Taking It All Read online

  "'Fun'," said Leon, a smirk forming on his face. "That' what this is about? You just wanting to have some fun? Something tells me that you're not being entirely truthful."

  Jade felt her face turn a deep red.

  "What do you mean?" she asked.

  "Let me guess," said Leon, leaning against one of the thick-trunked trees that lined the walkway to the building. "Flirting with danger was something that a sheltered girl like you hadn't really done before. And now that you've gotten a little taste, you need more excitement."

  Jade didn't know what to say- he was dead-on.

  "Maybe," said Jade, her voice coming out small.

  "And what, you expect me to be your little tour guide for this?"

  "I mean, you don't have to, but I just figured you'd rather show me some places yourself instead of me having to wander around in your part of town for some excitement."

  "You keep wandering around my part of town like the clueless co-ed you are and you'll likely find more than ‘excitement'," Leon said, his voice stern.

  Leon looked away for a moment before letting out a sigh of surrender.

  "Fine," he said. "But only because I don't trust you to go looking for danger on your own without getting in too far over your head."

  "Works for me," said Jade.

  "Here's the deal: I've got some work to get done today, so give me your number and I'll text you with where and when to meet. And don't bother me – I'll message you when I'm ready."

  "OK!" said Jade, the word coming out in a more chipper tone than she'd intended.

  Jade gave Leon her number and he sent her a text so she'd have his.

  "Thanks," said Jade. "Thanks for doing this."

  "Don't get too used to it," said Leon. "The second that our little danger starts bumping up against my family, work, or school obligations, we're done. So get while the getting's good."

  "Will do," said Jade.

  "Now," said Leon. "The library's that way, so you're going that way."

  "Oh, OK," said Jade.

  With that, Leon headed off. As soon as Leon was out of view, Jade looked at the text that Leon had sent her, Jade's heart beating faster the longer she stared at it.

  What the hell is wrong with me? she thought, heading in the direction of her dorm. I've known this guy for two days and I'm already acting like a giddy kid.

  She put the matter out of her mind as best she could. Once she got back to her dorm room, she did everything she could to not focus on how slowly time seemed to pass as she waited for Leon to text her. Finally deciding to do some more work, she sat down at her laptop and finished the last bit of her writing assignment. Once she typed the last sentence, she looked over the finished document, a smile forming on her lips as she did.

  It needs some editing and rewriting in places, sure, but it's really fucking good, if I do say so myself.

  Then, just as she finished rereading her story, the phone buzzed from where it sat on Jade's desk. Jade looked at the time and saw that two hours had already passed.

  Meet me in the south parking lot. And be quick about it.

  Jade burst out of her chair, grabbed her things, and headed out the door. She hurried across campus as fast as she could without bursting into a full sprint. Once there, she spotted Leon standing next to his motorcycle.

  "There she is," he said. "Was wondering how long you were gonna keep me waiting for."

  "Sorry," Jade said, having to catch her breath just a bit. "I got here as fast as I could."

  "I'm just joking," said Leon. "You got here, like, really fast."

  "So," said Jade. "Where to?"

  "It's a surprise," said Leon. "But I figured that I'd keep with the theme of getting out of the city."

  He took his helmet off his bike and handed it to Jade.

  "Hop on," he said.

  Jade complied, feeling another little thrill run through her body as she climbed onto the back of the motorcycle. The last ride had been the first time that Jade had ever ridden on a motorcycle, and just like everything else about the evening, Jade loved it. Leon gunned the engine and soon the both of them were off. Jade gripped firmly onto Leon's solid torso, a smile spreading across her face as she savored both the feeling of Leon's body against hers and the wind on her face.

  After a time they left the city limits, the gray and glass of the city giving way to the greens of nature. Looking around as they drove, Jade knew that they were going in a different direction than the one that had led them to the cliff. They drove on for another ten minutes or so, eventually turning off the main road and heading deep down the unpaved trail of a forest road. The leaves of the trees above were so thick that only the lightest dappling of sunlight shone through. Finally, Leon pulled off onto another side road and brought the bike to a stop.

