Page 110 of Knot That Serious

Eli let him know just what she thought of that statement with a droll stare.

“Sorry, sorry, I just don’t know what to say!” Jack said, lifting his hands. “You’ve never really given me that many details about the guys you date.”

Well, that’s because she’d never cared about making Jack jealous before. And that was because… she’d never been quite as impressed by her usual dating pool as she was by Raj.

Her attention fell to the way Jack had a foot propped against his bike as she narrowed her eyes.

Raj was the first person she’d ever wanted to tell Jack about. Did that mean something?

Eli shifted uncomfortably against her bike, shaking the thoughts from her head. One revelation at a time.

“He wants to go out again,” Eli told Jack, which was true. “Said he’d like to take me to a proper dinner, whatever that means.”

“Do you know where you’re going?” Jack asked, staring at his nails as he picked at a cuticle.

Eli finished the last bite of her spicy taco and pulled out her phone. She pulled up the text Raj had sent, and clicked the link to the restaurant. “This place,” she said. “I’ve never been.”

“Looks expensive,” Jack mused.

Eli didn’t even have to fake the grin that slowly stretched her cheeks. “I know.” Raj was doing a fine fucking job at making Eli feel… special.

Which was quite conflicting because, well, it was all fake, right?

But Jack didn’t know that, so she couldn’t ask him, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to ask Raj. So Eli let the feeling settle in her chest to revisit later. Or never, whichever one came first.

Jack took her empty taco box and his own to the trash nearby, and joined her by the bikes once more. He stashed her half-empty water bottle in his backpack before checking the time.

“Do you think Beckett’s waiting on us?” she asked.

The smile on Jack’s lips was so genuine Eli kind of wanted to cry about it.

“I hope so,” he said, and Eli knew he meant it.

“Guess there’s one way to find out,” she said, and threw a leg over her bike.

“Race you home?” Jack asked, waggling his eyebrows at her before he shoved his helmet on.

Eli glared at him. “Absolutely not,” she said. “The sun is still setting; I wanna watch it.”

He flicked his visor up, tugging at it with a hand over the bottom. “The long way, then?” he asked.

Eli thought about it while she pulled her helmet on. It was a longer drive, but not that much longer than the ride out here. And they’d still be driving toward the sunset.

And maybe… maybe it would be an opportunity to clear her mind.

“Yeah, let’s go the long way,” she said.

Jack slapped his visor down, and then her own, shooting finger guns at her as she sputtered and bitched at him, though he couldn’t hear her. He hopped on his bike and took off with a grumble and a spray of gravel, and Eli held both middle fingers in the air as he sped away.

But there was a grin on her face as she brought her own bike to life and kicked the stand up.

She’d just have to catch up to him.

22. In the Act

Jack

“I told you this was a bad idea,” Beckett said, pleased with himself.

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