Page 52 of Don’t Say You’re Sorry (Hawthorne University #2)

“In a minute. I have to give you something else first.” I go to my car and open the boot, digging out the gift I stashed in here just in case he didn’t want the bike.

There would be no point in giving it to him if that were the case.

“It’s from our parents,” I say, handing him the large box.

“They bought it before…” Before my mum left his dad.

He looks disappointed. “Isn’t your mom coming to breakfast with us? She comes every year.”

“She is, but she told me to give you this before we left the house.”

“Oh. Is it motorcycle gear?”

For fuck’s sake . “You suck.”

He laughs and crouches to open his gift, grinning at the black, leather material in his hands. “There are two sets. One must be yours.”

My brows lift. They didn’t tell me they were buying me those. They must have known it would make Easton happy if I was safe while I was riding with him.

“Come here,” he says, and I go to him, taking the motorcycle pants, jacket, and boots he passes me. “Put those on.”

We change right here on the driveway, tossing our street clothes and the bow into the boot of my car. He puts his helmet on before helping me with mine, securing the strap for me.

“Is that tight enough?”

“Yeah.”

Still, he messes with it for a few more moments to ensure it won’t move. Once he’s done, he steps back to look at me properly, and I watch his eyes darken with heat through his open visor. He looks hot as fuck, and I can tell he’s thinking the same about me.

“I’m gonna fuck you while you’re wearing that later.”

“Like a bobble head?” I shake my head side to side.

He playfully smacks the front of my helmet. “So sexy.”

I smirk as he turns, gets on the bike, and starts the engine, watching him for a minute as he gets a feel for it, his hands gripping the handlebars.

“You know how to be a backpack?” he checks.

“Yes,” I say confidently. “Stay close to you. Arms around your waist. Don’t move around. Brace for stops and turns. Lean with you, but not too much, and not too little. Center myself with the bike.”

He stares at me.

“Xavi and Nate were my teachers,” I explain. “There was a demonstration and a test.”

He laughs. “Seriously?”

“They love you, E,” I say softly. “They know what this means to you.”

His arms drop to his sides, and he tips his head back to look at the sky. I wait patiently, giving him all the time he needs.

“You ready?” he asks, holding his hand out to me.

I take it and climb onto the bike behind him, making myself comfortable as I scoot my ass forward and wrap my arms around his waist.

“Are you nervous?” he shouts over the rumble of the engine.

“No,” I shout back. Not anymore. If there’s one person I trust with my life in their hands, it’s Easton. I’m thrilled that I get to be the one to do this with him.

He chose me.

And I’m going to spend the rest of my life choosing him.

I grin as he slowly pulls away toward the street, and even though I can’t see him, I know he’s grinning too.

“Happy birthday, sweetie.” Outside Lucky’s Diner, my mum wraps her arms around Easton, holding him extra tight for a few moments.

He’s still got that huge grin on his face as she pulls back. “Thank you.”

“I told you,” she mutters to me, hugging me next and kissing my cheek. “Are you feeling better now?”

“Yeah.” I laugh. “Thank you for the gear.”

She pats the leather on my chest. “He’s been shitting himself for weeks over giving you this,” she says to Easton as she takes a look at his motorcycle.

“I have not.”

“Liar.”

I roll my eyes, and Easton chuckles as he wraps his arm around my shoulder. “That was fun,” he rasps.

“Did you get hard?” I ask quietly, ensuring only he hears me.

He gives me a sideways look. “I could feel your dick on my ass. What do you think?”

I laugh under my breath.

My mum peeks at us over her shoulder and smiles to herself when she thinks we’re not looking.

“Come on.” She tips her head toward the diner. “I’m starving.” She walks inside, and we follow.

We grab our favorite table at the back next to the jukebox. Easton and I sit on one side while my mum picks a song.

“Bet you it’s Jimmy Eat World,” Easton says to me, smiling when “Hear You Me” starts playing a few seconds later. It’s one of her favorite songs.

“Know it all.” I playfully bump his shoulder with mine. I pick up a menu and open it. “Guess what I’m getting.”

“Pancakes.”

“Nope.” I was totally thinking pancakes.

My mum sits opposite us, and the waitress comes over to ask us what we want to drink. We order a pot of tea, and she tells us she’ll be right back with it.

“What are you getting, Veronica?” Easton asks as he browses the menu. “Adam’s getting pancakes.”

I roll my eyes.

