I step into his space before I even realize I’m moving. “Back the fuck up.”
Switch squares his shoulders. “Make me.”
Blade wedges himself between us before this turns into something stupid. “Enough. Both of you.”
My hands curl into fists anyway and my pulse hammers, adrenaline already kicking up like I’m about to throw a punch instead of common sense.
Switch shakes his head. “Unbelievable.”
I grab my jacket off the chair. “I’m out.”
Blade grabs my arm. “Rev, don’t be an idiot.”
“Too late,” I snap, yanking free and heading for the door before I say something I can’t walk back.
The night air hits me hard and I pace the driveway once, twice, trying to burn off the surge crawling under my skin, but it doesn’t work because I need motion and speed and space. I swing a leg over my bike and shove the key into the ignition.
“Rev.”
I look up and see Brooke standing at the edge of the porch with her arms folded across her chest, hair catching the porch light, her face tight with concern. “What’s going on with you? You’ve been in a bad mood all night.”
“Princess,” I say, already turning the key. “I need to ride. Go back inside.”
Her eyes flash. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
I sigh and shake my head. “Night, Princess.”
I expect her to turn away. Instead, she steps closer, grabs the back of my jacket, and swings onto the bike behind me like she’s done it a hundred times, her body pressing into my back while her arms slide around my waist. “Can’t get rid of me that easily,” she says near my ear.
It knocks the breath clean out of me for a second then I pass her my spare helmet without arguing and she settles it on, scoots in closer, and taps my side like she’s ready.
We back out of the driveway and roll onto the road, the house lights shrinking behind us as I open the throttle and let the miles stretch out while the road clears and the tension slowly bleeds off with every turn and straightaway.
Brooke stays pressed into my back, arms locked around me, steady and warm and exactly where she should be, and it feels right, maybe too right.
I don’t head back toward town and instead take the back road out past the edge of Jackson until the lights thin and the road gets quiet, pulling into the gravel lot of a bar I found years ago when I needed space from everything. I cut the engine. “I need a drink.”
She nods and swings her leg over while I hop off and hold my hand out automatically to steady her as she climbs down, her fingers sliding into mine.
I mean to let go, I was only trying to steady her, but I don’t and neither does she. For a second we just stand there with our hands linked before we finally head inside.
We grab a corner booth before the place really clocks us, the bar quiet with a handful of regulars scattered around, and I take the side facing the room without thinking while Brooke slides in across from me, tucking one leg under herself and setting her helmet beside her.
A waiter wanders over with a menu in hand and his eyes go straight to her, lingering long enough to piss me the hell off.
“Well hey there,” he says to her instead of both of us. “What can I get you tonight, beautiful?”
Brooke blinks, caught off guard, polite smile slipping into place. “Uh…”
“Two whiskeys,” I cut in, voice flat. “Neat.”
He finally looks at me like I just interrupted his favorite show. “You sure you don’t want to look at the menu first?” He asks, looking back at Brooke.
“No,” I say. “Two whiskeys. Now.”
His smile tightens, clearly not loving my tone, but he scribbles it down anyway and mutters, “Alright. Coming right up,” before taking one more unnecessary glance at Brooke and walking off.
Brooke watches me quietly for a second and then looks down at the tabletop, fingers tracing the grain of the wood while she lets me brood without poking or trying to lighten the mood. The silence stretches until I scrub a hand over my face and finally let out a breath. “I’m sorry. I’m fucking this all up. I’m not good company tonight. You shouldn’t have come.”