  Once the engine was turned off, the still sounds of nature became apparent. The bustling of the college campus was long gone, replaced by the gentle sounds of the wind through the trees and the soft chirping of birds above.

  "It's beautiful," said Jade, looking around.

  "Come with me," said Leon.

  Jade slipped her phone out of her pocket and saw that her reception was totally nil.

  "No phones out here," said Leon. "One of the few places you can go around here without being bothered."

  He walked down the dirt path and Jade followed after him. After a time, they left the bike behind and it was just them.

  "This is gorgeous and all," said Jade, "but I'm not really sure about what the danger is."

  "It's nature," said Leon. "We're away from civilization and all of the safety that it provides. Out here, it's just you and whatever animals happen to be nearby."

  When he put it that way, and the reality of the fact that they were totally cut off from the outside world dawned on Jade, a little bit of fear formed inside of her. She moved closer to Leon as they walked deeper into the woods.

  "And there aren't just birds around here," he said, looking around. "Plenty of other things that'd love to take a bite right out of you."

  More fear flowed into the pit of Jade's stomach.

  They walked further and further into the woods, and eventually, Leon held up his hand, indicating for Jade to stop.

  "Hear that?" he asked as Jade stopped dead in her tracks.

  "What is it?" asked Jade, her voice barely above a whisper.

  After another moment of listening, Jade heard the soft rustling of something nearby. And it wasn't just a rustling; there was a whimpering, too. Leon beckoned Jade to follow as he walked in the direction of the noise. Eventually, he came to a stop just as the whining and rustling grew to an even louder volume. He stopped and looked down.

  "Check it out," he said.

  Jade rushed to his side and looked down, gasping at what she saw. Nestled together in a bed of leaves was a pair of wolf cubs, squirming and whining next to one another.

  "Oh my God," said Jade, bringing her hands to her mouth. "They're so cute!"

  The pups looked no different to Jade than a pair of baby Siberian Huskies. She wanted to reach down, scoop up the adorable little things and nuzzle them to her face, but the better part of her knew that was likely a bad idea.

  "I didn't even know there were wolves in this part of the state," said Jade, her eyes locked on the pups.

  "There hadn't been," said Leon. "But in the last few years, packs from the Great Lakes regions started coming in around these parts."

  He looked around.

  "OK," he said, "we oughta get the hell out of here pronto."

  "Why?" asked Jade.

  "Because where there are wolf pups, there's wolf momma not too far away."

  And right as he spoke the words another sound was heard. This one was a heavier rustling, like something big moving through the foliage. Jade's heart pounded harder and harder.

  "Speak of the devil," said Leon, looking in the direction of the noise.

  Jade followed his gaze and caught the sight of a large animal moving t
hrough the trees. It was making a large circle around them, moving swiftly and silently.

  "Is that…"

  "If that's not the mom, I'd be very surprised. They usually don't even let us get this close."

  The rustling sounded again and Jade spotted the beast again. This time, she laid eyes on the unmistakable shape of a massive wolf. Fear and excitement that she'd never before felt took hold of her. Part of Jade wanted to run back, to try to get as close to the animal as she could.

  "We gotta go," said Leon. "Now-now-now. But don't run- it'll just give chase."

  Leon moved at a brisk pace back up the trail, and Jade took one last look at the pups before rushing to his side. The rustling sounded once more, and the hairs on the back of Jade's neck stood up as she felt the presence of an animal not too far off. But she stuck close to Leon, and soon the two of them were back on the bike. And right as Leon started the engine, the mournful howling of a wolf sounded through the forest.

  Leon didn't wait another second. He gunned the engine and the two of them were back on the road, heading away from the forest. Once they crossed the border of the forest and were back out near the main road, Leon pulled off to the side and killed the engine. Jade's heart pounded in her chest, and her eyes were as wide as they could get.

