The Captain's Dirty Little Secret

Chapter 43: Chapter 43 - Home Safe

”It’s him, isn’t it?”

She did not answer.

Ethan opened the throttle, and the motorcycle shot forward, the wind whipping past them harder as Roxie wrapped her arms tight around his waist and pressed the helmet against his back. Trees and streetlights blurred around them. The headlights behind them grew smaller, then smaller still, until they disappeared into the dark.

They got away.

But Roxie’s heart kept pounding like it had no idea the chase was over. The memory of Zac’s kiss refused to fade. It lingered on her lips, warm and electric, making her feel things she did not want to feel.

Especially not about him.

The motorcycle finally slowed as Ethan pulled into a brightly lit gas station on the edge of town.

The engine rumbled low before going quiet, and Roxie stayed seated for a second longer than necessary, trying to steady herself. The cool night air felt sharp against her flushed skin when she climbed off. Her legs still felt shaky, which was rude considering she needed them to act normal immediately.

She pulled the helmet off and handed it back.

The fluorescent lights overhead buzzed softly, casting harsh white light across the pavement. A few cars sat at the pumps, but the station was mostly empty this late.

Ethan swung his leg over the bike and stood, watching her closely. Right now his eyes were serious, fixed on her with real concern.

”I can bring you all the way home,” he said, voice low and steady. ”No questions. Or at least most of the way. You do not have to walk from here.”

She shook her head quickly and stepped back. ”No. Thank you, Ethan. Really. I mean it. You did not have to do any of this, but this is enough. I can get home from here.”

Ethan frowned. ”Roxie.”

”We should not get any closer than this,” she said, forcing herself to meet his eyes. ”You know that. I know that. Tonight already got too messy.”

He ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated but trying to stay calm. ”Is this about Prescott? Why the hell was he chasing after you like that?”

The moment he said Zac’s name, Roxie looked away. Her face warmed again, fresh heat rushing up her neck and into her cheeks. She could still feel Zac’s hand on her face, the taste of him, and the way her body had betrayed her so completely.

She bit her lip without thinking.

Wrong decision.

The memory of his mouth flashed through her so strongly that she nearly shivered.

Ethan noticed. His jaw tightened, and something darker crossed his expression. He looked pissed. Not just concerned anymore.

”Roxxane, talk to me. Did he do something? Did he hurt you? Because if that asshole—”

”Leave it, Ethan,” she cut in, sharper than she meant to sound.

He stared at her.

She looked down at the cracked pavement. ”Just go. Please. Or I will not contact you ever. Not even in the DMs. I mean it.”

Ethan did not move. He stood there under the gas station lights, looking at her like he was trying to read every secret she was hiding. He did not want to leave her like this. She could see that, and somehow it made her feel worse.

”Roxxane, come on,” he said. ”I am not just going to drive off and leave you here.”

”Go,” she said, softer this time but firm. ”Go before I cut everything between us. I need to be alone right now.”

Ethan hesitated for a long moment. Then he let out a heavy breath and nodded.

”Fine. But DM me when you get home, or I will worry all night.”

She nodded once.

He climbed back onto the motorcycle, put his helmet on, and started the engine. The roar filled the quiet gas station as he gave her one last look before pulling away.

She should have felt relieved. Ethan was gone. Zac was gone. The chase was over. Nobody was grabbing her wrist, nobody was saying her name like it meant something, and nobody was looking at her like they had just found the one weak spot she forgot to hide.

She was safe. Technically.

Her fingers rose to her mouth before she could stop them.

The second she touched her lips, the memory of Zac came back so fast it was embarrassing.

Roxie groaned and dropped her hand.

”Oh my God,” she whispered.

A man at one of the pumps glanced over.

She immediately looked away and pretended the cracked pavement was extremely interesting.

Then she looked down and realized she was still holding Ethan’s hoodie and cap and wearing Zac’s jacket.

The mask was gone.

She had no idea where she had dropped it.

She took off his jacket, pressed it to her face and shut her eyes.

No. She was not thinking about that again.

Except she was already thinking about it again.

She put the jacket back on because it was chilly. That was the only reason.

Roxie turned toward the sidewalk and started walking before she could stand there long enough to become an official gas station concern. The streets were mostly empty, the kind of quiet that usually made her alert and careful, but tonight her brain was too busy attacking her from every direction to care properly.

What had she done?

Seriously. What had she done?

She had kissed Zac Prescott. Actually kissed him. There was no way to dress that up as an accident, because he had kissed her and she had stood there like every warning signal in her body had suddenly decided to take the night off.

Worse, she had liked it.

”This is Ethan’s fault,” she muttered.

It made sense. Sort of.

If Ethan had stayed wherever Fairmont boys stayed when they were not ruining lives, Zac would not have chased her, and if Zac had not chased her, maybe he would not have kissed her.

Her brain supplied the obvious correction.

You kissed him back.

Roxie tightened her grip on the hoodie.

”Shut up.”

A woman walking a small dog on the other side of the street gave her a cautious look.

Roxie kept walking faster.

By the time she reached her neighborhood, the panic had shifted into a strange, buzzing embarrassment that made her skin feel too tight. She kept replaying the same parts, then getting mad at herself for replaying them, then replaying them again because apparently that was who she was now.

A girl with no sense.

She was so busy mentally dragging herself that she did not notice the black car parked near her house.

She walked past it without looking.

She was already halfway to the porch when his voice cut through the quiet.

”Roxie.”

She stopped so fast her shoes scraped against the walkway.

Her heart jumped hard enough to make her clutch the jacket tighter before she turned around.

She did not notice Zac’s car parked near her house..

For half a second, relief crossed his expression before something sharper replaced it. His eyes moved past her immediately, scanning the street behind her like he was checking whether she had come alone.

Zac pushed away from the car. ”He let you walk home alone?”

Roxie let out a flat laugh. ”Wow.”

”What?”

”You are unbelievable.” Her patience snapped thin. ”I told him to go, okay? Now go away too.”

Zac sighed. ”I’m sorry.”

The fight faded from his face, like he had decided asking about Ethan was not worth losing the little ground he had left. His eyes stayed on her.

”We need to talk.”

”I am not ready to talk to you after that,” she said, forcing the words out before she could lose her nerve. ”I’m not ready to talk about the carnival, or Ethan, or whatever you think happened. I need you to go home.”

Zac’s jaw tightened. ”I can stay until you get inside.”

”No.”

”I’ll wait in the truck.”

”No.”

”Roxie.”

She turned toward the porch. ”Go home, Zac.”

”Roxie.”

”One more word and I will never talk to you again.”

His throat moved. ”Okay. I just wanted to make sure you got home safe.”

Roxie opened the door before her face could betray her any further. ”Good night, Zac.”

He did not answer right away.

She almost looked back.

Then he said, very quietly, ”Good night, Roxie.”

She stepped inside and shut the door before she could change her mind.

The lock clicked too loudly in the quiet house.

For a few seconds, Roxie stood there with one hand still on the knob, breathing hard and listening for his truck to start. It did not happen immediately. He stayed out there, probably staring at the door, being stubborn, making this harder than it already was.

Then, finally, the engine turned over.

Only when the sound faded down the street did Roxie’s knees give out.

She slid down the front door and sat on the floor, pressing both hands to her face as the night caught up with her all at once.

She had kissed Zac Prescott.

Tomorrow, he would be everywhere. School. Practice. Lunch. Every hallway with people watching.

Roxie groaned into her hands.

This was going to ruin her week.