Scarlet rolled her eyes. “Yes, and I’m the smart one.”
“I can get further on my looks than you can on your brains.”
“Beauty fades, but dumb is forever,” Scarlet countered.
Crimson cocked her head to the side, smiled, and fluttered her eyelashes. “I’d rather be pretty.”
“And you continue to prove my point.” Scarlet sighed.
“I have an idea I want to run by y’all,” I said, interrupting their playful bickering.
We all fell silent as the server arrived at our table with our drinks. When she left, they both looked at me, waiting for me to continue.
“Do y’all remember Stone Hamilton from school?” I asked.
“He’s that good-looking guy that rode the motorcycle to school, isn’t he?” Crimson asked.
“That’s him,” I answered.
“And he dated that girl who always had her tongue halfway down his throat in the hallway. A little too much PDA, if you ask me. What was her name? Jennie or Jamie?”
“Jessie,” I supplied.
“What about him?” Crimson asked.
“He works at the bookstore, too, and he was talking about doing some special promotions. I told him that y’all might agree to do something like braids or painting fingernails for a cheap price. I figured it would help the bookstore get some business, and it could help y’all drum up some business. You know, get your name out there.”
Scarlet clapped her hands together and looked at her sister with enthusiasm. “I’d love to do that, wouldn’t you?”
“Sure,” Crimson answered. “I’ve got nothing else to do. Why not?”
“When is the promotion?” Scarlet asked.
“I’m not sure. We talked about having one for the Fourth of July. I’ll talk to him about it again and let you know. I don’t know if the owner has approved it or not.”
“We’ll start thinking about all the things we need to do before then. I’m almost finished with our website,” Scarlet said.
The server returned with our nachos, and we each immediately grabbed for a chip. I didn’t realize just how hungry I was.
“Don’t look now,” Crimson warned, “but here comes Chance.”
Stone
I was about to leave the store and head to Awesome Sauce to meet up with Jessie and Mike when I got a text. It was from Mike. She’s here.
I texted back. Ok B there in a min.
Mike texted again. Not Jess. Dara.
Well, hell. I had worked hard all day to stay away from her, except for my one little slip-up when she asked me about the coupon. It wasn’t easy to ignore a beautiful girl whose damned pink lips kept beckoning to me, but I had managed. And now I was going to have to see her again. I could ask Mike and Jessie to meet me somewhere else, but that would be insane. I shoved my phone in my pocket, locked up the bookstore, and sped off on my motorcycle. I wanted to get there before she left.
When I arrived, I sat across the booth from Mike. Jess wasn’t there yet. I scanned the room until I found Dara. She was sitting across from the Cruze twins, and Chance was standing at the end of the table. I wasn’t sure what the circumstances were of their breakup, but I wondered if he was going to try to get back together with her. If he was, then the odds would be in his favor. It wasn’t at all uncommon for couples our age to break up and get back together multiple times.
She was looking at him, laughing. I sat silently assessing my options. If he was trying to get back together with her, then I would only have a small window of opportunity. Not that I wouldn’t go for her anyway, but it would be easier before she became his official girlfriend.
My mind told me to turn away. Dara wasn’t the kind of girl that I needed. Chance laid his hand on her shoulder, and I forced my eyes to Mike’s face.
“Have you asked her out yet?” he asked.
“Is she with me?” I shot back, toggling between being angry that I hadn’t asked her and being glad that I didn’t.
Mike grinned. “She could’ve turned you down.”
“Yeah, and you could’ve been voted Homecoming Queen.”
“If it matters that much to you, then why don’t you go ask her now?” he asked, turning in the booth to glance her way.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because you were right. She’s not my type.”
The front door opened, and Jess walked in. She wore a shiny, silver tank top with a black miniskirt and silver, beaded high heels. Her jet black hair hung in long, wavy curls. She was voluptuous, and many heads turned as she made her way down the aisle to our booth.
She sat beside me and planted a kiss on my cheek. “Hey, baby,” she cooed as she took the napkin and wiped her lipstick from my face.
“Hey, Jess.” I put my arm around her shoulders and hugged her to me. Jess and I had been dating for the last few months, but never exclusively. We both liked our freedom, and that was what made our relationship so perfect. Neither of us was clingy. We liked keeping our options open.
“You want something to eat?” I asked her. She wasn’t extraordinarily beautiful, but she knew how to dress to get a guy’s blood pumping.
“No, I’m not hungry,” she replied. She looked across the table at Mike. “Hey, Mikey.”
“Hey,” he said, nodding his head to her in greeting.
“So what do you guys want to do tonight?” she asked. “Are you on your bike, Mikey?”
“I am. It’s much too nice of a night to be in a car.”
“So why don’t you pick up a girl and we’ll all go riding? You do have your extra helmet with you, don’t you?” she asked.
“You know I always have an extra helmet with me.” Mike looked around the room. “So should I just pick one, chuck her over my shoulder, and tie her on the back of my bike?”
“Mikey,” Jess purred. “You’re so shy. It’s really cute.”
“What’s cute about it?” I asked. “He’s going to die a virgin because he doesn’t have the balls to look a girl in the eyes.”
