I can’t stop thinking about what she said. Even now, hours later, when the sun is about to rise on a new day, I’m still pouring over her words in my mind. From the moment I flew here for the summer, I’ve had every intention of going back home to California. It’s where I was born and raised and it’s where I want to be. It’s the best place for professional motocross, and it’s where all my things are.
Bayleigh knows that. And she called me on it last night. She knows I’m leaving and she knows I’m not staying, not here in this shit hole of a town in this run own old person house. It’s the truth, after all, even though I don’t like admitting it.
Another truth I’m having trouble admitting: I’m falling for the girl next door.
I think about her constantly. I’m dying to see her each day and when she leaves, all I want is to see her again. This is the exact opposite of why I came to Salt Gap for the summer. I’m supposed to be here focusing on my career.
And that’s the other thing that keeps me up late at night. My agent has absolutely refused to give me any hope for my career. He’s all but told me to fuck off. Actually, he said give it a year or two and he’ll try again.
A year or two?
I can’t go that long without a job. I can’t sit around like some old has-been hoping to get my career back at some arbitrary point in the future. Before I met Bayleigh, this kind of news would have broken me. I’d probably have fallen off the deep end, dove into alcohol and slutty girls in an attempt to drown my pain. So maybe meeting her was on purpose, some divine part of life’s plan to make sure I’d land on two feet after my racing career spiraled out of control.
Maybe Bayleigh is my future.
And she’s pissed at me right now, so great job Jace.
I spend all day cleaning up the house and organizing my late grandparent’s stuff into piles to donate to the Goodwill. I’ll ask Bayleigh’s grandfather to take one last look through everything before I donate it, and then I can start moving my own stuff in. I don’t know how long I’d stay here, because there’s not much to do in Salt Gap, but the house is still mine, after all, so I should make it mine.
I set my GPS to the local Home Depot and it’s over an hour away, which shouldn’t surprise me as much as it does. I go through the aisles with my shopping cart, getting items I desperately need for the house. Cleaning products, new weather-stripping for the back door, a new ceiling fan for my bedroom. I get a few cans of paint to make the inside look nicer and then I talk to a guy in the bathroom department about maybe updating the bathrooms. If I’m going to stay here longer than the summer, I should fix up the house and make it easier to live in.
I can’t believe I’m even thinking this. Of staying here in Texas… but it’s the only thing I’m thinking right now.
The nearest Home Depot was an hour away from my house, so on the drive home, I decide to take a huge leap into the great unknown. It might not work out, and even if it does, Bayleigh might still hate me. But I have to try.
Jim Fisher picks up on the second ring. “Hello?”
With one hand on the wheel, I grip the phone to my ear. “Hi, Mr. Fisher. This is Jace Adams.”
“Wow, Jace? How are you?” Even on the phone, he seems just as star struck as he was when I met him at his motocross track last weekend.
“I’m doing okay.” I take a deep breath and tell myself I’m doing this for her. If I find a way to stay in Texas, then, maybe she’ll want to be with me. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what we talked about the other day.”
“Which part?” he asks. My heart races. Was he only joking about offering me a job?
“Well, you mentioned maybe hiring me to work with you,” I say, suddenly losing all my confidence.
“That would be amazing,” Mr. Fisher says excitedly. “Are you seriously considering it?”
Boom, just like that, my confidence is back. “Yes, sir. My agent doesn’t think I’ll be racing any time soon and I’d like to stay in the motocross world if I need to get a real job.”
He laughs. “Son, I’d love to have you aboard. I know I’d have clients lined up down the block to get a lesson with you.”
“Even with my criminal record?” I ask.
He chuckles. “No one cares about that, Jace. I promise you. If you’d like the job, come on down and we’ll figure it out.”
I’m smiling so big it makes my cheeks hurt. “Thank you, sir. I’ll be seeing you soon.”
I tap my fingers on the steering wheel while I drive. I have a job. I have a job! I’m going to stay in Texas! Holy shit, this is happening. Now all I have to do is win over the girl of my dreams. Judging by the way she looked at me last night, that might be harder than trying to get back into professional motocross.
The sun has just set by the time I make it back to Salt Gap. My car’s trunk and backseat are filled with home improvement stuff and I’m wearing old jeans and an older T-shirt. This isn’t really the best time for a grand romantic gesture.
Which is what makes it a great time. I pull over at the gas station closest to my house and go inside. There was something I saw here last time, and I’m glad I remembered it. In the back, near the cases of beer and cell phone chargers, is a little basket of fresh roses.
To my annoyance, there’s only one left in the basket, but it’s a beautiful long stem pink rose and it’ll have to do. The nearest florist is probably two hours away and it’d be closed by now. I buy the rose and the cashier winks at me as if we’re sharing some kind of secret.
“Thanks, man,” I say as I take the rose and head back to my car. The only secret here is that I’m in love with Bayleigh and I need to make her mine.