“Freak,” I say.

My purse is wrapped around my body, and my hair is in a loose braid tucked under the helmet. Masen sits astride the motorcycle, waiting for me to get on. “If you plan on making it to school, we need to get going.” I reluctantly lift my leg and slide behind him. My breasts touch his back when I lean forward to put my arms around his waist as instructed. Masen grabs me behind my knees and yanks me forward. My breath leaves my lungs in a huff as every part of my body molds to his. “I like this, we may never ride in a car again,” he muses.

Minutes later, we’re flying down the road headed to my house. It’s still early so there’s not much traffic, we make it in fifteen minutes. My legs are wiggly when I step off, but man, was it fun. “I liked that very much, Masen. Thank you,” I say sincerely.

“No need to thank me, baby. I’ll give you a ride anytime.” He winks.

I show him around my house and tell him to have a seat while I get changed. I already washed my face last night when I changed into Masen’s shirt, so I put on what little makeup I wear and re-braid my hair. I throw on a new pair of jeans over clean panties and a sheer gray sleeveless shirt the black bra I just put on is barely visible. Lastly, I grab my favorite, old gringo cowboy boots.

When I walk out, Masen is in the kitchen trying to figure out how to work my Keurig. “I know you want coffee. I was trying to help, but I can’t find where the coffee goes.” I laugh and show him the K-cups and how to load it up.

“There’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

I can tell it’s serious. “Yeah?”

He clears his throat. “Other than Cass, I’d rather you didn’t tell anyone we met five years ago. Like I was telling you yesterday, Mates have never been identified before their first shift. I’m not sure if it means anything, but I’d like to be sure before anyone else knows.”

“Okay, I can do that.” No problem. I don’t want people to know that either.

“One more thing, Little One.” He points to my chest. “Are you trying to kill me, or have me kill someone else?” He says seriously.

I smack his arm and make my coffee to go. “How am I going to bring my coffee?”

“You can just hold it. School’s only a couple blocks, and I’ll drive slow.” I grab my book bag and lock up.

Holding the cup wasn’t too bad. I’ll just have to start getting it at campus. Calm down, Sophia, he’s not offering to drive you to school every day.

When we pull up, it’s seven-fifty. The parking lot is a lot fuller than Monday. Every head turns with the sound of the loud engine. Ugh, I knew this would happen. When I get off, he turns the engine off, takes the helmet I had on, and places it on the seat. He looks around. Gone is the playful Masen. His face is hard as he puts my hand on his elbow. “Where’s your first class, Little One?” His voice is at odds with his face, so gentle.