Rain (16 page)

“What?” he asked, apparently noticing that I was thinking about something.

“Nothing," I deflected, and he gave me a look that said
I don’t believe you
. “It’s nothing,” I repeated.

“Mm hmm,” he mused.

“You are a pain, that is what,” I said teasingly, avoiding telling him what I was
really
thinking.

He rolled his eyes at me and smiled.

“What about that motorcycle ride?” I blurted out, making a split decision that I was ready to do it.

Surprise took over his expression, showing that I had completely caught him off guard. “Now?” he asked, apprehensive.

“Sure.” I began to get up.

He caught my arm, stopping me, and warmth crept up my arm. “You really want to go on my motorcycle?”

“Yeah,” I said, smiling brightly, excited.

He chuckled. “Damn. You are something else…”

“I’ll choose to take that as a compliment,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

“Oh, it is,” he said. “Can I take you for a ride on Saturday? I would like to bring you somewhere also.” Saturday was only three days away, but I didn’t want to wait.

“Where?” I asked, curious since he hadn’t mentioned bringing me anywhere before.

“It’s a surprise. Don’t worry. You will like it,” he assured me.

“Fine. I guess I’ll wait…” I sighed and relaxed against the bed again.

“Good.” His eyes danced, and he ran his hand down my arm and let it rest against my hand, making my whole arm tingle and butterflies explode through me.

The effect he had on me was strong and intense, and it drove me insane. A lot. I wondered what he was thinking and wished I knew.

“Ooo Anastasia,” I said excitedly, seeing one my childhood favorites.

“That’s a kids’ movie,” he teased.

“So…”

He shook his head, grabbed the remote from me, and hit play. I grinned and pulled the blanket on me, getting comfortable. A good kids’ movie was nice once in a while, especially the ones with happy endings. Even if they weren’t necessarily realistic to life, I enjoyed them. I was acutely aware that Kyle hadn’t moved his hand away from mine and that he was watching me instead of the movie.

I focused on the movie, enjoying the adventure Anastasia was on. Eventually, I risked a look at Kyle and found him sleeping, eyes closed, breathing slowly and steadily. His face was angled in my direction, and he looked peaceful and relaxed. A guy was sleeping in my bed. This was a first. I smiled and pulled the blanket over him, letting him stay like that. Hopefully my parents didn’t come looking anytime soon. I wasn’t sure what they would think about this.

***

I felt warm air blow against my face, and my eyes fluttered open. My breath caught as I saw that Kyle’s face was only a few inches away from mine. I must have drifted off; the last thing I remembered was Anastasia getting pissed at Dimitri. Now the movie was over. Apparently I had turned toward Kyle when I was sleeping.

His eyes opened and I was caught staring at him—very, very close to him. We both stared at each other, breathing the same air. He rubbed his thumb over my hand, which was still touching his.

“Hi,” I breathed, trying to break some of the majorly intense feelings I was having.

“Hi,” he mimicked back, eyes locked on mine, not helping to ease the tension. I wanted to close the space between us, to give in to what I have been feeling for months, but I didn’t move.

I felt the need to say, “We fell asleep.”

“Mm hmm. I see you tucked me in.” The corner of his mouth turned up into a smile.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. I should stop talking, but words seemed to keep coming. “You looked cold.”

“Thanks for keeping me warm.” He winked, making my cheeks even hotter, and then the heat spread through my body.

Before long, I was ready to fling the blanket off, but I didn’t want to make any sudden movements.

He cleared his throat before he said, “I should go.”

“Okay.” The word sounded raw coming out of my mouth. Oh boy, this was a problem.

He squeezed my hand before he let go and extracted himself from the blanket and my bed. The moment he got up and I wasn’t breathing in his air anymore, it felt like my air to breathe had been taken away. I immediately missed the feeling of his breath on my face and his closeness. I wanted to reach out and pull him back into the bed. I needed to get a grip. We were
just
friends,
and that was what we would remain to be.

“See you Saturday,” he said with a soft smile.

“See you,” I said quietly, not bothering to move. I was pretty sure standing wasn’t an option at the moment.

He left without another word, leaving me short of breath and my mind reeling.

Saturday wasn’t going to come soon enough.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

What the hell do I wear to go on a motorcycle?
Saturday was finally here, and I was supposed to meet Kyle in an hour. The past two days had dragged, and you would think I’d had ample time to pick out an outfit. Nope. I didn’t know why I was more worked up than normal. I had spent plenty of time with Kyle, and he had seen me in the hospital for crying out loud, but now I was obsessing a bit. The dark blue or the light blue top? Or there was a cute pink one I had gotten with Liz too.

Not being able to make choices at the moment, I did eeny meeny miny mo. Yup, it came down to that. I ended up on the light blue choice and decided that the selection was right since it matched my eyes and was a good color on me. I put it on and pulled on a pair of jeans that were comfortable. Now for shoes—boots or flats? Boots would be harder to fall off, so I decided on my black leather knee-high boots.

Now that my outfit was complete, I put on makeup. Some eyeliner, a little light blue eye shadow to match my shirt, mascara, and a bit of blush. With some lip gloss, I was done. It felt good to dress up and take the time to do my makeup. I combed my wig once again and made sure it was parted how I liked it. I was ready with ten minutes to spare. I couldn’t wait any longer; the anticipation was driving me crazy.

Exiting my room, I yelled to my parents, “I’m going to hang out with Kyle!”

“Okay!” they yelled back, not fazed. They had really come to like him.

