Page 14 of Naz & Roz

FIVE

Roz kept sneaking peeks at Naz just to see as they walked the last bit of trail together. And yep, he was still staring at her. Someone else, and she might have gotten a little freaked out about the fact he wouldn’t look away.

It was him, though. She didn’t mind so much with him. Actually, she really wanted to keephis attention on only her.

“You know, if you’re always looking at me,” Roz teased, “you’re not going to see what’s coming on the trail.”

Naz made a noise in the back of his throat. A sexy sound. It made Roz’s stomach clench, and knees weak. His fingers squeezed gently around hers, and he smiled. “Not possible. I know these trails like the back of my hand.”

Maybe he did. He and her brother had used them a hell of a lot more than she ever had as a kid.

“It’s on you if you face plant right into the—”

Without warning, Naz let go of her hand, circled a strong arm around her waist, and lifted her right from the ground. Two steps later, he put her back down like he hadn’t done anything in the first place. Roz peeked over her shoulder to find the bent root of some tree sticking out a good four inches from the ground. She hadn’t even seen that and easily would have tripped over it. Maybe scuffed up her hands a bit when she tried to break her fall. That wouldn’t have been good at all.

Not for playing the piano, anyhow.

“We found that root when Luca wrecked his dirt bike, and cracked his tooth in half,” Naz said.

Roz’s brow knotted together. “Wasn’t that when he was twelve?”

“I was thirteen.”

“He told Ma he tripped running back from the park. And I remember her calling your parents just to find out if you’d been with him or not when it happened.”

“And I backed him up, yeah.” Naz smirked. “Maybe we weren’t wearing helmets like we’d been told to do. But … you didn’t hear that from me.”

Huh.

“Is that a common thing for you two?”

Naz arched a brow, and glanced over at her. “What’s that?”

“Lying for one another.”

“I wouldn’t call it lying,” he murmured, his hand tightening around hers again. “More like … watching each other’s backs. That’s what we were taught to do, after all. If they didn’t want us looking out for one another, then they wouldn’t have stuck us together the first moment they could.”

That was true.

Roz couldn’t deny it.

For as long as she could remember, her brother had always tagged along with Naz. Where one went, the other was quickly followed. Their parents had always been quick to encourage the two boys’ friendship, too.

Rarely had they been told no.

“I bet you two have done that quite a bit, haven’t you?” she asked. “Lie—oh, I mean, watch each other’s backs.”

She didn’t even try to hide the teasing lilt to her tone. Naz didn’t miss it if the way the sly gleam lit up his gaze was any indication.

Naz grinned. “It’s very possible.”

“Care to tell me some?”

“Maybe someday.”

His tone did not match his statement. He sounded like, no, he didn’t plan on telling her very much in that regard. Boys.

Roz rolled her eyes, and laughed. “You’re not going to tell me anything, are you?”