Chapter five #3
Nix put his arm around me. “Come on, racer. It’s not going to be that bad. You’ve been doing fine.”
“Yeah. On my own. Going at my own pace. Not against another racer. And Rico is no fucking joke, man.” I hadn’t meant for that to spill out as I pushed open the door.
We meandered down the path that led to the track. “Do what you can, Cole. I don’t think anyone is expecting you to beat him.”
“I won’t even be able to keep up.” I squeezed my hand into a fist. I still didn’t know if I would ever be able to compete again.
“This is really premature. You get that right?” I’d been so worried about losing my contract, but that might not matter in the bigger scheme of things.
If I couldn’t get enough of my grip back, I couldn’t race.
I was still fucking recovering, and Vick had me pushing too hard.
Nix pulled that lip between his teeth again.
“Don’t do that.” I gently pried his upper lip from between those pearly whites. “You look like, uh, a horse, like that.” Which was a total lie. I wanted to bite that sexy lip myself.
Nix burst out laughing. “Thanks, man.”
He squeezed my shoulder, sending a warm and calm feeling over me. I was starting to like him entirely too much.
I left Nix to get set up and walked the track. I took my time. This wasn’t the track I’d been practicing on, so I wanted to be sure I took in every inch of it before getting on the bike. Safety first, right? And if I took my time doing it? So what? Rico could join me or wait. I didn’t much care.
Eventually, I had to give up the walk and get ready to race. Vick stood on the flat expanse where they had four gates set up, even though only two of us were riding. His arms crossed over his chest and a scowl marred his face. “Took you long enough.”
“Hey, boss man. I haven’t been on this track, yet.” As if he would care.
Vick snapped his fingers at Andy. That pissed me off, but I carefully schooled my face. Andy was great and didn’t deserve that treatment, but I sure as hell couldn’t say anything about it without getting Vick more riled up. “Get on the bike and get ready. Rico will be right back.”
I heard the braap of his bike as he took a lap.
That sound always went straight to my heart.
It meant so much more than the rev of the bike.
It symbolized my entire life. I’d probably just missed Rico, coming up the opposite side of the track.
As it got louder, my stomach flipped. This was not going to end well.
Andy handed over the bike. I straddled it, pulling on my gloves. He handed me my helmet. “Thanks, man.”
“No sweat, Cole. I made those adjustments we’d talked about. Should be good to go. Let me know how you like it.” Andy and I had been working on testing the bike, changing the setup, tweaking it until we got it comfortable. As comfortable as possible to ride with this wrecked hand, anyway.
Goggles went over my helmet, and I hit the starter. The sound of the engine, the feel of its vibrations helped to calm my racing heart. I had to get back to where I’d been before the accident. I didn’t know if I’d survive without racing.
Rico rode up beside me and stretched his fist out to me. I bumped it as if we were friends. We weren’t, but…
Fucking Vick and his hawk eyes. Watching me. I was only happy he couldn’t see my frown behind the helmet that covered my mouth. I gave a thumbs up for good measure, but I felt anything but ready.
Jason had joined Vick on the mechanic’s platform.
I could barely make them out up ahead. Dread washed over me as Davey shouted, “Thirty second board,” and held his hands up over his head.
Any other time, I might have actually laughed at that, but not now.
He wasn’t anything like the sexy Supercross girls who held the board at the races.
I gripped the handlebars, positioning my finger over the clutch.
I waited.
This felt so familiar. Red dirt in front of me, compact and nearly blue from tire tread.
It would be slick and slippery. Traction would be hard to find, but past the first turn, it got a bit siltier.
There were several types of dirt on this track.
It made for good practice, even if it would drive me crazy.
The whoops were hard packed, but the training center tended to leave them rutty.
Getting through that would be challenging on my best day. This was not my best day.
The gate dropped in front of me.
I gave it gas, tearing down the track as fast as I dared, shifting for more traction, and happy with my tires. Not happy with the fact that Rico sailed past me as if I had been standing still. He had the holeshot and then some. I couldn’t chance it, though. Could I?
Pushing the bike faster, I flew over the rhythm section, scrubbing low on the last jump.
Rico had taken a quad into the turn, but I wasn’t ready for that.
I did what I could, following Rico’s line.
Blitzing the whoops. A triple in the next rhythm section.
