Once I'm home, I see a text from Jessica.
Keep the back door unlocked.
"She could say please," I grumble as I climb the stairs to my room. I slip my shoes off, feeling kind of anxious, knowing that Jack was coming over soon. I hear a lour rumble of a motorcycle outside, and it gets louder as it gets closer. I don't think anything of it, thinking it'll fade off, but in fact, it dies down outside my house. Bewildered, I jog down the stairs and head for the door, where I look out the window and see Jack.
He's climbing off of the motorcycle, taking his helmet off, and putting his keys into his jacket before he heads up the stone path towards my front door. He sees me looking and smiles. My face burns as I open the door.
"I didn't know you had a motorcycle," I say, stepping aside as he walks in. He chuckles.
"There's a lot you don't know about me," he says, matter-of-factly. "So, where are we working?" I close the door and lead the way to the kitchen. I flip the lights on, and he puts his things down at the table.
"I figured I could make dinner or something," I say, suddenly thinking it might give him the wrong idea.
"What did you have in mind?" He asks. I head to the pantry, noting our dwindling supplies. I should have checked what we had before I said anything about making dinner. Jack walks up behind me, and I feel goosebumps crawl across my body with how close he's standing to me.
"Guess your parents need to go to the store," he says, I step away and look up at me.
"My parents are on a business trip and won't be back till Friday," he smiles at me.
"I know," he chuckles at my confused expression. "Jessica told me." I sigh, remembering how he was over just last night. She probably didn't waste any time using her "my parents aren't home" excuse to have any guys in her room.
"Right," I reply, looking back at the pantry and trying to think of something I could put together, but there isn't much.
"We could always go get something," he says, leaning against the counter. I shrug.
"Yeah, maybe after we do some work?" He grins and nods.
"Sounds good,"
"Let me go get my stuff," I say, and he nods, taking a seat at the table. I hurry up the stairs and grab my laptop and backpack before heading back downstairs. I take my spot at the end of the table, with Jack on my left. He smiles at me as I get my things out.
"Alright, so what do you need me to do?" For the next hour and a half, Jack and I go over the last parts of the project we need to finish. I explain to him what the final slides need to look like and what information needs to be included, and I expected that I would have to redo the last few slides, but Jack proves me wrong.
"Okay, this is what I have so far," he turns his laptop to me and pushes the enter button. I'm instantly surprised by the detail and thought he put into the slides. He did what I asked and exceeded my expectations.
"That looks amazing," I say sincerely. Jack grins and turns his laptop back to him.
"I can finish the rest later, but right now, I am starving," he chuckles, and I smile.
"I think you've earned a break," I say, and he raises an eyebrow at me.
"Oh? All my hard work finally paid off," I laugh as he does an air fist pump. "Where do you want to go?" I shrug.
"It doesn't matter to me; where ever you want," a devious grin spreads across his face.
"Alright, but we're taking my bike," he stands up and heads towards the door.
"W-what?" I quickly follow after him, and he slips his shoes back on. "I... I 'm not getting on that." He laughs.
"Why not? It's perfectly safe,"
"Do you know how many people die on those things?" I ask incredulously. He laughs, nodding.
"Yes, but I'm a good driver, so there's nothing to worry about," I roll my eyes.
"Jack, I'm not getting on your bike. We can take my car," I turn to go get my keys when he grabs my wrist, preventing me from leaving. I quickly look up at him as goosebumps roll up my arm and through my body at how hot his hands are against my skin. His pupils dilate, and he lets me go.
"I won't let anything happen to you, Riley, you're safe with me." His eyes burn with determination and sincerity, and I find myself nodding. Next thing I know, I'm putting my shoes on, grabbing my wallet, and following him out to his bike.
"Here, you can wear this," he takes his helmet off the back of the bike and places it on my head. Suddenly, my vision darkens, and he flips up the sun visor, grinning, with a look of awe in his eyes. He buckles the strap under my chin, and I shiver at his light touch on my skin.
"That'll keep your cute head safe," he lightly taps the top of the helmet and helps me straddle the bike. My face burns at his statement. Cute? Did he just call my head cute? Once I'm seated, he sits in front of me. The engine roars to life, causing me to jump and grab the sides of his jacket. I can't hear him over how loud the engine is, but I feel him chuckle. I feel my heart jump as he takes my hands in his and wraps them around his torso, his touch lingering for a moment before he grabs the throttle. Before I can pull away, he kicks up the kickstand, and we're off.
I instantly stiffen as we pick up speed, and my grip on him tightens. The world blurs around me as we weave out of my neighborhood and onto the main road. All I can think is that he better be right, or else I'm going to haunt his ass if I die in a horrific crash. It isn't long before we're pulling up to a restaurant that doesn't look very busy. Jack glides the bike into a parking spot and kicks up the kickstand. He descends off the motorcycle and smiles at me as he helps me remove the helmet.
"See? I told you you'd be safe," I run my fingers through my helmet hair and give him a glare.
"We could have died at least five times," he bursts out a laugh, and my cheeks pound as I continue to fix my hair.
"Maybe, but we didn't." He winks at me, and my heart races. He places the helmet on the back of the bike and helps me get off the bike. He doesn't let go of my hand right away once I'm off the bike, and he hesitates very briefly before letting go.
"Where are we?" I ask, looking over at the restaurant, Beverly's.
