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He’ll easily turn his mistake into my fault, and I think one more face-to-face altercation will end up in bloodshed. I can’t take any more of it from him.
I don’t exactly bat his hand away immediately though. I let it linger for a minute or so before brushing at it.
We haven’t even made it to the first stop, and this ride is already horrific.
Chapter 9
Landon
He’s grown more confident in riding, and I fucking hate it.
That first ride, Rick was terrified. He didn’t let the emotional distance between us create any physical distance between us after he climbed on the back of my bike.
I remember thinking he was hotter than the New Mexico sun plastered to my back, his arms all the way around me, cheek pressed firmly to my back.
I acted annoyed, but I really wasn’t. I missed him even then. He didn’t hit on me, didn’t let his hands wander on that ride.
It’s a stark contrast to the finger grip he’s got on my t-shirt. Hell, his thighs aren’t even touching me. I have to concentrate hard to just feel the man behind me. The bike rides differently under me when two people are on it, and that’s the only way I know for certain he didn’t fall off the damn thing.
I reach down, touching his leg just to be sure, and a jolt of something unnamed hits me hard.
It’s obvious he’s been avoiding me. I haven’t seen him since that night outside Annie’s where I was forced to watch him kiss another man. The way I felt after he left kept me from seeking him out.
Not for the first time this summer, confusion rushes through me.
I’m attracted to the guy. I’m man enough to admit it. He has an effortlessness to his looks. Clean-shaven or three-day-old scruff, either way the guy is handsome.
His clothes? The way my eyes were drawn to his pecs when he walked up today in a tight t-shirt and athletic shorts? I couldn’t pull my eyes away from him.
What I’m not entirely certain of is if that translates into mere appreciation for his form or if I’m attracted to him sexually.
I want to growl when Rick pushes my hand away.
You were hard, my brain reminds me. The night he kissed you got you hard. That answers your question.
“It doesn’t,” I argue out loud, knowing the bike is too loud for him to hear me.
You’ve compared every other kiss in your entire life after that night. It lasted a handful of seconds, and nothing else has compared.
The bike jerks when I realize that I’ve been actively avoiding my best fucking friend because I’ve been avoiding coming to terms with who I may possibly be.
I’m reeling in revelation as Rick’s arms fully circle my body, his thighs clamp to the sides of mine, and his cheek presses to my back.
It’s like he knows the truth… my truth.
I follow the line of bikes into Annie’s parking lot, but Rick is climbing off before I can turn the ignition off.
“What the fuck is your problem?” he snaps, tugging the helmet off his head and shoving it against my chest.
“What do you mean?” I glare at him in confusion.
“You were being reckless back there.” He points down the road. I know the man is pissed because he isn’t paying any attention to the others that are now looking this way because of his raised voice.
“I would never put you in danger,” I hiss, taking another step closer, my eyes for some reason drifting back to his mouth as I wonder if a kiss now would be just as good as it was that night.
Rick turns around and storms off before I can find out.
Why the fuck did my mind just go to that?
“Is there a problem?” Dad asks as he walks up.
“I had to avoid something in the road. It scared him a little.”
Dad nods, taking my lie as truth because I don’t make a habit of doing it.
“Let him calm down. His adrenaline is probably through the roof.”
I take my time removing my own helmet, grateful that Rick got mad. The realization that I’m attracted to another man is hitting me hard, and I don’t know what would’ve happened had I been impulsive and fucking kissed him in front of everyone.
By the time I get inside, everyone is seated. I want to flip over a fucking table when I see Rick with a smile on his face, sitting across from a frowning Boomer.
I take a seat beside Dad, but my eyes stay locked on Rick and Boomer. I can see the other man’s frustration steadily growing, but it doesn’t put me at ease. I know what has been going through my own head recently when my outward appearances seem surly and agitated. Somehow watching them chat is worse than watching Rick and Seth smile at each other at this very same diner.