“Heck, Stone. It’s not like I’ve never been on a date.”
I laughed. I could tell I had gotten under his skin.
“I’ll be right back,” Jess said softly.
I had no idea where she was going or what she was doing. I was as shocked as Mike when she walked up to the table where Dara sat. Chance was gone, and it was now Jess standing at the end of the table, talking to the three girls at the booth.
I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but she was smiling and motioning with her hands. Then, she pointed at our booth.
I was even more shocked when one of the Cruze twins got up and followed Jess back to our booth. “Mikey, you remember Crimson Cruze from school, don’t you?”
Crimson smiled. “Hey, Mike.” She waved.
“Hi, Crimson.”
Jessie motioned to me. “And this is Stone Hamilton.”
“Crimson.” I nodded my head in greeting, and she waved.
Jess continued, “Crimson’s going to ride with us. So let’s go, guys.”
Mike picked up his check and paid it on the way out. I glanced at Dara as I made my way to the door. Since her back was to me, I couldn’t see her face, but Crimson’s twin sister was watching us as we all left the building.
The sun was sinking below the horizon, casting pink and orange hues on the clouds that dotted the sky. Jess climbed on back of my bike and wrapped her slender arms around my waist. She had ridden with me numerous times, and she loved motorcycles almost as much as I did. I rode my bike through the parking lot and waited at the edge of the road for Mike and Crimson to pull up behind me. When I spotted Mike’s bike in my mirror, I hit the road, eager to put some distance between Dara and me. That girl was beginning to consume my thoughts.
***
The next morning, I didn’t arrive at the bookstore until almost eleven. I had stayed out late with Jess, Mike, and Crimson the night before, hoping that if I busied myself with their company, I would forget a
bout Dara. I even tried smoking a little weed after I got home, but unfortunately, it didn’t work. I had wondered if Chance was trying to get back together with her. Thankfully, Crimson was quite talkative, and she volunteered the information without anyone having to ask. Chance hadn’t said anything about getting together with Dara when he was standing at their booth last night, but who knows what he might have said to her later after we had left? Hell, why did I even waste my time thinking about them?
I needed a cigarette.
I walked through the store, grabbing a loose cigarette from my front pocket. When I pushed the back door open, I was shocked by what I saw. Smoking was no longer on my mind, and I shoved the cigarette back into my front pocket.
Chapter 3
Stone
I wasn’t sure which of us was the most surprised, but Dara’s sweet, pink lips formed a perfect “O” as she gaped at me like a frightened rabbit.
“Oh, I…I…I’m so sorry,” she sputtered.
I had visions of Dara on my motorcycle, but I had never expected to catch her sitting on it, her delicate hands wrapped around the grips on the handlebar, her tiny, sandaled feet resting on the pegs. She stared at me with wide, green eyes, her blond hair gently blowing in the balmy breeze. Damn, she was beautiful. The only thing wrong with this picture was that I wasn’t sitting on it in front of her, her hands clutching me. Not yet, anyway.
She finally spoke again. “Please don’t be mad. It’ll never happen again. I’ve just never seen a motorcycle up close before.”
Several emotions coursed through my body. Anger wasn’t one of them. She was still staring at me as if she were afraid to move until she had gotten a response from me. I should put the poor girl out of her misery.
“You want to go for a ride?” I asked her, amused at her present predicament.
“With you?”
It was so sexy the way she looked totally bewildered. “Well, unless you have a motorcycle’s license, then yeah, I guess it’d have to be with me.” How else would I get her to wrap those arms around me?
She swallowed hard and looked down at the bike, then back to my face again. I could see the indecision reflected in her features.
“It’s dangerous,” she whispered, so softly that I would almost think she was talking to herself.
“I have an extra helmet, and I won’t speed or pop wheelies,” I promised, trying to alleviate her fears.
“I wasn’t talking about the motorcycle,” she said softly. “I was talking about being with you.”
Unable to argue that point with her, I stood quietly, my expression never changing. Slowly, I approached her and ran my fingertips along the curve of her cheek, tracing her jawline to her chin, and then I rubbed my thumb across her plump, bottom lip. She looked so enticing perched on my motorcycle.
I leaned down toward her and watched as her lips parted, awaiting my kiss. Instead, I whispered in her ear, “Without a little danger to get your heart pounding every now and then, life would be incredibly dull.”
I stood up but didn’t move my hand from her face. “Don’t move. I’m going to get you a helmet and take you for a ride that you’ll never forget.”
Reluctantly, I dropped my hand away from her face and watched her watch me. Then, I turned and went into the building to get the helmets.
Dara
I was so nervous I was shaking. Was it because of Stone or because I was about to ride a motorcycle? Probably a mixture of both.
I didn’t think it was possible for my heart to beat any faster, but when he came back out with the helmets, the thought of being pressed against a guy that I barely knew nearly sent my entire system into overdrive. I was usually comfortable around guys, but Stone was definitely different from most of the guys I knew. When I was near him, I found myself with bumbling speech, sweaty palms, and a case of arrhythmia that would compare to that of even the most dire heart patients.
Something about him threw my entire world off-kilter. And I wasn’t sure if I was going to survive.
