of the engine drowned out my worries.
Jaxon had always been my protector, my rock, my constant, and sitting behind him now, feeling wild and weightless while he stayed in complete control, was its own kind of freedom. It was liberating and thrilling in its own unique way, especially when he hit long stretches of open road. That’s when one of his hands would leave the handlebars and settle on my knee. With his fingers splaying gently over the fabric of my leggings, he traced slow, deliberate circles over the spot where my scar was, massaging it like a silent promise, reminding me I was still whole, even with the cracks.
He made me forget everything but the here and now.
Though when Jaxon veered off the main road and onto a narrow lane, the crunching of gravel replaced the quiet hiss of the tires on pavement, and a lump of nervousness began to form in my throat.
The property I remembered was barely recognizable now. Where once stood a cluster of old, dilapidated trees surrounding a tiny, abandoned cottage, had since been transformed into a stunning two-story home with a cute wraparound veranda.
Jaxon cut the engine and helped me off the Ducati. It was at that moment when my eyes landed on the tree beside where he had parked, and our initials, which we had carved back when we were teenagers, were still etched in the weathered bark. I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my lips as I stepped around him and ran my fingertips over the edges.
“Is it okay that I brought you here?” Jaxon asked.
I whirled around and took off my helmet so he could witness just how happy it made me, even though it also made me vulnerable.
“I’ve always loved it here. It was our special place, and now . . .” I looked over my shoulder at the private retreat he’d created. “And now it’s even more magical.”
He took my helmet and placed it on the seat.
“I need to check on something inside. Did you want to come with me?”
I wanted to say yes, but honestly, I knew there was only so much one could handle in a day, and going inside that house might be my tipping point. Less than twenty-four hours ago, I was in an entirely different world—one a lifetime away from this one.
“I’d actually like to go sit on the dock if that’s okay?”
A flicker of disappointment flashed across his expression before he quickly masked it. “Of course.”
I made my way down the embankment toward the dock, which was complete with a beautiful, stained wood pergola and two boat slips. It was a far cry from the prior one with metal rods and rickety floorboards.
I sat cross-legged on the edge of the dock and looked down at the water. The version of my reflection staring back at me was a jolt to my system. Gone was the wide-eyed teenager who once thought love alone could anchor her world. The girl who used to sit here with the boy she loved with every ounce of her being, laughing on summer nights, sharing stolen moments, oblivious to how fragile everything in life truly was.
Back then, my home life had become an unpredictable guessing game. One where I was never sure which version of my dad would be waiting for me on the other side of the front door when I walked inside. It hadn’t always been that way; my parents had been loving and happy my entire life until something changed my senior year of high school. They began fighting as ifit were a second language whenever they thought I wasn’t home. Otherwise, my mom was quiet. I counted the days until I moved away for nursing school and could breathe in a place that felt like peace with the one person who kept me grounded: Jaxon.
He was more than my boyfriend; he was the one my soul was drawn to.
People joked it was young love, but I knew the connection we shared was different. We made promises under the stars that nothing would ever come between us.
That our love would be untouchable.
We had plans.
And then I willingly destroyed us.
Little did I know when I climbed back through the window and into my bedroom that fateful morning, the same room where I’d left my graduation dress hanging from the trim around my closet, that I was saying goodbye to the owner of my heart. If I had, I never would have left his house or made the promises that I had. I would have suggested we run away together.
I’d been entirely too in my own bubble and giddy knowing Jaxon and I were finally going to give ourselves to each other—fully and completely—to notice anything was amiss. He wanted our first time to be special and memorable. I didn’t need the fuss; I just wanted him, but he had a plan, and who was I to deny him anything?
