Page 62 of Under My Skin
My mouth quirks at that. “For my mom’s house.”
She holds the helmet in her hands as realization dawns in her eyes. “Oh, shit. Right. How’s that going?”
I shrug, grateful the helmet hides my face again. “You saw how well I handled it last night.”
She frowns, and I swear the blue of her eyes deepens.
I realize how that must have sounded and quickly add, “I wasn’t—I’m not talking about us. I want to talk about that, but that’s not what I meant. I just meant I wasn’t exactly in my right mind after being there all day.”
Her shoulders drop, and I hate that I can’t tell if it’s from relief or disappointment. She pulls the helmet over her head, and lifts her chin, waiting for me to tighten it for her. As I start to work on the strap, she says, “Want some company?”
My fingers freeze, and I lower my head to look at her even though I’m mostly met with my own reflection in her face shield. “You want to come with me? To my mom’s house?”
“Only if you want me to,” she answers simply.
She’s acting like it’s no big deal, but no one has ever offered, and asking anyone always felt like too big of a favor. Besides, it’s my own mother’s house. What type of person can’t handle going to their mom’s house where they’re showered in unconditional love? It doesn’t exactly fit your standard SOS.
“Everett,” she says, and I realize I’m still holding her by her helmet. I finish securing the strap as she says, “You can say no. I won’t be?—”
“I’d like that.” The words are out before I really have a chanceto think about it, but as soon as I say them out loud, something inside me settles.
“Okay,” she says, and even though I can’t see her face, I can hear the smile in her voice. “Let’s go get a radiator key.”
“Oh, wait.” I shrug my jacket off and hand it to her. “You said you wanted to get some work done?”
She hesitates before taking it from me, like she wants to fight me on it but knows there’s no point. “So? You can drop me off at The Steamy Mug after. I don’t have a ton to do. I’m just finalizing a few things on a logo from last week, and then I should be able to start working on yours.”
Getting seated on the bike, I ask, “You’re sure?”
She laughs a little as she says, “Very,” and the flashback from last night goes straight to my groin. Between the memory of what she felt like and seeing her in a biker helmet and my jacket that’s at least two sizes too big on her, I’m dying to carry her back into that apartment and ignore everything I’m supposed to do today.
Before I have a chance to recover, her hands are on me. It’s an innocent touch. A hand on my shoulder as she steps up and swings her leg over. Her body presses against the back of mine as she wraps her arms around my torso. It’s the same way she’s gotten on my bike since she arrived in Copper Ridge, but this time, I reach back and rub the outside of her thigh, and she squeezes me a little tighter before I maneuver the bike out of the parking lot and ease onto the main road.
The stop at the hardware store is quick. I grab a radiator key and a few other things I think my mom might need, and before I know it, we’re back on the road. I usually love that everything in this town is in close proximity to everything else, but sometimes I wish I had more time to ride and clear my head.
Too soon, we pull into my mom’s driveway, and I’m forced to face reality. Lucy gets off the bike first and hands me the helmet before fixing her ponytail into a neater one. She doesn’t haveto worry about what my mom will think of her. My mom loves everyone—especially the Blake family.
“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever been here,” Lucy says as she stares at the brick home perched up on a small hill. “You must have loved growing up in this house.”
Taking off my helmet, I leave it on the bike and look up at the same house I’ve looked at more times than I can count. “It’s not like you grew up far from here. Your parents’ house is two streets over.”
“I know, but you stayed.” She shrugs. “I didn’t have anyone I felt close with in high school, and all the friends I did have went out of state after graduation, so I did the same. I didn’t want to be left behind.” A humorless laugh huffs from her lips. “Which is ridiculous because the girl who sold me on CU Denver dropped out after the first semester, anyway.”
We walk up the long driveway. “Yeah, but didn’t you meet your best friend there and end up living with her?” I don’t know much about Lucy’s college days, but I remember Simon saying she had a “hot roommate.”
She grins. “Allison.” Instead of continuing right away, she fidgets with the sleeve of her sweater. “Things are a little different now that she’s married and settled down, but we’re still really close.”
Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had left Copper Ridge. I’ve traveled—mostly for cross country bike trips organized by Simon and the occasional tattoo conference—but I’ve never lived somewhere else. I’ve always known my roots were here. Then, when my dad passed, it only solidified that. I could never leave my mom here alone.
Without giving myself time to pause, I knock on the door as soon as we’ve reached it. Looking over at Lucy, I rock back on my heels. I have no idea what to say to her, and I’m not really sure I should have brought her here. Bringing a girl I’ve slept with oncetomeet my mom?Well, technically Lucy has already met my mom, but it’s been a while. What the hell was I thinking? Lucy and I haven’t even had a chance to talk about what last night meant or if it should ever happen again. I open my mouth in a feeble attempt to explain or apologize for how ridiculous this is, but the front door swings open.
My mother stands there in floral lounge pants, a white T-shirt, and a towel on her head like she recently got out of the shower. She smiles at me, but only for a second. Her eyes jump to Lucy and widen. “Oh my god, you brought a girl.”
I’m not sure if she’s assuming I’m about to settle down and buy a house in the suburbs, so I quickly say, “Remember Simon’s sister, Lucy?” The words feel wrong on my tongue. There’s nothing wrong about the introduction. SheisSimon’s sister, but the title feels incomplete, and all I can think about is Lucy telling me she’s more than that. I glance at Lucy, but she doesn’t seem phased by anything. She just smiles at my mom and waves like there’s no other place she’d rather be. Just the sight of her has my heart rate slowing and my thoughts settling. “And Lucy, this is my mom, Nancy.”
Lucy extends a hand. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“Same to you! Gosh, you look so different. You’re all grown up.” Mom looks around. “No Simon today?”
