Chapter 21

 

 

Jenn looks terrified. Or pissed off. I’ve never quite seen her like this. She turns toward that jackass who always seems to show up at the wrong time. “What are you doing here?”

He shrugs. “Just came to ride.”

“Well ride somewhere else,” she says, gesturing her hand toward the opposite side of the track. “You’re not welcome here.”

The guys on my team have been chatting with fans, but I see Jett notice Jenn and he excuses himself. I curse under my breath. I really don’t want the guys to get involved with this crap. Leave it to Jett to be too friendly for his own good.

“It’s a free country,” Jay tells Jenn. “I’ll ride wherever I want.”

“No one wants you here so you should leave.”

Jett walks up, giving me a huge smile. He has no idea what’s going on ever here. “Hey there,” he says with a wave. “I’m Jett.”

He holds out a hand to Jenn, who shakes it and introduces herself.

“I’m a big fan,” Jenn says. It’s a little funny because most of the time when girls say that exact line, they’re also freaking out and jumping up and down because they’re meeting the famous Jett Adams. But not Jenn. She’s calm and polite.

“Thank you so much,” Jett says. He turns to Jay, also extending his hand in a friendly greeting. “Nice to meet you, man.”

For a second, I worry that Jay won’t shake his hand and things will get awkward, but luckily that doesn’t happen.

“I’m Jay,” he says, shaking Jett’s hand a little harder than needed. He has a slight starstruck look in his eyes, kind of like the day he first met me. The look quickly vanishes. “I’m the winner of the series race around here.”

“Oh, cool, cool,” Jett says. “Congrats.”

I clap my hand on Jett’s back, needing to change the subject, fast. In fact, I need him to leave before Zach and Clay get curious and come over here as well. “You ready to ride?” I ask him.

Jett flashes me a grin. “I’m always ready to ride.”

“I’ll meet you on the track,” I say.

Jett gives me a little salute and walks back to his bike. The guys brought four practice bikes from Team Loco so that we could all ride this weekend. Marcus isn’t here but he gave us all explicit directions that I’m not allowed to ride if I haven’t been cleared by my doctor.

I definitely haven’t been cleared—but I don’t care. A few slow laps won’t hurt me. I even did a few pushups this morning, stopping when my wrist started hurting too bad. I know when to pace myself. I’ll be fine.

Under normal circumstances, I would be completed psyched to see the guys. They’re my best friends, after all, and I feel most at home when I’m with my team. But now that Jenn and I are finally talking again, I just want more time with her. I’m so happy she’s back at the track. I know that must have been hard for her to come back.

I want to hang out with her. I want to ride side by side. I want to spend time with this girl at the best place on earth—a dirt bike track.

And now Jay has showed up and ruined it all.

The temporary relief we got from Jett inserting himself in the conversation is gone now. Now it’s just me, Jay, and Jenn all staring at each other. Jenn looks like she’s holding back a lot of feelings. I turn to her, hoping her ex just walks away, but the opposite happens.

“I’m gonna go ride,” Jenn says, turning away without so much as a look in my direction. Jay and I watch her walk back to her truck. My heart aches more with each step she takes. I turn around, planning to ignore Jay in the hope that he leaves.

But I’m not that lucky.

“You gonna tell her or am I?” Jay says. There’s something extremely sinister in his voice.

I stop and turn to face him. “What are talking about?”

“I saw the way she was looking at you,” he says, a grimace permanently etched on his features. “She still wants you.”

“Jenn’s life is none of your concern. You keep stalking her like that and I’m sure you’ll have a restraining order on your hands.”

“She’ll be begging me to come comfort her when she learns what you did.”

“I haven’t done shit,” I say. And it’s true. All I’ve done is fall for the girl.

He snickers. “Guess who took a picture of you and Miranda walking back to her apartment?”

For a split second, a sliver of fear crawls up my spine. But I remember that night. I might have had my hand on her back so she wouldn’t trip and fall, but I didn’t do anything. It’s not like he has photographic evidence of us making out, because that never happened.

“Has your life always been this pathetic or is it a new development?” I ask.

“Maybe I’ll go text it to her right now,” he sneers. “I’ll tell her that her precious new boy toy also left her for the town slut.”

I don’t want him to text Jenn—not because of the photo, because I’m not worried about that. I don’t want him to text her at all. She hates him. He’s scum. The last thing she needs is to keep getting bothered by his dumb ass. Thoughts of finding his phone and smashing it run across my mind, but of course he’d just get a new one. Jay stares at me with this pathetic grin like he thinks he’s won this round. He thinks he’s scared me.

I’m not going to let him think anything of the sort.

“Jenn doesn’t give a shit about you, and she already knows about the time I helped your drunk new girlfriend get back home. Oh, and just because a girl slept with you doesn’t make her a slut. Stupid, maybe, but not a slut.”

“Like I believe that,” he spits. “You didn’t tell Jenn shit.”

“I tell her everything,” I say. “Because I’m a real man. Not a cheater. Not a pathetic small town douche.”

“Oh, you think you won her over?” he says, getting close enough for me to see the bulging vein in his forehead. “You think she’s your girl now?”

I shrug as the pain of losing Jenn hits me all over again. “Doesn’t matter. I’m leaving soon. Because I’m a real racer, not just a local champion.”

