Page 96 of When We Were Reckless
“Yeah. Oh. If that ever happens to you again, don’t slam on your brakes. Just ease up on the accelerator and steer into it.”
“Okay,” I said meekly.
He softened his tone. “Are you okay?”
I let out a shuddering breath, his words prompting me to relive that moment. My heart had been beating triple time, and I was so sure I’d end up crashing. My first instinct had been to hit the brakes even though I’d vaguely remembered it was the wrong thing to do. When I came to a stop, I’d been shaking so hard I could barely grip the steering wheel. “Yeah, I’m okay. I was kind of freaked out, but I’m fine now.”
“I was so fucking pissed at you.”
“Because of the thing with Walker?”
“Fuck Walker. I was so scared something would happen to you that I tailed you all the way home at fifteen miles per hour.”
Oh, Jesse. There I went again. Tearing up. Everything was making me cry tonight. My voice was so clogged with emotion that I was amazed I could speak at all, but I managed to get the words out, failing to sound as lighthearted as I’d strived to. “I bet that was hard for you. Being a speed demon and all.”
“You have no idea,” he said softly, and I got the feeling he wasn’t talking about having to drive slowly.
Chapter Thirty-One
Jesse
When I went insideafter my phone call with Quinn, which had lasted two hours, Ridge looked over at me from his spot on the leather sofa where he was cradling his acoustic guitar.
“Careful, bro. Looks like you’re catching feelings.”
“We’re just friends.” The look on his face told me he didn’t believe it any more than I did.
Whatever Quinn and I were, it was more thanjustfriends, and it was more thanjustsex. Yeah, I’d been pissed off when I saw her with Walker. But that was my problem, not hers. I had to get over being jealous of every guy that so much as looked at her, let alone talked to her.
But when her car skidded across the road and went into a spin, my heart was pounding so hard, I could barely breathe.
If another car had been coming or if she’d gone off the side of the road, I would have fucking lost it.
As it was, I’d been a safe distance behind her when it happened. Her car came to a stop on the shoulder, and she’d narrowly missed crashing through the guardrail. I’d expected her to wait a while. Catch her breath and gather her courage before starting to drive again. I was all set to go talk to her. Take the wheel and drive her home. But by the time I’d pulled over and gotten off my bike, she was already driving away.
Which confirmed something I’d known all along. Quinn was tougher than she looked. Stronger than anyone gave her credit for. I knew Mason worried about her, but he shouldn’t. Quinn could take care of herself.
I grabbed my clothes from the dryer—I’d gotten soaked to the skin and was wearing one of Ridge’s holey T-shirts and basketball shorts—and headed back to the living room to say goodnight.
Head bent over the guitar, Ridge started plucking out a tune that sounded vaguely familiar. After a few more notes, I recognized it. A botched version of “Jessie’s Girl.” To make matters worse, he started singing along. Cheesing it up with a stupid grin on his face.
I groaned. “I’m going to bed.”
“Goodnight, old man.”
I held up my middle finger as I walked out of the room. “Good luck at college.”
“With skills like mine, I don’t need luck,” he called back.
His cocky response made me laugh. I had a feeling he was in for a rude awakening.
When I got upstairs, I nearly tripped over the duffel bags in the hallway. Tomorrow Ridge was headed to training camp. Not sure why the hell he thought it was a good idea to stay up all night when he was about to get his ass kicked on the field. But that was his problem, not mine.
An hour later, I was still tossing and turning, thinking about those moto forums and the girl who was getting under my skin, when I heard a female voice. Ridge’s bedroom door slammed shut, and two minutes later, the wall behind my bed was shaking.
With a groan, I pulled a pillow over my head and tried to drown out the sounds of my eighteen-year-old cousin having sex against the wall in the room next door.
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