I nodded, my mind racing with the image he was painting of our future.
Enoch laid down, pulling me into his chest, his leg hitching over my hip as he released a deep breath.
“I love you,” he whispered, kissing the top of my head.
I snuggled in closer to his chest, breathing in his familiar scent.
The words were on the tip of my tongue. Enoch was dangling hope in front of me like a piece of meat to a wild, starved animal, yet the fear still held me in a chokehold.
Those three words never came.
Thirty-Five
July 31, Friday
Emory
I released a sigh as I sat staring down at my bike. I’d been debating for a couple of weeks now about what to do with it. I loved this bike. I loved the freedom it had bought me. But I loved Enoch more and I couldn’t keep chasing a high on the road when I knew it scared him. When it, if I was honest, scared me a little bit too. Because until he stepped back into my life, I’d never cared about what happened to me on the road. But now that I had something, someone,to live for, I didn’t want to take the same risks with my life.
I wiped at a water spot on one of the mirrors before swinging my leg over and standing. I gave her another long look, checking for any imperfections, wiping at any dirt or water marks I thought might show in pictures.
When I was satisfied that she looked good enough to photo I finally walked up to the entrance of Black Widow Tattoo. A bell rang over my head, alerting everyone inside to my presence as the sound of heavy metal music filled my ears.
A man at the counter, with surprisingly no visible tattoos but a bunch of facial piercings, gave me a nod.
“Hey, you got an appointment?”
“Yeah,” I said, removing my helmet and shaking out my braid that I’d tucked into my jacket. “With Cole.”
“For sure,” he nodded. Picking up his phone in what looked to be him notifying Cole of my arrival with a text message. I noticed his gaze linger on my bike helmet as I tucked it against my side.
“You ride?”
“Nah, my girlfriend does.”
I nodded, “I’m looking to sell my bike if she’s interested. Or if you know anyone. Just let Cole know and he’ll give you details.”
“Let me know what?” Cole asked, coming down the hallway behind the desk.
“Oh, um, I was just telling your coworker that I’m selling my bike if he knows anyone that’s interested.”
“What?!” His brows disappeared behind his bangs as he closed the space between us and pulled me in for a hug. He let go quickly, once he realized I wasn’t reciprocating and cleared his throat. “Sorry. I forget you’re not a hugger. Um, well, come on and we can get started.”
The guy behind the counter gave me a lazy wave as I followed Cole across the space and into the part of the building that was divided into rooms for the artists to have privacy as they worked.
I sighed as I stepped into Cole’s space, dropping my helmet onto a chair against one wall, and shrugged out of my riding jacket. With the door shut, it was relatively quiet.
“So, you upgrading already?” he asked, sitting on a rolling chair as he motioned for me to take a seat in the client chair. I hopped on, making myself comfortable as he unlocked his iPad from the desk beside him. He rolled the chair over, using his feet, and stopped in front of me.
His brows raised and I realized I hadn’t responded.
“Um, no. Actually, I’m just going to sell it. I only rode it over here thinking you might be able to take some pictures and post it online for me.”
He pouted, “But then I’ll be alone on the road.”
I rolled my eyes, mouth twitching to smile. “Shut up. You have an entire group of friends who ride. We’ve literally gone on, like, what? Six rides together? And that was just when I had freshly gotten my license and you were too scared to leave me on the road alone.”
He clicked his tongue and handed me the iPad.
