The Rebel of Raleigh High (Raleigh Rebels #1) - Callie Hart Page 0,50

I get the same, familiar burst of adrenalin I always get when I start up any motorcycle. A smile spreads on my face, so broad and wide that my cheeks begin to hurt. “Fuck, man. This thing really sings.”

Leon folds his arms over his chest, nodding, but I can see it in his eyes—the sound of this engine doesn't light a match inside him the way it does with me. It goes without saying that Leon's not really a greaser; if he were, he'd be raving about these bikes right now, pointing out every small detail of their engines and their specifications, a fire burning in his eyes. The way he looks at them, they could be interesting ornaments on a mantlepiece.

I kill the engine, still grinning. “So, Jake stole that girl from you? Don’t take this the wrong way,” I tell him, “but honestly…I thought you were gay, man.”

Leon’s tenses up, his spine straightening, eyes widening a fraction. “What? I mean, why would you say that?”

“I don’t know. I just…” I shrug, patting the bike’s gas tank. “Sorry if I’m way off. It’s just what I figured when I met you earlier.”

His eyes narrow. He doesn't seem angry, though. Accuse some guys of being gay, and you'll earn yourself a split lip and a trip to the emergency room. Leon just seems confused. “Am I super effeminate or something?”

“No, man. You’re just…you’re a guy. You’re you. Whatever.”

Leon rocks on his heels. There really isn't any physical reason I would have thought he was into dudes. You meet some people and you know instantly, because of the way they speak or gesticulate, or because of the specific things they say. That didn't happen with Leon. It just seemed true. “No one's ever said that to me before,” he says tightly.

I begin to think I might have overstepped, which kinda sucks. I don’t want to fight him. He’s a big guy, but I’m more than capable of kicking his ass. Leon’s big and broad with a huge fucking reach on him, but he’s not a brawler. No fucking way. He shifts from one foot to the other, his eyes sharp, searching my face. “You don’t give a shit, do you?” he says, the statement an accusation.

“I’m sorry?”

“You wouldn't give a shit if I were gay, would you?”

I jerk my head back, my mouth turning down as I consider what he’s just said. “No. Of course not. Why would I?” I wait for him to say something back, but he doesn’t. He doesn’t move for a second. He just stands there, hands still in his pockets, eyes boring into me…and I realize that he’s holding his breath. Eventually, he shakes himself, as if he’s coming back to life, and scuffs the sole of his shoe against the buffed concrete floor.

“Well I’m not gay gay,” he says stiffly. “Obviously, otherwise I wouldn’t have been with Kacey. I like guys and girls. Anyway, let me know if you wanna use this place to work on your bike sometime,” he adds, changing the subject rather clunkily. “I’m never in here. Seems like a shame to let everything just…sit.”

I recognize that as our cue to leave. I climb off the back of the bike and take my drink from him, swallowing down half the liquor inside in one go. I finally feel the effects of the booze, my legs beginning to feel heavier and heavier as we walk back up the slope toward the house.

“You ask me, you’re better off without that Kacey chick, anyway,” I tell him. “She’s a piece of work. Probably would have bitten your dick off if you’d put a foot wrong.”

Leon glances at me out of the corner of his eye. “You’re more right than you know. Kacey’s beautiful. Popular. Fun. But Jesus fucking Christ, her teeth are sharp. Cross her or any of the other girls at your own peril.”

I laugh under my breath, draining the last dregs of the punishing drink. “Don’t worry. I’m not interested in any of those dumpster fire bitches.”

“No. You’re only interested in the weird, quirky, indie outcasts, I s’pose?”

I say nothing, but we trade dry looks and it’s very obvious who and what he’s referring to.

“I won’t tell you to be careful of that one,” Leon says, rubbing at the back of his neck awkwardly. “I know Jake’s already done that.”

“Do I really need a warning?”

For a moment, Leon looks uncomfortable. “I don’t know the details. I can’t say either way. That night just