Jake ran his hand through his hair and lit another cigarette. He was hot under the leathers, Lizzie could tell.
“What’s with the jacket?” she asked.
He smiled and exhaled a plume of smoke into the air.
“The jacket is a part of me,” was all he said.
Lizzie looked down at the floor and kicked at the sand dune with her stiletto heel.
He’d driven them out to the coast. On the bike it had only taken them around ten minutes, zipping in and out of trucks and cars and making sharp bends as if they were in a video game. Lizzie could hardly believe it had all been real. At one point she had even dared to let go of his waist and raise her arms out into the air.
“You’re not like those other girls,” he said finally. “Girls like you don’t walk into places like that…” He clicked his teeth before he sucked on the cigarette again. “I want to know you better.”
Lizzie could tell she was blushing, and she shrugged before she moved closer to him and rested her hands on the side of the bike.
“There’s honestly not that much to know,” she admitted. “I’m not that interesting.”
“Come on,” he laughed before he took the last drag of the cigarette and threw it onto the ground, crushing it with his boot. “Tell me, what do you do?”
“I’m an English major,” she said flatly.
He exhaled with a whistle and looked down at the ground. “Way too smart for me then,” he laughed. “I didn’t even finish high school.”
“How old are you?” she asked.
“Thirty,” he lit up again and blew the smoke over her shoulder. “You?”
“Nineteen,” she dug her heel into the sand. She was starting to feel drunk, as if all of the drinks had hit her at once. And there was something intoxicating about Jake, as if he had cast a spell on her and reeled her in. She had never met anyone as sexy and exciting as him before. It had only been an hour…but she knew there was something between them that was going to be big.
In spite of all of her insecurities, Lizzie let her hand move up to the side of his face to cup his cheek. He moved back slightly and took hold of her wrist before staring deep into her eyes. He pinned her arm behind her back and pulled her close to him. She could smell the tobacco and whiskey on his breath, and even though she would have normally hated that, this time she wanted more… She wanted to taste it. He leaned closer to her and his lips skimmed hers. She felt weak at the knees and groaned as he pulled her against him. He kissed her hard, parting her lips with his tongue and thrusting it into her mouth. It was a powerful kiss. She had never been kissed like that before. It was almost like losing her virginity all over again. He held her tightly and she felt tiny in his arms. She didn’t want it to end, her head swirling and dizzy. It was almost as if time had stopped. He suddenly pulled back and looked down. Lizzie shook her head and went to speak, but he stopped her.
“I better get you back,” he said.
“But, why?” she asked.
“Come on,” he said as he ran a hand through her hair, “I’m no good for you…”
Disappointment flooded through her, and she felt like she had been slapped in the face. Stunned and subdued, she climbed onto the back of the bike and held lightly onto his waist as he pulled back onto the highway. As they rode back to the clubhouse in silence, confusion raged through her. He had come for her, he had asked her to go with him… and she had… and now he was dismissing her…
Her confusion built to anger and she concluded quickly that he was right. He was not good for her, and she was obviously drunk and stupid for even getting on the bike and talking with him in the first place.
Instead of taking her back to the clubhouse he pulled over into a rest area and called back to her. “What’s your address? I’ll take you home.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
He nodded.
She directed him along the winding roads back to her campus. The gates were open and he zipped through them and took her right up to her dorm building steps.
“Thank you,” she said as she climbed off the bike and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. “It was really nice to meet you.” Even after being rejected, she still meant it.
“It was,” he smiled. “I…” he began to say something but stopped himself before revving the bike and giving her a nod of his head. “I’ll let Blaze know you’re home safe.”
Lizzie watched as he pulled away and rode slowly but loudly out of sight. Lights and windows flashed on and opened above her as people stared out, wondering who the hell was on a motorcycle outside their bedrooms at that time of night. Lizzie felt a little smile creep over her face. What a crazy night. It was definitely one she would remember…