Apex (Full Send)
Prologue
June 2020
Wait For You - Johnny Orlando
Bexley fucking Larson.
The girl every guy wants and every girl wants to be. But that’s not all she is. She’s also the only chick to repeatedly shut down every attempt I make to get her on the back of my bike. Where other girls are beyond desperate to be seen backpacking with me, Bexley Larson is the first to tell me very bluntly just how she feels about my fuckboy tendencies.
She’s not wrong, though. I may have a habit of hitting anything that comes within a five-mile radius, and never more than once. But hey, I’m an eighteen year old teenage dude with a shit ton of testosterone pumping through me. Can you really blame me? With her, though, I don’t even have to hit it to know once would never be enough.
It’s hot as hell today, and thankfully, school is officially out for the summer. For me, well, I’m never coming back to this shit hole. I don’t need to. Racing is my life, and nothing these lazy underpaid fucks teach me is going to help me on the track, so I’m done wasting my time. Talon and Dad have been harassing me for months about dropping out, but I wouldn’t. Being here is the only place I get to see her or be near her, and they knew that. It’s why they would’ve loved to get me to drop out.
My obsession with Bexley is well known, though I doubt most people take it seriously. Everyone thinks it’s a game, that I want her simply because she denies me. But it’s so much more than that. Bexley is above the girls at Palms High. She’s out of every dude”s league, including mine. Not like that is ever going to stop me.
Bexley—well, she’s got her senior year left, but this is it for me. Graduation was weeks ago, and I’ve run out of excuses to hang out at the school. While I have finished all my subjects, some seniors were still finishing off the last of their senior year. Allowing me the chance to go unnoticed a bit longer, and I have taken full advantage of it.
I watch as she leans against the metallic blue door to one of her friend’s SUV. Her stack of books pressed tightly against her chest, pushing up her perky little tits. Just the sight of them has me adjusting myself in my gray sweats. Her thick dark hair blows about in the wind, carrying the scent of her familiar perfume right to my nose. I don”t know what it is, but it’s sweet, fresh. Like cactus and dragonfruit. Fucking delicious.
“Christ, when are you gonna give up on her man? There are much easier girls, just as hot as her, that will take one look at you and your bike and be begging for a shot.” Cruz pipes in with a mockingly playful tone as he sits down next to me. Today is the final day for the remaining senior year, which means it’s his last day too, but unlike me, he’s more than happy to be done with this place.
“Yeah, yeah. You know you’re starting to sound a lot like Talon,” I snap back, keeping my eyes on Bexley.
“You’ve been trying since junior year, dude. Bexley isn’t falling for your shit. Give it up already.” I know he’s right. Nothing I do ever works with her, but I don’t have it in me to quit. Never did. It’s not in my blood.
I’m a Shaw, and we always win.
“Have you seen me?” I smirk, nudging him in the ribs with my elbow. Us Shaw’s were blessed with good looks, and we know it. Dark hair, tanned skin, and to top it all off, I tower over most of the senior class guys, and thanks to Dad and Talon always riding my ass about being fit for training, I’m a solid wall of muscle. What girl wouldn’t want a piece of me?
Bexley Larson. That’s who.
I bend my knees, pulling them into my chest as I lean forward and rest my arms across them. My gaze strays back in her direction. Bexley smiles, tucking her hair behind her ear as her friends giggle around her.
Fuck, she’s gorgeous.
“She’ll give in eventually. They always do,” I add. It slips from my lips just as Bexley’s hazel eyes meet mine.
The gold flecks in them glint in the sun, and for a brief moment, I feel like maybe she doesn’t totally hate me. But it’s short-lived. The moment I tilt my chin towards her, she scoffs and crinkles her cute nose with disgust. My smirk grows. She hates me, but hey, that means she feels something for me. Which means there’s always a chance I can sway her, and that I can work with.
The race is just beginning, Bex.
The girls I hook up with don’t mean shit. Not that I tell anyone that. They’re just the laps around the track. A means to get off and warm up my tires before the final lap. Bexley.
To most of the girls I hook up with, that’s all I am too. A really hot guy with a bike that can make them feel good for a night. It’s an arrangement. But Bexley Larson, she’s the fucking finish line. The goddamn checkered flag, and it might not happen today, but when the race is over, she will be in my hands for the winning lap.
Pushing off the SUV she locks arms with Cece, whom I’ve come to know as her best friend and bodyguard, and drags her off to the other side of the parking lot.
I watch, unwilling to tear my eyes from her tight little ass as she struts away toward where her white Lexus is parked and out of my line of sight. Only then do I let my head fall back, and my eyes find their way to the sunny Tampa sky.
Fuck, this is it.
Thankfully, the end of school signals the start of the race season. Something to at least help keep my mind off her. Hopefully.
“Baby Shaw, Van Doren, you coming or what fuckers? We got shit to do and places to be,” Draygon shouts from where all our bikes are parked. Draygon is one of the older guys on the team. Knowing Talon, he sent him down here to meet us because he had a feeling we’d be in no rush to get to the track. “Coach is already at the track, and you know he ain’t gonna like it if we show up late. By the way, Baby Shaw, your brother has been trying to get a hold of you since the third period.”
“Yes, Mother, we’re coming,” Cruz croons with a childish tone as he stands up. “Let’s go, Prince Charming, duty calls.” He offers a hand to help me up. I take it, slapping my hand into his as I shake my head. Fucking guy thinks he’s funny. Running my hand through my dark, thick hair, I lift my eyes back to Bexley’s car just as she pulls out of the parking lot and takes off down the street. “Shaw!” Cruz shouts. “Snap out of it, she’s just a chick, and it’s summer. You know what that means!”
Cruz wraps his arm around my neck as we head toward Draygon and our bikes. “I do?” I reply, cocking a brow.
“It means by the end of the night, we’ll have a revolving door of pussy, lining up at our door for you to choose from,” he chuckles. “And seeing as I have my girl, you can have first dibs on whoever you want,” he adds. He and his girl Lena have been together for a few years now, and though Cruz comes off like a joker, there”s one thing I’ve learned about him. You never fuck with his girl. They’re the Bonnie and Clyde type of couple. The ride or die type shit that most people dream of finding, and honestly the guys and I all get along great with her, so it’s worked out. She’s like one of the guys now.
Draygon revs his engine as we approach, and Cruz frees me from his hold as he climbs on his bike. Reaching mine, I grab my Shoei helmet from the seat and slide it on my head before lifting my leg over and climbing on. Turning the key, the engine purrs to life beneath me.
“You good, Baby Shaw?” Draygon shouts over the sound of the bikes.
“Yeah, man, I’m all good,” I reply, nodding at him. I don’t know who I’m trying to convince more, him or myself. He flicks his visor closed and revs his engine twice more before pulling out of the lot and onto the main strip towards the track. Cruz follows suit, shaking his head at me disapprovingly on his way by. I allow myself another glance around the lot, and the school I wasted four years of my life at, before lifting the kickstand and revving the engine again. Snapping my visor down, I head through the empty lot after my team.
It’s weird seeing it so empty and quiet. Yet, no matter how different it is, every inch of it reminds me of nothing but her—Bexley.