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“Please tell me you’re not going down that hill.”
He revs the bike again and I find myself holding on to him like my life depends on it.
“Crew,” I say his name in warning.
The next thing I know, my body is flying back and I’m squealing sounds I didn’t know I could make. “You’re insane!”
We tear up another trail that runs along the edge of the high hill, and dare I say, I’m smiling.
The adrenaline rush is unbelievable. Scary, but exhilarating at the same time. For the first time since I’ve arrived at The Academy, I feel alive.
When the slope gets steeper, my chest falls into Crew’s back. My chin rests on the flank of his shoulder, and I look straight ahead.
A minute later, we’re whipping around again, making a grand entrance.
As my body dips to the side, I notice two bikes beside us—Neo’s and Jagger’s.
I pull my helmet off and inhale a breath of the fresh air, dampened by the moisture from the hot springs. It’s much colder than I thought it would be; fortunately, the water should be nice.
Crew kills the engine and knocks the kickstand down. When he hops off the bike, it shakes from the weight shift.
Two hands plant on my sides, and he lifts me off. I’m not sure whether I should be thankful or embarrassed because everyone is watching us.
“I Hate Everything About You” by Three Days Grace is pounding out of a portable speaker sitting on a rock. There are beer cans scattered all over, and a few coolers sitting around. Everyone resumes what they were doing before we arrived and I’m grateful their attention on us was short-lived.
I spot Riley, who’s in the water, waving me over. Beside her is Hannah, who has a guy’s arm wrapped around her neck. It isn't until my eyes slide to the left when I see whose arm it is…Crew.Submerged in water up to his chest, which is tattooed with a design that extends around his shoulder blade, is the guy I thought I came here with.
But if…
My gaze lands on the person who just drove me here. His hands set on the sides of his helmet and he lifts up, taking the goggles with it.
“Neo?”
He raises his brows, smirking. “Hope the ride wasn’t too rough for you. Then again, I heard you like it rough.” He leans in, invading my personal space. His lips ghost my ear as he whispers, “Is that true, Scar? Do you like it so rough it takes your breath away?”
I fight the urge to strangle the life out of him because I know how he is. He’ll make a spectacle out of me in front of all these people, if I dare put my hands on him. Neo thrives off my humiliation.
My hands smooth down my swim cover and I take in a deep breath. On the exhale, I use sarcasm as my defense. “Yes, Neo. That is true.” I give him a pat on the back. “Unfortunately, you weren’t rough enough for me. You do owe me a towel, though.” I loop around him and wave to Riley, who’s engaged in a conversation with Hannah.
“Come join us,” Riley says. “The water feels great.”
Never in my wildest dreams—well, my wildest dreams in the last year and a half—did I ever think I’d be at such a small social gathering with these three guys. I’m insane for even agreeing to this.
The closer I walk to the water, the softer the ground becomes. It’s a mixture of dry grass and mucky mud. There are rocks surrounding the reservoir. It looks well maintained, which has me curious if this is public property.When I see the solar lights around it, I realize it’s probably not.
It’s not large, by any means. In fact, it’s so small that only a dozen people can fit comfortably. Any more than that would be body-to-body.
“Hop in, Scar,” Jagger says from beside Crew, “got a seat right here for you.” His arms stretch out on either side of him, resting on the edge of rocks.I take in the full sleeve of tattoos on his right arm. It’s an array of designs that all flow together seamlessly.
My arms cross over my chest, shielding myself from the awkward stares set on me. Melody is sitting on a large rock with her feet in the water. From the way she’s looking at me, I’d say she’s jealous of the attention The Lawless is giving not only Riley, but me as well. After all, we did ride here with two of the three members.
“I’m good. I think I’ll just hang out above water for a bit.”
“Go ahead and freeze then.” Jagger tips back the amber-colored bottle of beer in his hands.
Snarling at him, I sidestep around a large rock in front of me and take a seat on it.
I’m sharing a glance with Riley and I hope she’s reading my raised brows and subtle head shakes. It’s my way of telling her I disapprove of this whole situation.
