“My dad told us once that you and he used to have some kind of motorcycle when you were around my age. He kept his, but you sold yours in order to be able to provide for Mason.”
Her voice is still a little shaky as I turn and look at her. She pulls a folded-up photo out of her pocket.
“You look so happy, all three of you did.”
She hands the photo to me. It almost brings tears to my eyes. Me, Briar, and my dad. All sitting on our bikes. My mom had taken the picture before she passed away. I was probably eighteen, it was right before I graduated high school. I hold the picture in my hand. I look at it for a few seconds before looking at the bike, then at Sloane.
I set the picture down on the workbench next to me and pull Sloane into my arms.
I bury my face into her neck, hugging her tight. “Don’t leave,” I whisper. I’m not ready to say the words, and I’m not sure ifshe’s ready to hear them yet. “Please don’t leave me,” I repeat, holding her tighter. I won’t be able to survive if she goes back to Georgia. She’s the only reason that my life is worth living, the only reason I come home. Without her, I have nothing. Iamnothing. “Thank you, baby,” I whisper, pulling away and tilting her chin up with my hand. I cup her cheek and use my thumb to wipe away her tears.
“Anything for you,” she whispers back. I press my lips to hers. I want to bury myself inside her. To never let her go. To keep her here forever. Mold our bodies together so that we are never apart.
She pulls away first and presses our foreheads together. “Do you like it?” she whispers.
“I fuckingloveit, it’s the best gift I think anyone’s ever given me.”
I mean it. I don’t even remember the last time anyone even got me a gift.
She lets go of me and steps away. She laces our fingers together and brings my hand up to her mouth, pressing a kiss to the knuckles.
“Good, but there are a few more things,” she says, turning around and pulling me over to her Bronco that’s parked just outside of the shop.
She opens the back to reveal a few neatly wrapped boxes and a few bags with tissue paper.
“Sloane, you really didn’t have to do all this,” I say as she hands me the first box.
“I wanted to. You’ve done so much for me, I wanted to do something nice for you, for once.”
She says it like she hasn’t done a single thing for me since she moved into this house, which is so far from the truth. Maybe some of her things have beensmall, the flowers she left on Dad’s death day, the meals she packs for me every day, andthe cleaning she does around the house. But some are big, the shopping spree she took me on, bringing Mocha into our lives, her simply deciding to stay here when she could have gone anywhere else.
“Don’t ever downplay the effect you’ve had in my life this summer,” I whisper, pulling her into my side and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “You have done more for me than you will ever know.”
She nods and looks at the gift in my hands. “Open it, I’m excited to see if you like the rest of the stuff I picked out.”
I look at her for a few seconds. I can tell that she’s just trying to change the subject, but I didn’t want to push right now. So I nod and let go of her hand to unwrap the box.
A full face helmet.
The next box is riding boots.
The first bag is gloves.
The second bag is a black leather jacket.
“This part is my favorite,” Sloane says, picking up the leather jacket. She walks behind me and helps me put it on. She smooths out the material and bites her lip as she looks me up and down.
“Yeah, I was right. You look hot as fuck,” She says, making me roll my eyes and pulling her flush against me. I can’t fight the smile that graces my lips. Which seems to be what this day is going to be all about.
I don’t even know how to form a proper statement of gratitude, so I just cup her cheeks and kiss her. One hand slides to the back of her neck to keep her close to me.
The kiss starts soft, just me trying to show her with my mouth how grateful I am for her and her kindness. She’s the one who deepens the kiss by sliding her tongue along the seam of my lips. I accept and part my lips for her, sucking her tongue into my mouth.
The other hand that was on her cheek grips her waist to keep her closer to me. Her hands tangle in my hair, and the kiss quickly gets heated.
Our tongues dance together as I back us up against her car. This is where I belong, with her. There’s nowhere else that I would rather be.
After a few minutes. I pull away and rest my forehead against hers. We take deep breathes of air, and I can’t help but think about how fucking beautiful she is.
