Free Roll Me Away: A Smokey's Roadhouse Novel by Jessa Jacobs Page B

Wyoming on a stolen bike.
    Excusing myself, I went to meet her.
    “Hey, Cricket. Good to see you.” She craned her neck, trying to see around me to the group at the table I’d left. “He’s not there, sorry.”
    “Where is he?”
    “That seems to be a bit of a mystery. If you want, I’ll walk you over to the motel, see if he’s in his room. No guarantees.”
    “That would be great, Zach.” She smiled at me and suddenly the sun was brighter. Fuck me. I had the hots for this girl, and all she could talk about was fucking Jake. But at least she knew my name. Maybe when she figured out he was a player, she’d need someone to pick up the pieces.
    I’ll be there for you, sweetheart.
    I could feel the eyes of the brothers on my back, so I turned and waved at them, then took Cricket’s elbow and turned her toward the exit. Catcalls and hoots followed us out. I cringed when I heard Gears’ voice yelling, “I’m next!”
    I’d have pretended it wasn’t my friends yelling, if she hadn’t turned to me with a frown on her face. “What does he mean?”
    “Never mind. He’s an asshole. Just trying to get to me. Don’t worry about it.”
    She stayed silent, but a quick look at her face revealed she was still frowning. Thanks a lot, buddy. You’ve just made it twice as hard for me.

    Cricket
    E ver since I ’d seen Zach outside the motel this morning, I’d been wondering whether to go to that bar or not. How lame was it to chase after someone like Jake? He was famous, and I was a nobody. But I felt I needed some closure. Even just to talk to him. Had it been as intense for him as it had for me? Probably not. I guess he hadn’t passed out. Jeez, what a stupid thing to do. I didn’t even know if he’d climaxed.
    Or, what if he’d just kept fucking me, even though I was unconscious? That would have been creepy, right? Or maybe he didn’t notice? But yeah, he’d taken me to Zach so someone would take care… Wait. Why hadn’t he taken care of me himself?
    I’d pretended to have a headache when the family came over and paraded through my shower one by one. Mom offered to stay with me while the others took in some of the races, but I told her I just wanted to sleep it off. From the corner of my eye, I saw Egghead mime taking a swig of beer, but I didn’t have the heart to fight with him about it. Dad herded the others out and then turned back to me.
    “Cricket, honey. I know you’re an adult, but I want you to know your mom and I are here for you if you need us. It’s okay to overindulge once in a while, but please don’t do it every night. You won’t enjoy the rally that way, and it’s a bad example for your brother and sister. Okay?”
    “Okay, Dad. Would you turn out the light?”
    He came over and kissed my forehead. “Sure, honey. Trust me, I’ve had a hangover before, and I know it’s no fun. Let’s make this the last one, okay?”
    “Yeah, Dad.”
    At last, they were gone, and I could get back to thinking about what to do. Chase Jake to get closure? Or let it go, chalk it up to one crazy impulse, and go back to my tame family vacation? Or, dare I hope? Chase Jake and have a repeat performance, this time while fully conscious the whole time?
    By early afternoon, I’d made my decision. One way or another, I had to see Jake. I’d hate myself if it were left up in the air like this. I had to know if he hated me for leaving him high and dry, or if there was another chance to make it right. Making it permanent was out of the question, for many reasons. I knew that, even if my emotions insisted on keeping the option open.
    I got up and took another shower, with the intention of making myself as alluring as possible to a bad boy biker.

    I t was disappointing to learn from Zach that Jake wasn’t at the bar after all. But then he offered to walk me over to the motel and see if Jake was in his room. My grandmother used to say ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’, and I knew it fit this situation. I’d