Chapter 23

Friday had always been my favourite day of the week, but having it also be the last day of school topped every other Friday in my life. Thirteen years of what at most times felt like torture was going to be over in a few hours.

The principal stood on the stage at the front of the hall, giving us our last lecture on how our lives would change after we left the room that day. He told us when we could expect our year-twelve results and how proud he and the staff were of us and our accomplishments. I zoned out, thinking about how I couldn't wait to see my friends from Sydney. Even though I would be celebrating Schoolies with Lilly, my real celebration wouldn't be until my Sydney friends arrived next week.

Lilly leaned over and whispered, "How much longer do you think he's going to go on?"

I shrugged. "Does he usually talk this much?"

"Yep. He loves the sound of his own voice." She tapped my knee and pointed to my right.

The guy in the row in front of us had fallen asleep. His head was hanging forward, and saliva had started to pool at the edges of his lips.

"That's so gross."

"But funny."

The guy started leaning farther and farther forward in his chair. Then he was startled awake just before he almost face-planted on the floor. Lilly and I both started snickering.

"Hey, what time do you want to check in to the hotel?" she asked, trying to stifle another giggle.

Schoolies didn't officially start until Saturday, but everyone was checking in on Friday. School was over, and no one wanted to wait that extra day.

"Jett has a surprise for me after this, but I think we'll be ready by about three. I've given the hotel your name, so you can check in earlier if you want."

"Cool. The sooner I can get away from Mum, the better. I've so had enough of her slave driving."

She wasn't the only one who was glad to finally get a parent off her back. My father wasn't there to make me study, but his threat of a babysitter was probably worse.

I smirked. "And order anything you want. It's the least my father can do, considering he hasn't even called me to congratulate me or anything."

She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

Forty minutes later, we were finally free.

"I am so not going to miss this place," Lilly said, eyeing Tyler and his friends as they walked ahead of us and exited the hall.

I still didn't know what had actually happened between Lilly and those guys, but I was hoping to get her to talk about it during Schoolies. Having a few drinks usually loosened up a girl, and maybe she would start talking. And never having to face them at school again might also be an incentive.

Stepping out into the bright sunlight was like being reborn. I was officially an adult—no more having to listen to my father and no more threats of a babysitter.

"Congratulations," Jett said, wrapping his arms around my waist and lifting me into the air. He hugged me before putting me back down. He looked over at Lilly. "Congrats to you, too, Lilly."

"Thanks," she said, her cheeks turning rosy.

We stepped to the side to get out of the flood of students.

"Do you want a lift home?" I asked Lilly.

She looked at Jett. "Don't you have something planned?"

"Oh, yeah. The surprise." I leaned my back against Jett's chest and looked up at him. "We can take her home first, right?"

He shook his head. "Sorry. There's no room."

I spun around. "What?"

He grinned. "You'll see."

"Sorry," I told her.

Lilly had the same confused look on her face that I imagined was on mine. "That's okay. I'll catch the bus. I've done it a million times before. What's one last time?"

"Those dicks aren't on your bus, are they?" I didn't want her having to deal with them on her own, especially confined to such a small area.

She shook her head. "No. Thank God."

We walked toward the gate. The parking bay was to the left, and the bus stop was to the right. I stopped short when I saw that my car wasn't parked in the loading zone or the disabled spot. Instead, Jett's motorbike was standing in the loading zone. A helmet with a pink bow on top was perched on the seat.

I shook my head violently. "Oh, no, no, no."

Jett nodded just as vigorously, grinning the whole time. "Yes, yes, yes."

I had said before that I thought riding behind Jett would be sexy, but when it came to the crunch, all I could think about was my face splattered on the asphalt.

"Holy shit!" Lilly shrieked. "I can't believe you bought Zara her own helmet."

Jett deflated a little. "Somehow I don't think she's as excited as we are."

My eyebrows shot up. "You think? You know those things are a death wish. One accident and they're either scraping your body parts off the road, or you're wishing they were because you're in so much pain from all the skin grafts, amputations, and broken bones."

"Wow," Lilly said. "That's pretty extreme, isn't it?"

"Extreme, maybe. But I went to school with a guy who had a bike accident, and let's just say it wasn't pretty."

"But I'm not that guy." Jett put his hands on my shoulders. "And I'm not going to crash."

"How do you know? Some idiot could crash into you, and that's it for us."

"Come for one ride with me, and if you don't like it, I'll never ask you again."

I was about to say, "No way," when he pushed out his bottom lip.

"Don't be a chicken shit," Lilly said.

I cringed. That was the same thing the girls had said on the bridge. If I hadn't jumped then, I wouldn't have been assaulted. And if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have gotten to see my black-eyed boy, who I was sure was the guy wanting to take me for a ride on his bike.

I let out a dramatic sigh. "Okay. I'll go for one ride."

"Yay." Lilly clapped.

Jett grabbed my hand and dragged me over to the bike. "You won't regret this."

He ripped the pink bow off the top of my new helmet and tossed it to Lilly. After putting the helmet on my head, he fastened it then gave it a knock on top. "You look so hot in that." He kissed my nose.

"Come on and get on the bike," Lilly said. "I want to see this before I miss my bus."

Jett climbed on first. I sucked in a deep breath then swung my leg over, wrapped my arms around his waist, and held on for dear life.

"Easy." He laughed.

"Sorry."

He started the engine then waved at Lilly. "See you later."

"See you." She waved. "Have fun!"

I leaned my cheek against his back and closed my eyes. A second later, I felt the bike move. I opened my eyes, thinking it wasn't that bad, then I realised we were just pulling onto the road. He twisted the throttle, and I let out a scream as we began to fly down the street. I thought I'd be terrified, but I wasn't. There was something about zooming through the streets, the wind lashing against me, that made me feel free.

Loosening my grip on Jett, I sat up and enjoyed the ride. After going on the highway, weaving in and out of traffic, Jett took an exit and some more turns until I was completely lost. He drove up a mountain road then stopped at a grassy lookout.

I got off the bike and removed my helmet. "That was friggin awesome!"

He took off his helmet and laughed. "Told you."

"What is this place?" I asked, looking at the buildings in the distance. I could see the skyscrapers from one end of the Coast to the other. "The view is amazing."

"The Panorama."

He grabbed my hand and tugged me toward a small boulder. He sat next to me, looking unsure of himself, which was really odd.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Jett put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small box—a jewellery box! What the hell? We'd only known each other for just over a week, and he was buying me jewellery. I hoped it wasn't a ring because that would've been way too creepy.

"Relax," he said with a smile.

My cheeks flushed. I was such an idiot.

"I wanted to get you something for graduating, and I didn't know if this would be too much too soon but..." He shrugged and handed me the box.

Nervous, I opened the lid and just about died. "Oh, my God," I whispered as I looked at the custom-made platinum and diamond necklace in the same shape as the tattoo covering his neck and shoulder. It had to be worth a fortune. "This is too much." I pushed the box back into his hand.

"No, it's not." He gently pulled the necklace from the box and held an end in each hand.

Lifting my hair, I turned around, and Jett leaned in and clasped the necklace around my neck. Inhaling deeply, he kissed the side of my neck then slowly worked his way down to the pendant, leaving a trail of kisses in his path.

"Thank you," I whispered. "It's beautiful."