“Problem, brothers?” Sebastian asks before he disposes of his cigarette into a half-empty bottle of water on the tailgate of one of the trucks. Neither one responds. “Tres?” The one named Tres gives a slight shake of his head. “Lathan?”
“Nope. No problem,” Lathan responds, passive-aggressively.
“Great. This is Evan. Evan, this is Lathan and Tres.” Tres has a baby face with short, dark hair, dimples, and a friendly smile. Lathan has the same dark hair, eyes like coal, and a don’t fuck with me vibe radiating from him. “And you know Eros,” he says, pointing at the tree of a man who hauled me over here. They all look alike, despite their differences. I give a wave, feeling four sets of eyes on me before Sebastian leads me over to his bike.
“Nuh-uh,” I say, shaking my head when he tries to hand me the helmet I wore just a little while ago. “I’m not getting on that thing.”
“Evan,” he starts, moving into my personal space, and I decide that I love the way my name sounds coming from his mouth. “You just survived the Globe of Death. You witnessed me on this thing,” he deadpans. “Don’t tell me you’re scared.”
I hesitate, knowing this is a bad idea, wanting to do it anyway.
“Do you trust me?” Sebastian asks, his arm still outstretched, waiting for me to take the helmet.
What an absurd thing to ask of a stranger.
“Yes,” I surprise myself by saying.
What an even more absurd answer.
When I take the helmet from him, our fingers touch, his hand lingering for a second before dropping it. I fasten th
e helmet underneath my chin and approach his bike, feeling stupid because I don’t even begin to know how to get on this thing. Sebastian saves me from asking when his hands circle my hips before he lifts me, planting my butt on the back.
“Thanks,” I breathe, looking into twin pools of jade. His hands fall from my waist, and I swing one leg over so I’m straddling the seat.
“Mind if I come?” a new guy asks as he approaches, his eager expression full of hope. Tres groans while Eros rolls his eyes. Sebastian huffs out a humorless laugh.
“Yeah, man,” Tres finally answers when no one else does, earning an elbow to the ribs from Lathan.
“Who is that?” I whisper to Sebastian.
“New guy,” he says the words like they taste bad on his tongue. New guy wastes no time getting into his truck, like he’s afraid Sebastian will object to him coming along.
“I just met him for the first time last week. Name’s Elliot. We haven’t decided if we’ll keep him around yet,” he explains.
Sebastian plucks his leather jacket off the front of his bike. “Put this on,” he says, draping it over my shoulders. I slide my arms into the sleeves, inhaling the scent of leather and sweat and tobacco.
Sebastian straddles the bike and reaches down to grab my right ankle before bringing it up to rest on his lap. “No pegs,” he explains, reaching down for my left foot. I’m wrapped around this stranger, his back flush to my front, and he’s completely unfazed. Me, on the other hand…my heart is threatening to beat right out of my chest. If I thought the vibrations were strong standing in that steel cage, it’s one thousand times more intense feeling it between my legs once he pushes his foot down to kick-start his bike.
“Hold on tight,” he warns, and I snake my arms around his torso without hesitation, locking my ankles around his waist. There is no buildup—no easing into it. We shoot off like a rocket, kicking up dust in our wake. I can’t tamp down the squeal that escapes my lips. For a second, I think I’m lucky enough for Sebastian not to hear it, then I feel more than hear him chuckle at my reaction.
Eros appears to our left once we’re on the main road, riding in the wrong lane. A semi barrels around the corner, and this time, my scream isn’t one of excitement, but fear. He looks over to me, eyes dancing mischievously. I scream for him to move, but he doesn’t. Just when I think he’s going to end up in tiny pieces all over the asphalt, he swerves in front of Sebastian, following it up with a wheelie.
“Show off,” Sebastian yells back to me. I remove a shaky hand, pressing it to my chest as I wait for my heartrate to return to normal. Sebastian lets go of one of the handlebars and grips my calf, rubbing my ankle with his thumb. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was trying to comfort me. His tank top flaps in the wind, and I try not to focus on the fact that I can feel his stomach muscles through the thin material.
He speeds up to Eros, and they ride side by side, with Sebastian slightly ahead. I look back to see Lathan and Tres doing the same—Elliot nowhere to be seen—and I wonder if these are their default positions. One thing is clear—these guys are so in-tune with each other. I’ve never had that with anyone.
“You’re all brothers?” I ask, once we slow enough for him to hear me.
“Cousins. But yeah. We’re brothers in the way that it counts.”
I nod, even though he can’t see me, as we enter a wooded area. We follow a narrow, dark path lined with trees.
“Where are we going?” I ask, trying to keep the apprehension from my voice. We’re miles away from civilization.
“You’ll see,” he says cryptically.
An old, decrepit house comes into view. House isn’t a big enough word for what this is. It’s more like a mansion. It used to be white at one point, but it doesn’t look like anyone’s set foot in it for decades. Sebastian slows to a stop. Eros, Lathan, and Tres pull up next to him, forming a horizontal line.