He weaved his way through the crowd, holding my hand in his. People called out his name, and many looked at me curiously when they saw him pulling me behind him. I didn’t know what to do with the attention. These were people I’d watched my entire life, but they’d never acknowledged me.
“What are you doing?” London asked in a horrified voice, just as we pulled free of the people. This was not good. Tripp and London had been a couple for years. Everyone knew it. When I’d heard he’d ended things with London, I’d been so happy I’d smiled like an idiot for a week. Which was silly, really. It wasn’t like Tripp was going to realize I was alive now that London was out of the picture.
“Leaving,” Tripp replied without looking at her.
“You’re leaving? With her?” she asked, even more horrified.
Tripp let my hand go and opened the front door. “Yep” was his only response.
“Who is she?” London asked, looking furious.
“That’s not your business,” he said, then looked at me. “Come on, sweetheart.”
He was calling me sweetheart again. I was seriously close to swooning. Right here on this marble floor.
“Tripp, do not walk out that door!” London warned as he opened the door and stood back for me to walk through. I quickly stepped out before London decided to take a lunge at me.
“Ignore her,” he whispered as I walked by.
It was like we had a secret. I shivered.
He closed the door on London, who was talking nonstop, and let out a sigh of relief. “Damn, she’s exhausting.”
He didn’t seem like a man upset over a breakup. That was good. I couldn’t think of anything to say to him that didn’t sound stupid. I wished I had some witty insight to make him want to be around me.
“Ever ride a bike?” he asked, stopping in front of a motorcycle. I knew he drove a Harley. Everyone knew it. But I hadn’t thought about getting to ride on it with him. This night was just getting better.
“Uh, no,” I replied, trying to keep the absolute giddiness from showing on my face.
“I’ll be your first. Sweet,” he said, then winked at me.
My heart stopped. Tripp had winked at me. I’d been so worried about tonight. I hadn’t been sure about Jonathon, but I’d wanted to see how the other half partied. I’d heard all about it, but I’d never been. Never had I imagined that I’d hold hands with Tripp, that he would wink at me, that I’d get to ride on the back of his bike. This night was going to be the most epic of my life. I was sure of it. “OK,” I managed to say without stumbling over the word.
He grinned, and it was perfect. I loved his smile. He handed me a helmet. “Put this on,” he instructed.
I’d never worn a motorcycle helmet, so I held it and studied it a moment. I didn’t want to do it wrong. I was pretty sure I’d need to tighten the strap that went under my chin.
Tripp’s hand reached out as he took the helmet away from me. I glanced up, afraid I’d taken too long and he’d changed his mind. “Sorry. That was rude. I should’ve done it for you. You’ve never ridden before,” he said simply, then put it on my head and adjusted the straps.
He was so close I could smell him. He had some wonderful scent that I assumed was cologne, which mixed with the sea breeze. I inhaled deeply as he fixed the helmet.
“There you go. We got that gorgeous head all safe and sound now,” he said as he stepped back from me and threw a leg over the bike. “Grab my shoulders and climb on back. Hold on to me as tight as you need.”
He had just called my head gorgeous. I couldn’t think about anything else at the moment. I was too focused on that. Was I asleep? Was this another one of my dreams? If so, it was a really good one. Except we weren’t kissing yet. I liked the dreams when we were kissing the best.
I walked over and placed my hands on his shoulders as he instructed, then slung my leg over the seat and sat down behind him. He said to hold on tight, but did he mean to his shoulders? I had seen people on motorcycles enough to know the riders on the back typically wrapped their arms around the drivers, but I didn’t know if Tripp wanted me to do that. Before I could think about it any more, he reached back and pulled my arms around his middle.
“Tight, sweetheart. Hold on tight,” he repeated, and I did.
Pressing my chest against Tripp’s back was amazing. With every breath I took, all I could smell was him. I felt the hard warmth of his back against my chest, and everything tingled. I was thankful it was dark and he couldn’t see exactly how much my body was enjoying this.
The Harley came to life underneath us, and we were off. The hold I had on Tripp instantly tightened as he sped toward the main road. My heart was beating so fast I was sure he could feel it. This was exciting. I never did dangerous things. I was responsible. I had to be. My dad wasn’t around much, and when he was, he didn’t want me there. I was a constant reminder of my mother, who had left him with a kid and run off with another man. He hated her for abandoning him. Not us. Just him. He was selfish, but then, so was my mother. So I did everything I could to prove to him that I wasn’t like her.
Aunt Darla would be so disappointed in me right now, but I couldn’t help it. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Girls like me didn’t get to ride on the back of Tripp’s bike. He was untouchable. And tonight he’d seen me. He’d saved me. Again.
I was sure there would never be a man who compared to Tripp. He was the epitome of perfection. And I was just another girl from the trailer park. Someone he wouldn’t have noticed if it hadn’t been for Aunt Darla. He liked her. He was doing this for her.
As much as I needed to remind myself of this, I didn’t want to right now. I just wanted to memorize how good his body felt against mine. The taut muscles in his stomach flexed as he turned onto the street that would lead us toward the club and around the wealthier part of town. I lived the other way. In all the excitement of being driven by Tripp, I forgot to tell him where I lived. My trailer wasn’t in Rosemary Beach. There weren’t trailers in Rosemary Beach. The average house there cost at least five million dollars. My trailer was thirty minutes north of town.
I could have him take me to the club. Aunt Darla would still be working. She lived closer, because Mr. Kerrington supplied her with an apartment on the property. She would be upset with me when I explained what happened, but I couldn’t ask Tripp to take me all the way home. It was too far.