Universal Chaos

Chapter 1

It was warm. Sutton tilted her head up and let the sun's rays kiss her skin as she reveled in the afternoon heat. Even if it'd been a few years, she still could never take the weather for granted. Although there was still a soft spot in her heart for gray skies and rainy afternoons, she had to admit that she liked not having to put on a jacket every time she went outside.

She stretched her arms, hardly noticing the pull of the metal imbedded in the side of her chest anymore, and hummed quietly. Her break was almost over and it was time to head back to the building holding her last scheduled lecture of the day. Her phone chirped again and Sutton gnawed on her lower lip as she read the text and fought back a smile.

[Well we should meet up since you're in town.]

She waited a couple seconds to reply.

[Sure! I'm off at 6 :)]

[I'll pick you up then.]

Sutton scoffed in mock offense as she slung her purse over her shoulder and started heading back towards the hotel that the conference was being held at.

[On that motorcycle? Fat chance!]

The cars whizzing by to her left forced her to pay attention to the road, putting her phone in her pocket momentarily while she crossed the street. After all this time the honking and rush of tires on cement had started to become more like background noise to her, but it filled the silence in a way she'd needed even just six months ago. Only about a block away the hotel came into view and Sutton would have to tell Steve that their conversation was about to come to an end. Another text from him popped up just as she was opening the messenger.

[You lost a bet, remember? You have to.]

Sutton frowned, her lower lip jutting to the side in a pout.

[Sorry! Can't talk. Gotta get back to work, Steve!]

[I'll be waiting on my bike!]

She mumbled under her breath, switched her phone to silent, and shoved it into her purse as she passed through the hotel doors. He'd used an exclamation mark; he was being snarky. She didn't have the time to inform him he wasn't funny.

The rest of the conference droned on. It was business as usual and Sutton only knew enough about the subject to be able to translate everything correctly. Even if she liked her job she was still happy to let her hair down and have a bit of extra time to socialize and then prepare for her flight home the following afternoon.

Untangling a few curls with her fingers as she exited the hotel, Sutton pulled out her phone to let Steve know she was all done. But two steps out the door and she spotted him leaned up against his blasted bike and grinning at her. Sutton threw her shoulders back and groaned. Steve laughed.

"Come on," he goaded. "Don't be a sore loser."

"I'm not a sore loser," Sutton argued. "I'm just not crazy. I've seen you zip around before; not everyone can be so fearless."

He rolled his eyes and reached behind him, pulling out a sleek black motorcycle helmet.

"I promise I'll obey road rules. Now here, put this on and let's go."

She continued to protest without any real conviction as she trudged forward and accepted the helmet. Steve settled on the front of the bike, and Sutton made sure her purse was zipped closed before sliding on behind him. After putting the helmet on Sutton hesitated a moment, her arms twitching at her sides, before she took a silent breath and wrapped them around his waist.

"Hold on tight!"

His voice was a bit muffled thanks to the helmet, but she snapped her head up and looked at the back of his head as her arms stiffened.