Chapter Twenty

I awaken on an extremely comfortable leather couch. I slowly sit up wondering where I am and how I got here. The walls are a deep red with antique looking gangster photographs. Like, the real gangsters from back in the day that dressed nice and used tommy guns.

I see a group of guys sitting around a round table whispering quietly to one another. I recognize Trev's profile and relax slightly. Blaxton is the first to notice that I'm awake. He looks at Trevor and nods his head in my direction.

Trevor looks back at me and smiles. "There's my girl. How are you feeling?" He comes and sits beside me on the couch and pulls me into his lap. He leans down to whisper in my ear. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, Peaches." I jump up.

"My dad! He's probably completely freaking out!" I start searching my pockets for my phone and come up empty. I hear Trevor chuckle and I look up. "What's so funny?"

"You're adorable, Peaches. Your dad texted you a little while ago that something came up and he wouldn't be home tonight but would see you when you got home from school tomorrow. Not that you're going to school tomorrow, anyway." I just stare at him, processing everything he just said.

Something came up? Like what? And even though I felt silly for admitting it, I was hurt by my dad's lack of worry. I had been through a lot tonight and he didn't have a clue. On the second thing. "You went through my phone?"

"Oh, yeah. I also programmed my number into it, took out Matt's, and took the liberty of confirming our relationship status on Facebook. Don't look at me like that, Peaches. After tonight- you definitely belong to me." I don't know what to say. How can I have feelings for such a barbarian?

"Take me home." He looks stunned. The room goes completely quiet. I stare him down hoping he can see that I am completely serious. "Did I stutter? I said 'Take. Me. Home.'" He laughs a dry, humorless laugh.

"Over my dead body are you leaving my sight tonight or for the foreseeable future. Get mad at me, I don't care. I am a guy of action, not patience. It's past time the world knew about us. I don't care if it hurts Claudette's feelings and I damn sure don't care if it bothers Matt. You are mine, I am yours. It is that simple."

I slap him. He doesn't move. I get up and make a run for it but he beats me to the door. I watch as he tosses Blaxton a set of keys. "Make sure the car gets home after the race, we're taking the bike from here." Bike? What bike? And what race?

"I'm not going anywhere with you." I attempt to open the door but with his big strong arm in the way, it obviously does not budge. "I'm not playing, Trevor." Before I realize what is going on I'm thrown over his shoulder like the sack of potatoes I am.

"Hey! This is some major bullcrap!" I hear the guys laughing. "Trevor Lyles, put me the fudge down!" They laugh harder and my embarrassment only increases. "It's all hard and stuff up here, this isn't comfortable at all!" I begin pounding his back. "Why is every spot on you hard?" The guys begin howling and to my mortification Trevor smacks my butt.

"There definitely isn't a soft spot on my body when you're around, baby girl." I gasp and blush. He begins waking through the door and outside. When he sets me down I see the biggest beast of a sports bike I have ever seen. Everything on it is black. It looks mean. I love it.

"You like it don't you? Just like you like me. You know Riley, you can admit how much you like me now since I'm officially your boyfriend and all." He winks and hops on the bike, handing me the only helmet in sight.

"What are you going to wear? I'm not taking your only helmet you idiot." He smiles that rare, genuine smile. I'm still not on the bike.

"I love that you're worried about my safety, baby but like I said- you aren't getting out of my sight for a very long time. I was scared shitless that I was going to lose you tonight. I never want to feel that way again. Now with that being said, as of right now I only have one helmet and your safety comes before mine. Please don't argue with me. I'm already late." I am officially floating. As crazy as it was, I was tired of fighting my feelings for him. I wanted him.

"What are we late for?" He smiles at my choice of words and pulls me toward him. He pulls me so close that we're nose to nose. I think he's going to kiss me but he doesn't.

"Your introduction to my world, princess." He leans his forehead against mine. To my disappointment, he still does not kiss me.

"Princess?" I lean even closer. He smells so good. Like timber and the outdoors. I watch him take a long look at my lips. But he still doesn't kiss me. Is he changing his mind?

"You're with me now, so yes 'princess.'" I feel the butterflies in my stomach go crazy. I can't take it anymore. I go for it. When my lips hit his I feel him grin and after that it is pure fireworks. His hand goes to the back of my head, grabbing a fistful of hair and pulling me even more into him. My arms are around his neck and I'm completely lost in the kiss. He has a fistful of hair and a handful of ass and I know I'm a goner. I'm his.

