Chapter 20

Jake is actually a fairly competent cyclist. I'm not going to tell him that, though.

Despite his obvious skill, I still almost instantly regret not accepting the helmet when he offered it to me. But that has less to do with Jake's abilities, and more to do with the general Yorkshire terrain. Refusing the helmet had been mostly a pride thing; he offered it to me because I'm a girl, and that obviously means I need more protection than him. I refused it - because screw him - to prove I'm just as strong as he is. He was the one standing up on the pedals - the one who'd fly over the handlebars in the event of a crash. It's insulting to presume I needed it more purely because of my gender. And so I refused.

But then, almost as soon as he veers off the smooth, tarmacked surface of the roads surrounding the school, and onto the rougher lanes connecting the villages, I grip him. My arms wrap tightly around his waist as if my life depended on it, and I silently curse my constant need t