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I’m not sure how rooming together makes us best friends, but her offer of bestieship is not changing my mind.
The look on her face, however…
“You expect me to hop on the back of one of those dirt bikes—in my bathing suit—with someone I literally hate with every fiber of my being? Do you have any idea what those guys did to me last night?”
“What Neo did was awful and I hate him for that, but Crew and Jagger were just innocent bystanders. You said it yourself, they weren’t there.”
“They might not have made an appearance, but they were just as much a part of it as Neo was.”
“Well, look at it this way. You getting on that bike and going to this get-together, where they are, shows them how strong you really are.”
She’s got a point. A really good point, actually. If I don’t go, it’ll give the impression that they scared me off.
“Besides, you told me that things were good with you guys.”
I did say that but I lied. I hate them. I hate them so much.
“Come on, Scarlett. Try not to take the games or ranks personally. We all go through it.”
It’s hard not to take it personally when everything about what they're doingispersonal.
“Can you just do this one thing for me? After all, you stood me up at dinner last night.” She folds her hands in a plea and puffs out her bottom lip.
“Ugh!” I roll my neck, cracking it. “Fine! But I don’t like this and I really think you need to reconsider befriending these guys.”
“I’m not befriending. Just climbing the ladder to bigger and better things. Associating with them keeps targets off my back. Eat or be hungry, right?”
“No,” I laugh, “I think the saying you’re looking for is, eat or be eaten.”
Riley hooks her arm around mine and pulls me through the door. “Then let’s eat.”
That sliver of cheerfulness dissipates almost immediately when I see them again.
Leaning against Riley, I whisper, “Are they really allowed to have those bikes here?”
Jagger points and curls his finger at Riley, calling her over.
She hops, all giddy and excited. “They’re The Lawless. They can have whatever they want.” Her arm leaves mine as she skips to his side, where he’s leaning against his bike.
Standing halfway between the building and the guys, I chew on my bottom lip.
Jagger’s sudden interest in Riley has me questioning his motives. He’s not the type to commit to one girl, like ever. Even when we attended high school together, he was known as a player. All the girls would crawl on their knees for him, hoping they’d be the one to change his ways. It never happened.
When Jagger kick-starts his bike, Riley pulls on her helmet.
“Let's go,” Crew calls out, though his voice is muffled behind the face mask on the helmet.
“Get on, Scarlett. It’ll be fun,” Riley hollers before Jagger takes off, stirring up dust behind him.Her arms fly up and she hoots as they burn out.
My heart is fucking pounding. I do not want to get on that bike. It gives them leverage and it does not make me look strong. Accepting the favor of a ride from any of them makes me look weak as hell. I told Riley I’d do it, though, and I always stick to my word.
Swallowing down the saliva pooling in my mouth, I walk over to him. He hands me a helmet and I pull it over my head with the towel still hung around my neck. “Just so you know, those junior boys could have done anything they wanted to my body when I was knocked out, and it would’ve been all your fault. You might not have been there, but I blame all three of you equally.”
His body tenses up and his head rolls inside the helmet before he says, “We’d never let that happen. Now, you better hold on tight.” Then he kick-starts the bike, and before I’m even fully seated, he takes off.
“What the hell?” I shriek, grabbing his sides and squeezing.
Oh my god, I’m going to die. This is how it ends.
