Page 5 of Falling Faster
Letting out a whoop, Slater rushes around to the passenger side of the car and grins at Noah and me. "I get toridein the Batmobile. Someone pinch me. I better not be dreaming."
"I'll take a video," Noah promises as Craig climbs into the driver's seat. The engine roars to life and Slater waves, then blows Noah a kiss, which Noah returns. As I wave them off and Noah taps the video button to start recording, he glances at me. "Thanks for including us in this. You didn't have to do that."
"Are you kidding? I couldn't have just gone with Craig and not shared this with you guys. I knew how much this would mean to Slater."
He returns his focus to the screen and smiles at Slater grinning and chatting with Craig. "You don't even know how much. We found a place out here that does exotic car rentals and they actually have a replica just like this one, but it wasn't available this weekend. Slater was pretty bummed. So, him getting to experience this is really special."
I watch Craig's profile as the car zips around in a loop. Ican't wait to see him unmasked. "And it wouldn't have happened at all if I hadn't literally crashed into Craig's space today."
Still recording, Noah pulls his focus from the screen. His expression turns serious and he lays his other hand on my shoulder. "You shouldn't label yourself as a walking disaster, Ty. You beat yourself up too much."
The label has stuck for so long, I've had more years with it, than without. All I can do is shrug. You hear something enough, you begin assuming it's true. "I guess."
"You do. Way too hard on yourself. Besides, I think Craig likes you just as you are."
The car comes to a stop in front of us. Slater hops out, wearing a mile-wide grin. "All yours, Ty."
I take a moment to capture the image of Craig in the costume and the car in my mind. Things like this don't happen to me. Ever. With a heady rush of anticipation, I bid my friends goodbye and climb in.
Craig smiles and brushes a gloved finger along the back of my hand. "Ready to go?"
Body buzzing, I suck in a breath. "I'm ready for anything."
CHAPTER TWO
CRAIG
Sunlight dances through the clouds and drenches the street. I drive along roads dotted by palm trees, my attention captured by the long, lanky, blond man in faded jeans and a gray T-shirt withSupervillainwritten across the chest at my side. When I'd dived to save Ty from hitting his head on the concrete floor, something like electricity sparked from a place deep within me and crackled to life.
Ty grins, and his smile lights up his face. "Thank you so much for this. I can't get over that I'm driving with Batman in the Batmobile. But now I'm wishing I'd cosplayed as the Joker today. Imagine how fun that would look to the people watching us."
In addition to being the cutest guy I've seen in a long time, Ty is friendly and sweet. The attention he gave to putting the display to rights and how he invited his friends to see the car because it obviously would mean a lot to Slater shows that.
"The perfect couple." Offering the ride in the car had been an impulse decision, spurred by the desire to prolong our connection. But the best things in my life have all come fromimpulse decisions. Something tells me that Ty will be the same. I slow to a stop for a red light. "Tell me about yourself."
His rich brown gaze roams my face, settling on the scar at my chin before returning to meet my stare. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything. Let's start with something easy. I know you're staying at a hotel for the convention, but are you local? Where do you live?"
"Buffalo."
"New York?"
"Yeah."
Surprise tickles through me. "I grew up there."
He gapes at me. "Seriously? Small world. What part? I'm from East Amherst."
"South Buffalo." Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something. My last visit home, during Christmas, seems so long ago. "I still have family and friends there. I get back a few times a year."
"How long have you lived in LA?" Leaning his hand on the dashboard, Ty peers at the passing palm trees. His long fingers are a distraction. I can easily imagine them grasping a pencil as he brings an image to life on a sketchbook's page.
The light changes to green and I focus again on the road. "I've been out here for close to ten years."
Ty leans back in the seat and lifts his face to the sun. He closes his eyes, smiling as he soaks up the warmth, like he's immersing himself in the experience. "Do you like it? I've never lived anywhere other than Buffalo."
"I did for a while, but lately I'm thinking I might need a change."
