inn'
r a full minute, chest heaving, u
very whispered lie that I didn't deserve to
e same number had s
n tomorrow morning
k of my hand and replied at on
s of a quiet private
er notification popped
ing my spare knee guards from your garage, and grab
e of my mornings had bee
g gear and pack his energy drinks, then driving an hour across half of Sout
nd felt nothing but a
old and final:
seconds later,
wer and held
" Chaim's voice was cold with disbelief. "Are you
place. Stop being dramatic and bring it over.
l," I said evenly. "I'll drop it at the track
before he
cream knit sweater and dark jeans, leaving ev
riding gear into my trunk and d
Chaim was already standing by hi
kup in tight shorts, sipping co
ed a twenty-foot dirt embankment despite a sever
s-and Chaim just rolled his eyes and sneere
was a short video an old rider-coach sent
or years-because before it, no one ha
of my trunk and dropped it in th
beige sweater, her mout
n today," she said over her coffee. "Did you come to w
" I said, hands in my pockets.
y outfit before landing on the thick whi
your leg?" he aske
d before you say it-no, I'm n
d. He bent down, rea
he said, lower
uld reach my shin, Felicity
e latch just caught my
ck from my leg, and
aid, his voice full o
ed mark, then twisted open a bottle of ice water an
lt something I had never felt before: relief. I would never
have noticed I was hurt befo
e, trying to summon hi
posted online," he said firmly. "People in the
shameless, clinging woman." He wrinkled hi
"And rest assured, Chaim-the man in
her eyes and c
hose black tungsten studs just three months
he black stud i
ud out, and tossed it into the opentokens," Chaim said icily. "If you want t
ainst the rusted bo
im, but because I had spent three whole weeks hu
ted rim, and reached into the filthy
y injured shin, sending a blaze of pain up my leg, bhed red with sudd
der and hauled me b
aim barked, darting panicked glanc
el like some vagrant? Have yo
lked straight to the public
d rinsed the grime off the bl
partition, I heard Cha
d. "She's been circling me like a stray dog. I paid Felicity a
eave, let her. I c
he stud with a paper towel, a
in my ha
en minutes from the café. No rush-I
he restroom with
side, blocking my pat
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