Page 81 of When We Were Reckless
“I’m not lying.” I couldn’t even meet his eye. I really was a shitty liar.
“Look me in the eye and swear on Mom’s life that you stayed at Evie’s last night.”
I rolled my eyes and tossed a pillow at him. “Get out of my room.”
My brother didn’t budge. He ran his hands through his hair, making the dark strands stick up all over. “You were at Jesse’s, weren’t you?”
The expression on my face must have given me away.
He cursed under his breath.
“You’re going to get hurt,” he said softly, so unlike the gruff tone he usually used with me that it made my heart squeeze.
It sounded like he actually cared. I hugged my knees to my chest for protection. “I know what I’m doing. I can handle this.”
“No, you can’t. Take it from a guy who sleeps with girls and moves on without a backward glance. You’renotthat kind of girl.”
I jutted out my chin, attempting to look tough. “You have no idea what kind of girl I am.”
“You haven’t changed, Bean. I can see right through your tough girl act. You’re the kind of girl who falls in love and dreams about her wedding day. The kind of girl I avoid at all costs.”
“Why do you avoid girls like me? Are you scared you’ll fall in love?”
He huffed out a breath. “We’re not talking about me. Stay away from Jesse. It won’t end well.”
I studied my sky-blue painted nails. “Are you going to say anything to Mason and Holden?”
“I’m not a snitch,” he scoffed.
It was true. Declan never told us anything, and he kept everything a secret from us. He’d never introduced us to any of his girlfriends. Probably because they came and went so quickly, there was no point in getting to know them.
“Stay away from him, Quinn. You’ll only get your heart broken.” Those were his parting words before the door closed behind him.
He was probably right. But it was too late. Now that I’d gotten my first taste of how good it could be, there was no way I’d give him up before I absolutely had to.
Jesse was the Sun, and I was the Moon. Our time together was fleeting. This little arrangement had an expiration date. But I didn’t want to think about any of that now.
I just wanted to enjoy this ride for as long as it lasted.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jesse
I racedup the ramp and flew off the lip of it.
Leaning back on my bike, I gave it some gas, and on the first rotation, I let go of the foot pegs and kicked both legs straight back, hovering above the ground. My hands gripping the handlebars, I got my feet back under me just in time, and both wheels hit the dirt.
Shifting into second, I cruised past the dirt jumps and popped a wheelie.
I rode over to Mason on my rear wheel and dropped both tires into the bike stand.
“Still a show-off,” Mason said with a shake of his head as I climbed off my bike and pulled off my helmet. He’d parked his Jeep under the shade of the trees and was sitting on the tailgate.
With a chuckle, I grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler and guzzled it.
“You’re fucking crazy,” he said with a laugh. “You know that, right?”
I grinned and doused my head with cold water. Steam poured off me. It had to be close to a hundred degrees in the sun, and I was soaked in sweat, the layers of my riding gear sticking to my skin. But this was the most fun I’d had in a long time. So making the switch to freeriding had been a good call.
