Ian is now so pissed he looks like he’s going to burst into flames. I can’t help the grin that spreads across my lips. There’s no better way to win over a girl than by having her choose you. I’m not going to fight this idiot. I’m just going to stand here, leaning against the house, and wait for him to realize I’m the better man.
“Fuck both of you,” Ian says as he steps off the porch and heads toward his car. “Don't bother calling me when you get home, Bayleigh.” She doesn’t say anything. He spits on the ground. “It's my fault for dealing with some whore still in high school.”
Yeah, okay. That’s where I draw the line.
I jump off the porch and grab his shoulder, turning him around so he can see what’s coming to him. His eyes widen in horror. I’m just about to knock his fucking lights out when Bayleigh yells my name and grabs my arm.
I look at her and she’s panting, her eyes wide, her hand holding my arm back. “Please don’t,” she whispers. Her eyes plead with me, and at first I think she’s trying to save this bastard. But then I realize she’s trying to save me. I don’t need another assault charge and this guy looks like the kind of scum who would call the cops on me.
“Come on, Bayleigh,” I say, linking my fingers into hers. “He isn’t worth it.”
While Ian curses and gets into his car, I take her inside. I walk her up the stairs and into her room, where she collapses on her bed, burying her head in her pillow. I sit next to her.
“I had no idea he was going to show up like that,” she says after her tears have stopped.
I run a hand over her hair. “I figured as much when I heard him yelling at you.”
She turns over, shifting onto her back. I lie down next to her and reach for her hand, pulling it to my chest.
“You shouldn’t do that,” she says.
“Why?” I ask. I turn sideways to look at her.
“Because you're leaving. Because holding my hand is a pointless comfort right now. It means nothing.”
“It doesn't mean nothing to me.”
She pulls her hand away. “You can't hold my hand, Jace. You can't kiss me and you can't bring me flowers. Because pretty soon you're leaving forever and I'll never see you again and it'll be the most pointless summer of my life.”
I can’t help it. I start laughing. She punches me in the arm and then I sit up and pull her into a sitting position next to me. “Bayleigh, Bayleigh, Bayleigh,” I say, taking her face in my hands. “I have something exciting to tell you.”
“Exciting for you, maybe.” She pouts and looks away.
“Exciting for both of us,” I say, trailing my hands down her arms until her fingers link into mine. “I just got back from Mixon Motocross Park.”
“Okay….” She says, sounding less than excited.
“The owner offered me a job. My own motocross school—giving lessons and stuff at his track. It pays a lot of money and it's the perfect alternative since I can't race professionally anymore.”
She bites her lip. “Where did you say this track is located?”
I smile because the GPS has already told me all I need to know. “About thirty minutes from your hometown.”
Her eyebrows narrow. “What are you saying?”
I lean forward and place a soft kiss on her forehead. “I'm staying in Texas. I'm going to move to Mixon and work there. I'm not going back to LA.”
“Are you sure?” Her voice is a whisper, her eyes soft.
I nod. “I have nothing in LA worth going back for. Here, I have you.”
Her hesitant expression turns into a grin. I squeeze her hands and say, “That is, of course, if you'll be my girlfriend.”
Chapter 15
Her smile is contagious. I’ve never been so happy in my life, and then she frowns and says, “Are you serious?”
Talk about taking the wind out of my sails.
