Page 78 of All Your Firsts

Vic moves into my space, takes his thumb, and runs it down the line of liquor on my face before bringing his thumb to his mouth. As his lips encompass his thumb, he moans.

Holy hell. My insides are on fire, and it’s not from the shot.

I’m jolted back to reality as Jess nudges me. “Will you come with me to the bathroom?”

“Yeah, we’ll be right back.”

When we hit the hall a few steps from the bathroom, Jess turns toward me. “Let’s ditch them.”

My brows scrunch at her. Axl and her have been semi-friendly lately. “Why? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just... Axl and I had an incident, as you like to call it.”

“Really?” I say with a smile. Apparently, my little pep talk with Axl helped.

“Yeah, but I don’t know how to feel about it. I need to get away and have a breather from him. It seems like he’s always around me, you know.”

“Okay. How do we ditch them?”

The moment the hushed words leave my lips, Vic walks into the hallway. He’s apparently impatient tonight.

“Run!” Jess yells and pulls me down the hallway to the exit at the side of the bar. I can’t help but giggle as I catch sight of Vic’s predatory expression, a mixture of mischief and intensity. It’s a challenging gleam that transforms his whole face.

The moment we pass the front of the entrance, we catch a glimpse of the guys rushing out of the bar toward their bikes. Jess flips them off while I smile and wave.

“They’re going to catch us.” I laugh as I look behind me, but a van comes behind us, and I lose sight of the guys.

“We’ll lose them at the fair,” Jess says while taking a hard right down a deserted residential street.

I look over at Jess, who has a crease between her brows. “Are you okay?”

“No,” she says with a sigh, “Axl…Axl’s presence has always been intoxicating to me. Because of that, I make really reckless decisions when he’s close. Hence the incident we had the other night.”

I nod. I’m starting to understand that feeling all too well.

“Has it always been like that? For you two?”

“When we were younger, his mom was often absent, so he’d spend his time at my house with me. We were inseparable for a long time. But things happened, and now everything is messed up.” She shakes her head. “Memories that were buried resurface. Always the good ones that leave me breathless and craving more. Only for him to leave, as he’s always been good at, which brings on the bad memories that also leave me breathless but abandoned.”

My heart breaks. “Oh, Jess, I didn’t know it was like that. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she says then shakes her head. “No more drinks. It makes me sappy as hell. Let’s go hide.”

The guys are nowhere to be found when we leave the car but I bet they’re close.

We walk through the gate and right to the battered goodness that promises a stomachache but will taste like heaven. We eat a couple of deep-fried Oreos as we make our way deeper into the fairgrounds.

Multiple booths offer tossing and shooting games, but none with any chance of success. We pay for a couple of tickets andhead to the rides and attractions. Our first stop is the Ferris wheel.

We wind through the maze of metal barricades until we reach the front. As we wait, we hear a whistle, and both of us turn. We spot the guys toward the back of the line. Axl blows kisses at Jess while Vic stares at me like he plans to eat me alive.

The gate opens, and we rush onto the lift. After we’re buckled, the Ferris wheel moves counterclockwise to accommodate the rest of the people in line, giving Vic and Axl the opportunity to look back at us as we go around in a circle.

Axl tries to get Jess’s attention, but she pointedly ignores him while I can’t take my eyes off Vic. He keeps mouthing things I can’t decipher, so I laugh and blow him kisses.

When the ride stops, we exit first. We walk to a maze, and as we give the attendant our tickets, I look back to see the guys still stuck on the ride.

Vic’s eyes never leave me. I give him a wave as I’m pulled into the attraction.

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