Thanking my past self for choosing to wear pants and not a dress tonight, I threw my leg over the bike and reached behind, gripping the safety handle. Turning to look at me, a scowl marked his features as he mouthed something I couldn’t hear through the roar of the engine or the helmet snug against my ears.
With the adrenaline from earlier quickly fading, the exhaustion seeping in brought with it an all too familiar impatience. I never was my best self when tired and as soon as I lifted the visor, that much was clear.
“What?” I snapped.
“That’s not safe,” he replied, matching my annoyance with a frustration of his own.
“I agree. So let me get an Uber.”
With everything spinning between us, I still caught the way he exhaled slowly before he spoke.
“Not what I meant,” he grumbled before turning away, his black shirt pulling taut across his back.
Just as I was about to ask him what the heck he meant, he grabbed each of my legs, yanking me forward until I was wrapped around him. My arms instinctively reached around his waist, steadying myself as I did my best to ignore the flutter in my stomach.
“You couldn’t have just asked?” I protested loudly and he shot me a glance over his shoulder, a tiny hint of a grin on his face.
As we pulled away from the club, I reminded myself this was the same guy who dismissed me as nothing more thana kid. Someone he didn’t want around but felt obliged to entertain because I was the sister of his best friend. The same guy who broke my teenage heart.
I’d seen him a few times in the last fifteen years and at each encounter he was abrasive, greeting me as if we were acquaintances before standing on the periphery with disinterest, reminding me why I’d worked tirelessly to forget him.
As the bike swung around corners, weaving in and out of traffic and I was forced to hold tighter, I was sure to keep those things front and centre. I ignored the warmth of his body and the way I moulded perfectly into his back, wrapping around him like a glove. I ignored the way his smell comforted me like a tight hug or the fact he rode with no protective gear as he put my safety before his own.
He was doing Sebastian a favour.
I was still the same old burden.
I held these reminders in a deathly grip when I hopped off the back of the bike, removing the jacket and helmet. I remembered them when he too came to stand on the sidewalk, glancing up at the townhouse with memories in his eyes. With a wistful glance he looked at me, unspoken words left hanging in the air as he pulled me into him for a hug which lingered much longer than it should have and was filled with something I couldn’t quite name. A hug which left me a quaking, emotional mess, with tears again pressing for release.
When he eventually loosened his hold, his breath whispered against my neck, “Are you okay?”
Shivering involuntarily at the way his words fluttered across my skin, I desperately tried to remember them, but the care in his eyes made it difficult.
“I’m okay,” I answered, unsure whether I was or not really.But not wanting to talk it through out here when everything that followed was just as confusing.
“It’s okay if you’re not, Evs.” The way he cared caught me off guard, disarming my defences and a few tears fell freely.
Swiping them quickly, a soft sniff escaped as I wiped my eyes. His study was assessing, and I was relieved when he nodded once, not pushing me to talk about something I hadn’t quite processed myself.
“Okay, well I better go. I’m glad you’re okay.” He said and I offered a quiet smile, before walking towards the front door.
Those reminders were much less prominent when I turned at the porch, finding him watching me, not remounting the bike until I was safely inside with the door closed.
And it was with a fingernail’s edge that I remembered them when not even thirty seconds later, my phone illuminated with a text from an unknown number.
Unknown
I’ve missed you, Evy.
A name only one person in this world had ever called me. The same person I now watched through the open blinds, tires screeching as he peeled out of the street, taking with him every question I never got to ask and one thousand new ones.
CHAPTER 4
Eva
“Did you know Coop has a cleaner who does this for him?” Seb asked as he scrubbed another plate from dinner.
“I have one too,” Mum replied with a wink.
