Were we high? Was this what normal happy couples felt like? Not that we were a couple but … this felt good. Too good to last.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I winked.
I remembered this feeling all too well. Falling in love. I’d done it with Bryce and look where it got me.
“I’ve gotta go visit my brother up at Camp Verde prison today. Wanna come? The prison part is shit but driving up there through the mountains on the bike is beautiful.” His tone was casual but his eyes said a different story.
I chuckled. “You want me to go to prison with you?”
His grin grew wider. “Yeah, why not? We can spend the day in Sedona, get our auras read or something.”
That caused laughter to erupt out of me. Sedona was a tourist place known for its crystals, psychics, and vortex energy. It was also breathtakingly beautiful and twenty degrees cooler because it was in the mountains.
I had a ton of homework, but I might be able to slip away for a bit. Something told me if I did this, it would send Ethan a signal, a signal that I was open for … dating or whatever this was.
I was so fucking torn I felt like I was being spilt open. Ethan’s face was calm, but I had waited way too long for a normal person. This was officially “crazy girl with issues” length of time to respond.
“Sure. I’ll shower and check my email. Then we can go?”
Fuck me. This guy was going to ruin me. I could feel it.
The pure smile that lit up his face when I said yes made my heart falter in my chest. Maybe we would ruin each other. Either way, there was no turning back now.
I was crushing on a felon and we were visiting his brother in prison.
Awesome.
My “friends” back in Beverly Hills would die if they knew, but I wasn’t ashamed of where I came from and the people I’d grown up with.
After showering, I put on my new black lacy Target undies and cut-off jean shorts with a gray vintage t-shirt that said S.W.A.T. Another score from Goodwill. I was ready for this prison date.
I stepped out into the kitchen and Ethan’s eye ran the length of my legs.
Heat crept up my face when his gaze landed on mine.
His voice was rough: “You look amazing.”
I squirmed. “Thanks.”
He rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. “But you can’t wear that to prison. Do you have pants?”
My eyes widened. Stupid me! Showing leg when I was about to go into a prison with a bunch of locked-up men who’d been deprived of sex.
“Yeah, I’ll change.”
After dying of embarrassment and changing into black leggings, I was ready to ride.
“Still look amazing?” I did a model pose with my long black leggings and Ethan’s gaze hooded.
“Always.”
It was a flirty joke, but his answer was dead serious. I had no reply for that.
“Let’s ride.” He gestured to his bike downstairs and I tried to get oxygen in my lungs. I forgot to breathe around Ethan. He affected me that much. I found myself wondering if I’d stayed at school with him and in this town if he and I would have dated.
We headedout of the city on Ethan’s bike, the hot wind whipping through my hair. There was something so soothing about being on the back of a motorcycle. You couldn’t talk to each other, or look at your phone, you just … breathed in nature, and if you were like me, let your mind go wild. Two times on the drive I’d sworn I had seen Bryce’s white Range Rover. Me being alone with my thoughts for ninety minutes was interesting. Holding on to Ethan’s chest, my legs spread and clenching his ass … yeah you could say there was some sexual tension.
When the weather cooled off, and the red mountains of Sedona bloomed into view, Ethan took the offramp that led to the federal prison.
