Page 95 of Collision
“Bullshit. You managed to get up here, you’ll be able to get down.”
“Going up is easier.”
“Knock it off. In thirty minutes, you’ve got to be at work and I have shit to do,” he tells me absentmindedly, his eyes fixed on his phone, texting intently with someone.
“Thomas!” I squeal, like a child who can’t find the solution to a problem. He rolls his eyes and joins me, standing up with his back to me. What is he doing?
“Jump up,” he demands impatiently.
“What?”
“Get on my back, I’ll take you down.”
“You really are out of your mind!” I blurt out.
“You got a better idea, Miss Chickenshit?”
“I don’t know! But I’m not going to get on your back and increase the risk of breaking every bone in my body!”
“If you don’t get on, I’ll leave you here.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Try me,” he challenges.
“You would really leave me here?”
He doesn’t even reply. Impatient, he heads for the trunk, ready to go down.
Is he for real?!
“Thomas! Come back here! All right, all right, I’ll get on your back!” I see his lips twist into a teasing smile. Within two seconds, he loads me on his back. I wrap my arms around his neck, my legs around his hips, squeezing tight. We get into position, and I close my eyes as we descend. This ladder is going to break, I am certain of it, and we will both crash to the ground.
As soon as Thomas’s feet touch the ground, I release a huge sigh of relief and jump off him.
“Sorry,” I murmur, adjusting my jeans.
“For what?”
“I get a little unbearable when I panic.” I shrug, embarrassed to have appeared so cowardly.
“Don’t worry, you’re also unbearable when you’re relaxed,” he taunts me. I give him the finger in return, and he pretends to be shocked. We retrace our steps back to the bike. Ten minutes later, I find myself in front of the Marsy.
I get off, remove my helmet, and pause for a few seconds before returning it, just staring at him. “Do you always have two helmets on you? Isn’t that cumbersome?”
Thomas lifts the black visor to get a better look at me but remains seated on the bike with the engine running. “Do you honestly think I walk around carrying two helmets all day every day like some kind of dumbass?”
Okay, maybe my question wasn’t the smartest, but still…
“You had two helmets this morning before you even knew whether I would agree to come with you.”
“You were leaving, and I wanted to be with you. So, before I caught up with you, I quickly asked Finn for his helmet. How do you come up with this shit?” He chuckles. My heart does a somersault at this little confession.
The alarm clock on my phone rings and reminds me that there’s only five minutes until the start of my shift. “Now I have to go.” I jerk my thumb toward Marsy’s entrance behind me. “Thanks for today. It was…nice.” I really think so.
“Have a good shift, stranger,” he says with a smile. “And don’t let them ogle you too much.” He winks, lowers his visor, and leaves.
Twenty-Four
