Page 31 of Egg Me On
The accusation stung, partly because there was a grain of truth to it. It wasn’t intentional, but words failed me when I needed them most. They had always failed me when someone needed something from me, from the time I was a kid trying to explain to my father why I'd rather be in the garage than learn the family business.
And Aiden was so vibrant, so full of life and great at communicating and at noticing people. He deserved someone who could give him the words he needed. But I was greedy and I hugged him close anyway, my hand sliding up and down his back until he relaxed, soothed by my touch.
“Is the way you touch me your attempt to communicate something?” he whispered, and the hope in his voice almost broke me.
I nodded, throat too tight for words. My hand found his between us, fingers lacing together in a grip that conveyed what I couldn't say: I'm trying. I want this. Please be patient with me.
Chapter 12
Cash
Riding in to worktogether felt right. Natural. His arms wrapped around my waist, body melded to mine like he belonged there. We'd fallen back into the rhythm we'd found in the mountains, moving as one through the curves of Denver's morning traffic. It was easier to communicate this way, with the press of his chest against my back, the tightening of his fingers on my stomach when he wanted me to slow down, the weight of his head resting between my shoulder blades when we hit a straight stretch.
The kiss he’d planted on my cheek when I’d dropped him at the food truck.
The shop was quiet when I walked in, just Dylan whistling as he tore down a carburetor and Liv cursing softly at something under a Triumph. Normal. Except nothing felt normal anymore. I could still smell Aiden on my shirt, could still feel the imprintof his body against mine. I set my helmet on the workbench and pulled out my phone to check the day's appointments.
Thirty-seven social media notifications. What the fuck?
I swiped open the app, stomach dropping as I saw the tagged photo at the top of my feed. The same one Aiden had shown me last night. Only now it had hundreds of likes and dozens of comments.
@RiderGirl69: Who's the mystery passenger? @MotoCash finally find someone who can handle those curves? ??
@DenverMotoClub: Cash Upton with a passenger? Never thought I'd see the day. Lucky SOB whoever they are.
@BikerBabe303: OMG is that a rainbow stripe on the helmet? Cash has a boyfriend?!
Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck. I scrolled faster, heart pounding in my throat, well aware that my parents and brother would be watching. It wasn’t a secret. I’d shared it with too many people before the thirst trap explosion.
My brother. Who was running for state senate in Kansas on a "traditional family values" platform. Who had never fully understood why I left home to "play with motorcycles" instead of joining the family business.
"Whoa, someone's popular today." Dylan's voice made me jump. He peered over my shoulder at my phone, his usual grin widening. "Is that you with Aiden? Man, the internet has opinions."
I shoved my phone in my pocket, heat crawling up my neck. "It's nothing."
"Doesn't look like nothing." Dylan waggled his eyebrows. "Looks like you finally got your head out of your ass and told Aiden you wanted him. About time."
Liv appeared at my other side, wiping grease from her hands. "Did I hear correctly? Cash Upton's love life is trending?" She plucked my phone from my pocket before I could stop her—personal boundaries had never been Liv's strong suit—and whistled low as she scrolled. "Damn, you two look good together. Very social media-aesthetic."
I snatched my phone back, scowling. "Don't you have work to do?"
"This is more interesting," Dylan said, leaning against my workbench. "Tell us more about what happened. I knew it, though. The way you looked at him at the campout? Like a cartoon prince gazing at his one true love."
"Fuck off," I growled, but there was no real heat behind it. I couldn't summon genuine annoyance, not when my body still hummed with the memory of Aiden's hands on me, his lips against my ear, whispering that he wanted me just as I was.
"Oh, I've got a shot of that from the campout," Liv said, pulling out her own phone. "Didn't realize I should be documenting the romance of the century, or I'd have taken better ones."
She tapped at her screen, then held it up triumphantly. "Sent them to you. You're welcome."
My phone buzzed with the incoming message. Against my better judgment, I opened it.
The photo punched the air from my lungs. It was of Aiden and me by the campfire, his face animated mid-story, hands gesturing expressively. And me... fuck, I was smiling. Actually smiling. Not my usual tight-lipped grimace, but a real smile that softened my entire face, eyes fixed on him like he was the only person in the world. I remembered that moment. Aiden had been telling everyone about how he'd accidentally driven his food truck down a one-way street his first week in business, had to be rescued by a friendly cop who ended up becoming his first regular customer.
"You two are disgustingly cute," Liv said, misinterpreting my silence as embarrassment rather than the emotional sucker punch it really was. "I thought you were going to spontaneously combust every time he touched you."
Dylan piped up. "You literally dragged him away from the campfire the second I tried to flirt."
I felt heat crawl up my neck. "I was just—"
