Shaking off my shock, I snapped the book shut and climbed to my feet.
“I came to get you. Thought you could use a ride.”
“I have a ride.” It’s big, and yellow, and noisy. Where I get to listen to underclassmen badmouth each other in outrageous displays of testosterone and epic levels of bitchery. No self-respecting senior would be caught dead riding the bus. Fortunately, self-respect wasn’t an obstacle for me.
Kiernan grinned. “A better ride.”
I couldn’t argue with that. Neither could anyone else blatantly eavesdropping on our conversation. I was pretty certain just about every girl there was itching to claw their way over me and onto the back of that bike. An unfamiliar feeling crept over me, curving my lips into a genuine smile. This was what it felt like to be envied? I’d never been on this side of that particular emotion before. It kind of felt good.
“Get on.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. Removing the second helmet, Kiernan replaced it with my books, and helped me up. I’d barely gotten my arms around him when we tore away from the curb amongst a series of catcalls from some of the more lewd bystanders.
My head perked up from where I’d had it resting against his back when we sailed right past the school. Tapping his stomach, I wondered if he was distracted. Not the best thing to be while driving a motorcycle, or anything for that matter. When we turned a corner at the end of the block and continued on our merry way, I figured this wasn’t just a case of oops and tapped harder to get his attention. It didn’t work. He continued to drive, unperturbed by my incessant poking, until we pulled into a spot at the local diner and he cut the engine.
“What are we doing?”
“Getting breakfast. I felt your stomach rumbling.”
Holy hell, he felt that? How embarrassing.
“We can’t. We’ll be late.”
“For what?”
For what? “School!”
“We’re not going today.” He said as though it were as simple as that.
“What do you mean ‘we’re not going today’?”
“I mean we’re playing hook y.”
“Where are we going?”
“On an adventure.”
What the heck was he talking about? He wasn’t making any sense and the minutes to first period were quickly slipping away. Christ, Doug was probably waiting at my locker right that very minute. “I can’t go on an adventure, Kiernan. I have classes and a tutoring session today, in case you forgot.”
“I happen to know your tutoring session has been postponed until tomorrow.”
“Oh, has it? I hadn’t heard that.”
“Now you have.”
I sighed. He really was impossible. “Kiernan—”
“Jade. Everybody needs a break now and then. Will it really kill you to spend one day with me?”
Possibly. “I can’t—”
“Life doesn’t last forever, Jade. You can’t forget to live it.”
Something in the way he said it . . . He wasn’t just saying it. It wasn’t some line to get me to do what he wanted. He really, truly meant it. And it made me think. When was the last time I did something just for the hell of it? Ever?
I couldn’t think of a single instance. Not one time where I’d done something simply because I wanted to. Would it be so bad to experience that just once? Yeah, there would be fallout. An unexcused absence from school—not that mom would ever notice, or care—and Doug would be pissed, but he’d get over it. What if it was worth it, just this once, to take the risk and stop being so afraid all the time?
“Okay.”
“Really?” I couldn’t blame him for being surprised by my answer. It kinda surprised me, too.
“Yeah. You only live once, right?” I had absolutely no idea where this new person had come from and taken control of my body, but I was along for the ride now.
“Exactly!”
Seven
I trailed into the diner behind Kiernan where I watched him inhale the largest stack of blueberry pancakes known to mankind. It was part impressive, part disgusting , to witness. I, on the other
“I came to get you. Thought you could use a ride.”
“I have a ride.” It’s big, and yellow, and noisy. Where I get to listen to underclassmen badmouth each other in outrageous displays of testosterone and epic levels of bitchery. No self-respecting senior would be caught dead riding the bus. Fortunately, self-respect wasn’t an obstacle for me.
Kiernan grinned. “A better ride.”
I couldn’t argue with that. Neither could anyone else blatantly eavesdropping on our conversation. I was pretty certain just about every girl there was itching to claw their way over me and onto the back of that bike. An unfamiliar feeling crept over me, curving my lips into a genuine smile. This was what it felt like to be envied? I’d never been on this side of that particular emotion before. It kind of felt good.
“Get on.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. Removing the second helmet, Kiernan replaced it with my books, and helped me up. I’d barely gotten my arms around him when we tore away from the curb amongst a series of catcalls from some of the more lewd bystanders.
My head perked up from where I’d had it resting against his back when we sailed right past the school. Tapping his stomach, I wondered if he was distracted. Not the best thing to be while driving a motorcycle, or anything for that matter. When we turned a corner at the end of the block and continued on our merry way, I figured this wasn’t just a case of oops and tapped harder to get his attention. It didn’t work. He continued to drive, unperturbed by my incessant poking, until we pulled into a spot at the local diner and he cut the engine.
“What are we doing?”
“Getting breakfast. I felt your stomach rumbling.”
Holy hell, he felt that? How embarrassing.
“We can’t. We’ll be late.”
“For what?”
For what? “School!”
“We’re not going today.” He said as though it were as simple as that.
“What do you mean ‘we’re not going today’?”
“I mean we’re playing hook y.”
“Where are we going?”
“On an adventure.”
What the heck was he talking about? He wasn’t making any sense and the minutes to first period were quickly slipping away. Christ, Doug was probably waiting at my locker right that very minute. “I can’t go on an adventure, Kiernan. I have classes and a tutoring session today, in case you forgot.”
“I happen to know your tutoring session has been postponed until tomorrow.”
“Oh, has it? I hadn’t heard that.”
“Now you have.”
I sighed. He really was impossible. “Kiernan—”
“Jade. Everybody needs a break now and then. Will it really kill you to spend one day with me?”
Possibly. “I can’t—”
“Life doesn’t last forever, Jade. You can’t forget to live it.”
Something in the way he said it . . . He wasn’t just saying it. It wasn’t some line to get me to do what he wanted. He really, truly meant it. And it made me think. When was the last time I did something just for the hell of it? Ever?
I couldn’t think of a single instance. Not one time where I’d done something simply because I wanted to. Would it be so bad to experience that just once? Yeah, there would be fallout. An unexcused absence from school—not that mom would ever notice, or care—and Doug would be pissed, but he’d get over it. What if it was worth it, just this once, to take the risk and stop being so afraid all the time?
“Okay.”
“Really?” I couldn’t blame him for being surprised by my answer. It kinda surprised me, too.
“Yeah. You only live once, right?” I had absolutely no idea where this new person had come from and taken control of my body, but I was along for the ride now.
“Exactly!”
Seven
I trailed into the diner behind Kiernan where I watched him inhale the largest stack of blueberry pancakes known to mankind. It was part impressive, part disgusting , to witness. I, on the other
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