My insult cuts deep—I can tell by the flinch he doesn’t hide very well.

“You think you’re better than me?” Jay spits.

“It’s not a thought, brother. It’s a fact.”

“Bullshit. I’m faster than you’ll ever be.”

“Mmhmm,” I say with a snort. “And that’s why I have the sponsorship and you have a shitty small town track.”

“Is that so?” Jay snaps. “Race me tomorrow. 250 Pro class.”

I shrug. “Perfect.”

Satisfied, Jay turns and walks away finally. I turn back to my team but they’re still talking to fans and most likely haven’t seen the shit that just went down. Good. Because I need to find a way to tell them I’m going to sign up for the races tomorrow.

I walk back into the group and smile big and shake hands and take some photos. I answer a ton of questions about my wrist, and assure the little kids that it doesn’t hurt too bad. Clay and Zach crank up their bikes and go for a ride on the track. I notice that just about everyone gets off the track to watch them. It’s a big deal, having two professional racers on a small town track.

I sit on Jett’s tailgate next to him and watch our friends ride.

“So what was up with that guy?” Jett asks.

Damn, I guess he saw. I shrug. “He’s the ex-boyfriend of my friend.”

“Friend?” Jett says. The inflection in his voice tells me all I need to know.

I nod, ignoring his insinuation. “He’s a little bitter about it. He wants her back but it’s not happening. She’s smarter than that.”

“Is she smart enough to stay away from you?” Jett says, a smile in his words.

I chuckle, even though it’s not a joke. “I hope so. I wish I could be with her but—you know how it is.”

“Yeah, I do know how it is,” Jett says. “You think I don’t miss the hell out of Keanna right now? But I told her we wanted to go see you for a couple of days and she got excited for me and urged me to go. That’s how relationships work. You make sacrifices for each other’s happiness. She would have come if she could, but she’s helping take care of the kids this weekend while my parents put on this massive race.”

The kids he’s referring to are his little sister and Keanna’s little brother. Jett’s parents and Keanna’s parents run a pretty badass track in Texas. They’re also neighbors.

“Your relationship works out because even though you travel a lot, you always come home to Keanna. You live right next to her.”

He exhales. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But still—if you like this girl don’t let something stupid like distance keep you apart. Besides… your grandma lives here. Maybe this place could be your home?”

I consider his words. He has a point. Breaux Valley is my sister’s home, my grandma’s home. Grandma has told me I have a bed at her place any time I want. What if I just settled down here in the off seasons? Could things with Jenn and me really work out?

Jett slides off the tailgate and tosses a helmet at me. “Let’s go,” he says. “Get on the bike and work out your thoughts.”

I strap on the helmet and pull on the gloves I borrowed from Jett. It’s a good thing we’re the same size. I walk over to one of the practice bikes. It’s decked out in Team Loco graphics but there’s no number since it’s not used for racing. I climb on and crank the engine, loving the way the bike sounds. I close my eyes and rev the throttle. God, I missed this. So much.

I drop it into first gear and slowly drive forward. I ride past Jenn’s truck and see her sitting on her tailgate, watching me. I point at her as I drive by.

She smiles.

It makes me feel giddy—her smile mixed with the feeling of being on the bike again after all this time.

I turn onto the track and kick it up into second gear, and then third, my right hand pinning back the throttle. I feel good. Alive. Exhilarated.

I’m supposed to take it slow, and I do for the most part, but I’m still soaring past everyone else on the track. I feel amazing on the first lap. I feel like I’m all the way back to normal. And then I go a little faster and my wrist starts to ache. I slow down a bit and shrug my shoulders. I flex my fingers. Get it together, Aiden. You’ve got this.

I approach a large jump and pin the throttle. My bike soars over it, through the air probably about fifty feet. It feels amazing, like I’ve flown straight into heaven. I missed this so much.

And then I land. It’s a smooth landing, precise and even, but it jars the hell out of my wrist. A searing ache goes through my arm, shooting up to my shoulder socket.

Fuck.

I slow down and pull off the track, wringing out my arm. This is not what I imagined. I was hoping I was better. That maybe the doctors were just taking extra precautions. But obviously I’m not ready to ride right now.

Why did I agree to race that jackass tomorrow? Fuck.

There’s no way I’ll let him win. But even if I tried to ride another lap right now, I know I wouldn’t be able to. The pain is too much. I pull off the track and ride slowly through the pits.

When I see Jenn standing next to her truck, all of my pain seems to fade into the distance. I think about my talk with Jett. The idea of living here between races. The possibility that brings. Is there any hope in redeeming myself with this girl?

She watches me as I ride up to her truck. I stop, my feet dropping to the ground to hold the bike up. I pull off my helmet and she rushes over to me.

“How do you feel?” she asks.

I know she’s talking about the wrist. But I answer a different question.

“I feel like making you my girlfriend.”

Her eyes widen. “Aiden,” she says, her gaze dropping to my gloved hand and then back up to me. “What are you talking about?”

I reach out and grab her with my good hand, pulling her closer while I sit on my bike. She looks so fucking sexy in riding gear. Like a badass motocross princess. Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail that’s all messy from having taken off her helmet. It’s the hottest I’ve ever seen her.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” I say, looking into her eyes for approval.

But she doesn’t answer. She just leans against me and presses her lips to mine.