Indecision kept me from running, and then the rider was close enough that it was too late for me to run. The lone headlight blinded me as it approached, shielding the rider from view. As it slowed down, I said a silent prayer that I wouldn’t end up on the local news in the morning:girl disappears because she didn’t want to eat her burrito.
But the man on the bike had flowing dark hair, and wore a surprised grin on his handsome face as he stopped next to me.
“You look lost, Peaches,” Jayce’s voice rumbled along with the motorcycle engine.
Thank goodness it’s him, I thought, for more reasons than one. “Heading into town for dinner.”
Jayce patted the saddle behind him. “I’m going that way. Hop on.”
My heart was still thumping in my chest from the fear that he was a Copperhead, so I climbed onto the back without hesitation. I didn’t know what to do with my hands—I’d never ridden on a motorcycle before—so I placed them gently on his shoulders.
I felt him shake with laughter more than I heard it. “You’re gonna need to hold on better than that, Peaches. I don’t ride slow.”
When I still hesitated, he reached behind him and took my hands in his. He wrapped them around his midsection, pulling my arms forward until my entire chest was pressed against his broad back.
“Hold on tight.”
The bike roared to life and shot away so fast that I almost fell off the back, even with my arms wrapped around Jayce’s body. I gripped him tighter, feeling the brick-like abs underneath his tight black t-shirt. The bike vibrated between my legs, a steady shaking that instantly put a smile on my face.
So this is why girls like bikers.
It wasn’t a long ride into town, but it was so much fun that I wished we were driving for miles. It was strangely intimate: my thighs against his thighs, my chest against his back, and stray strands of his hair blowing gently into my face. He smelledincredible, like oil and smoke and spicy, clean deodorant. I couldn’t place it, but I kept inhaling the scent as we drove down the road.
When we rounded the corner onto the main street, he reached between his legs and shifted something that was wedged underneath his leg. I craned my head around him to look. A bouquet of flowers stuck out, purple and red and pink, wrapped in protective plastic.
A pang of jealousy stabbed me in the chest. “Who are those for?” I shouted over the roar of the engine.
“Nobody.”
“Oh, you bought them for yourself, then?”
He chuckled at that, but didn’t answer.
He has a girlfriend.That explained why he didn’t kiss me. I was relieved at the realization, but also a little disappointed.
It doesn’t matter. I’m only stuck here for three weeks.
The diner appeared on the right, and he slowed down and rode over onto the side of the road. His boots planted on the ground to balance the bike as it stopped.
“Here ya go,” he said.
With regret, I peeled my arms off him and stepped off the bike. My legs were slightly numb from the vibrations. “Thanks,” I said, wishing I could go on a longer ride with him. If only I had the courage to ask for it.
I should say something,I thought as I stood there.Break the ice about our almost-kiss.
Before I could, Jayce said, “Night, Peaches,” and drove away.
I watched him go, bike rumbling onto the road much slower than before. Then he turned down the dirt road into the woods, the same one I’d seen him ride down the other night. His bike’s headlight made the trees flicker into and then out of view.
Where are you going, Jayce?
I glanced at the diner, then back at the dirt road. My curiosity was so strong that food could wait.
19
Charlotte
I jogged up the street and then down the little road. It was unpaved, made up of dirt and gravel rocks spaced unevenly into the woods. Dirt, kicked up by Jayce’s bike, hung in the air, stinging my eyes and making me cough. Sugarberry trees hung over the road like claws stretching out to grab me. If I wasn’t following Jayce, I probably would have been afraid to be out in the dark woods at night. But knowing he was up ahead filled me with courage. Nothing bad would happen to me if he was there. I just had to get to him.