She comes to a stop in front of me and crosses her arms.
“I’m surprised you showed, I’d hoped you might have been messing with me again,” she says.
I shake my head and hold out the spare helmet I brought for her.
“If I say I’m gonna do something, I do it, now get on.”
She doesn’t take the helmet, standing her ground instead.
I sigh. “Will you just take it and get on the bike. You usually walk or take the bus, coming with me is door-to-door service, you know it’s the better option.”
Reluctantly she takes the helmet and puts it on.
“Where to?” I ask, “I’m guessing Radbury Heights, but I don’t know which street you live on.”
“Don’t worry,” she scoffs, “you’re not going that far, I live in Midtown Apartments.”
“What? Are you sure you mean Midtown Apartments?”
“I think I know where I live, asshole,” she rolls her eyes and climbs onto the bike, keeping plenty of space between us so I can’t even feel her behind me.
“You’d better hold on, princess.”
“I am, to the bike, I’m sure it’s much safer than holding onto you.”
I laugh, kicking the bike to life and putting it into gear.
“You’re probably right,” I murmur, before heading out to the road.
Midtown Apartments isn’t far away, but as we ride through the streets with the homeless people and addicts hangingaround, I’m terrified at the thought of her walking through this alone. She must stand out like god knows what, a target for anyone. Regardless of what happens next, I know I need to find a better way for her to get home. Donovan would be devastated if something happened to her, and I’d never forgive myself.
I pull into the apartment complex and glance around, it’s fucking miserable. Old mattresses, broken down refrigerators and washers litter the parking lot. It’s empty, but I know the type of people who live in these apartments. Why the fuck is she living here?
Once I’m parked in a spot near a light, she climbs off before I even have a chance to cut the engine. She moves in front of me and shoves the helmet into my hands.
“Thanks for the ride,” she says, walking away.
“Hold up!” I call, and she stops. I take my time removing my helmet and climbing off the bike, before slowly walking towards her. “I thought we were gonna talk?”
“It’s 3 a.m. and I’ve just worked a six-hour shift, the same as I have since Monday. I’m not in the mood to talk to you right now.”
“Okay, so come by the clubhouse tomorrow, we’ll talk there in front of everyone else, or you can come to my room if you’d prefer privacy.”
I know the threat of people seeing us go to my room together, or even talking publicly at the clubhouse will get her to change her mind.
She sighs. “Fine, what do you want to talk about?”
I look around, appraising the parking lot.
“I’m not sure I feel safe out here, princess,” I smirk, “the least you could do is invite me inside where it’s warm.”
The muscles in her jaw clench, she probably wants to punch me in the face, and I kind of love that I can rile her uplike this. I hold her gaze, not even hiding the fact that my eyes are dropping to her lips every now and then too.
“Fine, come on.”
She walks towards one of the stairwell entrances; the door opens without her entering a code, even though there’s a keypad there.
“No lock?” I ask.
