I watch her intently, her soft features glowing in the firelight. I want to ask if she’s ever screwed over someone as badly as girls have screwed over me. But I know she hasn’t. This girl is sweet. Kind. I put the phone back in my pocket.
“I’m not gonna babble on like some kind of child.” I grab a stick from the ground and poke at the logs in the fire. “But, if you have to know, I guess you could just say I’ve totally ruined my life. I’m stuck. I don’t know where to go from here.”
“You’re eighteen,” she says. “Your life isn’t over yet. Just like how I know my life isn’t technically over, but it sure feels like it.”
I lean back in my chair. “What’s so bad about your life?”
“Well for starters, I’m stuck here all summer.” She glances back toward her house. “Do I even need to go on?”
I snort. “Please do.”
She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “I’m stuck here all summer without my friends. I’m grounded from everything, including my phone which is killing me, and my sort of boyfriend just officially became my not-boyfriend.”
Okay. I know she’s clearly in pain and everything, but damn does it make me happy to hear she doesn’t have a boyfriend. I lift an eyebrow. “Sort ofboyfriend? How is that a thing? Did he ask you to be hissort ofgirlfriend?”
She shakes her head. “Screw you. I don’t want to talk about it.”
My phone goes off again, but this time it’s staying in my pocket. “How did you get grounded?”
She folds her arms across her chest and stares at the fire. “I don’t want to talk about that either.”
“Okay, I’ll go.” I pop my knuckles and gather up the courage to spill my guts. Maybe it’ll make her want to talk to me as well. “I just lost a two million dollar contract over a fucking girl.”
Her mouth falls open, and there’s this look in her eyes that I’ve seen before on other girls. I keep talking. “I had just signed to ride with a factory sponsorship when I lost it all because I got thrown in jail. My agent says there's no way in hell they will give me the contract again now that I'm out. Apparently motocross is a family sport and they don't think my bad attitude fits in with the family vibe.”
“Wait,” she says, knitting her brow. “How does a girl play into this?”
I don’t want her to know. I don’t want to tell her. I want her to keep thinking I’m awesome.
I swallow. “I was in jail for four months on an assault charge.” My phone goes off again. I ignore it.
“Did you…” she says, and then she looks away.
I sigh, and take out my phone, clearing away the messages without reading them. The Ex is basically doing the same shit as always, going on and on about how I should talk to her. “He was a guy I raced with, and he pissed me off. He got what he deserved.”
“Did you hurt him?” she asks. I can see the fear in her eyes and I hate that I’m the one who caused it. She has nothing to fear from me.
“Oh my God,” she says, her eyes widening. “What did you do to him?”
I wave my hand through the air. “He was fine. I just taught him a lesson.” I throw my head back and stare at the night sky. I can’t help but laugh. “At least I thought I taught him a lesson. He may have fucked my girlfriend but in the end, I'm the one who got fucked.”
“I’m sorry,” she says. She chews on her bottom lip. This is really awkward for both of us, but I like this girl. I want her to know the truth about me because if she’s going to like me back, I want it to be for real. “She never should have done that to you.”
“No, she shouldn't. But he knew what he was doing. I was his competition, and he got rid of me.” I lift my shoulders then lean back in my chair. “Smart guy.”
She doesn’t seem super disgusted with me right now, so I guess that’s a good thing. “So when you got out of jail you banished yourself to Salt Gap, Texas?”
I nod. “I've officially owned the place ever since I turned eighteen. I never came out to see it because I was too busy. I never understood why a man I'd never met would leave me everything he owned…but maybe he knew I'd need it someday.” I grab my iPad off the table next to me and skim through it. “I'm sick of this playlist. I think it's time for some online radio, eh?”
She looks really excited for a moment. “You have WiFi on that thing?”
I nod. “Why are you giving me that look?” I ask.
She leans forward and clasps her hands together in front of her chest, giving me this pleading look. “Do you think…maybe I could…um...?”
And then I remember she got grounded from her stuff, so I roll my eyes and she says, “Could I check my Facebook? Please, just real fast?”
I’m going to let her have it. Hell, she could have anything she wants from me right now because she’s just so damn cute, but I like messing with her so I pull the iPad to my chest and give her a look. “Do you think your mother would approve of that?”
