Page 52 of Collided (Dirty Air 2)

Ah, so this is how she wants to play it.

“Is that an offer?” I drop my voice low.

A pebble lands a few feet away from me with a soft thud. She didn’t even try with that one.

I lie on the grass next to her. We stare at the sky, comfortable with our silence, no pressure to fill the quiet with useless words. My body brushes up against her as I readjust myself and get comfortable.

Sophie brings out things in me I don’t recognize. It’s different than what I had with Johanna, with that friendship being solely platonic from the start. My thing with Sophie is damn near flammable, waiting for one of us to set a match to this waiting game, setting our relationship ablaze.

She squints at the sky. “It sucks that Maya skipped out this week. I miss her.”

“Now you’re stuck with me. I have you all to myself, just how I want you.” My voice drops into a husky tone.

“You take up half of my time as it is already.”

I have no shame admitting how I like keeping her around and doing stuff together. It helps me pass the time when I don’t need to race or do McCoy-related activities.

“How’s the list coming along?” I’m curious to know what she’s done, or what she hasn’t.

“It’s not looking too hot. I was supposed to do at least one thing per week to complete it in time, but I’m falling behind.” She twirls a lock of hair around her finger.

The grass crunches beneath me as I turn my body toward her. Her eyes land on mine, making me want to kiss her senseless against the grass, fucking up her pink ensemble with dirt stains and greedy hands.

Holy fuck, what is happening with me lately?

I fight my internal war of acting like a caveman or a gentleman. “How unlike you. You’re usually on task.”

Sophie is the most organized person I’ve ever met. She sure as fuck has her life together, and even though I have a job and I can be responsible, she takes it to a whole new level.

“I know.” She swipes a few blonde strands out of her face. “But I’ve been so busy. Look, I’m working out. That’s not exactly on my list but it might as well be. I mean, I probably lost a pound from our climb alone.”

I grumble, “Not that you need it.” She’s a petite little thing. If she loses any weight, she’ll fly away. “But being busy is good. Which ones have you done then?”

I don’t reveal to Sophie how I hang around her whenever I have free time, passing on club nights with the boys because I prefer to spend time with her. For purely selfish reasons because I don’t want her to cross off those items. At least not with someone who isn’t me.

She sits and pulls out her laminated list from her mini backpack. I’ve never met someone as Type A as her.

“All right. So far, we have…five items completed.”

One of my eyebrows rises. She doesn’t notice how she dropped we instead of I.

“What did you complete without me?” I hope nothing too scandalous for her sake and mine.

“I watched porn for the first time. And played strip poker with a group of people. Plus tried new food and drank while doing karaoke in Shanghai. And no matter what you say I count Monaco’s cliff-diving episode as skinny-dipping.” She sticks her chin out defiantly.

Who the fuck does she hang around beside Maya and me?

I hold back a growl. “With whom?” I’m not used to the possessiveness coursing through me at her crossing off items with someone else.

“Well, Maya set up a strip poker game with some guys from Kulikov she knows from back when Santi drove with them. It was a low-key celebration for my birthday.”

A birthday I had no idea about. Lovely. I clench my fists together in frustration. “How fun. Who won the game?” My jealous ass knows the person who wins wears the most clothes.

“Ugh, I came in dead last. I was down to nothing.” She fucking shrugs at me.

My molars grind painfully, my jaw clenching to the point of popping. I take a deep breath. Sophie jabs me in my side with her elbow, her breathy laugh filling me with warmth and calm.

She turns toward me. My eyes land on her bright ones, the evergreen shade easily becoming one of my favorite colors. “Relax. I’m joking. I watched about three hours’ worth of YouTube videos before playing that night. You’re looking at the proud winner of eight-thousand euros.” She swipes her hand across her palm, making invisible money fly away. “It wasn’t the full strip-poker experience, but I made it down to my bra. I can’t say the same about the boys though because Maya and I hustled.”