  "Enough of a thrill for you?" asked Leon.

  Jade nodded enthusiastically. She loved it. But more than anything else, she knew she needed more.

  Chapter Six

  The forest was just the beginning. Over the next week, Leon and Jade met up nearly every day to go on one adventure or another, sometimes going out into nature, other times Leon leading her through other dangerous parts of his part of town.

  Damn girl's like a junkie, he thought, checking his phone as he waited for her by his bike a few blocks from where he lived. She's starting to think about nothing but her next adrenaline fix.

  And although he'd found himself worrying about Jade and just what kind of things she'd get up to when he wasn't around to lead her through her little thrill-seeking adventures, Leon couldn't help but respect the way that Jade was so enthusiastic about getting out of her rich girl comfort zone. Most of the girls like her he'd gotten involved with turned their noses up at the way he lived; once they'd gotten over the thrill of dating a guy from the wrong side of the tracks, milking the experience for as many like-worthy Instagram pictures they could get, they tended to not waste any time getting right back to their worlds of comfort and security.

  But Jade was different; she seemed to want nothing more than to get as far away from all of those things as possible, and the more Leon tried to scare her off with more and more danger, the more excited she got. He found himself wondering just how far he'd have to take her before she'd gotten enough.

  It also didn't help that he found himself becoming more and more attracted to her by the day. Leon had recognized just how cute she was from the first moment he laid eyes on her, but figured that it was something he could ignore. But against his better efforts, he found his eyes lingering on the curves of her body as she walked, and found himself drawn to the mild flush of red that spread across her face whenever they came back from one of their excursions.

  This is getting bad, he thought, checking the time on his phone. Last thing I need in my life right now is to be getting involved with another girl like her.

  But as soon as the thought entered his mind he realized that she wasn't like the other girls he'd dated. However, he didn't have time to give the matter too much thought; Jade soon emerged from the turn of the nearest block and hurried towards him with excited steps.

  "Hey!" she said, her gorgeous face bright with excitement. "What's up?"

  "Took you long enough," said Leon as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

  "Sorry," said Jade. "Had to drop off an assignment."

  "Speaking of which," said Leon, "how'd that first story of yours turn out? The one that started you on this nonsense to being with?"

  "Um…" said Jade.

  "Yeah?"

  "My professor actually wants me to submit it to a writing contest. She said it's one of the best stories she's read all year."

  "That's…actually pretty impressive," said Leon.

  "You sound a little shocked," responded Jade with a smirk.

  "I had you pegged for a girl whose talent was outmatched by her opinion of herself; I guess I was wrong."

  "What, you think all girls like me are full of ourselves?"

  "In my experience, you all tend to be cut from the same cloth," said Leon. "But you have displayed a little bit of a tendency to surprise me."

  "Get used to it," said Jade. "Because I'm full of them."

  "We'll see about that," said Leon, deep down admiring Jade's spunk.

  "So," said Jade, "where's the field trip to today?"

  "Well," started Leon. "First, I was thinking that we might g-"

  Before Leon could finish his sentence, however, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He'd set his phone to vibrate in a particular way for when Anton, his boss, called him, and that's what he recognized. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and answered it.

  "Yo, Leon," came Anton's voice on the other end. "Where you at?"

  "I'm around," said Leon. "What's up?"

  "Hey, man," said Anton. "I got a line on a killer fuckin' deal, but I'm out of town right now."

  "And?"

  "And, I need you to get it done."

  Leon turned away from Jade and lowered his voice.

  "You want me to do it myself?" asked Leon. "Anton, that's not part of my job description; I get the deals planned out and I make sure they go smoothly."

  "I wouldn't be askin' you if it wasn't a major situation," said Anton. "And everything's taken care of already; I just need you to meet up with the buyer and make the handoff. Easy shit, man. And there's good money in it for you."