She lifts a brow at us as she picks up her own menu. She looks at it for a few minutes, but it doesn’t seem like she’s actually reading it.

She closes the menu. “I know it’s your birthday, but do you mind if I say something?”

“Sure,” Easton says.

She takes a breath, her voice soft as she looks at us both. “I’m sorry.”

We frown.

“For what?” he asks.

“I thought I was doing the right thing by not getting involved. I told myself that I would let you two work it out yourselves, and if it was meant to be, it would be. I never spoke about it to anyone. I never let on to either of you that I knew there was something going on.” The look in her eyes is filled with guilt as she looks at me.

“I never told you that Easton tried to call you after you left, since I assumed you already knew. I didn’t think it was my place to ask why you never picked up.

And I never told either of you that you were constantly asking about each other while Adam was away.

I realize now that it was a mistake. Maybe if I had meddled, things would have been different, and you wouldn’t have wasted all those years apart. ”

Easton’s shaking his head before she even finishes. “You didn’t know. It’s not your fault.”

“It’s not,” I agree. “I’m sorry for making you feel like it was. I was out of line.”

She waves me off. “Don’t worry about that. You had every right to be angry.”

The waitress comes with our tea, and Veronica pours it for us, asking her to give us a few more minutes before we order.

“Not that it should matter what I think, but I’m okay with you being together,” she assures us, her smile returning. “I won’t get in your way. Neither will your father.”

I sit up straighter. That’s the first time she’s mentioned him in almost a week.

I jump at the opportunity to pry. “Have you spoken to him?”

“Yes.”

“Are you going home soon?”

She doesn’t answer that.

I lean my elbows on the table. “Mum, he?—”

“Adam, if I need you to meddle in my marriage, I’ll let you know.” She winks at me, signaling for the waitress to come back.

She and Easton order French toast. I order pancakes.

My mum and Easton talk about his motorcycle and the ride over while we eat. I mostly stay quiet, happy just to listen. I love their relationship. I love my mum for always treating him like her own—and Easton for letting her in so easily.

Most eight-year-old boys would’ve struggled with a new family suddenly barging into their lives, especially after it had just been him and his dad for so long.

But not Easton. He was my mum and Michael’s biggest supporter when they started dating, and I know he’s still rooting for them now—just like I am.

I said the five words and tore their marriage apart, just as I feared I would, but maybe now we can start to put the pieces back together as a family. Maybe there’s hope for me and Axel too. Maybe someday I’ll be able to look at his face without wanting to throw something at it. Maybe .

After we finish eating, my mum makes up an excuse to leave. It’s only now that I remember she did the same thing on Easton’s eighteenth birthday. She’s giving us time to be alone.

All the little things she does—things she’s been doing for years —are all so obvious to me now. I feel like an idiot for not suspecting she knew about us sooner.

“I get it now,” I say after she’s gone. “She’s good. Subtle.”

“To you, maybe.” Easton laughs.

I huff. “You’re better at reading people than I am.”

“It’s my hidden talent.” He shrugs, turning his head toward me and kissing my lips. “Are you still working tonight?”

“Yeah.” I sigh. “It’s impossible to get a Saturday off. You don’t have to come though. Stay at home with the others if you want to.” I brush his nose with mine. “Say it’s okay and I’ll wake you up with my mouth when I get home.”

A little smirk touches his lips. “You have my consent to do that whenever you want, but no. I’m not letting you go to work alone.”

I didn’t think so.

Later that night, Easton and I walk toward the back door of The Hideaway hand in hand.

He said he wanted to drink tonight, and he didn’t want to leave his motorcycle in the car park, so we took an Uber.

As usual, my upper body is covered in new marks on top of old ones beneath my clothes.

I won’t be dancing on the podium tonight, but I couldn’t tell him that, so I shut my mouth and let him do his thing.

Not including the nights he has a game to play, he’s been tagging along for every one of my shifts, keeping me company at the bar before it gets too busy, and then watching me from afar.

It’s not that I don’t love having him there, but he has his own life, and I want him to live it.

I want him to feel sure enough about us that he can let me out of his sight for more than a few hours.

I want him to trust me enough to know I’ll come home to him.

Before we get to the employee entrance, he turns me to face him, clutching the back of my neck. “Do something for me tonight.”

I search his eyes. “Name it.”

“I’m gonna kiss you in front of all my friends. I want you to let me.”

I narrow my eyes into thin slits. Motherfucker . “I was planning on it.”

He grins.

I glare, then sigh. “Who told you?”