"This is my favorite place," he grins, and I follow him towards the door. He holds it open for me as we walk inside, and I'm hit with the scent of coffee and breakfast, even at 5 pm on a school night. I follow Jack to a booth in the back. He sits facing the door and smiles at me as I sit. It isn't long before the waitress comes by, her nametag reading Vanessa.
"Hi, what can I get you guys started with?" She asks, smiling.
"I'll have a water, please," I reply.
"Same for me," Vanessa nods and walks off towards the kitchen. Jack smiles at me and leans forward on the table, folding his arms on the surface.
"So," he says, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Tell me everything I need to know to really understand Riley Mason." My face burns, and I rub the goosebumps away.
"Uh..." I trail off, face pounding as I try to rack my brain. His eyes soften as he waits for me to answer. "What exactly do you want to know?" He chuckles.
"Anything and everything," I stare at him, confused and surprised. Was he just trying to make small talk or actually trying to get to know me?
"Here we go," the waitress says joyfully, placing our waters in front of us. "Do you guys need more time, or are you ready to order?" I realize I hadn't even looked at my menu.
"More time please," Jack says, and she nods, walking away. I flip through the menu, seeing a wide selection.
"What do you usually get?" I ask, looking up and feel my breath catch in my throat to see that he was already looking at me. He smiles.
"Eggs in a basket. They use sourdough bread, and it is my favorite," Jack flips through my menu and points to a picture. It actually looks delicious.
"Even for dinner?" I ask, eyebrow raised, and he grinned.
"Breakfast for dinner hits just a little differently," I nod and close my menu.
"Eggs in a basket for me, too." A few minutes later, Vanessa comes back and takes our order. She heads back to the kitchen, promising it'll be out soon.
"So, you never did tell me really anything about you," he says playfully, crossing his arms on the table. I shrug.
"There isn't much to tell," he chuckles at that.
"I'm sure there's more than you think,"
"Then you tell me about you," he seems surprised by this. "I mean, if I have to talk about me, then you have to talk about you." He laughs softly and nods.
"Fair enough," he thinks for a minute before speaking. "I've been homeschooled for most of my life, and I told my parents that I wanted to go to public school. So here I am." I wait for him to add on, but he doesn't.
"Okay, uh, what do your parents do?" I ask, and he doesn't answer right away. I can see the flash of uncertainty in his eyes before it's gone.
"My dad is the head of a company, and my mom is a doctor." He replies, and I blink. He's wealthy.
"What are you doing here then, going to a public school?" He chuckles and shrugs.
"It's more complicated than that,"
"What do you mean?" He shrugs again, looking away from me and not answering my question, instead, asking his own.
"What do you like to do in your spare time?" He looks back at me, waiting for my answer. Do I just ignore that he didn't answer my question?
"Uh..." he looks at me expectantly, eyes hopeful. "Reading mostly." He smiles.
"Just reading?" I nod.
"I don't really try new things very often," I say. "I'm kinda afraid to fail." He nods, and I'm surprised by how open I'm being with him.
"I can understand that," he sighs. "My dad expects me to take over his company after college, and I just don't think I'm ready for it."
"Running a business is really hard, though," I say. "Maybe he'll give you some tips before you start the position?" He shrugs.
"Maybe, but right now, I'm just focused on right now," his eyes lock with mine, and I feel breathless as I get lost in his ocean blue eyes. His pupils dilate, and we're thrown out of our gazing when Vanessa arrives with our food.
"Is there anything else I can get for you guys?" She says, smiling. I shake my head.
"No, thank you, this looks perfect," Jack says, smiling up at her. She nods and walks away. We begin to eat in silence, but I can't help but steal glances at him. And I caught him glancing at me numerous times.
"Once we're done here, I thought we'd go get something sweet," Jack says, wiping his mouth with a napkin. I nod as I take a sip of my water.
"What did you have in mind?" I ask, and he grins.
"There's an awesome fro-yo place I know where there's a great view of the town," I smile.
"Okay." His grin doesn't falter, but I can feel his anticipation. I finish eating, and he doesn't hesitate to get up and take out his wallet.
"Wait, I can pay for me," I say, grabbing my wallet. Jack winks at me and walks towards the register. I grab a ten-dollar bill and place it on the table. I clean up our table a little bit before heading towards Jack, who's got a look of yearning in his eyes as he waits by the door for me. He holds the door open for me, and we head to his bike. I take a deep breath, and before I can grab the helmet, Jack takes it and puts it on my head, clasping the strap under my chin. I flip the visor.
"Please go slow, I don't want to get sick," I say, and he laughs, nodding.
"Of course," he helps me get on the bike before getting on himself. He hasn't even started the bike yet when he says, "Don't be afraid to hold on. You aren't going to hurt me." My face burns, and I'm grateful for the helmet. The bike roars to life, and I swallow hard, nervously scooting forward a bit before wrapping my arms around his torso, his warmth comforting and soothing. His hand brushes over the back of mine, goosebumps not hesitating to run up my arm, before he kicks the kickstand up and turns the throttle.
He weaves carefully and slowly onto the main road, and I can't help but look at him. He's got a slight amount of stubble forming on his face and his dark hair curls in the wind. He glances back at me and smiles, his hand again touching the back of mine. I squeeze him slightly, and I can feel him laugh. I smile, face burning as we navigate our way through town and towards the mountains.