Page 38 of Privileged (Adrenalin)

A knock on the car window makes my heart skip as air lodges in my throat. Turning to the sound, my breath catches again when I register Sloan in a red leather bodysuit with black gun holsters on the hips.Goddamn. The two of us pretending to be just friends is going to be one hell of an act with him dressed like that.

“What are you supposed to be?” I plaster myself to the door of the car after I shut it, a desperate attempt to keep from reaching for him.

“Deadpool.”

I give him a slow once over, trying to appear more intrigued than horny. “I thought Ironman wore the red leather?”

“What” His mouth bobs comically as he glances down at his outfit. “Please tell me you’re joking. Ironman wears a metal suit. And it’s maroon, not red.”

“Sorry.” I can’t keep my eyes from wandering down his sexy as sin outfit. “I’m not an expert on Superheroes.”

His cheeks flush in the adorable way I’m growing used to as he observes me ogling. “Don’t tell my sister you don’t know which costume is which. It’ll crush her.”

“Huh?”What does his sister have to do with it?

He must catalog my confusion, saying, “Ally takes her costumes very seriously. Speaking of, here’s yours.” He holds his arm out, a red and blue stretchy thing that sort of resembles a ski racing suit, dangling from his fingers.

“Spiderman? You remember how I said he’s my least favorite superhero.”

“This is the only costume left.” He shakes his arm again, like I haven’t noticed what he’s holding. I noticed, I just don’t want to take it.

“Can’t I just wear this?” I glance down at my t-shirt and jeans.

“Trust me, you’ll look less out of place in the costume. Where’s your bike?” He swings his head from side-to-side, looking for a set of wheels that doesn’t exist.

“I don’t have one.”

“You came to a bike race without a bike?” His jaw drops open.

“I came to see you without a bike. I’m not racing.”

“Everyone races.”

“I thought we established it’d be silly for me to do pledge laps when I can just write a big check.” I cross my arms stubbornly. “I’ll just stand on the side and watch. I’ll even cheer for you if you want.”

“Nice try. We established that you can rideandwrite a check. Bathroom’s in there, go change.” He jerks his head toward the back door of the restaurant and thrusts the damn costume into my hands. I take it with a scowl and head to a stall to change, shedding my comfy clothesfor the near skintight suit.Good thing I grew up wearing shit like this for races. I wouldn’t be caught dead in something like this otherwise.

On the plus side, the outfit earns me an appreciative glance when Sloan sees me strolling back to the car. On the negative side, I still have no bike, so he ushers me to a nearby rental shop. It’s crowded and stuffy as people clamber in and out, getting last-minute gear to join the race.

“That guy just bought a bell and a cupholder.” My eyes track the customer in front of us as he leaves. “Why would anyone put that on a racing bike?”

Sloan covers his mouth to muffle his laugh. “Remember, it’s not a race for time, it’s for distance. Distance means comfort.”

We step up to the counter and Sloan tells the guy we need a bike. He sizes me up quickly and comes back with what’s technically got two wheels, although it looks like the thing people attach giant plastic child seats to so they can ride their kids around the block. “A beach cruiser?” I give Sloan a doubtful look.

“We call them Townies here. Trust me, you’ll be glad to have it in a few hours.” He pats the admittedly cushy seat before pointing to the handlebars that are outfitted with—wait for it—a cupholder.

“Forty bucks,” the cashier says.

“Can you put that on Finn’s tab and I’ll drop cash off tomorrow? I don’t have any pockets in this thing.” Sloan gestures to his costume.

“Right. Right.” The guy nods his head. “Nice costumes. I heard the Marvel group outdid themselves this year.”

“Yeah, Ally went all out.”

The cashier pulls his eyes from Sloan to look at me. “Dude, you’ve got a costume in a costume.”

“Iwhat?”

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