Chapter 16
After a long shower and a tray full of expensive room service, I feel ready to socialize again.
I’m still not sure if I should be going to this party or not.
I’ll probably want to leave after twenty minutes, but Riley was ecstatic when we asked her, and I’m sure party boy Reid won’t have any complaints.
Riley insisted I borrow one of her swishing sundresses. Somehow, she also roped me into letting her do my makeup. Per usual, I was going to wear my tinted sunscreen and maybe a little mascara if I was feeling it. My beautiful best friend insisted I let her make me ‘shine’, as she put it.
It looks good, I can’t lie.
My honey brown eyes are rimmed with a thin line of brown gel, and mascara of the same shade coats my lashes. The pink on my cheeks makes me look fresher, more alive.
The storm has passed, but there’s still a chill lingering in the air.
Glistening under the street lights, the roads are slick with rain and the smell of petrichor is leaden in the air.
Humidity isn’t pissing me off the way it usually does—tonight it feels like a warm blanket.
I let it fall over me and take off with Riley down main street.
This house party is at some random Airbnb a bunch of riders rented together. The type A side of me is fighting to take over. Are the owners okay with this shit?
I do my best to turn down the volume on my rationality—the tequila shot Riley handed me is helping a little. Despite myself, my eyes scan the sea of people, looking for a familiar pair of hazel ones. Reid has never been one to miss a party.
Riley knows I want to look for him without me having to ask. She shimmies her way through the crowded hallway and out onto the back patio. Over a pile of damp wood stands Reid—he’s trying and failing to get a fire started.
It’s the perfect opportunity to tease him. “Oh come on, Hastings. You won’t be getting your Boy Scouts patch now.”
He stomps his foot down like an upset toddler and whines, “It’s not my fault the wood is soaked.”
We could keep going, but people are starting to stare. He lets the struggling ember fade and leads me over towards a covered gazebo. Warm lights fill the small ceiling and cast a soft glow between us—it’s romantic. Well, it could be.
Reid sits down on the far left, so I choose the seat on the opposite side. As I get comfortable, I see Riley has already found a guy to nuzzle up next to. I’m seriously envious of her ability to flirt.
“You did so well today, Addie.”
I want to look away, but he comes and sits next to me, forcing me to hear his praise.
“Seriously, you should be proud of yourself.”
“I almost fumbled that jump.”
“Okay, and? It was pouring. You didn’t fumble it, and that’s what matters.”
I’m not sure where I drew the card to default to negative thinking. Life would be so much easier if I could find the bright side like my friends.
Before he can say anything else, a group of people makes their way over towards us. They all start chanting Reid’s praises. He deserves it, but that doesn’t make it any easier to witness.
Reid lights up when he’s in a crowd. His eyes glow under the attention in a way they never do when he’s around me. That’s kind of his thing, and I don’t fault him for it. I’m jealous that my gaze will never be enough, though.
I had just decided to leave him to chat with his buddies when he clamps a hand down on my knee, urging me to stay. So I do. I sit there awkwardly, picking off the nail polish from each trembling finger as slurred speech surrounds me.
A warm body presses up against me, and I’m met with a pair of warm brown eyes. Callum, I remember him from last season. He was at two of the Colorado races. He’s an average rider but has an above average respect for women. Subconsciously, I move a fraction of an inch closer to Reid, just in case.
He nudges me slightly on the shoulder. It’s so soft, barely even there, like he wanted to make sure it was okay before he touched me. His smile is dazzling, and he’s handsome in a classic sort of way.
“You did great today, Addie!” Callum praises me.
He says my name with a reverence I’ve never heard. It sounds sweet, enticing, and I lean in just a little.
We fall into an easy conversation, talking about anything and nothing at all—it’s nice. I forget about Reid until he inserts himself into the discussion.
My warning look isn’t received. He keeps bringing the conversation back to fucking bike spokes, and I want to slap him. I finally find a guy I could maybe hit it off with, and he’s right there trying to sabotage it like he’s my fucking older brother.
I spit out, “Reid, a word.”
“Sure, Adelaide.”
His tone is dripping with sarcasm and I have half a mind to shove him in the marshy grass. “What do you think you’re doing?”
For once his confidence is pissing me off as he retorts, “Talking to Callum.”
My eyes roll back. “I was talking to Callum.”
