SWEETHEART | 18+

Chapter Eight

There's maybe one mile left in the race, and I am in the lead. Viper's a bit behind because it's his first race, but Marcus is riding my ass like crazy. Little does he know, that bike of his is three years outdated. She hasn't been used in what I assume is a while.

So I round the corner and run through the finish line. I eventually slow and, with my iconic shaky legs, step off my bike. Marcus is right behind me, and a couple of seconds later, Viper finishes. I'm giddy with excitement, so as I see Marcus look over at me, I rush toward him. I seat myself on his bike, facing opposite the handlebars, and lock him in a hug. He's tense and frozen at first, but eventually wraps his hands around me and starts rubbing my back.

"Hey, sweetheart," Marcus whispers. I can hear the crowd gathering around us in the alleyway, catcalling and whooping, but I ignore it. All I want is his touch right now.

"Hey," I respond, nuzzling my helmet further into his shoulder.

"Vix! Come here, will ya?" I hear Viper call me and lift my head drowsily. I start getting off, only for Marcus to tug me back down into his lap. "Vixen!" He calls me again, and I struggle in Marcus' grasp on my hips.

"One second!" I shout to Viper, frowning. "I gotta go." Marcus pushes my head backward, placing his helmet against my neck and imitating a kiss. "Mar— um, Specter. I have to." He murmurs. "We cannot do this right now, we're surrounded by people who will use this against us." He sighs and lifts his head.

"Fine. Go to your little boyfriend." I roll my eyes, and as I'm stepping off the motorcycle, Marcus slaps my ass. Again. I throw up a middle finger over my shoulder.

"Hey! Wasn't that fun?" I softly hit Viper's shoulder. He's surrounded by people asking him about stuff, but he's only paying attention to me.

"Maybe if I wasn't in last place." He says. I scoff at this.

"It's your first time! Plus, Specter and I are some of the best around here. Don't beat yourself up, kid." He chuckles and grabs my arm, dragging me away from the crowd.

"I'm not a kid. In fact, I would bet money on the fact that I'm older. How old are you, darlin'?" I can't tell people any personal information, but why not. I think I trust him.

"Twenty," I say, very breathily (which was not intended).

"I've got six years on you. Don't call me kid— kid." He pats the top of my helmet, to which I swat his hand away.

"Bitch." I say. "Tall, stupid, jackass bitch. How tall are you, even?" He kicks around some rocks, pondering this.

"I think I'm six-foot-one?" I groan and push past him, toward my bike.

"You're a foot taller, then." I seat myself on the motorcycle. "I'm going home. See you next week." Before I can turn on my bike, Viper grabs my wrist.

"I'm going to require your number, ma'am. Or else." I chuckle. Viper pulls out his phone and hands it to me with an empty contact. I put in my number and name— 'vix <3'—, then snap a selfie for the profile picture. I text myself 'hi, this is viper' and hand Viper's phone back to him.

"Alright. See you next week, hear from you tomorrow." He gives me a thumbs-up and backs away. I start driving off. Ten minutes into my half-hour trip home, I receive another call. I give Siri the go-ahead to answer.

"Hello again, sweetheart." There's a stupid grin on my face. "I miss you already."

"Hello, Mr. Adams. And aren't you clingy? It's been fifteen minutes at most." He laughs on the other line, and I can hear cars around him. He must be driving home too.

"I must admit, you have me hooked, Daniella. I want to do a lot of things to you right now, including inviting you over to my house to cuddle." I bark out a laugh. "What? How is that funny?"

"Sure, cuddle. Because that's definitely what you were doing to my neck earlier." I say, threading between a couple of cars.

"My daughter's sleepover was canceled. She's currently at home with a babysitter, who will leave when I get home. And I will not do anything while my daughter is home, thank you. So yes, cuddle, maybe with some neck kisses, for the sake of cuddling. It gets cold in my house." I bite my lip.

"Fine. But don't try to kill me, because I'm telling Viper where I am and who you are." Marcus hums an 'okay' and I pull off the freeway. "I'm going to my apartment to get some stuff and make sure Narcissus is okay. Text me your address, and I'll be there soon." I say, pulling into my apartment complex.

"You're crazy. I'm literally behind you, and I'm not letting you drive yourself this late. I'll wait for you outside." I sigh and park my bike, looking behind me. He is in fact behind me, throwing up a peace sign as a hello.

"Alright. I'll be back in five minutes." I hang up the call and take my helmet off, walking up the stairs to my apartment. When I get inside, Narcissus is asleep on my bed. His water is full, so that's taken care of. I pack an overnight bag with clothes and toiletries and rush out the door as I realize it's been ten minutes already. Marcus smiles and hands me his helmet as I get closer.

"Ready?" He asks. I give him a thumbs-up and we zoom off. It's about eleven at night, so the street lamps cascade onto us. Besides those lamps and city buildings in the distance, everything is dark. It's perfect.

I lay my head on Marcus' back and shut my eyes. Just the rumble of an engine and the slight bump of the road, and Marcus. When he walked into the library today, I couldn't expect this. It was nine in the fucking morning, and seeing him walk in made me think I was hallucinating.

"Are we there yet?" I ask, yawning as the bike slows.

"Yeah. Are you gonna text Viper?" I nod and weakly step off the bike, stretching my arms. Marcus pulls his helmet off me gently and kisses the top of my head. He was even taller than Viper.

Men. Men will be the death of me.