“Wow. Working hard, huh, Tyler?”
“I have to. Have big plans ahead for myself.”
“Me too,” I murmur.
“You have big plans for me?” He lifts his eyebrows.
“No, for me.”
"Wow. Way to be selfish there, Erika." He shakes his head as if disappointed in me. "Want a lift to the library?"
“Please. That would be great.”
“Good. It’s raining some, and I don’t want your hip to get out of whack again.”
“That a technical term?” I ask.
“I think so.” He takes my backpack off me, and I want to protest, but he’s moving around easily enough, and the last thing I want to do is mother him.
He hands my backpack back to me when we reach his bike. He climbs on first, and I sit behind him, holding onto him tight. When we wait at a red light, I think about letting a hand slip down lower, but I don’t dare. Liam’s comment about my whoring around has me fearing that I’ve been giving the guys mixed signals. Hell, I’m all mixed up. I don’t know how someone wouldn’t be when they’re around me. I don’t know which way is up.
It’s a short drive to the library, and he pulls up front.
“I wish I could stay,” he says apologetically as I climb off his bike. “Give me a call when you’re done, and I’ll give you a lift back.”
“I don’t have your number.”
“Don’t you?” he asks.
Confused, I yank out my phone. I hadn’t added a single number to be stored in the memory bank, and yet someone added four numbers to it.
I stare at him, confused. “When…”
“Some mysteries aren’t meant to be solved.”
“Some require solving and justice,” I say.
The strangest look crosses over his face. “Erika, will you promise me one thing?”
“Yes,” I say, and then I shake my head. “Er, it depends.”
“Be careful with Liam. I hate that I was late that day. From now on, I’d like to walk you to homeroom and then to your first class.”
“That’s…”
“If you think it’s an overreach—”
“Maybe it is, but… Maybe it’s a good idea. I don’t know.” I look down.
“Erika, I just want you to be safe.”
I snort. “I can take care of myself.”
“Doesn’t mean you have to do it alone.”
Slowly, I nod. “I just want you to be safe too,” I murmur.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask him to move in with me, but I don’t have a place yet, and he revs his engine.