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The party was already packed when we got to Crow’s place. The garage door was open, and the guy’s bikes were parked inside. My eyes went directly to Aiken’s green and black bike, and my stomach fluttered. I remembered the feel of being on the back with my arms wrapped around his waist—his palm on my knee with security while we became one with the wind. It was crazy to say, but I wanted to do it again.
People were making out on the front porch, and we slipped by them and entered the house. When I stepped inside, my eyes connected with Aiken’s and relief moved over his expression.
Was he relieved that I was okay?
I liked to think he was.
A tiny smile crept over my lips as I stared back at him, but when his expression transformed into anger, and he looked away from me, my smile dropped.
He was so hot and cold.
Moving through the crowd, I went across the room and took a seat beside him on the couch.
“Hey,” I said.
It was lame, but what else was I supposed to say?
He lifted the bottle of clear stuff he was drinking and took a swig. “Hey.”
I shifted on the couch, resting my knee on the cushion between us as I turned to face him. “So about earlier …”
“What about it?” he asked without looking my way.
Again, he lifted his bottle and took an even longer swig.
“Thank you for taking up for me … again. I don’t know what my brother was thinking, and I surely wouldn’t have—”
“It wasn’t about you,” he said, cutting me off before I could finish. “Business is business. Don’t flatter yourself. I fight for myself and my boys only.”
Then he got up and walked away, leaving me speechless by his hurtful words. Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to let them free. Maybe he and Erik were right. Perhaps I didn’t belong. As much as I loved leaving my reality behind and entering a world that was unknown to me, I wasn’t sure I should continue to do it.
Instead of bothering Zada, who was enjoying herself in the corner with Reggie, I called for an Uber. I didn’t have a ton of money in my account, but I was sure I had enough to cover a ride home.
Within ten minutes, a lady pulled up in a Toyota Corolla. It was clean and smelled nice inside. She smiled at me through the review mirror when I got into the back seat.
We chatted on the way to my house, and she told me about her husband and three kids. She was working for Uber to help pay the bills. She was sweet when she spoke of her oldest daughter and how proud she was of her. I found myself jealous of their relationship. If only my mother found value in me.
When we pulled up at my house, Mom’s and Will’s cars were parked out front. I thanked the driver before I snuck through the front door and crept inside, hoping they wouldn’t hear me or see me. The last thing I wanted to deal with was Mom and Will.
Thankfully, I made it upstairs and into my room without running into them. When I climbed into my bed, freshly showered and mentally exhausted, I did so, wondering if I would ever go back to the other side of town. I wasn’t sure if my heart could handle it since I was stupidly finding myself thinking about Aiken more than I should have.
16 Aiken
SHE WAS A SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD KID.
Why did I care what was going on with her so much?
Why was she always on my mind?
Maybe it was because she was fucking everywhere.
At The Strip.
In my house.
And in my fucking brain.
I did everything I could to take my mind away from the sweet thing with the long curls and doe eyes who flew free on the back of my bike and stitched me up as if she fucking cared. Nothing seemed to work. She was always there.
