“Can I try?”
I rub my sternum and draw a breath.
“Try what?” It comes out airy.
Em gestures around the track and my heart pinches inside my ribs.
Fuck, he wants to ride alone.
Everything in me stiffens. Tightens. Rejects the idea of him being in control of this beast without me there to keep him from falling over.
Or worse.
“You sure?” I ask on a rasp and clear my throat.
He pauses but then nods and my heart takes a beating all over again as I plant my hands on the seat and hop off the back of the bike. He jostles with the move, his feet barely stabilizing them.
He doesn’t wait for anything before he’s gassing it, throwing himself forward only to grind back a gear when he shifts wrong.
I wiggle out my fingers as I watch him struggle, the pressure in my chest lessening with each attempt he makes that gets him just a little farther down the track.
He’s gonna flood it again.
Taking a step closer, I stop when Emmett leans back, his shoulders slumped.
“It’s okay. Just give it a sec.”
“I can’t do it,” he whispers to my chest when I reach his side and my stomach drops.
“Just need some practice, that’s all.”
There’s a glassiness to his gaze when it flicks my way then back down to his twisting hands that rest in his lap. His fists are back in his sleeves, the cuffs tucked between his fingers.
“Practice doesn’t fix stupid.”
The words are like a punch to my gut.
How the hell can he say that?
With my brow pinched, I straddle the front tire and wrap my fingers around the handlebars.
His eyes stay down.
I jerk the whole bike, and he yelps.
“Don’t ever say that again.”
There’s a look of fury barely contained by the dampness of his lashes. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
The smirk that rides up the right side of my lips draws his attention.
“There he is.” His cheeks pinken. “Let’s go grab some food, I think Blu’s working. We can come back tomorrow.”
He holds my gaze for a long, loaded beat before finally tipping his head in a nod.
“Okay.”
Chapter 33
