Page 118 of Drifting

“One of the best,” Billy says.

Dom points to the guys. “And you were her crew?”

“And more,” Billy brags.

I glare at Billy. Why is he trying to provoke Dom? That’s not a smart idea.

“You sound surprised, Dom. What surprises you most? That a girl drove Little Devil, or that a girl beat you?” Cin questions, not taking her eyes off him.

I rub my nose. I know what she’s doing. She’s waiting for Dom to say a girl can’t drive a race car. Then, she’ll lay into him. I don’t think Dom will try to stop me from driving, though. Well, he might, I reconsider, thinking back on how he said he’d step in if the girls hurt me. A car is a little different than a girl.

“I don’t care that it was a girl who beat me or that Shelby drove the car. I’m thinking we might have a shot of winning this year’s Challenge if Shelby drives,” Dom says, playing with the stubble on his chin.

“What’s the Challenge?” Cin asks.

“I’ve heard of that. That’s where a bunch of rich, bored kids get together—” Mark stops, his eyes big as he peers up at Dom. “Sorry, no disrespect.”

“None taken.” Dom waves the apology away. “We won the Challenge the first year we entered but haven’t since. We keep losing the race. There are teams of four,” Dom explains. “Each person can do one event. First, there’s fighting, then the next day is the bike race and car race. On the last day, there’s a derby. You get four points for first place, three points for third, and so on. In the end, whoever has the most points wins the trophy.”

“Let me guess, Cam races the bike, and you race the car,” I guess. “But I don’t know who would fight or do the derby, Mav or Luke?”

“You got one out of three. Cam does the bike race, and Dom fights. He’s our best fighter, then I race and lose.” Mav lowers his head.

“It’s because they cheat.” Dom pounds his hand. “Every year, something happens. One year, Cam’s bike didn’t start. Another year, Cam had a flat tire halfway through. You can fix the problem and continue, but whatever lead we had is gone by the car race.”

“Sounds interesting,” I say. “Is that why you need Cin to look at your car?”

“Yeah. They somehow got into my garage and screwed with my car.” He shakes his head. “I can’t figure it out.”

Cin nods. “I’ll come take a look at it.”

“Holy shit, whose bike is this?” Mav asks from the other side of the trailer. “It’s sweet.”

My eyes widen. “You brought her?”

Ricky looks at me like I’m crazy. “Of course, we did.”

I run to the back of the trailer and jump up.

“Wait, Shelby,” Ricky calls. “Let us get her down, so you don’t hurt yourself.”

Billy and Ricky climb up on the trailer, unhook her, slide down the track, and walk her down.

“This is the bike you fixed up?” Mav walks around her.

“Yeah, this is Serenity.” I straddle her and grip the handles.

Damn, did I miss her. This feels like home. I want to go for a ride. Flipping the kill switch, I turn the key and twist the throttle.

Serenity comes to life, purring for me, and I bite my lip. Should I go? I could hurt myself again…

I glance at Cin, who’s already walking back to the house. Dom has a look of longing on his face. He wants to ride with me, but he can’t.

Screw it. I tick the kickstand up.

Laughing, Mark hands me my helmet. “She’s topped off and ready to go.”

As I put my helmet on, Dom calls, “Be safe.”

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