Page 26 of Refuel

Josie: I need to talk to you…

Me: About what?

Josie: Can we meet in person?

Me: I need to get to practice!

Josie: I can come to you.

Me: Fine, but this better be important.

Josie: Maybe we can do lunch or dinner?

Me: No, I only agreed to talk.

Josie: Okay, I’ll see you soon.

“Women,” I said then grabbed a t-shirt and jacket, picking up my motorcycle helmet and keys.

“Be safe, Kash,” Cicely yelled from the kitchen.

“Always, CiCi!”

I shut the door, headed toward the elevator, and hit the button. A few seconds later, the door was stopped by a hand, and I looked up, noticing it was Malik Pierce.

“Kash,” Malik said.

“Malik.”

He stood off to the left side of the elevator, and I leaned on the right when the doors closed, and silence resonated in the closed space.

“Stay away from my sister,” Malik muttered.

“I’m sorry?”

“Ari, stay away from her,” Malik said when the elevator stopped in the lobby.

“She’s an adult, Malik.” He stepped off first and turned toward me at my last comment.

“That’s my little sister. She may appear hard on the outside, but she can be a little spontaneous and overzealous with her heart,” Malik stated.

“Listen, if something does happen, it’s between me and Ari. I’m not saying anything has happened beyond the Vegas thing.” He cringed at my remark.

“Which should tell you it’s not something you should continue investing your time into,” Malik answered.

I closed the space between us, making eye contact so he knew I wasn’t some little kid.

“Arianna can make her own decisions. You know her better than me. She doesn’t talk to people trying to tell her what to do,” I said and walked around him and out the door.

Forty minutes later, I was at the track. I parked my bike, took my helmet off, and stepped through the office, speaking to the staff and crew. I then headed to the garage for some laps before the official charity event.

“I didn’t know you’d be here today,” Tennessee said.

“Yeah, I need to get a few laps in before the charity event. Is Colton here?” I asked.

“Yeah, with Rylee in his office,” Tennessee replied.

“Perfect,” I said and went to talk with them.

---