Page 77 of Under the Ink

By then, Naomi had checked out and was cutting more than ever before, but this time, her legs were the target. And she bided her fucking time…until the day she turned eighteen.

So driving? It hadn’t been a priority. Still wasn’t, actually. That was one of the perks of moving to a big city. Public transportation. She’d never have to beg for a ride again.

In the meantime, however, she had to convince Sage that driving a quad wasn’t on her bucket list…without breaking his heart. Because he had truly been sweeter to her than any man ever had. If nothing else, he deserved a kind response, even if it was negative. So she said, “You don’t want me behind the wheel of something you cherish.”

“I don’t give a shit about the quads. They’re easy enough to replace.”

A little more firmly than she’d meant, she said, “I’m not doing it.”

“What about with a helmet?”

“No.”

As Sage drove down the pass, the silence in the car grew heavy—but Naomi was not about to back down. And she knew deep down that her fear was silly, considering pain wasn’t something she feared. She knew it had an upside.

But there was a huge difference between pain that was controlled by the one holding the knife to her own skin and pain inflicted some other way.

Still, Sage was trying to do something fun with her. So by the time he said, “Suit yourself,” she had a different response.

“What about a walk instead? I’d love to see everything—just on foot so the scenery’s not rushing past.”

Shrugging, Sage took a curve near the bottom of the hill and then nodded. “Yeah, I guess we could do that. But I don’t think we could make it to the lake on foot.”

“Youreallywant to go skinny dipping that badly?”

As the road levelled out, Sage laughed, glancing over at Naomi. “Maybe I do. Is that so bad?”

Smiling, she shook her head and looked over the beautiful valley, green fields surrounded by pine, spruce, and aspen trees, and, closer to the road, wild grasses and flowers.

The view was nothing short of stunning. Quiet. Peaceful. Nothing like the cities they’d been visiting and even nothing like Winchester.

Naomi could see the appeal.

Sage’s voice broke the silence. “My parents aren’t super religious like yours, but my mom is kind of old-fashioned.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. She has a separate bedroom policy for people who aren’t married.”

“That’s cool.” Just the idea of spending the night in bed with Sage while his family was close by freaked her out anyway. If this thing between them was going to work, they’d have to take it slow…meaning she wasmorethan okay with separate rooms.

“Yeah…but I thought we could get a little alone time at the lake. Just you and me as nature intended. But I guess it’ll have to wait.”

Naomi’s phone vibrated—andkeptvibrating. “What the hell?” When she turned it over, several text message notifications appeared.

“Oh, yeah. I guess I should mention that cell service up here is spotty—but my parents have good Wi-Fi.”

“Cool.” But the messages were distracting. There were several from Ginny.

And one from her mother.

First, she texted with Ginny a little, letting her know where she was and that cell service was questionable—and then gawking at the picture of Ginny and Walker on the beach. Much as she hated to admit it, they looked cute.

They were a handsome couple…and they looked like they were in love. Naomi was happy for her friend—but she wasnotabout to tell Ginny about what had happened between her and Sage. No way. Even though the girls had long concluded that they didn’t feel like sex in a dedicated relationship wasfornicationlike their church had tried to pound into their heads, Naomi wasn’t ready to tell her friend that she’d actually crossed that line.

Being raped by Jacob—or whatever that had been—didn’t count in Naomi’s book.

But she knew Ginny and Walker had done the deed a few times, keeping it a secret from both their parents—and in Hawaii, they would be free to enjoy each other without scrutiny. Besides, in two months, they’d be married and on their honeymoon in Mexico, free of the religious shackles preventing them from simply loving each other.

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