Page 72 of My Revenant
When it was obvious there was no more fighting to spectate, the crowd dissipated. I held Becca with one hand and Dex with the other.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Bee said, clearing her throat, her eyes on Dex. “But thanks.”
He nodded in response, and I could see the storm in him fading, leaving him hollow in its absence.
“We should go,” I said to Becca and to Dex.
“Need a ride home?” asked Raven, who was apparently still here.
“You’ve been drinking, Raven.” Dex’s voice sounded so fucking tired.
“Barely,” she argued, but he still shot her a glare that made her roll her eyes. “Ugh, fine. Come on, pretty lady, let’s get you an Uber.”
Becca nodded, stepping in to give me a tight hug. “I’ll text you when I get home. You too?”
“I will,” I answered, and she nodded.
Raven and Becca walked off together toward the main road.
I turned to Dex. “Let’s go home.”
twenty-nine
Dex - Past
HANDS ON THE HEADBOARD.
“You wear it,” Jonah said, crossing his arms. As if I’d given him a choice.
I wasn’t in the mood for an argument, not with him, so instead of replying I just stepped forward and shoved the helmet over his head.
“But you nee—”
“If you don’t wear it, then we’re walking back to my house, and I’d rather not leave my father’s bike here, Jonah.” I cut him off. Maybe it was my harsher than usual tone, or that I’d called him Jonah instead of Rabbit, but either way he crossed his arms over his chest and fell silent. I didn’t need to see his face to know he was probably pouting under there, but as long as he didn’t take the helmet off I didn’t care.
I swung my leg over Delilah, settling into the seat as far forward as I could in order to make room for Jonah behind me. My bike wasn’t equipped for a passenger—single saddle seat with no passenger foot pegs. She was designed for solo riding, and that had never been an issue for me before.
Jonah looked between me and the bike, hesitating.
“Come on, Rabbit. She won’t bite you.”
With a muffled huff, he stepped forward, a hand on my shoulder as he swung his leg over and slotted in behind me.
“Delilah isn’t used to taking two, so stay as close to me as you can.” I grabbed his hands, lightly resting on my waist, and pulledthem tight around my middle. Then grabbed the underside of his knees and hiked his legs up. “Hug me with them, tight as you can. I don’t want your legs dangling like spaghetti when we hit the road.”
Whatever he grumbled in response was swallowed up by my helmet.
Delilah’s engine rumbled to life. Jonah clung tighter to me as we started moving, and soon the wind was stinging my face, knotting my hair, but with his warmth at my back and my heart in tune with the bike beneath me, there wasn’t anywhere I’d rather be.
When I modified my bike to carry Jonah, and I already knew I would, then I’d take us on a longer ride. As it was, I made my way straight to Meadow Park, taking us home.
Jonah’s legs were a little shaky when we stopped. I smiled to myself as I dismounted and took the helmet from him. His cheeks were pink, his hair ruffled, and he fidgeted with the sleeves of my jacket.
I took his hand and pulled him along with me into the house, up the stairs, desperate to get him into bed, not even in a sexual sense. I just needed his body on mine somewhere we could just breathe and exist with nothing but each other.
Jonah let me pull him along until we passed the bathroom door just before my bedroom, and he came to a stop, yanking his hand out of mine.
“What?” I sighed, for once feeling far too tired for this game of cat and mouse, of the push and pull.
