I shake my head to chase away the memory. “That was a long time ago.”
“Somewhere along the way your brain came up with this story that Jillian was the superhero and you were the sidekick, but it’s not true.” My sister sighs. “I was always in awe of you. You used to be so confident and fearless.”
I used to be a lot of things.
Cole
“Let’s go out,” she tells me and I think I’ve misheard her.
I hold my phone a little tighter. “Are you saying you want to go out out—like to a club or dancing or something, or are you trying to coerce me into giving you a ride to the grocery store?”
Aimee laughs on the other end of the phone and my stomach does this crazy flip. It’s Monday afternoon and this is the first time that we’ve talked on the phone and I’m trying not to make too much of the fact that she actually called me instead of sending me a text.
“Hmmm. Maybe somewhere in between? How do you feel about the arcade and gyros on the beach?”
“I’m a fan.” I pause. “There’s also a hamburger guy that parks his cart over by the pier if you feel like living dangerously.”
She laughs again. I want the conversation to end on a high note and I don’t want to give her a chance to change her mind so I quickly tell her that I’ll be at her place by seven. We say goodbye and I that’s when I start to count because I’ve got four hours to go until I see her, but somehow it feels like ten.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Cole
“Lord of the Lies.”
“I’m going with Ride and Prejudice,” she says. “It’s about a modern-day Lizzie Bennet falling for the President of an MC against her better judgment.”
“What’s an MC?”
“Mother Chapter. You know, like for a motorcycle club.”
I chuckle. “How the hell do you know anything about motorcycle clubs?”
“You know, Cole, there’s a lot about me that might surprise you.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
“So…” She pushes her toes down into the sand. “When is your next race?”
“There’s an informal invitational in a few weeks I think.”
“Is it here?”
“Well, it’s not here.” I give a half-shrug with my shoulders indicating the beach that’s spread out in front of us. “But, yeah, it’s here in town if that’s what you mean.”
Aimee adjusts her position and dusts sand from the backs of her thighs. Today she’s wearing a painfully short white dress that shows off her body in too many ways. When she walked out of her place in it, I was torn between pushing her up against my truck to taste her mouth and asking her to go change into something else.
“Yes, that’s what I meant, smart-ass.”
If I didn’t know better, I’d say that the way that she’s looking at me right now qualifies as almost flirty. Her blue eyes are dancing and if they keep landing on my mouth like that, stupid move or not, she’s going to get herself kissed.
“So…” I wash down the last of my burger with a gulp of beer and I crinkle up the paper wrapper into a tight ball.
“I think I want to go.” She’s staring out at the water.
“You want to go home?” I ask, hating the disappointment in my voice. We haven’t even made it to the arcade yet. And considering that I haven’t seen this girl for more than four days, one hour of her company isn’t enough.
“No,” she says, turning back to me. The warm breeze is whipping her dark hair around her face and the sun is streaming soft yellow and orange over her skin. I reach over with my left hand and tuck her hair behind her ears. It’s so silky. Even though I know I’m not allowed, I can’t stop my fingers from drifting farther into the wavy coils that spill over her shoulder and down her back.
Aimee doesn’t pull away. She doesn’t tell me to stop touching her. She doesn’t say anything at all.
Silence.
I’m so afraid to break the moment that I’m not even blinking my eyes. My fingers whisper along the skin of her jaw and my thumb grazes that one freckle on her cheek. She’s warm and soft and I want to touch all of her so badly that it’s like a physical ache clawing at my body.
Aimee’s chest begins to rise and fall heavily. She bites her bottom lip and turns her face out toward the water. Something is different between us tonight. It feels like the rules have all been changed and I don’t know what they are anymore. There’s this voice inside my head chanting for me to go for it, but I have to be sure that I’m reading this situation right. I need to be sure.