Page 58 of What Hurts Us

She looked like my every fantasy come to life. The way those pants painted her ass was downright sinful.

“Ready to go?” She stepped out onto the porch, eyes glued to her phone.

“Yeah. Got your keys?”

Layla didn’t look up, so I peered around her shoulder. One of her social media pages was open. A photo of a pretty blonde, a man with an angel wing tattoo, and a cute German Shepherd was front and center.

“Is he the former situationship you were talking about?”

I watched as she swiped into the comments and typed,So happy for you two!She punctuated it with a heart. “Yeah,” she said with a rasp.

“Who’s the girl?”

“His best friend.” She sniffed and pocketed her phone. “Not surprised they’re together. Just surprised it took them this long. He’s been crazy about her for forever. Hell—half the nights we spent together were him talking about Bridget. I was the listening ear. It started as a hookup, but the sex stopped after a while. He started opening up about her, then we’d just fall asleep together.”

I didn’t want to spook her—she was opening up about something for once. Still, I wanted her to know that I was listening, so I made a casual observation. “He needed companionship.”

“We both did. Still doesn’t mean ending it didn’t hurt. I figured swearing off men for a little while will help,” Layla said, then grabbed her bag. “Ready to go?”

I knew we needed to hit the road, but I wasn’t too keen on the cloud hanging over her head. Lucky for Layla, I had just the fix.

I reached inside and grabbed another set of keys. “Leave the purse.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

I stepped back inside and grabbed the two helmets I kept under the entryway table. “We’re taking the bike. Put this on.”

Layla eyed me warily, not touching the helmet.

A frustrated growl echoed in my throat. “Stop being stubborn and take the goddamn helmet.”

Finally, she grabbed it from me and followed me out to the side of the house where my Harley Fat Boy had been parked ever since my accident. My physical sadist—therapist—had given me the all-clear to ride, just as long as I didn’t have any pain. I wanted to hit the pavement; I just hadn’t had the chance.

“You scared?” I asked as I slid her helmet on top of her head and made sure it was secure. She told me she had never ridden before, mostly because of the accidents she responded to. Hopefully, I could help her let go of that carefully curated control.

Layla shook her head as I stored her phone and wallet in my jacket pockets. The apples of her cheeks had the lightest dusting of pink against her olive skin. Pretty as a picture.

“It’s not that hard. Just hold on tight and lean with me. Don’t fight the curves. Go with ’em.” I straddled the bike, and it roared to life. Layla stood a few feet away as if she was expecting it to turn into a velociraptor or some shit. I patted the back of the seat behind me. She wobbled as she threw a leg over the bike. I gave her a moment to get settled before popping the kickstand back.

“Put your arms around me,” I hollered over the growl of the engine. She held me like we were two middle schoolers at our first dance. I looked back and cocked an eyebrow at her. “Fuckin’ touch me, Lay. Arms all the way around me.”

She relented and pressed her front to my back. We rolled down the driveway and took off. Layla was stiff as we cruised through downtown Falls Creek, but once we got out onto the back roads, she loosened up. Her hips rocked in perfect time with mine, taking each twist and turn as it came. I opened the throttle and gunned it down an open strip of road. By the time I pulled into the parking lot at the Eno River State Park, her smile was blinding.

“How’d it feel?” I asked as I pushed the kickstand down, steadying the bike for her to hop off.

Energy buzzed off her arms. She was breathless but smiling. “Like I didn’t want it to end. I mean, it was a little scary. But fun, you know?”

I set my helmet on the seat and helped Layla with hers. “You’re always safe with me, honey.”

Layla looked at me through thick lashes. She had put on a little more makeup than usual for the engagement photos but still looked like herself. “I know.”

I rubbed away the goosebumps on her arms with a firm touch. “Wear a jacket next time, and we’ll go on a longer ride.”

She bit her lip to keep from smiling, but it didn’t work. “Okay.”

20

LAYLA

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