“Welcome back to Round 2 of the Freestyle BMX Juno Games, coming to you live from San Diego, California, here on ESPN-X. After an exciting first round, Waldo Sanchez is on top of the leaderboard with a score of 101.7, and closely behind him is newcomer and son of legendary Brian Williams, Bentley Williams, with 99.5. A very impressive Juno debut for the young Bentley, wouldn’t you say James?”

“Absolutely, Tim. I can’t say I’m all that surprised, though. Freestyle BMX is in his blood. Bentley looks like a natural out there and his young fans can’t get enough of him.”

“Well, they’ll get to see more of him soon, as he takes the course again following Gary Lipton who is currently in 3rd behind Williams with a score of 99.2. This is Gary’s third Juno competition, and he came in second last year to the now-retired Holland Chambers. If anyone can take first in this year’s tournament, it can be Lipton.”

Bentley needed to tune out the commentators and fast. He wanted his focus to remain on the competition and scoring high for the next two rounds. The crowd and the commentators would only distract him from what he came to do.

However, as he put on his headphones and turned the Kendrick Lamar song up as high as it could go, he did sneak a glance back into the crowd to see Kit again. He really couldn’t help himself. Kit was surrounded by his friends and family – there was Noah, and Jonah – who had Mikey up on his shoulders, and Ariel, and his Aunt Pam – even Mr. Edwards had taken a break from fixing up his new auto shop to come and support. They were being rowdy and cheering, and Kit held up a We❤️ Bentley sign as he jumped up and down. Bentley smiled and turned away, closing his eyes as he tried to get his head back into the game.

But, fuck. It really felt good having people to look out at. His mother may have declined his offer to come, but in her place were so many other smiling faces. It hurt a little bit, but there were other things Bentley had to focus on.

After round one, he was in second place. Waldo Sanchez was in first. Bentley didn’t even know who Waldo Sanchez was. The guy was in his twenties and a pro at this point, so he must’ve been around internationally and now wanted to compete in the states. Bentley wasn’t about to let him take this competition from him, though.

Below him on the leaderboard were Gary Lipton, Frankie Rivera, Cedric Jones, Cedric’s older brother Antwon Jones, and a few other guys Bentley didn’t care to mention. With the exception of Waldo and Gary, everyone seemed pretty chill. They all hung out together watching the riders do their runs, and they all cheered for one another. It seemed like a supportive community. Bentley liked that aspect of it. But, he didn’t feel obligated to support a jerk like Gary Lipton. 

After two minutes, Gary completed his run without slipping up. He did a few 360 spins and a bunch of rail grinding – nothing special. It led Bentley to believe that he was leaving his good stuff for the final round. That was the problem with these guys – they were one trick ponies. Bentley had something exciting for all of his rounds.

That was why he was going to leave this skate park $25,000 richer, and maybe even with a couple more endorsements under his belt.

Gary finished the round with a score of 95.6. He looked pissed about it, and Bentley paused his music only to hear the next name being called. Cedric Jones was up. Uncle Don walked over and clutched at Bentley’s shoulder.

“You’re up after Jones. You ready?”

Bentley pulled the large headphones off and took a deep breath. “You know I am.”

His uncle smiled, taking a seat next to him on the bench. “It’s important to remember to have a little fun. There are a few thousand people out there cheering your name every time you go near the ramp, Bentley. A lot of these competitors only dream of that.”

As Bentley began to put his knee and elbow pads on, he reminded himself to stay focused. This became less fun and more like work when he realized how much he had to prove. Once he made a name for himself and, hopefully, made a living off of this, then he’d be able to enjoy it.

Hopefully.

“My helmet.”

Donald handed over the helmet and smiled. “Go kill it, B.”

Bentley smirked at him before looking up into the crowd. He saw Ariel, Noah, and Kit all waving back at him, and that immediately broke the tough exterior he’d been putting up the entire morning. He threw up two fingers and headed towards the top of the vert. People began to cheer as they watched Cedric do an insane backflip off the top of the ramp onto the platform below. Bentley smiled, sitting down on his bike next to Frankie and cheering Cedric on as well.

