Keep thinking about her.
Keep your eyes on her and don’t think about diamond-shaped studs scratching your cheek. Don’t think about heavy breaths and masked kisses. Don’t think about gloved fingers and delicate, yet desperate, caresses that feel as if she’s punishing me for taunting her all these years, making up for lost time in the darkness.
Oh god. Heat creeps up my neck at the memory, but as I glance sideways at Gemma, I’m reminded of something else.
“Okay, rockstar.”
What if it was her?
What ifsheis my stalker?
I almost laugh. It’s such a ridiculous notion that I can’t believe I even let it cross my mind.
Still…
Zeb leans up between the seats and punches in the address to the gym on the screen. “I could get us there a lot faster in my car,” he says.
“I didn’t know this was a race,” Gemma says as she pulls out of the spot. “Why? Do you have some fancy sports car?” she asks, though I’m pretty sure she already knows all of this about us.
“The fanciest,” I say. “It’s really fast, too.”
“I bet you drive like a stunt driver,” Gemma taunts him.
“Hell yeah he does,” I say fondly.
“What about you?” she asks me, switching lanes. “What kind of car did you buy with your rockstar money?”
“Ah… I don’t drive. So, no fancy car over here,” I answer nervously.
“No?” she asks. “I thought for sure Kade’s report was wrong about you not having a car. I distinctly remember you driving your dad’s old Bronco to high school.”
“Oh shit.” I laugh. “You remember that old beater? I had some good times in that.”
“You didn’t want to get anything different after graduation?” she asks me. “Or you just don’t like driving?”
People get hurt when I drive.
“Ah… big city Cali traffic,” I lie. “It’s just a little much for me. A lot different from the relaxed beach town.”
“You are not wrong,” she says, making another turn.
My phone buzzing in my pocket distracts me from Gemma asking Zeb about his car. I pull it out, stomach doing a somersault at the name, UNKNOWN, across the screen.
I glance at Gemma before opening up the text thread.
If my stalker is texting me…
I guess it isn’t her.
UNKNOWN
I guess I’ll have to finish what we started another night.
Can’t wait to see you on the livestream.
I don’t know why I’m disappointed as I peer at Gemma again.
She’s just the Gemma I went to high school with, even if she’s so much more than the person I barely knew back then.
