Sommerstall Academy

Chapter 6

Florence

After telling Elija I'm sure he should come to my place, I grab his wrist, catching myself too late to pull back again. With the intention of not making more of a fool out of myself, I keep my hand where it is and gently start tugging him away. I'm really glad he could grab his backpack on our way to the door.

I pretty much speed walk out of the building and towards the parking lot, scared my hand will grow clammy and nasty. When we finally reach my Vespa, I hand him my helmet. It's cute how he tries to fight me on the topic, insisting I need it more if we fall. In the end, he doesn't stand a chance of winning the argument. I'm my parents' daughter after all.

"Why am I not surprised it's mint-colored?"

"What's wrong with it?" I ask him, trying to see what he does when he looks at my baby.

"Nothing's wrong with it. It suits you." I decide to believe his comment is meant well judging from the genuine smile on his lips.

"Get on first. You can place your feet here," I instruct him before sitting down in front of him. "Just hold on tight, okay?" I don't hear his response over my heart pounding in my ears but his strong arms wrap around my waist from behind. After being too distracted to move for a second, Elija speaks up.

"Any moment now," he teases me. What he didn't anticipate was that feeling his warm breath fanning against my neck wouldn't do anything for my concentration.

I pull myself together and start driving home. As soon as I gain speed and the warm air turns to a cool wind, I'm able to relax. It's always been like this. No matter how stressed I am, one minute on my scooter and I feel better.

I tilt my head back slightly, still watching the road but relishing in the feeling to drive without a helmet for once. I'm always responsible when it comes to that but I have to admit driving like this with a cute guy at my back awakes so much adrenalin I feel like I'm floating.

"Easy, there. If you go any faster, it'll get expensive." Elija laughs behind me so I slow down a bit.

"Sorry," I yell back, only partly meaning it.

We arrive at my place way too soon and I lead him into my room after putting my Vespa in the garage.

"Are your parents not home?" he asks me while scanning my room. I'm suddenly glad I always keep my room clean.

"Nope, they're in the Bahamas. They take small vacations about once a month." I sit down on my bed and watch him look at the ripped-out book pages on my wall. Relax, I bought second-hand's in bad conditions to do it. I'm not a monster.

"They just left you behind to fend for yourself, huh?" he says it so lightly I feel silly for taking it personally. Truth is, I do feel like they abandon me sometimes. Like they jump at any chance to get as far away from me as possible.

Not wanting to let Elija know he hit a soft spot, I take extra care to keep my smile in place. I'd say he's quite perceptive since he was the only one that could tell I hurt my shoulder a week ago.

"Yes, my life is truly challenging," I swoon dramatically and get to enjoy his soft laughter in return.

"So no siblings?" he asks me as he moves on to check out the pictures and plants on my desk.

"Nope. What about you?"

"Three. One older brother, Kai, and two younger siblings, Daniel and May." There's an easy smile resting on his face and I'm embarrassed to admit it evokes envy inside of me. I wonder what it would have been like to grow up with siblings. Maybe my parents would have stuck around more.