Something about the tender way he cared for her made her let go of his neck long enough to watch him. He cradled one knee and slowly moved her lower leg up and down, testing the range of motion in first one knee and then the other.
She winced.
“That hurts?” He stopped immediately, his warm touch vanishing.
“Yes, but only because it pulls at the cuts. Nothing is sprained. I’m sure of it.” She felt bad for scaring him. He appeared really spooked.
“I’m fine. They’re just scratches. It’s my fault for taking off.”
“Why did you do that?” He studied her face, his eyes roaming every corner in the moonlight.
She cupped his shoulders, feeling the warmth of his body through the cotton.
“I was nervous about why you wanted to talk. I get antsy and twitchy when I’m scared. I don’t know. Running felt good.”
His head tipped forward until it met hers, creating their own dark little pocket of privacy.
“What am I going to do with you?”
“Tell me what you wanted to talk about.” She toyed with his collar. It would be hard going slow with him when it felt so good to be next to him, his warm strength anchoring her to one spot and scattering every impulse to flee.
“You asked about my reputation once and I didn’t want to talk about it.” He tensed. “But I need you to know what happened.”
“You can tell me.” She could feel all his muscles go taut. His nervousness fed hers even as she wished she could reassure him it was okay.
“I got arrested last fall. Well, not really. But that’s the rumor.”
She stood up fast, ignoring the spike of pain in both knees.
“Excuse me?” She fumbled for her phone. “Is this some kind of joke or something? Does, like, everyone in townknow my real father is a felon? Are you trying to embarrass me?”
“What?” He jumped to his feet. “No. My God, Sarah, of course not. I thought your dad was a producer. This doesn’t have anything to do with you. I got in trouble last fall and everyone still talks about it like I’m some kind of criminal.”
She swallowed back the panic bubbling up her throat. She didn’t believe for a second that he’d done anything criminal—only that a cute boy might be tricking her in some kind of school prank. Besides, she already knew she could outrun his butt any day—track star or not. She was tricky, smart and fast.
“What happened?” Keeping her phone in one hand, she was grateful he gave her space while she thought through what he said.
“Domestic dispute. My mom and dad—same old crap and nothing new for them. But my dad got out of control and shoved Mom. Maybe he got away with that bullshit when I was four years old, but I’m eighteen. Did he really think he could do that to my mother and I would just let him?” He shook his head in disbelief.
“Oh, my God, Lucas.” She stuffed the phone back into her purse and scrambled over to him. “Don’t say you got involved.”
“Hell yes, I got involved. And I’ll be proud I did until the day I die.” He remained tense as she slung her arms around him. But when she squeezed tighter, he kissed her shoulder. “It’s okay, Sarah. My father and I didn’t really fight. The neighbors had called earlier when my mom and dad were yelling, so they got there before things got ugly. But I’d pissed my dad off, and he accused me of hitting him. I’d only just pushed him to keep him offmom.”
Horrified to think that that was the kind of home life he dealt with, Sarah didn’t know what to say.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” she whispered.
He shook his head. “It’s fine. It’s done. I’m living with my aunt now and I’m focusing on school and stuff instead of family drama. I can’t fix my parents, but I can make sure I don’t get drawn into that shit again.”
“Good for you.” She admired the set to his jaw and the determination in his gaze. “And can I apologize once again for bringing you more drama?”
“No.” He tipped her chin up and cradled her face so she was forced to meet his gaze. “Sarah, I looked at you the first time and—this is going to sound so cheesy—but I swear I saw that same crazy wildness in you that I feel all the time.”
“Lucas, I’m going to do you a huge favor and tell you that you do not need crazy wildness in your life anymore.” She took a deep breath. “You’re right about me and what you saw in me. I’m trying to get a handle on it, though. I don’t want to be the wild girl forever.”
“You don’t get it.” He shook his head, a dark wave of hair falling over one eye as he held her steady, his voice certain. “I saw the good kind of wildness, Sarah. You were carrying a pink laser gun and vaulting over kiddie slides while the other girls were rolling their eyes at the game. I knew five minutes after meeting you that I needed to break up with the girl I’d been seeing because I was going to fall hard for you. You’re so full of life and adventure. Well, maybe a little too much sometimes. But I liked you right away.”
Warm happiness twined through her, and it was so nice to feel good again after so much bad crap in her life.
