His gaze drops from mine, resigned, and the threat of losing more than just his eyes on me pushes me over the edge.
“You still hungry?” I say. “Mac is done.”
“Yeah!” Ro’s head shoots up, and he offers me a tentative grin.
I try to return it, but it feels unsteady on my face. I stand and offer him a hand up. His smile turns softer, more genuine as he takes my hand
Before I know it, he’s back to his usual bubbly self. Despite my reaction and whatever damning evidence he may have seen in the journal, he doesn’t treat me any differently. I dare to hope he may have been telling the truth, that he really didn’t read anything. I’m rinsing my bowl, considering that possibility, when it happens.
A lurch in my gut that turns to a relentless pull. It’s undeniable, stronger than usual, and I drop the bowl with a clatter.
“Hey, you okay?”
Ro appears over my shoulder, reaching around me to pick the bowl up from the sink and place it in the dishwasher. I cringe and take a breath, hating for him to see me so vulnerable, then nod. My thoughts are spinning as I try to tell the curse in my blood that I’ll go—to get it to lessen for just a moment so I can grab what I need.
“Yeah. But, um. I have to go,” I say to Ro. I’m short of breath and a light sweat breaks out on my forehead.
“Okay,” he says, placing his bowl next to mine in the top rack. It gives me a moment to compose myself before he turns around and asks with far too much excitement, “Are we going on a ride?”
“We?” I’m distracted, searching for my keys as I stuff my fabric stardust bag into my backpack.
“Well, it doesn’t have to be together if you don’t want it to be, but you know I’ll be behind you either way.” Ro winks as he says it and I freeze, one hand shoved deep into my backpack.
My cheeks flush as my mind screeches to a halt. What did he just say? What is he talking about? My eyes are stuck on his cheeky grin, the wink throwing me off, and now he’s tonguing his lip ring again.
“Get your head out of the gutter, Starfire,” Ro says. “Although, I’m not opposed to being behind you in that way, either.”
I blink, then my face blazes even hotter. I’m sure my neck is splotchy at this point, and I refuse to continue whatever nonsense is happening right now. I spin on my heel and wrench the door open, stomping out to my bike as Ro cackles behind me.
I can’t stop thinking about his offer, if that’s what it even was. I know I said just once, but the fact that he’s here, behind me, and apparently still wants me too, is lighting my nerves on fire.
If only it weren’t for this aching pull. And the uncertainty of what he might have read.
As I speed down the highway, it feels like my soul is being ripped away, with my body trailing behind it like a shadow. I’m frantic, ready to sprint to the impact site, but I’m not there yet. I take deep breaths, telling myself I’ll be there soon, trying to calm the incessant ache that’s threatening to turn my sight fuzzy.
16
CROP CIRCLE VS CORN MAZE
Ro
I weave back and forth on my bike, a silly grin plastered to my face under my helmet as I shoot down the highway after Lor. She didn’t put her hair up, so it streams behind her, a beam of silver shimmering in the sun. She’s bent low over her bike, back straight and ass perched on the seat in a way that looks so bite-able my mouth waters. I have no idea where we’re going, as usual, but it doesn’t bother me. I’ve loved spending so much time with her lately.
One time, my ass.
I snort at the thought. That woman will never be out of my system, and I can tell she still feels the tension between us, too. It’s obvious in the way her gaze tracks me, the shivers and goosebumps that spread over her skin anytime I’m near, how her breath hitches when I stretch, and her eyes stick on my lip ring. She’s good for my ego, that’s for sure. Not that it needs any boosting.
Unsurprisingly, Lor turns off the highway onto a random side road and we zig-zag our way through the countryside. Fields of corn beyond deep ditches line either side of the road, and thesun is high above us. Lor eventually pulls over, nothing special in sight, and I pull up next to her.
She looks tense, her body stiff as she pulls off her helmet. We’re in the middle of a random stretch of road, and her top lip pulls into a grimace when she turns and inspects the corn taller than we are. This is where she needed to go?
I’m confused, but I’m down for anything if Lor is involved.
“So. Corn, or corn?” I ask, pointing one finger across the road in front of us and jerking my other thumb over my shoulder.
“Funny,” Lor grates between clenched teeth.
Her spine is rigid and her breathing seems shallow. I narrow my eyes as she carefully steps partway down the ditch before leaping across the more narrow bottom. Next thing I know, she’s disappearing between the stalks, and my demon is perking up in my chest at the prospect of chasing her through a cornfield.
