“If I die because of this ride, I'm going to haunt your ass.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I say before starting up the engine. Roaring and echoing in my ears, vibrating and shaking beneath my body. Home, that's what it feels like.
Clayton puts his leg over, sitting right up behind me. Both of us are too big for this bike and take up too much room. He's big, bigger than me, and I know damn well that he could have stopped me from dragging him out here if he really wanted to.
His body is flush against mine, the front of his torso pressed against my back. His hands aren't on me, probably hanging down and holding onto the bike.
“Hold on to me or you're going to regret it,” I shout over the sounds of the engine revving. When Clayton’s hands slide around my waist and lock together in front of me, I fly out of the parking lot. His hold tightens, and I hadn't thought he could get any closer to me, but his body feels as if it’s entwining with mine.
The speed accelerates, wind smacking against us, and without my helmet I feel a sense of freedom that I don't usually have.
Traffic is heavy now, it's around 7 pm, but that’s normal for Florida. I zigzag through all of the cars passing by. Clayton is tense behind me and silent, and if I couldn't hear his breathing through the mic, I'd think he wasn't at all.
The whole time we ride, we don’t talk. Not a single word is spoken. I just live in this moment with Clayton, and he allows it, fearing for his life while I live on this high.
Chapter 4
Clayton
Idon’tknowwhatIwas thinking when I let Maxwell get me onto that bike.
He drives like a maniac, like he has lives to spare. It feels like a rollercoaster, and if there is one thing to note about me, I get sick on rollercoasters.
Maxwell pulled off the road, parking on the side at the local beach. Before he can say anything, I’m off his bike, shoving the helmet off my head, and hurling onto the sidewalk.
All I can hear is the laughter that comes from him.
My throat becomes raw as I let up my dinner and everything else I’ve snacked on throughout the day. I’m shaking from the loss of my insides, but also a little from being in his vicinity.
I can’t stand this kid.
Professor Adams making us partners and now realizing we are in the same dorm– how I haven’t noticed before is beyond me, but that’s beside the point. It seems like a sick joke from this fucked up universe.
Maxwell Levine is only here because ofDaddy.He has no drive to do good, unless it’s to make everyone else give him the attention that he apparently lacks everywhere else in life.
I see him on campus, walking around with his friends always thinking they are better than everyone else. Girls drool over him. His shaggy dark hair, tall and lanky figure, that sharp jaw that could cut, and those deep dark eyes that if they look at you just right, you might want to give him whatever he asks for.
He doesn’t have to work hard for anything, unlike some people, unlike me. My tuition wasn’t handed to me. I don’t show up with my fancy sports bike and walk around like I own this place. There were always kids like that in high school, and guess what? I hated them, too.
“You all better now?” He asks, his voice calm and devoid of the humor he had when he laughed at my downfall.
“Fine,” I say quickly. “You drive like an asshat.”
“I drive to feel free.”
“You’ll be free of life if you keep it up,” I retort.
“Keepthatup, pretty boy, and I might think you care about my life." Maxwell smirks devilishly.
“Stop calling me that.”
The beach still has plenty of people. The sun hasn’t fully set below the horizon. People walking up and down the strip, in and out of shops, buying fried dough, ice cream, and everything else that is bad for you but makes you feel good.
“Leave your bag with the bike,” Maxwell says, walking away from me. Part of me wants to just take his bike and ride away, but I wouldn’t know the first thing about how to work the damn thing. I’d end upmaking a fool of myself more than anything. I’m smart, sure, but in books and not on the streets.
That’s where we differ. Maxwell knows his way around in life, talking with people to make simple conversation and make people feel seen. I’ve never known how to do that.
I have a plan to get where I need to go in life. I’m focused on it, and I don’t have room in my life to let things get in my way. Maxwell has gotten in my way. When he dragged me from the dorm, I was going to study.
