Chapter 5
Chapter five
Gavin
Gavin’s trip to Denver had mixed results. He did reconnect with Johnny Killebrew, the sexy finance guru for Apex’s security detail. The man did it for him—hard. Gavin hoped he would keep doing it. He didn’t know where they were going, but he was ready for the ride.
His meeting with the potential racer didn’t go so well.
He wasn’t that good and had a bad attitude to boot.
Nope, he would not work for Gavin’s team.
Gavin didn’t mind the negative verdict, but it meant he had to keep looking.
Maybe he could drag Johnny along for some of the search, but this part wasn’t something he’d include his new lover in.
The illegal street racing in Las Vegas held a lot of excitement. It was half bike show to display the powerful machines and half bike race, roaring through the city streets. Dangerous. Not something he wanted to expose Johnny to.
“Hey, Peri!” Gavin turned, finding his friend Jason Gibbons waving to him.
He walked over and shook Jason’s hand. “How you been?”
Jason wore tight jeans and a red-and-black, checked flannel shirt, and had his ever-present camera around his neck.
They’d been friends for a few years, and Jason often gave him insight on new racers he should check out.
That was why he met up with the reporter at the street race.
He wanted Gavin to see one of the racers there.
“Hey! I’m good. After this, we should go for some beer. ”
“Of course. I’ll buy you dinner.”
“Not arguing with that, man.” Jason fiddled with his camera a second before glancing around at the crowd. “Over there.” He pointed to an area where some of the crowd backed up to make space.
“Okay, come on.” Gavin pushed his way through the people with Jason following him. When he broke through to the opening, he saw two bikes that looked like dirt bikes but had smooth street tires on them. One of the bikers was Rico Dominichi. Seeing him pissed Gavin off. “Fucker,” he muttered.
“What?” Jason asked, bumping into his shoulder.
“Rico. He signed with Apex.”
“No way.”
“Yes way, sadly. I wanted him on my team. Desperately.”
Jason made a scoffing sound. “Right, he’s good.”
Gavin didn’t want to focus on all the racers Apex was beating him to, especially not Rico with his dark hair and smoldering looks.
He was built like most motocross racers, slim but strong.
His bare arms showed off the defined cut of muscle on his golden skin.
He was hot, and he had a confident, flirty attitude to go with it.
Good luck to Davey with that guy. Gavin would rather focus on what could be in front of him rather than another loss to Apex. “Who’s the other guy?”
The camera snapped. “That’s Eric Westrum. He’s been around the amateur circuit. He’s only sixteen.”
“What? He looks older.”
“He carries himself well. And on the track, man! He’s a terror!”
“Is he going to race against Rico?”
Jason shrugged. “Let’s go find out.” He pushed over and shook the kid’s hand. “This is my friend Gavin.” He thumbed backward to indicate Gavin. “He wants to see you race. You goin’ against this guy?” He nodded to Rico.
“No. He won’t race tonight. He’s showing off because he’s like big-time now.” The kid rolled his eyes.
Gavin offered his hand to Eric. “Are you going to race?”
Eric shook his hand and gave him a curt nod. “I’m waiting for Coop.”
“Coop?” Gavin asked, not sure who the kid meant. He wasn’t familiar with all the street racers.
Jason happily filled him in. “Lucas Cooper. When he’s not tearing up the streets in Vegas, he’s riding arena cross. Around here, he goes by Coop.”
“Oh, yeah! I’ve heard that name. He’s all right. Decent rider.”
“Eh..” Eric tilted his hand back and forth. “He’s midpoints, I guess, but I can take ‘em.” He jutted his chin out, trying to look tough, but he looked too much like the boy next door to pull it off with his hair neatly trimmed above his ears and clean-shaven.
Gavin could appreciate the potential of youth. “I bet you can.” Gavin wanted to see the confident youngster ride. A few other people came up to him, one girl flirting and another kid getting him to sign his shirt. Even street racers could be stars if they could ride.
Gavin watched while Jason snapped more pictures, the racers talked to fans, and even more racers came around.
