Chapter Seven
Sophie
“Shoot, what time is it?” I ask myself as I reach for my phone and scan the screen. I haven’t left the table in the library after my second tutoring session with Damian ended half an hour ago. I just had to squeeze in a few chapters.
Of course my thoughts kept drifting to what he said about him wanting to ask me out. Ugh. Obviously he was just messing with me and didn’t mean it, but why can’t I stop thinking about it?
Time to focus on what matters. Books.
I want to drive to the bookstore in town to buy new books because there are tons that were released this past week. And yes, I do have a whole lot of them I still haven’t read yet, and yes, my Tbr is as tall as Mount Everest. But they all sound so freakin’ good.
I dash over to my car that’s parked in the student lot and hop inside.
It’s a black Honda Accord, not fancy like most of the cars here, but I love it and don’t feel jealous of the other students.
Carly says our average cars have character, and she is so right.
Addie’s grandfather wanted to buy her a super rich car, which she protested, so they compromised on a semi-rich one.
“Only an hour, only an hour,” I mutter as I start the engine. I want to browse the sections, too, because you never know when you’ll find a treasure, but I don’t think I’ll have time for that.
Instead of my engine spurring to life, it makes this very weird sound.
I freeze and stare down at the dashboard. “What the heck was that?”
I try again, but it just makes an even weirder sound.
“Oh no, no, no,” I say as I try for a third time. Did my car seriously break down? “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Someone knocks on my window, causing me to yelp and nearly fly to the roof of the car. When I look to my left, I nearly fly to the roof again. Because Damian stands out there.
Lowering the window, I say, “Hi…?”
His eyes rove around the front of my car. “Everything okay?”
“I don’t know.”
“You having car troubles?”
“It won’t start.”
He asks me to try again, and then makes this alarmed face when he hears that awful sound. When he turns around and walks away, my heart sinks. I guess I thought he would offer to help or something? I suppose he figures this isn’t his problem.
But my eyes widen when he opens the hood of the car and checks it out.
Wait a sec. Does he know anything about cars?
I mean, it’s kind of cliché when a bad boy is good with cars, but lots of romance books feature that anyway.
And I have to say, it would come in mighty handy right now if he could fix whatever’s wrong with my car.
Raven would remind me for the millionth time that real life is not a book. I would direct her to exhibit A—Bad Boy Damian checking on my car.
I get out and move closer to him. “Do you know what’s wrong?”
He studies it for a few more seconds before shaking his head. “You’ll have to take it to the shop.”
“Darn it.” I rub my forehead. Forget the cost of repairs and the headache—how am I going to get to the bookstore now?
Damian watches me for a moment. “Is there somewhere you need to be?”
“Yes, the bookstore. And it’s going to close soon.” I grab my phone and scan the time again. Ugh, there’s no way I’ll make it in time. This is such a disaster.
His brows rise slightly. “That’s the emergency? The bookstore?”
“Dude, do you know how many books were released this past week? I’ve been waiting for days to pick them up.
One is an awesome romantasy with raving reviews, another is this detective mystery book that looks so good!
I normally don’t go for those kinds of books, but I read online that the romance subplot is supposed to be, like, the best thing that has ever graced our planet.
I can’t wait to dive into that one. Oh, and there’s this really cute contemporary sweet YA romance that’s been on my Tbr forever.
I would have gone to the store yesterday, but they were closed. What a crime, right?”
He doesn’t say anything, just watches me.
I shift in my spot, realizing I just babbled to a guy who most likely cringes at one who babbles. “What? I love books.”
“That’s very evident.”
I give him a look. “Do you have an issue with a person who loves to read?”
“Absolutely not. Follow me.”
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“Just follow me.” He walks away.
Um…a strange(ish) guy telling a girl to “follow him” to some unknown location is a big red flag.
I don’t know him and have no idea if he plans to kidnap me or something.
I mean, he does know I’m basically stranded without my ride.
Which I know sounds ridiculous because I’m on school grounds, but a girl can never be too careful about her safety, right?
After he strides a few feet without me, he turns around and gives me a confused face. Like why am I just standing? Uh, because I don’t know you, Bad Boy Dude?
“Sophie?”
I go still for a second. Wow, I’ve never heard my name on his lips before. It sounds…oddly sexy.
Seriously? Where is my brain going right now?
Besides, I don’t even like bad boys.
He raises his brows again.
I’m being ridiculous. He wouldn’t hurt me in the middle of the student parking lot. And a part of me—okay, a big part—is curious where he’s taking me. So, I follow him to wherever.