He shatters my heart when he pulls away. "Get on the bike, Princess. This night is only beginning." I take the helmet and happily oblige. My heart is racing at a speed it has never before reached. I wrap my arms around his waist and hold on tight. He picks up my left hand and gives it a kiss before placing it back on his hard stomach. When we take off into the night I feel like I'm flying.

Being so close to Trevor has me feeling a variety of different emotions. Happy, obviously. Scared, understandably. But on top of everything that I'm feeling, one thing sticks out the most: I feel free. For the first time in my life I feel safe to just be me, Riley Brinks, teenage girl just finding her place in the world. I never wanted to lose this feeling. I squeeze him tighter.

It doesn't take Trev long to get to our destination. I take the helmet off and look around us. I'm confused as I realize we're at what appears to be an abandoned airport. We get off the bike and as he pulls me into his chest, Blaxton pulls up in Trevor's car. He smiles when he sees us holding each other.

"Alright, Princess. You are going with Blaxton while I take my place." I look at him, confused. He ignores me. "Blaxton, do not let her out of your sight. If you have any trouble, you know what to do." Blaxton nods. Trouble? What kind of trouble? Me?

Trevor leans down and kisses me hard on the lips. I blush but kiss him back anyway. Then he just pushes me towards Blaxton and hops back on his bike. I look up at Blaxton. "What's going on?" He smiles and grabs my hand as he guides me towards the airstrip.

"Patience, grasshopper. Your man is about to make you proud." I just feel even more confused. I notice the makeshift bleachers on the side of the runway. I look around some more and gasp.

"Are we at an underground race? This is awesome!" He looks down at me and laughs. I watch him shake his head.

"You are full of surprises, Peaches. I was worried you would go all mother hen on Trev when you figured it out." I looked at the beginning of the strip and smiled when I saw Trevor's bike in place. I shook my head.

"Hell no, this is awesome. I want a bike now." Blaxton laughs harder. "What's so funny?" I put my hand on my hips.

"Trevor would never allow you to put yourself in such danger. I was honestly scared he was going to murder that guy earlier. Not that he didn't deserve it, I was just worried for Trevor." At the mention of the man from earlier I felt my entire mood darken. I feel so stupid for putting myself in that situation. And now I feel guilty for putting Trevor in it as well.

I guess Blaxton can sense the change in my mood because he pats me on the back. "It wasn't your fault, you know? You were obviously lost and even if you weren't, Arron had no right to act like an animal." I look up at him.

"How do y'all know him?" His face darkens. "I'm afraid you will find out soon enough, Peaches. Get ready, the countdowns beginning."

As soon as the flag drops I watch two of the most beautiful bikes I had ever seen zoom by me. I begin to jump up and down, screaming and cheering for my man. I'm ecstatic but not surprised when Trev crosses the finish line first. Before Blaxton knows what's going on I duck under the tape and run towards Trevor.

By the time I reach him a crowd has already begun to form around him. Scantily clad girls vying for his attention but I didn't care. His face lit up as soon as he saw me. He picked me up in his arms and spun me around. He gave me a hard kiss before putting me back down. He has to yell so I can hear him. "So what did you think?" I squeal and put my arms around his neck.

"That was amazing! I'm so so proud of you!" He beams proudly at me and kisses my forehead. I notice the bitter looks of the girls around us and smirk. Yeah, he's all mine ladies. "So what did you win?" He shrugs his shoulders like it's nothing big.

"This wasn't a very big race so only twenty five hundred." My mouth falls open and he laughs. "You ain't seen nothing yet, baby girl."

I look over as the other rider gets off of his bike and slowly takes his helmet off. Mr. T! He sees me and winks. I hear Trevor growl. "I told you he was bad news." I laugh. Then what did that make him?

Blaxton makes his way to us and he and Trev exchange one of those fist pound slash handshake things that bros do. "Good job man. Smoked his ass." Trevor grins.

"Thanks for watching me girl man, I owe you. Did she behave?" Blaxton laughs. "Surprisingly she did. She was your loudest cheerleader out there. In fact, I think I've lost some hearing in my right ear." I punch his shoulder. At least he had the decency to act like it hurt a little. Trevor grinned and pulled me closer. "That's my girl."

We make our way off the strip. "Are you hungry baby or are you ready to go home?" Home? I didn't think he was letting me out his sight. I guess he picked up on my disappointment because he added, "Don't worry, I'm staying at your place tonight." I grin.

"Home. I'm definitely ready to go home." He smiles that beautiful smile and kisses my forehead. We climb on the bike and tell Blaxton bye. I knew it was stupid. That it was reckless and some would even say it was foolish. But I was falling hard and fast for Trevor Lyles. And I didn't intend on getting back up anytime soon.