Page 126 of Finding Delaware

Ninety-fucking-two.

A near-perfect score.

And the fucking qualifying winner.

“Holy shit!” Christian shakes my shoulders as I gaze at the board, completely awestruck. “That’s what I’m talking about, baby boy!”

“I won?” Oh, my God. “Dude, I won!Hell fuckin’ yeaaaah!”

I damn near scream to the heavens as Karlee chuckles, pulling me into a congratulatory hug. Cheers and claps come from the stands, and I swear I can see the pride on Huckslee’s face when I catch his gaze on me. It fills me up so much that I’m flying, and when Salem slams into me, wrapping herself around my body like a koala, I’m over the fucking moon.

I can’t believe it. Iactuallywon.

Come August, I’ll be competing with some of the best action sports athletes in the entire country.

Jesus Christ, how did I get here?

Is this real life?

The next hour goes by in a blur as Salem drags me through the motions of talking to officials about August and doing aninterview with a representative of Nitro Fuel. I can’t even remember what I said, in all honesty, because the adrenaline was still cruising through my veins while I chilled on cloud nine. When the rush of everything finally calms, Christian, Salem, and I wheel our bikes out to my truck in the emptying parking lot where everyone’s waiting.

Of course, the first thing I notice is that Huckslee looks fine as fuck. He’s got on a gray Henley that hugs his chest, dark jeans, and curls falling over his forehead under a beanie. His eyes heat when they meet mine, but something else simmers there, too. Something I can’t decipher. There’s a smile on his lips, but it’s...well, it looks tight. My brows pinch together as I open my mouth to ask him what’s wrong, but before I get a chance, there’s a tiny body in a sparkly tutu clinging onto my leg.

“Uncle Tayto!” Hannah sits on my foot, curling around my calf with a giggle, and I walk toward the truck’s bed, pretending to shake her off.

“How’s my favorite niece?”

“It’s hot. Can I get ice cream?”

“Hmm.” Leaving my bike for Christian, I scoop her up, wincing against the pain in my collarbone. “What did your dad say?”

She purses her lips. “He said, um.” Her eyes dart to Matt lifting my bike onto the truck before widening them at Xed. He smiles affectionately, leaning down to whisper something in her ear, and she lights up as she grins at me. “He said winner buys.”

“Of course he did,” I snicker, feeling Huck’s eyes on me as I set Hannah down. Matty immediately grabs me around the middle and lifts me into a bear hug.

“Knew you’d do it, Tay.” He squeezes the air out of my lungs. “You and Christian both!”

“Down now. Need air,” I wheeze, tapping his side.

Xed pries me from Matty’s arms. “You’re gonna kill him before he even gets to compete, Sasquatch, Jesus.” Once I’m safely on the ground again, he flicks my nose. “Congrats, man. Proud of you.”

“Thanks for saving my life.”

He rolls his eyes and turns to help strap the bikes down, finally allowing me to face Logan and Huck.

Logan speaks first, his eyes darting from me to Salem, who has her back to us. “That trick you did was pretty cool, Taylor. Never seen anything like that before.”

“No one has.” Huck steps closer to me, dark eyes on my face. “Very first Captain Morgan backflip, right?”

“Pretty sure,” I grin, watching him lick his lips and wishing I could do it for him. “You like that? Been working on it for a while.”

He nods, eyeing the new tattoo of a dragonfly across my throat like he did over FaceTime last night. “You looked good. Really good.”

A wave of heat different from the temperature tingles up my spine. “You think so?”

“Yeah.” His burning gaze meets mine again, and it takes everything in me not to lean forward to claim his mouth.

“Party at our place tonight,” Matty announces, grinning down at Xed, who looks like he was not informed of this plan, “to celebrate. Been too long since we had one.”

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