Page 79 of Under My Skin
As soon as I’m outside and see my dad’s bike sitting in the alley, I can breathe a little easier. I run my hand over the seat and then reach for my helmet, but the shop door opens and closes behind me. My shoulders tense, and I freeze.
“Not so fast,” Toni says from behind me, and I stare up at the sky. “I need to see your face for this.”
Without turning around, I stare down at the helmet in my hands. “You really don’t,” I say, and go to put it on anyway.
“You slept with his sister, didn’t you?”
My heart plummets, and I slowly turn around. “What did you say?” There’s no way she could know something like that. How the hell does she know something like that?
Her eyes widen. “Oh, shit. You did.”
“I didn’t say that.”
She gasps and takes a step toward me. “Simon is pissed, isn’t he?”
I take a step back. “I didn’t say that either.”
She continues to close the space between us as she pieces it all together. “Why else would you suddenly decide to sleep in an unfinished apartment when you’ve been staying at Simon’s for months? All of a sudden you want middle-age back pain at the same time Simon’s adorable sister just happens to be in town?” She gives me a leveling look. “Please. This was too easy.”
I do my best to hold her stare, but I’m getting more uncomfortable by the second. How did she do that? Do I stand my ground and lie to her? What would be the point? She’d probably know I was lying and walk away with the satisfaction of being right anyway. “I’m not middle-aged.”
“You’re close enough.” She crosses her arms. “So, why’d you do it?”
Without answering her, I pull on my helmet. I’ve changed my mind. There’s no point confirming what she already knows. The last thing I need is for Toni to gloat over my misery. My leg swings over the bike, but just before I can turn the key, there’s another audible gasp. My head falls forward at the sound, and I wait for her incredible realization.
“Oh, shit. You really like her, don’t you?”
I sigh and gesture toward the main road. “Can I go now?”
Her eyes narrow. “Is she mad?”
“Can I go ask her and report back?”
She crosses her arms. “Can I say what I think? Because you need to hear it.”
I don’t bother stifling my groan. “Do I have a choice?”
The snappy comeback I was expecting never comes. Instead, her posture softens. “I’m serious.”
My own shoulders relax in defeat. “Okay. Let’s hear it.”
“No matter how mad she is—or how mad Simon might be—don’t fold. Sometimes you give up too easily.”
“I don’t do that.”
“You do.”
I think about her accusation, a frown settling at the corners of my mouth. “Maybe.”
She arches an eyebrow as if to say,See?and takes another step toward me. “Look, I’ve only seen you worse than this once, and it wasn’t over a girl if you catch my drift.”
I do. When my dad passed, I was barely functioning. I cancelled all my clients for weeks and only came into the shop to drown myself in office work. To be fair, my lack of sleep back then had nothing to do with sleeping on a hard floor, but I understand where she’s coming from. “Thanks, Toni.”
“Anytime.” She winks and heads back into the shop.
Releasing the clutch with one hand, my fingers wrap around the throttle with the other. The bike eases out of the alley, and when I stop to wait for traffic to clear, I forcea deep breath. There’s a good chance this will be a shit show, but Toni’s right. I can’t walk away from this—not yet.
When the last car passes, I exhale and head toward Simon’s apartment.