“Hey, Pretty Boy! I wanted to tell you that suicide no-hand followed by the no-foot X Up was pretty badass in round one. You know your shit!”

“He did get to learn from the King himself, Frankie,” said Antwon. “Keep up the good work, though. For real.”

Bentley nodded to them. “Thanks. I’m a fan of your grinds. Do you guys practice together or something?”

Frankie whistled as Cedric did a killer air move. “I actually met Cedric and Antwon at the skate park. Now, we’re all at Juno together. It’s fucking rad.”

Antwon nodded. “If you’re ever in Oakland, you’re more than welcome to hit the skate parks with us, bro.”

Bentley decided he’d keep that in mind.

“Cedric Jones, ladies and gentlemen. He’s over with Bonnie Andrews awaiting his round two score now. Take it away, Bonnie.”

Bentley tightened his helmet and then his gloves. He looked down at his black tank top with the huge white Adidas logo on it, then down at the rips in his denim shorts. Trying to stay void of all thought was usually the best way to go when he was seconds away from dropping to the ramp, and he was doing a good job until his uncle showed up next to him, smiling and slightly out of breath.

“You got a text I thought you might want to see…”

[Mom] Good luck today, Bentley. I love you.

Bentley’s eyes went wide.

Wait – really? 

“And finishing with a score of 93.8, Cedric Jones! Up next is newcomer, but no stranger to the game, Bentley Williams!”

The crowd was even louder now than they were the first time his name was called. Uncle Don patted him on the back before hurrying back down to the sideline, and Bentley closed his eyes as he felt the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He had some of his favorite people here cheering him on, his mother didn’t hate his guts, and Gary Lipton was staring at him like he wanted him to fall and break everything. All of the above was what Bentley called motivation.

He Foot-Plant Dropped in, speeding down the vert and flying over it and onto the curvy ramp beside it. Every jump that followed was a Superman, a Toboggan, Backflip, and then a 180 Disaster. He did this purposely, knowing that he was the only rider to attempt so many jumps back-to-back like that. He did a Toothpick Grind 180 reverse over the railing and wheelied across to the ramps in front of Waldo and Gary, finishing off with a cork 720 as the crowd went crazy. Bentley landed perfectly, glancing back at his competition and winking. Gary nor Waldo seemed impressed with his arrogance.

Keeping a straight face as he realized there were 10 seconds left. He ended up goofing off, doing a rail ride and a Nollie before the announcer called time. Watching the reaction from the crowd made this feel less like work and more like fun, and this must’ve been what Uncle Don was talking about. Bentley smirked, pulling his helmet off and holding it in the air. He spun around, making sure he faced all of the crowd in the stadium before heading off the course and over to Bonnie Andrews.

Round two down. One more to go.

“Bentley! Absolutely outstanding. Tell the viewers watching at home how you feel after that run.”

Bentley inhaled, hoping to catch his breath before answering. He spoke as Bonnie held the microphone in front of his face. “A little winded, but I feel fantastic. I came here to win, and to make my father proud, and I hope the judges see that.”

“Let’s find out,” she said. “The judges are ready now.”

Bentley looked over to the scoreboard where a bold 102.9 flashed across the screen. Combined with his round one score, that brought him up to a total of 101.25, and gave him the lead. Waldo still had to go, but Bentley knew he came so hard in the second round that his competition would feel the pressure to do the same.

He actually welcomed that.

“That brings Williams to first place!” said one of the announcers.

Bentley held a hand up and waved to the crowd as he walked over to his uncle. He glanced back at his family and couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Mr. Edwards and Kit hugging one another in excitement, and Jonah and Mikey raising the roof. His smile dropped, however, when he realized that Noah and Ariel were having a little celebration of their own – their arms tightly around one another.

“Excellent job, nephew. One more round and everything you worked so hard for pays off.” Donald smiled. “I’m proud of you.”

“That was fucking insane,” Cedric said, high-fiving him. Bentley smiled at him and then focused on his uncle once more.