We pass many of the super wealthy cars on the way. I don’t care for them one way or the other, but I sense some negative vibes from Damian. Like just seeing them triggers something within him. I’m bursting to ask what it is, but I doubt he would appreciate me being all in his business.
He leads me all the way to an area in the lot that doesn’t have that many cars.
My friends and I park our cars in an empty area, too, as though our average cars are not allowed to mix in with the fancy ones, but his is all the way on the other side.
He keeps walking until he eventually stops before a… motorcycle.
“Hop on,” he says as he reaches for his helmet.
“Hop…where?”
“On the bike.”
I gape at it and then at him. “Wait, you own this thing?”
He nods.
“And you want me to hop on so you can do…what, exactly?”
“Give you a ride to the bookstore. We can make it in time for you to buy the books.”
“Wait, wait, wait. Are you offering to give me a ride to the bookstore?”
“Yes. Seems you’ll have a heart attack if you don’t read the romance subplot of that mystery book. The one that apparently is supposed to be the best thing that has ever graced our planet?”
My cheeks flame. I have no idea if he’s making fun of me or is just teasing me. Does a guy like Damian even tease? But it doesn’t seem like he’s ridiculing me.
“There’s only so fast I can go without breaking the law.” He gestures to the bike.
I’m so flabbergasted that my words are stuck in my throat. Am I dreaming, or is the guy who seems like he hates the world offering to take me to the bookstore? This can’t be real.
When my vocal cords finally work, I say, “Are you trying to make a romance trope come to life?”
“What?”
“You know, the rebellious bad boy gives the sweet, innocent girl a ride on the back of his motorcycle and then…”
He just watches me with an unreadable expression.
“Well, you know,” I finish lamely.
“Actually, I don’t know,” he says as he moves closer. “What happens to the sweet, innocent girl who rides on the back of the rebellious bad boy’s bike?”
“Well…she…” I stammer as I instinctively stumble back.
Damian doesn’t move forward, though. I think he’s worried he’s scaring me.
I shrug. “It’s just a romance trope. Not a real depiction of life. Romance tropes don’t actually happen in real life.”
“You don’t believe that,” he states.
Now my brows fly up. “How would you know that?”
He keeps his eyes on me for a short while before tearing them away. “Do you want a ride to the bookstore or not? You don’t have a lot of time.”
Oh my gosh, what a dilemma! I really, really, really want to pick up those books. I feel like I might die if I don’t hold them in my hands in the next hour. But to ride on Damian’s bike? How dangerous is that?
Would he really hurt me, though?
“If not, I’m heading out.” He shoves his helmet over his head and moves to the bike, ready to mount it.
“Wait!”
He turns around and raises the visor of his helmet.
“I’d like a ride to the bookstore, please,” I say.
“Thought you’d never ask. Hop on.”
I know some girls always dream of riding on the back of a bike behind a really hot guy, but in reality?
It’s kind of terrifying. First of all, he doesn’t have a spare helmet.
Second of all, this thing is supposed to go really fast. What if I can’t hold on and fly off?
I’d be roadkill before I even experience my first kiss.
“What’s wrong?” he asks when I don’t move.
“What if I die?” I croak.
“As long as you hold on to me tightly, there’s no reason for you to die.”
“There are lots of stuff I haven’t experienced yet. What if making this decision right now snatches away any hope of my dreams coming true?”
“Are you always this way?”
“No…”
“I promise you’ll be able to experience all you hope to experience once we get back, all safe and sound. But what I can’t promise is that you’ll be able to buy any of your books.”
“What? Oh! Right.”
The uniform skirt is kind of on the short side. It’s a bit of a struggle figuring out how to climb on gracefully without revealing parts of myself I’d rather not be revealed. Thankfully, Damian turns his head away so he won’t accidentally see something he shouldn’t.
“I’m on,” I announce.
“Great.” He climbs on and turns his head toward me. “Hold on to me tightly. Don’t loosen your hold even a centimeter the entire ride. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
I’ve never touched a guy before, other than family members. How weird would it be to touch parts of his body that only close people in his life are supposed to touch? But I don’t want to waste any more time, so I force my arms to wrap around him.
“Wow,” I gasp when I feel how hard his muscles are. And he smells so darn good. His body is warm despite the cold January weather.
“Don’t let go, Sophie.”
After I give him the address to the bookstore, he kicks into gear and we zoom off.