Page 31 of Ride

“My boy don’t fuck around.” Sincere’s laughing annoyed me. Scanning the area, I saw Amena talking on her phone.

“Come on. We need to get the interview going.” Sarai directed us down the hall, talking with the assistant to Maya West.

* * *

“Laikin, Sincere, so excited to talk with you both today. Normally, athletes of your caliber keep things under the radar.” Maya charmed, sitting in her chair facing us both. Her sharp smile and piercing eyes would have any man emptying his bank account to make her wishes come true.

“Thank you for allowing us the chance to talk to your audience.”

“Normally my husband keeps me updated on the latest sports news, but when I saw what you were doing with local charities, I told him I had to have you both here.” Maya clasped her hands together.

“We appreciate the support.” Sincere extended a hand to her, getting comfortable in the chair.

“To start it off, you both are single, correct?” We nodded our heads and laughed. “Had to let the ladies know,” Maya teased.

“I’m single for sure,” Sincere confirmed.

I gave her a ‘keeping my mouth shut’ look. “Very much keeping that private, Maya.”

“Ooh, so we have a little exclusive here. I won’t hold that against you. My viewers and I want to know how Laikin started racing cars.”

“Pretty much me falling in love with the speed, cars, and freedom of being in control of my own destiny. My dad loved taking me to monster truck races growing up, and working on cars got me into racing.” I shrugged.

“Sincere, how about you?” Maya gave him direct eye contact.

“Kids don’t follow my footsteps, but I was getting into a little trouble and got with the wrong crowd. Mom put me in after school program that went out on different trips and one was to Pierce Motors,” Sincere confessed. I already knew about his past in and out of juvenile.

“A bad boy and playboy,” Maya tittered, facing the camera.

People thought being interviewed and being in the spotlight brought wealth, women, and nonstop attention. Ultimately, I wanted my cars and the racetrack; that gave me peace.

“Before we go to the next break, Laikin, tell me about you and Callie. Social media has you two breaking up and getting engaged all in the same week.”

“Gossip bloggers wanted to run a story and get an interview with me. I turned them down, and an associate of Callie’s got money to fake a sex tape.”

Maya flipped through her cards. “So, it’s not true? The screen grabs online are fake.”

“Yes. I do a lot of things, but leaving tapes around is not one of them.”

“Weren't you and Callie off and on for a few years? And didn’t you briefly have a relationship with a woman named Amena,” Maya sprung on me in surprise. Biting the inside of my cheek, my eyes scanned around the set narrowing in on Sarai and Amena whispering back and forth.

“Amena is your stylist, correct?” Maya questioned.

As bad as I wanted to say fuck this interview, I had to be professional because Sarai is friends with Maya and her family. “She’s a family friend.”

“That you’ve dated in the past.” Maya hammered in on my love life.

A showstopping smile dazzled me. Maya winked and smoothed her hair off her shoulder.

“Are we here to talk about all the women in my past or the future of racing?”

“We can do both. I mean, you’re an eligible bachelor. The women want to know,” Maya egged on.

Sarai rubbed her temple.

“No comment.”

Maya laughed, gaze capturing Amena’s. “Ladies, we hate to disappoint you, but I fear Laikin Trenton is off the market. We’ll be right back,” Maya announced.

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