“One more round. Let’s do this.”

??

“There’s our guy!”

Bentley barely pulled his shirt on before he had a crowd of people jumping on him. He laughed as he stumbled back, holding on to Mikey and Ariel as Noah and Jonah continuously jumped on him. Thank goodness for Aunt Pam, because if it wasn’t for her, these idiots would probably be the ones to cause him injury.

“Alright, alright. Free the man,” she said. “I want to take him out to celebrate in one piece!”

“Thank you Aunt Pam.” Bentley shoved Noah away and smiled, picking his little cousin up. “Seriously, thank all of you for being here. I know I wouldn’t have won without your support. I can admit now that I was a tad bit nervous.”

“Anything for you,” Ariel said, grinning as she hugged his side. “Now, can we go get something to eat? We’ve been in this sun for hours.”

Jonah chimed in with a sarcastic please? and Bentley looked past them, noticing Kit standing a few feet away with Mr. Edwards. He let Mikey ramble on about how awesome he was as he flew on his bike and did “tons of neat tricks” before he excused himself, placing the kid down next to his aunt.

“Give me a minute, and I promise we can eat wherever you guys want.”

Noah grinned. “Are you going to talk to Kit?”

“Shut up.” He walked off as Ariel laughed. They all thought they were so funny.

He was stopped to sign a few autographs, and he gladly obliged, even taking pictures with a few young fans. When they walked off, Bentley jogged over to the pair, finally standing face-to-face with Kit since the last time they’d seen one another.

Matthew cleared his throat.

Bentley looked up. “Hey, Mr. Edwards. You don’t know how much it means having you here.”

“I’m just happy you didn’t suck, kiddo.”

Bentley laughed. “Well, me too.” He half-hugged him and stepped back, taking a deep breath. “I promise I’ll be out your spare room in another couple weeks.”

“Hey, it’s no rush.” Mr. Edwards cupped his shoulder and smiled fondly.

Bentley remembered his own father smiling at him that way.

“I guess I’ll give you two a minute, huh?”

Kit looked at him obviously. “That’d be great, Dad.”

Bentley watched the man walk off a bit before facing Kit. He chuckled softly. “So. I did it, huh?’

Kit smiled harder than Bentley had ever seen, and after a few seconds, he was engulfed in a pretty awesome hug. He squeezed him back, not letting him go even when Kit realized he was still a little sweaty.

“Benny… okay, okay,” Kit laughed, trying to peel away. “That’s enough now.”

Bentley only let him go because his dad was close by, even if the man was giving them space. “It’s so good to see you.”

“I’m so proud of you. You don’t even understand.”

Bentley smiled.

“I remember when I first met you and you were scared shitless. Look at you now. First time in this Judo competition and you came in first!”

“Juno, Kitten. It’s the Juno Games.” Bentley reached for his hand and smiled, noting the light blush on Kit’s face as the man rolled his eyes.

“Juno. Judo. Whatever.” Kit smiled. “You did it, and it was awesome.”

“Well, they’re taking me out somewhere to eat. You and Pops are more than welcome to join us. It’ll give me something sexy to look at.”

“Are you that into my dad? Wow.”

“Shut up, Kit.”

He laughed. “I promised some of the girls from Fashion Trends that we’d work on the paper together tonight. Slumber party and all. But, you know I’ll more than make it up to you tomorrow for our date…”

“Our date, huh?” Bentley glanced back and his entire entourage were staring without at least pretending to want to look away. Even down to Mikey. Kit chuckled as he squeezed Bentley’s hand.

“Go enjoy your family. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Bentley licked his lips as he moved in a little closer. “What time should I come pick you up? I’ll borrow my uncle’s ride.”

Kit smiled. “Let’s do brunch first. Is noonish okay?”

“Perfect.” Bentley smiled, biting his lip as he backed off. He winked for good measure, and then turned his attention to Matthew.

“I’ll bring back Hawaiian pizza, Mr. Edwards!”

“You won’t get in my house if you do.”

Bentley laughed.