I look back at the clubhouse, thinking about my friends and everyone else who expects me to go inside.
Dax smirks, waiting for my response. “Make a decision, Sassy.”
This is something I’d never expect to happen. Yet, here it is, playing out before me. If I say no, I walk back inside the club. I’ll listen to more gossip, order coffees, and then move on to the ice-creamery where the girls will text their crushes and I’ll feign interest.
If I say yes, I have absolutely no idea what will happen.
My thumb flicks against my bracelet, and I smile. I hold out my purse, letting Dax take it. I pick up the helmet and lift it over my head. “Does this just slide on?”
“Yeah,” Dax says, closing the locker trunk. “It has a strap underneath the chin.”
The helmet fits loosely around my head, and I fiddle with the strap until it tightens. Dax closes in and swivels the helmet by my ears.
He taps the sides, saying, “Just checking its snug.”
“I guess it’s a little loose,” I reply. “But it’s safer, right?”
Dax throws a leg over the motorcycle. “Sure.”
“Where’s your helmet?”
“You’re wearing it.”
“Oh. You’ll be driving without one?”
Dax chuckles, motioning to the space behind him. “Relax. This isn’t my first rodeo. Now, hop on.”
Ignoring my reservations, I lift the skirt of my dress and climb on behind Dax. I snuggle in close to him and hook my arms around his middle.
Dax revs the engine. “Get ready.”
Before there’s a moment to back out, I squeal as the motorcycle takes off. He glides by the parking lot and out the main property gates. The bike swerves around street corners and weaves through traffic as we flee the country club. I press myself against the dip between Dax’s shoulder blades. We live in a lush mountain area, and the motorcycle makes me feel the incline and dip of every hill.
Dax avoids the main streets, skirting the motorcycle through neighborhoods until he reaches the edge of town. My arms brace around him like they’re made of steel. My jaw clenches and my mind whirs. Why would this boy track me down? He shouldn’t want anything to do with me. I don’t even know where we’re going. What if he takes me toward his home?
As the neighborhoods I’m familiar with zoom past us, I realize we’re headed in the direction of Logan’s Point. The pressure in my mouth builds as I grit my teeth harder. He made a point of letting me know he knew about my family. How could I have been so stupid and gotten on this motorcycle? This was a setup. A trap. He lured me to follow him so The Scorpions could kidnap me and ask my father for a hefty ransom.
My arms tighten around his waist. “Stop. Stop.”
Dax groans. “Geez. You wanna loosen your grip?”
My hands clench together, and I push them into his stomach. “Stop! Stop the bike.”
Dax slows the motorcycle and veers to the side of the road, and a muted scream rushes out of me. Once parked, I whip a leg off the bike and back away with urgency. I rip off the helmet and chuck it to the ground.
“Whoa. What’s up with you?” Dax asks, getting off the bike and stepping toward me.
I lift my hands in defense. “Stay back!”
Dax halts, arching an eyebrow in curiosity. “What happened? You seemed pretty eager to jump on the back at your fancy country club.”
“Tell me that wasn’t all planned,” I say in a rush.
Dax sniggers. “What? That I knew when you’d walk out and that you’d agree to ride with me? I wasn’t even planning on asking you.”
I slam a hand on my chest. “You know who I am?”
The fun in Dax’s expression drops. He stares at me, dumbfounded. “What was that?”
