TESSA
A week later, Jaxson told me he had a surprise for me.
He said it casually, like it wasn’t something that had clearly been sitting in his chest all day. We were in the car, late evening, the city lights sliding past us, and he kept glancing at me like he was checking to see if I was still there. Like I might disappear if he didn’t look often enough.
I didn’t ask questions. I’d learned that some moments are better when you let them unfold on their own.
He drove out of the city, further than I expected. The roads emptied, the noise faded, and eventually we pulled into a quiet stretch of expressway. Empty. Still. The kind of place where your thoughts get louder if you let them.
When I stepped out of the car, I saw them.
Two bikes.
Parked side by side. Waiting.
My breath caught s
