Eruption (Yellowblown™ Book 1) (13 page)

“Teachers always think their time is so much more valuable than ours,” another whined with a crack of her gum.

When the room cleared, Boone said,
“Potter sent Banks an email. He went to South Dakota to find his family. And who can blame him?”

Text to Dad:

 

My one o’clock class ran late on Tuesday, so I was tying my shoes when Boone knocked on the door. Mia kept him company while I filled up my water bladder and threw a handful of gels in my pack. I reached for my rig. Boone touched my shoulder to stop me and lifted the bike out of its wall rack. I tried to argue while he hoisted it on his shoulder.

“Oh, yeah, Violet, I’ll follow you down the steps
empty-handed while you carry your bike,” he said.

“I usually just roll it,” I said lamely.

Mia laughed. “You crazy kids have fun. Remember, the traffic rules apply to you, too.”

“We’re going to be on a trail,” I said over my shoulder.

Get some
, she mouthed to me.

I made a rude gesture with my hand, setting her off in peals of laughter.

I almost tripped when I saw Boone wheeling my bike toward a tricked-out SUV. While not brand new, Boone’s truck shone in unblemished cherry red, with a sweet bike rack on the roof. He effortlessly lifted my bike next to his before I reached the car door. Slick. I waited while he clicked latches into place and shook the frame to make sure it was secure.

He opened the passenger door for me
, and I blushed, hoping he didn’t think I’d been expecting such service for a bike ride. A chrome step bar helped me clamber up into a buttery leather seat. Confused me watched confident him circle to the driver’s side.

T
he engine started with a roar. I clicked my seatbelt in place then pondered him as he navigated through campus.

“What?” he finally asked.

“There’s a lot I don’t know about you.”

“True.”
He frowned at me. “Like what?”

“I would never have put you in this vehicle.”

“Why not?”

“Where I grew up,
when a boy said he’d pick me up in his truck, he meant something old, maybe a rusty, primer painted, jacked-up pickup with wide tires. The lucky ones had smokestacks coming up through the cargo bed.”

The engine purred
.

“You’re nothing like those guys
, but….”

“But what?”
His cheeks turned a little pink.

“Well, this is like a luxury version of one of those. It’s really, really
nice, Boone.” I glanced around the neat, I-didn’t-just-vacuum-this-for-you-this-morning interior. Speakers and cup holders filled every available nook. Two rows of cushy seats occupied the vast expanse of space behind us.

“Did you expect me to pull up in a junker?”

I’d irritated him. “No. I mean, you said you’d bring your truck, and I guess I pictured a twenty-year-old pickup that smelled like Cramer, that’s all.”

He was silent for a minute
, lips pressed in a tight line. “Cramer does stink up a car,” he admitted. “Look, my dad likes big vehicles. He also likes an excuse to get a new one every few years, so when Drew and I each got our licenses he handed down his current truck so he could upgrade.”

“Nice,” I said. “
Great rack on the roof, too.”

“I have a kayak at home, and the bike, so it’s handy.”

“It’s great. I didn’t mean to be rude, it’s, well, you’re an RA and a TA, and I figured you were working hard to get through school.” At his sharp look, I gave up. “Never mind, I’m making it worse.”

He took pity on me. “
Drew went to a state school in Nebraska. My parents are big on keeping everything equal so they’ll only pay an equivalent tuition for me. I had the football scholarship freshman and sophomore year but I had to make up the difference when I blew up my knee. So, I
am
working through school, I just don’t have to drive a piece of junk while I’m doing it, if that makes sense.”

“Ok
ay,” I said, holding my hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry. It’s totally none of my business.”

His eyes slid over to
me. “How are
you
getting through college?”

“My parents,” I admitted. “
They feel like they’re obligated to pay for me and Sara to go because their parents paid their tuitions. I work in the summer for spending money.”

“Sara is your sister?
”

“
She’s fifteen. Pretty. Popular. Good at everything except studying.”

Boone nodded as if he had a mental picture of her already.

We merged on to a bypass around Pittsburgh. “Where are we going?”

“Greater Allegheny Passage. It’s a rail trail from Pittsburgh to Maryland. I figured
we could ride as far as we want then turn around.”

He handled the large SUV easily, without the usual jerkiness of a guy trying to impress a girl with his mad driving skills. We drove through the depressing remains of an old steel town before he pulled in at a parking lo
t in a place called Duquesne. He came to my side of the SUV even though I already had the door open. I slid down out of the seat. His hand on my arm stopped me from reaching back in for my pack.

“Hey,” he said softly. “
Before I get all sweaty and disgusting.” His kiss ignited sparks. I stepped in to press against him. A lift to my tiptoes brought me to the perfect height for my thighs to nestle against his. My arms slipped around his neck, all the encouragement he needed to deepen the kiss.

His hands drifted from my shoulder blades, down my back, to my hips. I
squeaked against his mouth when he took a possessive grip on my behind.

He pulled away to look down at me
with hooded eyes. “You look so hot in this little skirt. If you rode around campus there’d be a trail of guys jogging behind you.”

The unexpected
compliment made me blush. Oh sure, the ex had tried to get in my pants, but he’d never told me I was hot. And men followed Mia, not me. “You look pretty good yourself,” I whispered. I ran my hands across his shoulders, muscular under the thin quick-dry fabric clinging to them. “And, for future reference, I don’t mind sweat. At least, not yours.”

His eyes smoldered. “That’s some good information right there
.” He rocked my hips into tighter contact with his. His hands were strong and confident, a man’s hands, meant to make a woman pliable. That’s what they did to me, anyway.

Something
in his expression urged me to initiate another kiss, this one searching and tender, like we’d each admitted something special to one another when we’d hardly said anything at all. I pressed against him, demanding more. He gave, one hand still cupping my ass while the other centered on my back. His firm hold, the way it told me exactly how he wanted me to stand, inflamed me, from the top of my tingling scalp to the bottom of my curling toes.

A
car horn tooted merrily from the road. I dropped my face to his chest, his smell making me nuzzle the smooth cloth and wonder about the firm flesh I felt beneath. He slid his hand into my hair to cradle my head as he watched the vehicle drive away.

“Shoot,” I said into his shirt
.

“Not a good spot,” he said gruffly. “Let’s take this ride.”

I grabbed our packs from the back seat while Boone unloaded the bikes. “Do you want these crackers?” I called when I noticed a bright yellow box jammed in the pocket on the back of the passenger seat.