As soon as I could, I jumped off that bike and pulled off my helmet.
"I'm calling a taxi," I yelled. "I am NOT going back down that road on that bike."
He just grinned.
"You said you'd go slowly. You said you wouldn't go far."
"But it was fun, wasn't it?" That cheeky grin on his face just made me want to punch him.
"No. No, it wasn't fun. It was horrible. It was the worst." I stomped around, wondering how the hell I'd get out of this place without getting back on that bike. We were in the middle of nowhere, on top of a hill, with nothing but trees around us.
"You just don't want to admit it."
I was about to yell at him some more but, as I turned, I noticed the view below us, the coastline with the sun starting to set over the dazzlingly blue ocean. It took my breath away.
"Amazing, isn't it?"
I leaned against the bike, taking it all in. The helmet dangled in my hand until Razer took it from me and put it away. Nature could be okay sometimes. I spend far too many hours in that dingy club. Carlie had been right. I needed to get out in the sun. I'd forgotten things like that existed. The sun, the beach, the birds flying in the air. Life wasn't just about bands and planning rosters.
Razer stood beside me with that annoying grin. I bet my hair was an absolute mess from the helmet and my clothes were all over the place. I pulled down my skirt because it had ridden up. God knows how much I'd been flashing while I was on that bike.
"I didn't know you had a bike."
"It's not mine. I couldn't afford something that flashy. It's my cousin's and he loaned it to me in return for teaching him guitar. You've been so looking so stressed lately, Violet. I wanted to get you out of the club for a while to have some fun."
To be honest, if he wanted me to have some fun, he could've thought of something less dangerous. How was I supposed to be less stressed when he tried to kill me?
Our bodies almost touched. I waited for him to try to kiss me again. I prepared to fight. I didn't want to kiss him. I didn't want him to make those kinds of moves. I didn’t want him to make me feel those kinds of feelings.
Our breathing fell into time with each other. My heart still beat so hard. I wanted to move away from him but my legs had turned to jelly. From that ride, of course. I'd been clenching my muscles so hard they no longer worked.
A bird squawked in the distance somewhere. The wind blew through the trees. The smell of eucalyptus filled the summer air. I stayed perfectly still.
The moment drew out and he didn't move. He just stood beside me until my anticipation turned to disappointment.
I didn't want him to kiss me but he could at least try. Maybe he'd lost interest in me and only saw me as a friend. That's what I wanted. That's the only thing I wanted. So why did my heart feel like a big, heavy stone weighing me down?
I couldn't handle this tension and walked away from the bike, my footsteps crunching on the gravel.
"It sure is pretty here," I said. Anything to break the silence.
"Yeah, I came up here the other day when I needed to sort some stuff out in my head. It really helps to just sit and watch the sea."
I nodded. I'd thought he had all kinds of ulterior motives but he was just being kind. He'd not even mentioned that bloody competition, thankfully.
"I guess we should get back," he said. "If you want to be back at work on time. Of course, we could linger and I could actually drive fast on the way back."
He winked at me. I gulped.
"Let's go," I said.
And all the way back I wondered why he hadn’t tried to kiss me.
Chapter 15 VIOLET
"HAVE YOU SEEN TODAY's paper?"
"Jeez, Chuck, let me finish my coffee before you start pestering me. What the hell?" I'd just gotten into work with a coffee in one hand and a bag containing my breakfast muffin in the other. If I didn't get something to eat on the way to work, I'd starve to death. And I didn't want my appetite ruined by a paper being waved in my face.