Page 67 of Whirlwind

“Don’t be a stranger now, y’hear?” Joey pulls back so he can see my face. “I expect us to chase together at least a couple of times before storm season is over and you start school again.”

I attempt to smile as I nod, because I don’t know what’s going to happen after this. “I’ll try.”

Joey frowns then looks at Ryker. “Will you give us a minute? I need to talk to Mommy.”

A surprise laugh explodes from my lips despite myself, and Ryker groans. “Yes, but only if you never call her that again.”

Joey shrugs, mouth lifting up at the corner. “Maybe.”

Ryker sighs and waves goodbye to Joey, heading toward the truck. When the door closes and the engine starts, Joey tugs us so we’re facing away from the vehicle.

“What’s going on, Fin? I thought you and the professor were good now.”

I stare into his concerned blue eyes, and my chest tightens. “It’s nothing.” Joey stares me down, and I sigh. “We’re figuring out where to go from here.”

“What does that mean?”

I glance over my shoulder. Through the window, I can see Ryker rubbing his face tiredly, and sadness threatens to suffocate me.

I look back at Joey. “He wants to quit his job for me.”

Joey pumps his fist in triumph. “Finally, the man does something right!”

I frown. “I told him not to.”

He groans and places his hands on my shoulders, shaking me gently. “Fin-Fin, why?”

“Because it’s his job!”

“But he said he wants to quit, right?”

“He did, but I shouldn’t be the reason he quits. He has obligations and people he needs to consider other than us, including funding and the paper we’re supposed to write with the data we got this weekend. Those things are important.”

“I get what you’re saying. But what if you’re not the only reason he’s quitting?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know he’s internet famous, and with all the data we got and the fact that the rocket worked, he’s going to be able to do this again—in fact, he’s going to have lots of private corporations and god knows who else up his ass wanting to fund future chases. I also know Ryker is the kind of man that wouldn’t do something if he didn’t want to. He doesn’t do things just to do them. So if he wants to quit, let him. Hell, encourage it. Everything that happens after is white noise that will fade into the background.”

“You make it sound so easy.” I lower my voice. “And I didn’t say this to him, but when people find out we’re together, they’re going to assume a lot of things about us. About me. If he quits,I still have to finish school. What will people think when they see us together?”

Joey’s eyes soften. “Do youreallycare that much about small-town gossip and what college kids have to think?”

“In this case, Idocare about the college kids. They could be my future colleagues.”

Joey dips his chin. “That may be true, but fuck them. If they’re willing to make judgments about you or who you date, they’re not worth your time. You’ve also got people in your corner to vouch for your talents and character that aren’t Ryker, including me.” Joey pauses for a second before he points to my heart. “More importantly, you know what’s true. And that’s all that matters.”

I close my eyes for a second to think. Joey’s right. Will it suck to have people talk about me and think things of me and Ryker? Yes. But I’ve never been someone who cares about that before. I just didn’t want to feel like I got to where I am because of how Ryker and I interacted prior to this weekend, but I know now that was my fear talking. Ididdeserve to be on this chase, and I proved that I was valuable to the team.

God, why does this whole situation have to be so confusing?

If Ryker and I weren’t in this dynamic in the first place, things would be easy. But that’s not the case. And while I want to throw caution to the wind and say “fuck it,” I can’t. At least not now.

I blow out a long breath. “I don’t know what to do. I told him we needed to take some time to think about things before he quits. Have a little breather after this insane weekend. I don’t want him or I to do anything rash.”

“I understand that. Though I have to say, if I was you, I probably would have married the guy already.”

I smirk at the image. “You’d make a cute couple.”

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