Chapter 18
“On a scale of one to ten, how mad is Elizabeth?”
Ryder creeps up to the starting line on the track and comes to a stop, letting the engine idle. Liz’s car pulls beside us, but she doesn’t look over at first because apparently whatever conversation she’s having with my brother is making her throw her head back on her seat and laugh.
I drum my fingers on the dashboard. “You know Liz doesn’t hold grudges.”
“So, she is mad.”
Finally, Liz looks over and rolls her window down. I do the same.
“Give me that engine rev, girl!” I shout. She presses down on the gas several times and waggles her eyebrows up and down as she does.
“That’s what I’m talking about! Let’s race!” I slap the outside of the door with an open palm.
Liz blows me a kiss and I pretend to catch it, then we both roll our windows up.
Nate, my friend and co-captain of our soccer team, walks out onto the track and stops a couple of yards in front of us. He makes sure to stand between the gap of the two cars, so he won’t get run over when we take off. He points at Ryder, then at Liz. It’s go time.
I turn to Ry with my closed fist. “Look what I got, and I’m not sharing.”
He pushes my hand away. “I get the real thing.
“Not if you keep messing around with Maria.”
“For Christ’s sake! For the last time, I’m not doing anything with Maria,” he growls. “I don’t know why she suddenly wants to be friends. The way things ended with us was pretty brutal.”
Yeah, well, he shouldn’t have dated Maria to begin with. I knew it, Jay knew it, even Ry knew it. Ry let his jealously over Liz dating my brother push him into a toxic relationship with Maria. Huge, big, enormous mistake.
When Nate throws his arms down, Liz’s tires spin and she shoots off like a rocket. Ryder completely missed Nate’s signal to go.
“Shit!” He shifts the gear stick and slams down on the gas pedal.
The sudden acceleration force pushes my body back into my seat and has my heart hammering.
Ry quickly catches up to Liz, his years of racing experience and skill coming through.
I watch, fascinated, as she drifts her car around the first corner.
I can’t wait to watch the GoPro video. I started a YouTube channel our ninth-grade year once Ry began racing his dirt bike here.
I’ve posted more than two hundred videos of Ryder racing on his bike or in his car and videos of him doing tricks or donuts.
Ry gives me a sharp, “Hold on,” before pulling the handbrake and sliding the back end of the car out as we glide smoothly around the bend. My shoulder hits the passenger door.
“She’s gotten good,” he mumbles to himself.
He catches up to her once again, but she’s able to block him when he tries to maneuver around her left.
“When did she get to be so good?” he says louder, and I laugh heartily.
“Never underestimate New Liz Version Two-Point-Five.”
“What?” He snaps his head around to give me a quick look before returning his attention back to the race.
I lean over the console a bit to see how fast we’re going because it feels like over a hundred miles per hour to me. I’m surprised to see we’re doing half that.
“That’s what she called herself one morning.”
“Got her,” is his reply.
Sure enough, Ry makes his move and pulls up parallel to her car on her left. I wave like a maniac and make goofy faces at her through the window. Both Jay and Fallon give me the bird, but I can see Liz’s shoulders shake with laughter as our cars pass the finish line and come to a stop.
“Who won?” I ask Ry.
He’s looking past me to Liz, both of them smiling like the Joker at each other. “I have no idea. Let’s go find out.
Both cars’ doors open, and we all pile out at the same time. Liz dashes over to Ryder and he lifts her up, her legs wrapping around his waist as they lock lips. Jay and Fallon both look away. Huh.
A mass of people flood the track and surround the two Hellcats.
Nate walks over and the excited chatter stops as everyone waits for him to call the race.
Ryder eases Liz down and they look at him expectantly.
The suspense and anticipation hang heavy, thick as molasses and just as sweet.
No one says a word as they wait for Nate to officially declare the winner, even though they must have seen who passed the finish line first.
Nate grins at Ry and Liz, then slaps Ry on the shoulder. “Congrats, man.”
The loud cheers are an explosion of noise, making my ears ring.
“I almost had you.” Liz has to yell up at Ryder over the cacophony of boisterous voices.
“Baby, you did so good,” he tells her, bending down to press a kiss to her mouth.
I sling an arm around her and pull her to me for a celebratory hug. “You were amazing,” I whisper in her ear.
“Thanks, Julien.”
“I say we hit up Ruby’s Diner for some mustard and fries,” Jay teases Liz, taking her from me to give her his own hug. Liz is addicted to dipping her fries and potato chips into spicy mustard. Jay and I think it’s totally gross.
As Ryder gets pulled away by his fanbase, I peer over my shoulder to see where Fallon got off to. I freeze when I lock eyes on Marshall. When did he get here? He looks pissed. I follow the direction of his murderous glare and my stomach drops when I see who he’s staring at.
Maria is pushing her way through the people surrounding Ryder and throws her arms around his neck before he realizes she’s there. Once Ryder sees it’s her, he unfolds her arms and gently moves her away from him, but not quickly enough.
I notice how Maria looks over at Marshall, a mean sneer spreading across her face.
I knew she had ulterior motives coming around Ry again.
She doesn’t care one bit that he’s sick.
Her offer of being friends again was a lie.
She’s doing it to stick it to her ex and make Marshall jealous for cheating on her with Jacinda.
“Are you kidding me?” Liz says when she sees Maria hugging Ryder again, and I grab her wrist to hold her back from charging forwards.
Then all hell breaks loose.