Page 6 of Rush

“Jamo!” Braysen yells to my back. “Are you not hitting the race tonight?”

Glancing over my shoulder, I nod my chin. “Eating first. We’ll meet you there.”

Braysen smirks and shakes his head. “Tell Sammy thanks for being my good luck charm tonight.”

I stop dead in my tracks and turn around, fully ready to put my best friend to the ground, when Luca steps in, humor dancing in his eyes.

“He’s fucking with you, man. C’mon, you know we both see Sam as our friend too.”

My gaze hardens on Braysen then slips to Luca. “She’s mine.”

“We know.” Luca taps my shoulder, encouraging me to keep moving, as Braysen just laughs in the background.

“I don’t have time for this,” I mutter under my breath and stalk out of the locker room. The need to get to my girl and get her fed before I can even think about what happens next is my sole focus. Ignoring everyone who tries to talk to me, I keep my eyes forward, my face blank, until I reach the doors to the lobby of the arena and step through. Only then does my chest instantly release, and my face relaxes. Sam is waiting just like I told her to. Her legging-covered legs are crossed, one over the other, while she leans against the wall. One of her hands is in her jacket pocket, and the other is holding her phone, scrolling through something. As if sensing that I’m in the room, just like I do her, her eyes snap up, searching. When she finds me, her lips break into a smile, and she pushes off the wall, heading right toward me. I stop, waiting, needing to feel the impact of her body against mine. Sam has to stand on her toes in order to loop her arms around my neck. My arms instantly clasp around her waist, holding her heart next to mine. She smells good, my favorite combination of vanilla and coconut. She feels warm in my hold and soft, so fucking soft, and delicate that it makes me want to just sweep her off her feet and protect her. I would carry her everywhere if I could.

“Can we go to Mario’s?” she asks as I set her back on her feet and take her hand in mine.

My lips twitch, trying not to laugh at how well I already anticipated this. “I’m taking you to the diner. You need an actual meal with some chicken and veggies, not pizza. We can get Mario’s this weekend.”

I lead her out to my car, mentally tallying how much extra work I’ll owe my dad this week to have the cash, but there’s no way I won’t make sure she gets both meals this week.

“You’re too good to me.” Sam huffs, and I glance down at her, seeing the slight pout on her lips. She knows I’m right about what she needs for food, but I wholly disagree with what else she said.

“I’m not too good to you. You’re important to me. I should know and anticipate everything you need.”

Sam giggles, the sound soft, while I help her into my car first, so she can turn the heat on before I place my bag in the trunk. After getting in, I drive us into the town of Crimson Bay and pull into the diner's parking lot. It's already starting to overflow with other teens, both from our school and the town’s private academy, All Saints. I park the car and get out, eyeing everyone and everything around me, checking for any hidden danger that could be lurking nearby before opening Sam’s door for her. She gets out, her hand landing on my chest, and once again her eyes shine up at me. I wonder if she knows what I’m doing or if she even cares, but with her hand on my chest, I feel like I can take a breath. My hand covers hers, and I hold it at my side while we walk in. Finding a spot to sit is easy enough, despite the crowd. I sit so I can keep my eyes on the doors and on the rowdy tables around us while she eats. At one point, my gaze knocks with Reign Thorn’s, but he’s more interested in seeing if anyone else is in our booth. He has a slight obsession with Sam’s friend, Riley, even though they both actually hate each other.

“Are Luca or Braysen joining us?” Sam pulls my attention back to her. A smile forms on my lips at the menu in her hands. She has a habit of looking over everything, deciding between two things, but always ends up getting her usual: a chicken, bacon, ranch wrap.

“Nah, they have plans,” I tell her, keeping my tone calm. Not that it helps any; this girl knows me just as well as I know her. Blue eyes widening with excitement, she leans forward toward me.

“The Landing?”

She whispers it like a secret when, in reality, it’s a wide-known place amongst certain crowds. The Landing is the dirt track on the outskirts of town where people go to race cars and sometimes bikes. It's the best kept, yet known secret in the Bay. I nod silently at her when our waitress comes to take our order, catching the little smile Sam has on her lips. Once we order, Sam takes a drink of her water before her face turns serious.

“I want to go with you.”

My head tilts. “I didn’t plan for you to be anywhere else, Sammy.”

She nods, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip in a way that makes my chest feel tighter. “Would you tell me if you didn’t want me to go? Like if you just wanted time with the guys or away from me.”

Her questions leave me reeling. I feel sucker punched for a second, trying to grasp what she said. The more the words flash in my head, the angrier I become. “I don’t want time away from you.”

Sam shifts in her seat, and I notice for the first time that she looks sad and unsure of herself. Her eyes fall to the table, and her fingers tremble slightly. “I don’t want that either, but I’m just saying if you didn’t want me to go, if you wanted to just be with the guys and stuff, I could go home.”

My eyes narrow on her. Her voice wavered on the last words, and she won’t look at me now. This goes deeper than just a question on if I want a guys’ night without her. My heart pinches in my chest. “Who said something to you?”

“Jameson—”

“No.” I give my head a little shake. “Who said something?”

Sam huffs and drops her hands back into her lap. “It’s not just someone. And no one says it to me directly. More like it's implied.”

Now I’m really confused, and I don’t like the direction this conversation is going either. “Pretty Girl, I need you to just spell it out for me, okay. Because I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“There’s just a lot of talk sometimes. In the stands and in school.” Sam takes in a deep breath and blows it out slowly. I watch the entire time her cheeks puff out and shrink back down. Her eyes meet mine, and I flinch from the flare of pain in her gaze. “A lot of people think I’m holding you back. Well, girls mostly. A lot of them know we’re friends, but they think I’m blocking their chance of being with you.”

Of all the things that she could have said, I’m not surprised that this topic finally made its way between us. What does surprise me, though, is how hurt she looks. Considering Sam is the only girl I allow in my space, and I actively spend all my free time with her, I didn’t think she would question her importance to me. I’ve heard the same grumblings for years from jersey-chasing girls who are never going to get me. And I’ve stopped more than a few advances from guys who wanted Sam. I’m not ashamed of it. She is mine; I’ve just been waiting for her to catch up. I know I can’t rush Sam. I also know my girl is goal-oriented. She has plans, literal written down to-do lists, for each year in high school, college and beyond. I am not going to put my needs above her goals. Instead, I work in the background, making sure she gets everything she wants while also being the most important person in her life. This is the first time, though, that she’s brought up other girls saying shit to her.