On and on. I stayed as close as I could, but I lost him around corners.
I knew damn well it wasn’t the bike. Andy had her running perfect.
I felt comfortable, but not confident. I could push harder.
We made three laps around the track before I decided I didn’t want to suck Rico’s tail pipe any longer.
I pushed it hard in the whoops, gaining time.
Where I’d lost him on the last lap, I didn’t on this one. I closed the gap.
Another lap, and I pulled up to Rico. Side by side.
And my hand hurt. It went beyond the tingles and into pain. I ignored it.
Rico pulled a quad again, and I fell behind with only a triple and a single. Jumping the quad was so much faster. I should have anticipated that.
A ninety-degree turn, I took the berm high. Too high.
I fell.
“Fuck!” I couldn’t pick the bike up. My wrist felt shot. This was not what I needed to do.
Nix ran up to me. “Cole, Cole. Are you okay?” Those brown eyes were full of concern. My belly quivered.
Until I saw Vick behind him. He was pissed. “I wanted you to push harder, not kill yourself.”
I pulled off my goggles, and Nix helped me get the helmet off. And my mouth? Yeah, I kept that shut.
Vick looked me over. “Go to the clinic. We need x-rays. If you’ve messed this up worse, it’s not going to be good.”
“I don’t think I did. It just hurts because I used it more than I have been.” I had no clue if that was true or not.
“Uh-huh. Go anyway.” Vick snapped his fingers at me. My first impulse was to fling my helmet at him.
Thankfully, Nix was holding it. And holding me together. “Come on.” He wrapped his arm around my waist. I let him maneuver me away from Vick. Nix turned to look back and then sighed. “Don’t blow your ride over this. Vick is an ass. We know that. Accept it and move on.”
“Yeah. Right.”
“Are you really hurt?”
“Yes.”
“Bad?”
“I don’t know. It hurts. Aches. Nothing sharp.”
“I hope that’s a good thing.”
“You and me both.” I only wished he hadn’t got that on film. I was too afraid to ask. I was embarrassed. Not because I fell, but because I’d let them goad me into pushing harder than I was ready for, and Nix had seen the whole thing, whether he caught it on video or not.
Nix guided me into the building and down the hall toward the clinic. My boots tapped the shiny epoxy flooring, echoing through the corridor. It was almost eerie how quiet it was. We turned the corner, and then heard some noise. A grunt.
“Was that moaning?” I asked, concerned at first that someone else was hurt.
Nix shrugged, but that wasn’t enough for me.
The moaning sounded less like pain and more like sex, and it had me more than curious.
I followed the sound, pulling away from Nix, until I located the door where a rhythmic banging had started up.
I put my ear to the door, but that didn’t help. So, I slowly opened it.
Tyler Whitmore was leaning over an exam table. Naked. Davey McAllister stood behind him. Well, not stood exactly. No, he was…he was…
Fucking Tyler.
Davey’s bare ass slammed into his husband, rocking the bed against the wall, and Tyler begged him for more, harder, faster.
I saw red. “What the fuck?”
Davey whipped his head around in surprise but didn’t stop moving. Tyler turned and smirked at me like he was the devil himself.
“Cole?” Nix caught up and pushed in behind me to see what was going on. “Oh, uh…Hey let’s go this way.” He grabbed at my arm, but I yanked away.
“No. No, dude. This shit ain’t happening here. Put your fucking clothes back on.” I wanted them to stop. I needed to unsee what I’d seen, not that I ever could. My cock hardened beneath my track pants, telling me it had a slightly different take on the scene.
“Get lost.” Davey’s voice was a growly baritone, unlike anything I’d ever heard from him.
Tyler laughed. He was so brazen. He stuck his ass up higher.
“Seriously, Cole. Let’s go.” Nix wanted to get me out of there. I didn’t know what to do. No one was listening to me. “You need your arm checked.” He faked coughed. “And they need a little privacy.”
“If they needed privacy, they’d be fucking in their own room.” My brain started moving again. Nix was right. I needed to go, but my dick wanted to stay and watch. The conflict was real.
“Yeah,” Nix muttered something else that I couldn’t make out and tugged at my arm again. This time I let him lead me away. I couldn’t deal with any of this shit.
Fucking Tyler Whitmore.
Why did they have to come to this facility? Fuck my life.