Page 77 of Catch Me If You Can

I nod and keep walking. He follows me down the stairwell to the main lobby.

Outside, I grab his hand and lead him to a nearby alley.

“This way,” I say.

His eyes go wide when he sees what I’m leading him to.

“Oh, no way.” He backs up a little.

I rode here with Tony, thankfully. That means I have the second helmet. There’s no way I’d let Nathaniel get on my bike without proper protection. He’s too important.

“Here.” I shove Tony’s leather jacket and the helmet into his chest.

I throw a leg over my Yamaha R7, reach for my own helmet, and pull it on.

“You ride this?” he asks, still eyeing the bike.

“Yep. And if you shut up and get on, it won’t be the only thing I’m riding tonight.”

I snap the visor shut and rev the engine.

Nathaniel’s eyes are still wide, but he hurries over and climbs on behind me.

“I trust you,” he says, strapping on the helmet.

Hearing that from him feels like everything.

I peel out of the alley and head toward home. It's only a 20-minute ride from Sarah’s place, but my heart pounds the entire way.

He’s holding on tight—arms around my waist, thighs pressed to mine—and I swear, I’ve never felt more alive.

Nathaniel Philips kissed me tonight.

And I hope we do so much more.

32

nathan

My body practically trembles with excitement the moment I hop off the back of his bike.

“That was incredible,” I laugh, shaking out my hair as Caleb parks in the underground garage of his building.

“Now you see why I’m obsessed with the thing,” he says, smiling and running a hand through his hair.

“Have you named it yet?” I ask, holding the stairwell door open as we exit the garage.

“Yeah…” he murmurs, nervously biting his lip as he walks ahead of me.

I groan and roll my eyes. “Youdidn’t.”

“Listen, she was with me when I bought it. It felt fitting at the time,” he laughs over his shoulder.

“No wonder you two were so tied together. Naming your bike after her? You might as well have performed a blood-binding ceremony,” I tease as we walk down the hallway toward the elevator. He presses the button for the 10th floor, and we bothwait as the doors close. I clutch Caleb’s helmet in my hands, and he does the same.

He looks so good in this gear. Of course he’s a motorcycle guy. It fits him perfectly.

I shake my head, laughing to myself.

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