Page 107 of Knot That Serious

21. Long Road Ahead

Eli

There were few things Eli loved as much as the purr of her bike beneath her. The curve of the roads, the security she felt inside her helmet.

The sun was halfway to setting, casting the world in a soft orange and pink glow, splashing the horizon with color as Eli drove towards it.

Usually, she and Jack would ride with a few of their friends, but on the rare occasion, Eli enjoyed a solo ride. Today was neither of those. She was riding with Jack, following him through the windy back roads to one of their favorite spots.

It was out of the way, secluded, but that’s what made it so special. As she flew over the asphalt and around turns, she kept an eye on Jack, making sure he was safe, too.

Several years had passed since his incident, but something like that tended to stick. It made her extra aware of the vehicles around them, the environment they were riding through.

When Jack had finally gotten back on his bike after physical therapy, he’d never ridden the same. He was safer, less chaotic, even though the wreck hadn’t been his fault. While it gave her peace of mind, part of her mourned the piece of Jack that had clearly been scarred, innocence lost to the gravel at the hands of a careless driver.

Eli grit her teeth together and turned her thoughts to something less… sad.

Like the beautiful sky, the clouds. Just like on the roof with Raj. Eli fought the shiver, tightening her hands around the handlebars. They were nearing their destination, beginning to slow as the food truck came into view.

It was one of the many food trucks around the city, though this one was a little more removed from busy city life. Ever since the owner returned, it became the unofficial hot spot for bikers and sports car aficionados cruising the curvy backroads.

Eli followed Jack into the gravel and dirt parking lot, if you could call it that, walking the bike into park and kicking the stand down.

She released a sigh when she pulled her helmet off, fluffing up her flat hair.

“God, this is gonna be so good,” she gushed, already looking forward to the food.

“That was a nice ride,” Jack said, and held his arm out for her to loop hers through.

“The sky, did you see?” Eli asked, craning her neck towards the break in the trees.

Jack chuckled. “Hard to miss it.”

The guy in the truck was familiar, and his grin widened as he spotted them. “Jack, Eli! Good to see you again.”

“Hey, Javi, you’re still around!”

“Of course, of course, where would I go?”

Eli arched a brow at that. Javi had many places to go, when he was on tour with his fucking famous omega.

“Yeah, yeah, save it. How long do we get you this time?” Jack asked.

“A few months,” Javi said with a wink.

“We’ll have to make more time to come out here, then,” Eli said.

“Please do, it gets a little… remote out here.” But this location was necessary for him. Once it got out that he was a packmate to Lyric, a famous popstar, his old location was always swarmed with fans hoping for a sighting. Apparently, he’d just switched trucks with someone and his problem was solved. “You’d be surprised at the lengths some fangirls will go to,” he mused.

“Oh, I’m sure,” Eli said, nodding appropriately and elbowing Jack. “Speaking of, I have a really big, annoying favor to ask of you, Javi,” Eli told him, flashing her biggest puppy dog eyes.

Javi propped himself against the window and narrowed his gaze at her. “I’m listening.”

Eli motioned for Jack to hurry up with unzipping the backpack he always carried when they rode together.

Lifting up the plastic-wrapped vinyl sleeve, she grinned. “Could you have Lyric sign this?”

Javi barked out a laugh, already reaching for the vinyl. “For you two? Of course. I’ll bring it back with me next week, how’s that sound?”

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