Finally, I flashed a slow smile and reached to tighten her chin strap. Her long thick braid rested over her shoulder, and I picked it up. It felt smooth and heavy between my fingers. I pushed it aside, and just as I did the thought of kissing her mindless when we got to the dorm entered my head. That could wait. But not for long. “Sure thing, Gracie.” I straddled my bike. “Hop on.”
Gracie’s lean body slid behind me, and her small hands timidly rested on my hips. Like before, I reached back and grabbed her arms, pulling them tightly around my stomach. I held them in place with my hand, just in case she had thoughts of pulling them back. Funny. I was used to chicks grabbing my crotch while we rode. There was something to be said about Gracie’s shy touch, though. Different. Yeah, I liked her holding onto me this way.
“Thank you, Brax.” She said this quietly, close to my ear, before I pulled on my helmet. Her breath was soft against my neck, and her body pressed against my back.
For a split second, I closed my eyes. Jesus Christ, Jenkins, you are a grade-A bastard. Far worse than that prick with the hillbilly pick-up. You sure you got the stomach for this?
I had to actually take a deep breath in and think about it. Could I? Stomach it? I was in it now, with no fucking choice but to go forward. Gracie’s trusting words of thanks stuck in me like a fucking knife. Dug deep into my gut. I shook it the fuck off and opened my eyes. Pulled on my helmet. Started the bike. Felt her arms squeeze tighter against me as we sped out of the parking lot. And I liked it. Fuck, maybe I’d just bang her and get it out of my system. Get her out of my system. I could convince her. Might take some time, but I could.
By the time we made it back to Winston, the last rays of sunlight streaked purple and gray across the sky. That’s one thing I liked about Texas versus Boston. The sky. Here, it was a vast blanket of a million different things, day and night, stars and sun and storm clouds. Back home, only holes of it skewered through the tall brick and concrete structures of the city. All except the harbor, anyway. That was the place to go to see more than just circles and holes, and I’d hung out there a lot as a kid. Yeah, I missed the harbor all right. Missed a lot of things. Didn’t miss a lot of things, too, that’s for damn sure.
I cruised through the campus streets, and every time I rolled over a speed bump, I goosed the engine, causing Gracie’s head to bump into the back of mine. Crack, her helmet smacked against my helmet. Goose. Crack. Goose. Crack.
“Brax,” she said, and softly punched my arm. There was laughter in her voice, though, and it made me smile. Almost laugh. Just like a goddamn kid. I pulled up at the walkway leading to her dorm and stopped the bike. Before I killed the engine, she’d thrown her leg over the seat and was standing there, and I watched her long nimble fingers loosen the chin strap. When she pulled the helmet off, that wild thick braid fell out and over her shoulder. Why it fascinated me, I had no clue. But it did. It damn sure did.
“Thanks for dinner,” Gracie said. Her voice had the perfect female pitch, and her Texas drawl was soft and easy on the ear. I liked it. “And for helping me unload my stuff.” The smile on her mouth came hesitantly, and it was really just barely there, and she couldn’t quite meet my eye. “And for showing me the back route to the observatory.” A nighttime breeze had kicked up, and it brushed over her face and a loose strand of hair caught on her lip. She ignored it. Hell if I could. I reached over and gently knocked it loose.
Another embarrassed grin pulled at her mouth, probably because I was staring at her like some lunatic, and her gaze shot to the grass between her feet. It was cute as hell. “You’re welcome,” I told her. “Least I could do for knockin’ the wind out of you yesterday.” Wasn’t going to apologize for the kiss, though. I’d already told her that.
“True,” Gracie agreed. She gave a quick girl’s laugh that sounded different from any other I’d heard. I liked it. She glanced over her shoulder then, toward her dorm, and kinda jerked her thumb in that direction. “Well, I’d better get going.” She waved, turned and began walking, then looked back at me. The movement made that long braid of hers slide over her shoulder and fall down the middle of her back. “I’ll see ya around, Brax.”
“Yeah, you will,” I answered, and another slow smile caught my lips and pulled. I slipped my shades off to better watch her, and hell. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. Not off that braid. Not off that ass. Not off those long legs. Not until she’d slid her dorm card through and pushed into the common room. She didn’t turn around again, yet I still sat there, straddling my bike, staring.