He handed a helmet to me, and I smoothed my hair away from my face and put it on. When he finished putting on his helmet, he reached over and fastened my chin strap, his warm fingers brushing across my skin and sending tiny jolts of electricity down my body.
An extra pair of sunglasses hung along the rounded collar of his snug-fitting tee shirt. He removed them and handed them to me.
“Hop off and let me get on,” he said, holding his hand out to me. “Then you can get back on.”
I took his hand and slid off the motorcycle. When he was in position, he spoke again, “Okay. Your turn.”
I climbed on the seat behind him, awkwardly trying to figure out what to do with my hands when he reached backwards, grabbed my hands in his own, and wrapped my arms around his taut stomach. I could feel the hard muscles below his silky shirt, probably one of those active wear fabrics that breathed easily. Speaking of breathing, I had to remind myself to do just that.
Good grief. I was doing it again. I was so wrapped up in the moment that I hadn’t even thought about my job. “What about Tom?” I asked, not wanting to be fired for disappearing.
Stone turned his head sideways, so that I could hear him through his open face shield. “He said it’s slow today, and he can handle it by himself. We can take the rest of the day off if we want. Do you want to?”
Taking the rest of the day off wouldn’t help me save up money for a car, but yes, I had to admit that I wanted to. “I guess so.” I didn’t want him to think that I was too eager to take the day off with him.
He started the motorcycle and revved the engine. I closed my eyes as the thrill of the moment washed over me.
“Hold on,” he warned as he revved the engine again.
I tightened my grip around him, pressing my body against his back. When I inhaled, I caught a faint whiff of his cologne. I breathed in deeply through my nose, concentrating on the scent. I liked the way he smelled, and I liked the way he felt. Was this the way Crimson had felt when she rode off with Mike Waters last night?
He revved the engine again, and we were moving forward. He didn’t pull out of the parking lot as fast as he usually did, and I thought perhaps he was giving me time to adjust to being on the back of a bike.
Once we hit the road, everything changed. We zipped along at a pretty fast pace, and as I watched the asphalt rush by in a blur, I clung to him, scared to death that I would fly right off the back of the motorcycle.
The wind whipped my hair as I turned my head. I couldn’t ever remember feeling so…free. And terrified. It was the kind of scary that people paid to experience, like on a rollercoaster or at a haunted house or at a horror flick.
We rode to the top of the mountain, and Stone pulled into Quail Mountain Park, a public park built at the summit, taking full advantage of the views of the valley below and the foliage of the trees that lined the side of the mountain.
We removed our helmets, and he hung one on each mirror. Then, we walked to the overlook and gazed at the valley below. It was cooler at the top of the mountain, and despite the fact that it was June, the heat wasn’t unbearable as we stood in the shade of two, old oak trees.
I gazed over the railing at the valley below. Rows of houses were lined along a grid of streets. Patches of trees dotted the landscape, and I saw cattle grazing in a field. Everything seemed so tiny that it reminded me of a model, kind of like the little villages people displayed at Christmas.
“Do you come here often?” I asked Stone.
He was fixated on the valley below. “I come here when I want to escape.”
“Escape what?”
“You know. The usual shit.”
He didn’t look at me, and I got the feeling that his answer was more than just a general comment, that perhaps he really did come here to escape something. I studied his profile and found him enigmatic. He never volunteered information, and if I was ever going to know anything about him, it appeared that I was going to have to ask. I was relieved th
at he was standing a few feet away from me. When he was near, my brain turned to mush, but as long as he kept his distance, I would have no problem engaging him in conversation.
“Do you have girl problems?”
He did turn to look at me then and laughed. “No, not hardly.”
He didn’t elaborate. I decided to offer him some information about me to open things up.
“My mother abandoned me when I was three.”
That got his attention. He removed his sunglasses and hung them on his shirt collar. He was definitely looking at me now. I didn’t know why I had started with that tidbit. It wasn’t something that I spoke of often, and there were so many other things that I could’ve said. I removed my sunglasses, too, and hung them from the waist of my jeans. I looked out over the valley, thinking that maybe I should’ve started out the conversation by telling him that I was terrified of water because I couldn’t swim.
“Seriously?” he asked.
“’Fraid so.”
“At school, you always seemed like your life was perfect, like you had everything going for you. I guess I never imagined you’d been through something like that.”
“You thought my life was perfect? You never even spoke to me, Stone.”
“I know. It was just my perception. You always seemed so happy. You made good grades, had lots of friends, dated your jock.”
“My jock? He does have a name, you know.”
“He does, but it’s not worth remembering.”
I frowned. “His name is Chance. If you’re going to talk about him, then use his name.”
“I have no plans of discussing your jock with you.”
“He’s not my jock.” I blew out an exasperated breath and caught him grinning at me. “Are you always this difficult to get along with?” I asked, giving him a playful glare.
“My dad thinks so,” he said, then steered the conversation back to me. “Have you seen your mother since she left you?”
“Not once. I must’ve been a real heathern when I was two. On my third birthday, she took me to my paternal grandmother, who didn’t even know I existed, and just left me, never to be heard from again.”
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