Slow Twitch - Реинхардт Лиз (бесплатные серии книг .txt) 📗

“Okay.” I slid my hand in his and started the trek back to his bike.

“Just ‘okay’? Seriously, that’s the end of your whole speech?” Jake pulled me closer, his eyebrows knotted in confusion, his mouth twisted half in laughter and half in disbelief.

“I’m learning.” I put a hand up and stroked his stubbly cheek. “You’re not going to back down and agree. And you have a point. A really stupid, pride-based point that will probably get you maimed, but I can’t really argue against it. I kind of, sort of get it.”

“You’re kind of, sort of the sexiest girlfriend ever.” Jake’s mouth dipped down onto mine, and the sweet smell of his mint-laced mouth collided with the fresh, cool night air and made an impossibly delicious combination. I moaned against him and he lifted me slightly under my butt, pulling my body close against his.

My hands grabbed him around the neck and pulled his head down, and I suddenly couldn’t kiss him fast enough. He smelled so good, the endorphins from our ride were still popping through me, and I felt like he and I were two stars in the same constellation, linked but independent, together in the deep, inky blue sky.

He pulled me back onto the crinkly carpet of leaves. A rock poked the back of my leg, and his tools jabbed under my elbow, but I didn’t care. I loved the weight of Jake on me, and I ran my hands up and down his back, greedy for the feel of him.

“I love you.” He ran a hand over my face, pushing my hair back. “I know it’s a lot for you to hear sometimes, but having you in my life has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“I’m a Kelly ship lifer,” I promised, tracing a finger over his lips. “I love you, too, so much. I know this summer has been crazy--”

“Definitely crazy. But kind of fun, too,” he interrupted.

“Yes. Crazy and fun. Stop interrupting,” I continued and popped a kiss on his mouth before he could interrupt again. “And I’m glad we talked and got things out there, because I want to be honest with you.”

“Me too.” He bent his head down and kissed my neck.

“This winter was hard, you know? I always wanted to be with you, but I didn’t know how to do that and be myself. And I know, sometimes, I don’t just let you do your thing, either. Like, this whole bike thing. I worry about you, so of course I want you to do what will keep you safe. But I’m trying to see it from your perspective and trust you.” I folded him in my arms and crushed him tight. “But I worry your bike will stop and you’ll break your legs or…stop laughing! Jake, what the hell could be funny about that?”

I yanked away from him and stared while he clutched his stomach and rocked back and forth. “It’s not funny. It’s not. I’m sorry. I’m stopping.” A new wave of laughter took hold of him. “I just keep picturing myself with two leg casts, hobbling around after you at school.”

“You’re an idiot. Seriously, you’re deranged. Stop it! That could happen, you jerk!” Watching him laugh while I kept a straight face was hard, because his laugh was disturbingly infectious. “I’m not nursing you back to health if it happens!”

“You’re so damn mean.” He hugged me hard, then leaned over. “C’mon. I’ll give you a piggyback ride to make up for my stupidity.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “I do love piggyback rides. But do you really think it’s that easy to be forgiven?”

He waved me over. “I guess we won’t know til we try. C’mon.”

I climbed on his back and he hooked his elbows behind my knees while I held onto his shoulders. We tramped through the woods.

“You’re feeling better already, aren’t you?” He bounced me up and down with his arms. I tugged on his hair. “Look, there’s no need to be embarrassed. You aren’t the first girl who got all caught up in my bulging muscles.”

I pretended to choke him, then kissed his ears. “Ass.”

“Girlfriend of an ass.” When we got to the clearing, he put me down, and I laid flat on the grass, suddenly having a hard time keeping my eyes open. “You falling asleep?” His voice was gentle and sweet in my ears.

“Maybe,” I murmured. “I gotta go home. Mom will be so pissed. I can’t sleep here anyway. Spiders might crawl in my mouth…and I’ll eat them. By accident.” The world was swaying and contracting, and the last thing I remember was Jake saying, “I’ll protect the spiders from your enormous appetite. I promise.”

By the time Jake shook me awake, I was clammy and cold. The sky was still dark, but it was more a deep blue than black, and the gray light of dawn broke through the trees at the horizon.

“Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty.” Jake picked leaves and sticks and probably spiders out of my hair with nimble fingers.

“Did you get the bike fixed?” I asked around a yawn.

“Barely. Good enough to ride it back home, though.” He yanked me up by the hand and gave me a long, slow kiss. “Let’s get a move on, girlie, before you turn into a pumpkin.”

I climbed on the back of his bike. “You wouldn’t love me if I was a pumpkin?” I snapped the strap to my helmet tight under my chin.

“Love you? I’d be that little guy who lived in the pumpkin. What was his name? Weren’t they all named Jack?” He turned and looked over his shoulder, his smile crisscrossed with early morning light and shadows.

“He was Peter.” I squeezed Jake around his waist and he roared through the clearing.

My breath hung hard in the back of my throat as we kicked up dry leaves and exploded through small branches and prickly brambles. The mud-flecked sleeves of my sweatshirt got caught on and pulled by every sharp protrusion of bark or thorn we crashed against, but I didn’t care. Once I had the smallest drop of a taste for speed on my tongue, my mouth watered for it. I counted down in my head how long it would be until I got my license and how often I could meet with Jake. I wondered if I might want to trade my track shoes for racing boots.

I did love any excuse to buy new boots.

Jake cut the engine and thwarted my thoughts of new boots and speed obsession and reached out his hand to take mine.

“Can I walk you home?”

I took his hand and netted my fingers between his. The early morning air was just a little foggy and the sky was getting a shade brighter every single second, turning from dark purple to the palest lavender.

“Thank you for tonight. It was amazing.” I bumped into him, and he smiled at me.

“You learn your lesson?” he asked.

“Now you’re just pushing your luck.” I squeezed his hand hard. “What lesson did you think I needed?”

“To trust me. To trust that I don’t do bonehead things for no reason. That if I’m going to take a stand, it’s because something is important.” His jaw went tight. “I trust you, Bren.”

“I know that.” Thoughts of the winter, our breakup, Saxon all ebbed in my brain. “I know, and I’m really happy you do. But we’re talking about you breaking your neck, okay? I can’t just stand by and watch you get hurt without saying what I have to say.” I drew him closer until our pant legs brushed when we walked. “So don’t go lecturing me.”

“Man, you’re a pain in the ass sometimes,” Jake sighed. I slapped his arm, and he looked over with a grin. “You got bit by the racing bug didn’t you?”

“Maybe a little.” I tucked my hair behind my ear and yawned. “I think I might be a little freaked out to ride alone.”

“That’s normal.” Jake’s voice was sweet and encouraging, the way it always was with me. “Remember, I’ve been at this since I was four years old. You did amazing for your first time.”

“All I did was cling to you for dear life.” I leaned my head on his shoulder, and he threw an arm around me.

“Trust me, there’re even crap backseat riders. You’re a natural. I can tell.” He pulled me close and laid kisses all over the top of my head.

“What if I got so good, I started beating you?” I turned my face up, and he kissed the tip of my nose.