He hoped this Cooper guy would show up soon.
He was getting bored standing around waiting.
He would rather be somewhere with Johnny, or at least alone in his hotel room where he could call him.
Eventually, the infamous Coop showed up with an entourage in tow and a badass bike. He sported a lot of vibrato, more flare than Eric, but that didn’t always translate on the track.
After too much posturing and insult trading, the two racers lined up.
Gavin wasn’t sure how they knew where to go or how they’d know who the winner was, but he was eager to watch.
He was more than ready for something interesting to happen, and he didn’t want this trip to be a waste of time.
He’d much rather have spent more time with Johnny than stand out on the streets of Vegas with all the testosterone flying around.
A loud pop sounded, and the guys took off on their bikes.
Coop took the early lead. If they had been on a regulation track, Gavin would have said he took the holeshot, but regulation didn’t happen here, and Eric proved that quick enough. He passed Coop on the first turn, nearly clipping his tire. Coop didn’t lose control, but he’d cut it close.
They quickly raced out of sight. That left him a bit unsatisfied.
He wanted to see more, but Jason knew what to do.
He pulled out his tablet and nudged Gavin’s shoulder.
“Look, here. Someone always has a drone.” The screen showed the racers from overhead.
The two of them whipped through the streets, bumping and nudging each other more like NASCAR at Daytona than motocross.
“They’re very aggressive.” He wouldn’t say it, but Gavin was concerned about Coop riding without sleeves. If he wrecked, that would hurt badly.
“Man, you’re not kidding. They’re normally more aggressive out here. No rules and all, but I think these two are taking it to another level.”
Eric pushed his bike into Coop’s a little more, and the man crashed, tumbling over his bike.
The crowd around them groaned out. Coop got right back up and took off after the younger rider.
Gavin couldn’t help be impressed with Eric’s skill on the street and considered how it might translate to a dirt track.
His phone beeped with a text notification.
He pulled it out and looked. He couldn’t help the smile that busted out across his face when he saw Johnny’s text.
Not only was his new lover thinking about him, but he also invited him out to Davey’s Ranch—The famous Ranch where Davey McAllister trained.
He’d heard the history of Davey’s father creating the place for him and leaving it to Davey when he passed away.
Davey had enough money to retire and do whatever he wanted with that fortune.
He could have done anything. Sold The Ranch, hidden away, but he hadn’t.
He kept racing, and even after he finally retired, Davey McAllister wanted to stay in Supercross.
Gavin couldn’t blame him. He understood the bug.
Something about the Supercross world got under the skin and demanded to be scratched.
He chuckled as he answered Johnny’s text.
“What’s all the glee about?” Jason bumped into his side.
“Johnny Killebrew.”
“Okay...who’s that?”
“So, you know Tate Jordan and Bryce Nickel are seeing that security guy Apex hired, right?”
“Uh, yeah. Everyone knows that.” He wiggled his eyebrows and leered a bit.
“So Johnny is that security guy’s best friend.”
“Is he built like that?”
Gavin licked his bottom lip, thinking about his lover. “No, he’s the finance guy for the security company. He’s, uh, he’s fit, but he’s a little nerdy.”
“You’re seeing him?”
“Yep. I think I have a new boyfriend.” He stuffed his phone into his pocket and grinned. He couldn’t help it. The possibility of Johnny being his boyfriend made him downright giddy.
“I hope he appreciates it. The look on your face!” Jason laughed. “I’m glad to see you happy.”
“Me too.” He might not have been able to sign Bryce or Rico, but having Johnny for a lover was more than worth the loss. “Now, show me more of this race. What’s going on?”
Jason flipped the tablet back. “They’re coming near the end. Come on. We can watch over here.”
Gavin followed Jason around the block where people lined up to see how the end would play out.
Excitement grew as if chasing Gavin’s heart through his chest, but seeing Johnny in the next few days and spending New Year’s Eve with him would be more of a thrill than the race.
Perhaps that was the real reason for his speeding heart.