I smiled to myself and walked out the door and across the street to where Kyle’s bike sat in the driveway. Kyle wasn’t outside yet, so I went over to the bike and examined it. It was a nice, sleek black, and what wasn’t black was shiny silver. I didn’t know anything about motorcycles, but it looked expensive. Near the front it said DUCATI in white letters, and underneath it in red it said MONSTER. I ran my fingers over the smooth, cool surface of it and then put my leg over it and sat on it. Waiting for Kyle didn’t even cross my mind until I heard him.

“Not wasting any time, are you?”

I turned my head toward him, and his posture looked as if he had been there watching me before he had announced himself.

“Sorry.” I moved to get off.

“Wait.” He halted my departure from the bike and held up his iPhone. “Picture.”

“Uh okay…” I said apprehensively. 

He positioned his phone, getting ready to take the picture, so I put my hands on the handle bars, looked at the phone, and smiled. He snapped the picture and smiled before he put the phone back in his pocket.

“I don’t get to see?”

“Nope,” he said, denying me permission to see it.

What the hell?

“Do your parents know about this?” he asked curiously.

“They know I’m with you. I left the part about the motorcycle out,” I told him, smiling innocently.

“I’m going to regret this later, aren’t I?” he asked, but he didn’t look too worried.

I shrugged in response.

“Here. Wear my jacket.” He handed me the leather jacket I had wanted to wear since I had seen him in it.

“What about you?” I asked.

“I have an old one.” He showed me the other one that hung over his arm.

I got off the bike and slipped it on. It was big of course, but if felt warm, and it had been nicely broken in by Kyle. It also smelled like him, so I loved it even more. Yeah, he was going to have a hard time getting this back from me.

He went back to his porch, picked up a black helmet, and brought it to me.

“This is for you,” he told me before putting it on my head and adjusting the strap so it was snug.

“It fits perfectly,” I said, the surprise clear in my voice. I had expected it to be big, but it wasn’t.

“Good. I got it for you,” he said and put his own helmet on.

He’d gotten me my own helmet? I might not even go on his bike again, and now I had my own helmet. Wow.

“You didn’t have to do that!” I exclaimed.

“I didn’t have an extra and I wouldn’t take you without one, so don’t worry about it.”

“Thanks,” I responded.

“Ready?” he asked, ignoring my thanks.

I nod.

“Okay, you get on behind me and wrap your arms around my waist and hold on to me tight. If I’m going too fast or you feel like you can’t hold on, tell me and I will stop,” he explained, getting on the bike. He was born to be on that bike. He looked like he belonged on it.

I just learned that I liked guys on motorcycles.

I got on behind him and wrapped my arms around him like he had told me to, which was not a problem. I could hold on to him all day. He started the bike, which rumbled and sent vibrations through me.

“Don’t let go!” he yelled.

Oh I wouldn’t.

“Okay!” I shouted back, and we were off.

He drove the bike slowly off his driveway and down the street. It was smooth, and the feeling of having the wind all around me while moving like this was invigorating. He sped up after we were off the residential street, and the wind whipped through my hair. I tightened my grip on him, adrenaline coursing through me. The sensation was similar to being on a roller coaster rushing through the wind and feeling like you could fall off at any moment. It was terrifying and exciting all at the same time. Before long, we rode into town, and he parked the motorcycle outside of a big building. I had no clue where we were.

“We are here,” he said, removing his helmet without giving me any more information.

I took my helmet off and reluctantly let go of him to get off the bike. My legs were a bit wobbly.

“That was freaking awesome,” I practically yelled.

He stood in front of me and took the helmet out of my hands. “Glad you enjoyed it,” he smiled.

I ran my fingers through my hair and tried to fix some of the tangles from the wind before taking off his jacket and holding it in my arms.

“I’ll take that,” he told me, removing it from my hands. I didn’t want him to take it, but I figured I would get to wear it again when we went back.

Kyle led me into the building and put our helmets and jackets on a table near the doorway. He then directed me through the building. I had no idea what we were doing or where we were going. All he’d told me was that it was a surprise. Finally, he brought me inside an elevator.

“Close your eyes,” he said, smiling.

I obeyed, and a moment later, the elevator started moving. It dinged, signaling that we had reached our destination.

“Keep your eyes closed and take a few steps forward,” he said, taking my hand and slowly pulling me forward.

I hesitantly stepped forward, hating not being able to see where I was walking.

“You can open your eyes. For now,” he told me.

We were in a plain white hallway with a few scattered doors that gave no hint to where we were going. He continued to hold my hand as we walked. He opened a door that led to a staircase and we went up the flight of stairs. When we reached the top, a sly smile slid onto Kyle’s face as he looked at me.

“Close your eyes one more time.” He winked.

I rolled my eyes at him, smiling back, and then closed them. He guided me forward.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

“Step up.”

I heard a door being opened. I did as he’d said, clutching his hand a little harder.

“Step down,” he advised, and this was when I lost my balance and stumbled. A small, involuntary screech escaped my mouth, and Kyle had his arms around me steadying me instantly. “Smooth,” he chuckled.

“You try walking without being able to see,” I retorted as I basked in his warmth and close proximity. Why hadn’t I tripped before now? He steadied me and released me way too quickly. Disappointment panged me.

“Okay, you can open your eyes again,” he told me softly.

I let my eyes flutter back open and refocus on Kyle. I felt the wind and finally looked around.

We were outside on a roof overlooking the city and the ocean. The view was breathtaking; I had never seen anything like it in person. The sky was a light blue, scattered with clouds. Seagulls and birds were flying in the sky. I could see the waves push through the ocean and smell the salt and sea in the air. Boats were traveling the water, oblivious to our watching them. People walked on the sidewalks and crossed the street. Buildings were dispersed around, some shorter and some taller than the building we were on now.