Page 20 of Riding the Line
‘What’s all this for?’ I ask, peeking over the edge of the truck to inspect the set-up further. This seems like something you’d see on a Pinterest board, all cosy and snuggly. Maybe even … romantic?
Nope. Just a friend helping a friend. Besides, he probably does more for this Kelly girl.
Duke runs his hand along the truck before pulling down the tailgate. ‘I sometimes take my bike out here, when I just want to ride away from everything. From all the noise. And this is the best place to see the stars, in my opinion.’
My gaze travels up, finding a dark sea of glittering pinpricks above, their light raining down on us.
‘On a clear day, you can always see the stars,’ I’d told Duke years ago when I helped redecorate the bar. It’s why I put fairy lights along the rafters. ‘And when there’s a whole vast universe up there, it really does make you feel like your worries needn’t exist.’
It’s one of the things I miss about living in a small town like Willow Ridge – none of the raw beauty of the world is as filtered out as it is in built up towns and cities. Wherever you are, you’ll always hear the whispering breeze through the pastures or the whinnying of the horses grazing there. You’ll always get to watch the sun setting behind the mountains, it’s orange glow bleeding through the valleys and along the dirt tracks.
I can’t believe he remembered.
Even just being able to gaze up at them now, their glow already invigorates me.
‘Just reminding you of what you’ll miss when you’re gone,’ Duke says from where he’s climbed up into the truck bed, a flask in hand. I swallow as I take him in, because the sight zaps at my heart, making me wonder if it’ll be more than just the stars that I’ll miss.
I push out a smile. ‘Okay, this is a pretty good small moment, I’ll give you that.’
He bows at me. Trying to temper down my smile, I climb up into the truck bed before dropping into the blankets piled beneath me. I don’t hold back from shovelling a piece of pizza down, going for ham and pineapple first because it’s my favourite, even if most people screw their faces up when I say so. Duke follows suit and we chomp in a comfortable silence, occasionally tipping our heads up to watch the stars.
When I twist the cap off the flask to wash down my food, the smell immediately awakens me, because I’d know my favourite drink anywhere. ‘You brought me Jack and Coke?’
‘Diet Coke, actually – it’s your favourite, right?’ he checks.
‘The whole drink is, yeah.’ I’m a sucker for a Jack Daniel’s and Diet Coke – its taste always reminds me of laughter and dancing at summer rodeos. But I usually stay away from stronger drinks like whiskey when I’m under the prying eyes of the town.
‘Fuck, that’s good,’ I groan as I take my first sip.
Warmth immediately simmers through my limbs as the drink pours smoothly down my throat. The smoky taste sends calm flooding into my bloodstream. When I take another swig and let out a hum of pleasure, Duke shifts. I wipe away a drop of liquid that catches on my bottom lip with my thumb, and I swear his dark eyes follow the movement.
He clears his throat shortly after. ‘Glad – uh, glad you like it.’
It’s difficult to force my brain not to read into this all – the stargazing, the bringing my favourite drink. How it’s so thoughtful, it feels borderline … intimate. But I remind myself that this is what Duke’s like. He’s not the guy who tells his friends how much he loves them; he’s the guy who strives to help his friends whenever they need him.He’s the listener, the one who probably knows you better than you know yourself.
Before I know it, I’ve drunk about half of what’s in the flask, sipping it down like it’s juice, and already a warm fuzziness spreads out in my limbs.
‘Yeah,’ I sigh out, shuffling around so my back is against the side of the truck bed. Duke twists and copies me. ‘Thank you. For all of this.’ I’m back blinking up at the stars, seeing if I can pick out any of the constellations Mom taught me when I was younger.
‘Like I said, we made a deal,’ Duke replies with a shrug.
As he also tilts his head up to watch the stars, chewing on a mouthful of the pepperoni pizza, I let myself be reckless and admire him. The way his tattoos peek briefly out from his T-shirt, stretching with the column of his thick neck as he looks up. The breadth of his shoulders and chest, like a wide shield, ready to protect you from harm’s way. The quiet smile that always plays on his lips, forcing the corners up in a faint curve, even when resting. The latter always gives him that approachable edge, one that makes you want to spill all your thoughts to him.
‘In all honesty,’ I admit, picking up another slice of pizza, ‘I thought you might not want to help me again after I squashed your size-thirteen dick.’ The words come out quicker than I can stop them.
Suddenly, Duke’s choking, whacking his chest with his fist. He reaches his hand out for the flask and I quickly oblige, letting the Jack and Coke save him from the coughing fit. After a few more gulps, he lets out an exasperated sigh. ‘Jesus, Cherry. Did you have to say it likethat?’
‘What?’ I laugh at the way his eyes have gone comicallywide. ‘You wouldn’t care if Wyatt or Sawyer said it like that.’
‘Yeah, because they’re not—’
‘A girl?’ I cut in, angling my head at him. ‘You guys don’t exactly treat me like a girl.’
Duke’s jaw drops as if he’s going to protest, but he takes another long sip from the flask instead. After screwing the cap back on, he tosses it between us. ‘Ah, it’s just … easier that way, Cherry. You’re Wyatt’s little sister. It would be weird if we treated you like every other girl we know. Imagine the shit you’d have to put up with from Sawyer and Wolfman.’
‘I already put up with shit from those two.’ I chuckle, making Duke laugh too, his smile beaming even in the darkness of midnight. ‘They’re always doing and saying things in front of me to annoy Wyatt. It’s only you who doesn’t.’
With that, Duke’s expression softens, tempering any brightness in his eyes. Slowly, his eyes trail over the pizza, and up my body to my face, leaving a fluttering in my heart and a heaviness settling deep in my stomach. He swallows, dark eyes locked with mine. ‘I guess I’m just a really good friend.’
