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“Well then, be careful where you’re walking, small bean!” Gray called from behind. The engine roared to life, its ear-splitting noise forcing me to make up my mind.
In the end, I said ever so dramatically, “Wait, I’m coming!”
Turning back, I watched Gray’s lips inch into a small smile then into a full ear-to-ear grin.
I swallowed hard.
So help me God.
Gray helped me onto the back of his glaringly orange motorbike—which, by the way, blinded me for a minute—and placed a helmet on me before adjusting it so it was snug and secure on my head.
The whole thing felt like a bad idea. Not only because I was about to change the future, but also because it was my first time riding a motorbike.
I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around Gray’s waist, afraid I would fall and roll on the road like an amateur action star.
Lucky me, the feel of Gray’s abs remained mildly comforting against my hands. It helped me relax a bit … until Gray began screaming, “Woohoo!” He sang whatever song came to his mind, mostly Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons’ music, celebrating my moment of weakness by hurting my ears with his shaky and extraordinarily off-key voice. I couldn’t even tell him to shut up since the overwhelming feeling of wanting to vomit kept assaulting me every time I tried to open my mouth to speak.
I could only bite my lip, thinking,Oh well, good luck to my grades and everything else. I’m not showing up at school anytime soon.And Gray? Definitely hot but bad at singing. I could only hope he knew where he was taking me, and that it better not be hell of all places.
Skyhigh Falls
I had been strollingon the main street earlier that morning when the orange motorbike displayed outside of Milo’s Motorsports piqued my curiosity. I had no money with me, and the store was still closed, so I borrowed the bike—without permission. My agility, speed, and superhuman strength did lend itself to making mischief. I promised not to use my werewolf abilities unless it was absolutely necessary, but this was absolutely necessary.
So, okay, yeah, I stole the bike in the hopes of whisking myself and Aera away from the big mess that was reality. I was going to return it sooner or later.
“Are you okay back there?” I asked her while driving, hoping she could still hear me through the deepvroomof the newly acquired peril bike.
“No. I’m dying,” she whined, her voice small and debilitating. “You better make sure you return this bike later. I don’t want to get into more trouble with you, especially when the owner finds out you stole this bike, temporarily or not.” She pressed her body firmly against mine, her hands brushing up and down my abs as she adjusted her grip.
Lust burned bright at her touch, and I tightened my grip on the handlebars, exhaling as I struggled to maintain my composure. “God, Aera. You are much smarter than you give yourself credit for.” I snickered.
We passed all the food vendors as I drove toward the restricted route, where wires and stop signs blocked the fenced entrance.
No guards could be seen, and thank God I came prepared, even as a human. I jumped off the bike and cut the wires with the same pliers I had used to steal the bike from Milo’s.
Aera flipped up the visor on her helmet as I sauntered back to the bike. “Now that it’s actually peaceful enough to talk, I’d like to make it clear I’ll definitely be telling the cops about your choices today,” she teased.
“Go ahead. I’d love to get in trouble with you,” I dared.
Once I got us into my very own Narnia, I accelerated the orange peril on the flat surface. However, as soon as we reached the elevated ground, the bike began puffing smoke.
I gunned the engine, and the tires gave a valiant heave, churning through the rich, red dirt and climbing another two feet. To my great dismay, they didn’t grip as the engine emitted a coughing sputter and the bike started a slow skid backward. Grunting, I cranked the handlebars completely sideways, using the front tire as a break.
“You know what? Let’s just climb that stupid and annoyingly high hill. Yourrentedbike is too loud, and my head is about to explode. Let’s go,” Aera suggested, climbing down the bike.
“You sure?”
“Uh-huh.” She tied her hair up with a scrunchie and adjusted her shoelaces before motioning for me to lead the way.
Aera didn’t look like the type to get dirty in the woods, but she had surprised me more than a few times in our lives, so maybe she secretly loved hiking.
After parking the bike between two large rocks, we plodded up the hill. Aera judged my lack of fashion sense by calling flannel shirts and the color orange old-fashioned and a disastrous combination.
Then, at one point, she started huffing as if she were carrying a heavy load on her back.
I turned around and almost extended my arm for her to hold, but I stopped myself and continued climbing instead. She would have found it goading if I had offered her my kindness during one of her vulnerable moments. A humorless laugh would have forced its way past her lips.
“You can’t survive a zombie apocalypse like that,” I said on the spur of the moment.
