The Last Wish of Sasha Cade

Finally, he’s opening up. “So you work at a body shop that’s not really a body shop?” I confirm.

“I do work on the cars, so at least my work is legit. But lately things are getting weird. My boss had two guys quit on him and one went to jail, so now he’s all hinting that he’s going to have me or Anthony running more side jobs soon. Side jobs means huge boxes of cash that we’re supposed to pretend are car parts.”

He rubs his eyebrow, then takes my hand into both of his. “I may be an orphan and I may be broke, but I’m not a criminal and I never will be.”

My mouth tastes like copper and I r

ealize I’ve been chewing on the inside of my lip this whole time. “You could have told me this from the beginning,” I say, trying not to sound judgmental. “It would have saved me a lot of time worrying about why you barely contact me.”

“I don’t want there to be lies between us, Raquel,” he says. “But it’s hard to tell you the truth. You mean something to me.”

I look at him. Is there more he wants to say?

“Maybe we could be more than friends, I don’t know,” he adds.

“You don’t know?” I say, trying to smile playfully, but it comes out all wrong.

“It’s up to you,” he whispers. “But you’re too good for me.”

He’s just inches away, his hand in my hair and his gaze on my lips.

I should probably hold back.

But I give in. I lean forward and kiss him, sweet and quick at first. But then he pulls me into his lap, and soon I’m straddling him with his back against my car, my knees on either side of his hips. I run my fingers through his hair while he kisses me somehow sweeter than he did at the concert. My entire body melts into his.

He slows until he’s just holding me, his lips pressed to my forehead. “I am not too good for you,” I murmur. I can feel his chest vibrate when he mutters something in disagreement. His warm hands slide up my back and then settle on my hips.

I look up and put my hands on his chest. “You should quit that job and move to Peyton Colony.”

“I wish it were that easy.”

“It is,” I say, sliding my finger around the collar of his white T-shirt. “Just quit and move.”

“Where would I go? How would I find another job?”

“You could go to school,” I say, resisting the urge to kiss him again since we’re having a real conversation. Well, as real as it can be with me sitting in his lap. “You can apply to TSU. You could live in a dorm. And next year, I’ll be at the same school.”

He doesn’t have the same self-control, because he leans forward and kisses me. “And where would I get the money for that?” he says against my lips.

I feel his abs tighten under my hands and it sends heat flushing all through my body. “Scholarships … and stuff,” I say, my breath hitching as he buries his face in my neck and places a soft kiss near my collarbone. “How am I supposed to think when you’re doing that?”

When he pulls away, he’s all serious. “All this school talk is sounding a lot like Sasha.”

Hearing her name reminds me. “I can’t believe I haven’t told you yet! I found another video from Sasha.” I cover my mouth with my hands, trying to remember exactly every word from the video.

Elijah quirks an eyebrow. “Are you going into detail, or is that all I get?”

I know I’m grinning like a maniac, but I can’t stop the rush of giddiness. I sit back on my heels. “I found a flash drive hidden in her pillow. There was only one video on it and she didn’t send it to us. I don’t know why, but in it she says she thinks we’d make a cute couple.”

“Really.”

I grab his wrist. “Do you know what this means?”

“That she figured out the obvious?” he says with a snort. “She had to have known I would like you.”

I shake my head. “It means I don’t have to feel mind-numbingly guilty every time I — well …” I can’t seem to say the words.

“Every time you check me out?” Elijah says with a flirty wiggle of his eyebrow.