Page 71 of Rear View
His brows rose.
“I’ll be back.”
He narrowed his eyes but inclined his head. “Do what you gotta do.”
I thumped a fist against his back in thanks before I headed for my Jeep, pulled out my phone, and fired off a message.
Me: You around?
I didn’t wait for a response, just hopped in, and headed her way, hoping to hell she was there. I wouldn’t have long, needed to get back sooner than later, but I needed her more.
The two-hour drive to Ryah’s place was quiet, the only sounds the hum of my thick tire treads over the road and the chaos of the thoughts screaming inside my head. I set an elbow on the window ledge and my chin in my hand, trying to think, but coming up short.
What felt like a fuckin’ age later, I pulled into her lot and parked. I checked my phone. No reply. My lungs constricted. She must’ve been at school or something. Or out. The thought of her with Christian punched me in the gut. I dragged a hand through my hair.
I was an idiot. She probably didn’t even—
My phone rang and I snapped it up. When I saw the name on the screen, my lip twitched, head hanging in relief. I clicked to accept. “Hey, darlin’.”
“Hey.” There was a shuffle like she was movin’ around. “Sorry I missed your text. I fell asleep, then hopped in the shower.”
I internally groaned, and forced my imagination to chill.
She paused. “What’s wrong?”
Clearing my throat, I shifted, making my leather seat creak. “Who said anythin’ was wrong?”
“I just…something in your message felt off.”
She’d picked that up from one damn sentence. A smile tugged my mouth. This fuckin’ girl. “I just needed you.” My stare flicked to the entrance of her building. Shit. Was it too much? Me just showing up?
“Then come over.”
I laughed and scrubbed a hand up the back of my neck and over my hair. “What would you say if I told you I’m already here?”
Another pause. The call disconnected.
My goddamn heart seized, and I stared at my screen, stomach churning hard.
Ryah burst out the front door, head whipping from side to side until she spotted me. Her squeal carried through the Jeep as she ran my way. I grinned and the pressure that’d built across my chest eased—a pressure I hadn’tfelt since before learning my old man’d been carted off in cuffs.
Climbing out, I headed for her, then stopped dead. My eyes hooded deep when I soaked her in.
Her hair was down, freshly dried and streaming behind her as she moved. She didn’t have makeup on while her tight jeans showed off her sexy curves and she wore a black hoodie with a picture of my rally car on the front. Offering me a cute-as-hell twirl, she gave me her back, showing off the name written there.
Mygoddamn name.
Fuck me. My cock jumped, ’cause she’d never looked better. My hands flexed, itching to throw her over the hood of my vehicle and make her come until she screamed my name.
No one’d ever shown up for me before. Ever. Not even Ma. She’d wanted to, but Dad hadn’t let her out from under his thumb. Alec was the only one, but he’d been beside me, not cheering from the sidelines. Not calling my name or wearing my gear. Having Ryah do that, it just hit different. And it hit hard. I had fans, but it wasn’t the same as havin’ someone who gave a shit aboutme. Someone who was proud. And if the smile my girl wore when she peeked over her shoulder and fluttered her lashes was any sign, she damn well was.
“Christ, dream girl.” I sealed that distance between us, then dipped and hooked the crook of my elbow around her ass, lifting her to my side. “You’re lookin’ real damn good right now.”
She looped an arm over my neck as she tugged her shirt, a pretty blush spreading over her cheeks. “You like it?”
I cinched my hold around her and headed for the Jeep. “I fuckin’ love it.”
Her smile beamed and lit the damn city before she pressed her face into my throat and murmured, “I missed you.”