“Addie, you can do so much better than Callum.” He spits out Callum’s name with a grimace.
I’m getting hotter by the second. “Really? You think? Because I don’t see anyone else who’s interested.”
Reid is the one rolling his eyes now. “Oh, Addie, please. There are plenty of people interested in you. You don’t have to settle for that East Coast loser.”
“He’s a loser because he doesn’t just sit around smoking and drinking? Some people have to actually work to succeed in this sport. Not everyone can be a golden boy like you.”
Tears are welling up in my eyes, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it much longer in this conversation without falling apart. As he’s about to reply, a group of girls starts drifting towards us.
I take the opportunity to bolt before tears start to fall. My jacket hugs tighter against me, providing some semblance of comfort. I’m praying I can find Riley before she gets a cowboy’s tongue halfway down her throat.
My blood pressure’s rising to a peak it won’t come back from when I finally spot her.
Her soft curls are bobbing as she flits and flirts with the man who’s lap she’s on.
Thankfully, she doesn’t spot me, so I head back to the gazebo.
It’s empty now, so I rest my legs on the hard bench and let my head fall back against the banister.
This is exactly how I should have expected tonight to go. Reid doesn’t look too broken up about it. He’s already dancing with a bunch of tanned girls in barely-there jean shorts. It looks like he’s having the time of his life, and I’m sure he didn’t spare our little argument a second thought.
My chest feels tight, and it’s getting redder by the second. I’m not much of a drinker…I might be allergic. I get covered in red splotches and my cheeks burn bright whenever I have more than a few sips of the stuff. The rush of anxiety isn’t helping matters either.
I sit there looking up at the stars until I hear a pair of boots trudging through the mud. The foolish pieces of my heart wonder if maybe it’s Reid, but it’s not. It’s Callum, and his tall frame leans over me slightly. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be back. Otherwise, I would have stayed.”
He sits down next to me. Close, but not uncomfortably so. I let my knee knock over towards his, barely grazing the edges of his leg hair. Maybe it’s not too late to turn this night around.
My knee stays touching his, and I’m doing my best to restrain myself from pulling back and retreating into my head as I confess, “I’m glad you stayed.”
He’s more than handsome actually. I never noticed before—too busy caught up staring at Reid I guess. He has fluffy hair that matches his soft brown eyes—they look like a warm blanket I could cuddle up in on a rainy day. He keeps looking at my lips, and I find my eyes trailing to his too.
Callum pauses to swallow some of his drink. “So, what got you into riding?”
What a shockingly hard question to answer. My throat feels dry. I swallow some of my drink too, and it makes it worse somehow. “Uh, I don’t really know. I just sort of fell into it.”
That’s a lie, and we both know it somehow.
No one just falls into a sport like this.
Mountain bikes are insanely expensive and specific.
No, this is something you have to pursue, no matter the level that you ride at.
So I choke out the truth. “Reid was really into it. Damien.” I realize Callum doesn’t know who Damien is. “He’s our family friend.”
“Oh, that’s right. Didn’t you all grow up together? Chloe too, right?”
I can breathe again—sort of. The words are tumbling out of me. “Yeah. Well, Chloe grew up a few towns over. She’s from the Aspen area. But we all rode the same trails and competitions. And our families were friends—Reid’s and mine.”
That’s another lie. My family certainly would never consider Reid’s family their friends.
Reid’s mom, even though she’s one of the best people I’ve ever met, is treated like dirt by my family.
Sebastian—Damien and Delaney’s dad—treats her decently, but he definitely thinks she’s beneath them.
Reducing Reid and I to family friends also feels wrong, and it tastes funny in my mouth when I try to say it.
I knock my knee against his again and promptly shift the topic, “So where are you from?” My flirting skills could use some variation.
He looks shocked that I asked, and that makes me feel like a bit of a bitch.
“Oh. Yeah, I’m from Vermont.” His hand goes up to play with his collar—apparently he doesn’t like when the attention is on him either.
Somehow, his anxiety cancels out my own, and I find a foreign ability to flirt. “So did you grow up riding at Killington?”
He shifts his weight, letting his head rest against the worn pavilion. “Yeah, my dad was big into riding, and he would take me on weekends.”
Callum lights up as he talks about his dad. It’s refreshing to finally talk to someone outside of my typical circle. His happiness starts to fade into me, and I tuck Reid into the back of my mind.