Phoenix:
The moment the shop clock struck five, I moved like a bullet.
I didn't even bother to say goodbye. I threw down my wrench, ripped off the oil-stained gloves, and bolted across the lot with my heart trying to outrun me. My boots hit the pavement like thunder, pounding out the rhythm of a storm building inside me.
All day, I’d been trying to outrun this… whatever this was. I worked twice as hard, stayed elbows deep in grease, hoping maybe the ache in my arms would drown out the ache in my chest. But it didn’t. It never does. Not with him. Not with Ryder.
I got home and barely had the presence of mind to strip and jump in the shower. My muscles screamed the second hot water hit them. Every place he touched me… burned. I tilted my head back under the spray, eyes closed, trying not