  Leon looked away in thought for a brief moment.

  "And you know this guy?"

  "He's cool, Leon," assured Anton. "I wouldn't be sendin' you to meet up with some sketchy motherfucker. So, you in or not?"

  Leon hated participating in deals; heading one up was the last thing he wanted to do, especially with a buyer that he'd never met before. But Anton wasn't the type of guy to take no for an answer. Not to mention Leon needed every dollar he could get his hands on for tuition.

  Jade, thought Leon. Fuck.

  "Yeah," said Leon. "I'm in."

  "Fuckin' awesome," said Anton. "I won't forget this, my man. The shit's at the usual place at my pad, and I'm gonna send you the details on your burner phone. And whatever you get, take thirty percent for yourself. Least I can do."

  "Later, Anton," said Leon.

  "Take care, my man."

  With that, Leon hung up and turned his attention back to Jade.

  "What?" she asked.

  "Change of plans," said Leon. "You're going home."

  "Are you kidding me?" asked Jade, placing her hands on her hips. "I came all the way out here for you to just send me back?"

  "Yep," said Leon. "I got a call for work and there's not a fucking chance in hell you're coming along for this one."

  "'Work'?" asked Jade. "Like, um, gang work?"

  "Yeah," said Leon. "That kind of work."

  Jade's eyes went wide.

  "You have to let me come," she said, enthusiasm in her voice. "You have to let me see what you do up close and personal."

  "Are you out of your damn mind?" asked Leon. "There's no way I'm bringing you along on a deal."

  "And why not?" asked Jade.

  "Uh, let's see- because if it goes sideways, you could end up in jail, or worse."

  To Leon's chagrin, this warning only seemed to serve to make Jade more enthusiastic about the idea.

  "I mean, I've already been to one of your deals," said Jade. " Remember that first time we met? Well, kind of met?"

  "That was hardly the same thing," said Leon. "You were hiding behind a goddamn dumpster."


  "But I know what to do; I watched you," said Jade. "You just stand there and look tough."

  "There's more to it than that," said Leon.

  "It seems like the only thing to it is just keeping your mouth shut," said Jade. "And not trying to screw the other guy."

  She's not wrong, thought Leon.

  "Come on," she said. "You want to take me out for exciting stuff? Then this is it. I promise I'll hang back and not do anything."

  Leon thought it over for a minute.

  Goddamn, she's naïve, he thought. She has no idea what kind of trouble she could get into if this shit went bad.

  "Here's the deal," he said. "You can watch from a distance. And that's it. I don't want you to be my responsibility if anything goes wrong. And if things start to look off, you get the fuck out of there."

  "Deal," said Jade, her voice eager.

  Jade tagging along like a little puppy, Leon headed over to Anton's place a few blocks over. After a quick trip inside, he got the supplies and the two of them were off to the meeting place.

  "Stay right here," said Leon, pointing to a stoop down the block from where the buyers were meeting. "Don't say a word, and don't look like you're watching; these guys are paranoid."

  "You got it," said Jade.

  This girl's out of her damn mind, thought Leon as we walked the rest of the way to the meeting place. And I don't fucking get her; she's innocent and naïve, but obsessed with thrills. I mean, I haven't really met a girl like her before.

  Leon met up with the buyers and the deal went off smoothly. Once it was done, Leon turned to see that Jade had moved up only a few feet behind him and had been watching the events with a look of thrill on her face.

  "I hope that was plenty exciting for you," said Leon.

  "It was!" said Jade, excitement in her voice. "I can't believe I was so close to something like that."

  "Don't get too used to it," said Leon. "It's the last time I'm gonna let you do that. And that was stupid as hell, getting so close like that. You went from an innocent bystander to an accomplice."

  "I knew what I was doing," said Jade, crossing her arms.

  "You say that," said Leon, "but spoken like someone who's ever had to run from the cops before. Or seen friends get put away for a dime for being in the wrong place at the wrong time."