Page 49 of Aftertaste

Goosebumps Everywhere

Sage

My stomach rolled as I heard the telltale sound of his engine coming down the street. Nerves flowed through me, but they weren’t the bad kind. These were the good ones. The ones that told me whatever was happening between us would change everything. The ones that told me to take a chance on something.

His tires squealed to a stop and I shook my head with a smile on my face as I opened up the passenger door. “How many tires do you go through each month?” I asked, clicking my belt on like he always told me to.

“Dunno.” He shrugged and pulled his sunglasses down his nose, just enough to show me his eyes. “Depends how many people I have to race away from.”

I tilted my head to the side, not able to stop the small smile lifting one side of my lips. “And how often do you have to do that?”

“Only when I go to the rivals to get my girl.”

I laughed, remembering when he picked me up from school a couple of days ago. We hadn’t gone anywhere but him taking me home afterward, but it was enough to show me he wasn’t messing around. I hadn’t been sure whether he was serious about taking me out on a date, but the five-minute drive to get from my high school to my house proved more than enough.

He’d come to the school alone, knowing he wouldn’t go unnoticed. I’d never had anybody do anything like that before. The most attention I’d ever had was from my junior tutor back when I was a freshman, but even then, all he’d wanted to do was get between my legs. I hadn’t known better then, but now I did. It had been a lesson well learned; one I wouldn’t forget anytime soon.

Storm’s hand reached over and landed on my knee as he pulled away from the curb in front of my apartment building. My body wasn’t sure how to react. I went hot and cold, not knowing what temperature to finally land on, and in reaction, goosebumps spread everywhere, even behind my ears.

How could one simple touch from him have such an effect on me?

“Where are we going?” I asked as he crossed the bridge back to his side of town. I needed to distract myself from the way I was feeling, but that didn’t mean I moved my attention off his hand on my bare skin. Thalia had once again told me what to wear for this date. I hadn’t had any choice in it, but luckily, she’d picked from my wardrobe, pairing things I never would have.

I ended up with a flowing wrap around skirt that tied at my hip, and a light green tank top, paired with my faux leather jacket, and of course my trusty combat boots. I grasped the jacket tighter, hearing the crunch of the material, and cringed. I bet Storm had never worn faux leather in his entire life.

“I know a great place,” Storm said, and I turned to face him, frowning. It took several seconds for me to remember I’d asked him where we were going.

My nerves were running rampant now, but not because of him. Instead, it was because of me. What if they could smell the poor on me as soon as we walked inside the place? What if we ran into anyone he knew? Would he tell them I was from across the bridge?

My breaths came faster as he pulled up outside what could only be described as a fancy burger joint. It wasn’t much different to the one on our side of town, the only difference were the glistening windows, the clean outside, and the sports cars lined up right in front of it.

“Fuck,” Storm muttered under his breath. His attention moved out of the window. “I didn’t realize they’d be here.”

“Who?” I sat up straighter, causing his hand to move higher up my leg as the slit in my skirt opened a little more.

“My teammates.” His nostrils flared, his gaze flicking from me to the cars where people were getting out of three of them. All looked nearly as tall as Storm, wealth dripping off the clothes they wore and the way they walked.

“We can go,” I whispered, swallowing. “If you don’t want them to see me—”

“What?” His head whipped around, his hand tightening on my leg. “Why wouldn’t I want them to see you?”

“Because.” I raised a brow. “I’m not stupid, Storm.” I huffed out a breath, feeling all the insecurity bubbling up. “I’m not like them.” I waved my hand at him. “Like you.” I snorted, trying to pull back from him. “This was a bad idea.” I pulled the passenger door open and pushed out of his sleek car.

“Sage?” his voice called, but I was on a mission. I wasn’t going to stick around as he told his friends he was with someone from over the bridge. I wasn’t a charity case. I never would be a charity case.

“I’m going home,” I told him, not bothering to turn. I was overreacting, deep down I knew that, but I couldn’t stop myself. If I walked away now, then I wouldn’t get hurt. My logic seemed sound to me in that moment.

I heard footsteps behind me, a couple of deep voices shout Storm’s name, then a hand grasped my wrist, halting my escape. “Sage,” he ground out, his deep voice hitting me in places I never thought possible. “You’re not going home.”

“I am.” I didn’t turn to look at him, too afraid at what I would see in the reflection of his eyes.

“No, you’re not.” He twirled me and wrapped his arm around my waist to keep me in place. His palm smoothed on the side of my face, bringing my gaze up to meet his. “What was that?” he asked softly.

“What was what?”

“That.” He tilted his head toward his car where several people were standing, watching us in fascination. “You ran.” His dark blue eyes didn’t move their attention off me, probing for answers I wasn’t sure he wanted to hear.

“I’m not like them, Storm. I’m not like you.” My shoulders drooped as I was honest with him. I’d never been totally honest with anyone about how I was feeling, but there was something about the way he was looking at me that had the words flowing from my mouth without me even realizing. “I’ll never be like the girls at your school.”

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