001

Madelyn Vance

~•~

I was more than happy when my parents told me I couldn’t attend the after-party tonight, as that was a good enough excuse to give to my friends for skipping it.

I didn’t know why my parents didn’t want me to go since they didn’t care every other night. Still, they also wanted to stop me from attending the game tonight, which was impossible because apart from the fact that it was the first game of the season, I was also cheer captain and I wasn’t going to leave my team in the dust.

But maybe I should have listened to them.

If I had, I wouldn’t be standing in front of the school building, shivering, and trying not to cuss out Los Angeles drivers for the continuous hike in Uber prices as the weather worsened.

As if I wasn’t already irritated enough, my phone buzzed with a text from Lucas.

[Lucas: Sorry, Mads. The scouts are taking forever. Catch a ride with the girls?]

I gritted my teeth in annoyance. What girls? The same girls I told that Lucas would drive me home so they could go to the after-party guilt-free?

My eyes swept around the parking lot again, trying to see if I could spot anyone I knew that I could ask for rides. It wasn’t exactly ideal standing outside in the surprisingly cold weather in my cheer uniform, but that was what I got for forgetting to pack extra clothes because I wasn’t attending the party.

Because of the atrocious weather, it was hard to get an Uber. Even without the prices, I had to be in a waiting line just to get a cab.

The parking lot was mostly empty, but a bike caught my eye just as the owner of it closed the hood of the van beside it and dusted his hands.

I didn’t need him to turn for me to know who that was. There was only one student with a motorcycle at Northridge High. Flynn Cahallan. I’d heard a lot about him, but I’d never spoken to him directly.

The rumors I’d heard of him though? It wasn’t anything I wanted to repeat.

As if he could feel my eyes on me, he turned around, his green, very green eyes piercing mine even through the dim light in the parking lot.

I froze. I’d been caught staring. Was this the part where I averted my gaze or sucked it up and asked for his help?

From everything I’d heard about him, he was bad news and since he never bothered to clear up the rumors, I had no choice but to go with it.

I also had no choice but to go to him when I realized he was my only option as it wouldn’t be long before the rain became a lot more serious. The signs were already there.

As my feet propelled me forward, I made a mental note to never rely on Lucas again.

His eyes narrowed slightly as I neared him and I didn’t blame him for the apprehension. I’d never spoken to him before and was suddenly making a beeline towards him. If I were him, I’d be wary too.

I stopped in front of him and suddenly didn’t know what to do with my hands. His gaze was intense and his eyes made a show of dragging slowly across my body. When his eyes met mine again, they were cold enough to almost kill the bit of confidence I’d mustered on the way here.

But desperation won and I forced my mouth to move. “I need your help,” I said blankly.

He arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

“Uh,” I cleared my throat, hating that a simple action from him was causing me to forget my words. “My ride bailed on me. Lucas is stuck with the scouts, my friends already left, and I can’t seem to get an Uber.”

He merely continued staring at me blankly as if to say that wasn’t his problem.

I continued anyway. “Any chance you’re heading towards the foothills? Can you give me a ride?”

Flynn looked around the empty parking lot like he was half expecting a camera crew to jump out and tell him that I was pranking him. When that didn’t happen, he leaned against his motorcycle and crossed his arms, his muscles straining underneath his black shirt. The material was thin but he didn’t even seem bothered. Didn’t he get cold?

Now that I was up close, I could even see a tattoo peaking out from his underarm. He took the reputation of a bad boy seriously, didn’t he?

“Why?”

My eyes snapped up to him. I hoped he didn’t catch me ogling his arms. “Huh?”

“Why should I help you?”

I blinked in surprise. Maybe because I was stranded and had no choice? Maybe because I was his classmate even if we had never spoken to each other? There were so many words at the tip of my tongue but I didn’t want to be rude, especially not when I needed his help. “Because you’re a nice person?” I offered.

Flynn scoffed and pushed off his bike, turning away from me.

My cheeks burned in embarrassment and I took it as an obvious dismissal and turned to leave.

“Get on.”

I paused, then turned back to him. He outstretched his hand, holding his helmet out to me. I took it slowly, unsure if he’d go back on his word just for the sake of it.

When the helmet was safely in my hands, I hurriedly put it on. When I finally got it buckled, he swung his leg over the bike and started the engine. I climbed on behind him, unnecessarily aware of how short my skirt was or how close I had to press against him or how he faintly smelled of… oil?

I slid my arms around him tentatively. But his hand held mine, adjusting my grip so it was tighter around him. Goosebumps erupted on my skin that had nothing to do with the cold and I tried not to make a big deal out of it.

“Hold on,” was all he said before the bike skidded out of the parking lot. I gasped at how fast we were going and tightened my arm around him just as the downpour increased.

I wanted to ask him how he could see without his helmet, but I doubted he could even hear me with how fast he was riding. It was scary but exhilarating at the same time.

The ride was too short and somehow not short enough when he finally pulled into my driveway and killed the engine.

I slid off his bike on shaky legs and handed him the helmet, taking extra care to make sure our fingers didn’t touch. “Thanks for the ride,” I said honestly. “I owe you one.”

Flynn leaned forward, his arms resting on the handlebars, watching me with unreadable eyes as rain slid down his face.

One corner of his lips tugged up in the tiniest smirk. “Be careful, golden girl.” He said lazily. “I might collect.”

My stomach flipped at his words and as he put on his helmet and disappeared down the rainy streets, I realized two things.

One, I was in his debt.

And two, I didn’t give him my address.