Page 8 of Still Here Without You

Delilah giggles. Bubbly Del is back again.

“I’m told he’s the best of the best. Although I was also toldhewas ashe,so maybe my information is incorrect.” She shrugs.

Dylan laughs while I shake my head. “All right, you two. Dylan. Why. Are. You. Here?”

“Right, sorry. I’ve got practice in thirty minutes, and the electrician hasn’t been by yet. I need you to go home so you can let him in.”Shit!

I grimace before turning to Delilah with an apologetic smile. “I totally forgot I was supposed to be home for that. They gave us a five-hour window of when they might arrive. Can we reschedule?”

“Or she can study with you at our place?” Dylan adds, and…what the fuck! We’re inviting random people to our home now?

“At our place?” I ask. Surely, I got that wrong.

“Yes, our place. What’s the big deal?”

What’s the big deal?

“I have my bike.”

“I don’t see the problem. Delilah, have you been on a bike before? A motorcycle, I mean.”

Her eyes move between Dylan and me, unsure what to say.

“I haven’t, no. But we can just reschedule.”

Raising his arms in question, Dylan says, “Why reschedule? We live ten minutes away. You’ll have the place to yourself. There’s food.” He makes solid points, but…Nope! I’m against this.

“Sure. Why not? I need all the time I can get.”Ah fuck!

“Sure. Why not?” I repeat, emphasizing my lack of enthusiasm. Delilah scoffs but otherwise ignores me as she packs up her things.

“Well, that’s taken care of. If you’re still there, I’ll catch you after practice. If not, I guess I’ll see you at the opening game, if not before.”

“You will. Thanks, Dylan.”

I throw my book into my backpack and grab my helmet and jacket before walking to the door. Delilah hasn’t moved from her position, but her bag is packed, ready to go.

“Are you coming?”

She rises quickly with a smirk, obviously enjoying my annoyance. “Lead the way, Captain.”

“You say that with such conviction. Almost like you’re accustomed to following a captain around. Guess that means you’re not the cheer squad leader yourself.”

“Not anymore, no.”

“Anymore? Does this story come with a scandal?” I ask, really hoping there’s a scandal.

“I was the captain in high school. There's no exciting story."

Delilah rolls her eyes again, then walks out ahead of me, giving me the chance to check out her ass. I internally groan at the sight and jog to catch up. So much for assigning me as captain.

We make our way to the parking lot closest to the library and come to a stop in front of my bike.

“So, that’s your deathtrap?” Delilah says, her gaze taking in the love of my life in front of her.Death trap, pfft.

“Nope. That’s my beautiful beast,” I say, watching as she quickly looks away.Too late, Del. I saw your impressed smile.

“Your beautiful beast?” she scoffs, a bit too over-the-top. She definitely wants a ride. “God, you’re full of it. I’ll call an Uber,” she adds, holding up her phone.

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