He didn’t push it.
Just held me there, easy, like he was waiting to see what I’d do.
The sound of another motorcycle cut through the moment.
My head turned automatically toward the road.
Two bikes slowed at the stop sign just down from the Dairy Bar, engines rumbling low as they paused.I didn’t need long to recognize them.
Oliver.
And Jude.
The world narrowed for half a second.
He was wearing sunglasses, but I didn’t need to see his eyes to know where he was looking.
Right at me.
My stomach dropped.
Jesse’s hand tightened slightly at my waist, pulling my attention back.I turned toward him, and he leaned in and kissed me.
And I kissed him back because that’s what I was supposed to do.
Because I’d said I was done with Jude.
Because Jesse, this moment, and this choice were what moving forward looked like.
The roar of the motorcycles filled the air again as they pulled away from the stop sign.I pulled back from Jesse just a fraction, breath catching slightly as I glanced over his shoulder.
Jude and Oliver were already moving, bikes heading down the road without slowing again.
Gone, like nothing had happened.Like it didn’t matter.
“Hey,” Jesse said softly, drawing my focus back to him.
I blinked, trying to clear my head.“Yeah?”
“I’ll be gone a few days, Ever.”
Right.That.
I nodded, a little too quickly.“Um, okay.I’ll be here.”Of course I would be.Where else would I go?
He smiled, like that answer made sense to him, and leaned in for one more quick kiss, then he let me go.
I took a step back, my arms dropping to my sides as he turned toward his bike.
He swung his leg over it, settling into place with practiced ease before starting it up again.The engine roared to life beneath him, loud and steady.He backed it out, then headed down the road in the opposite direction from where Jude and Oliver had gone.
I stood there for a second longer than I should have, staring after him as the sound faded into the distance.
Then I turned and walked back inside.
The Dairy Bar looked the same as it had five minutes ago.
Same customers.
