Page 40 of You, Me, and Lucky Number 13

All I hear is her voice. All I see are those eyes, burning into me from the pit.

Lola.

Always fucking Lola.

The race used to be everything. Now? It’s just noise. I can’t drown out the storm she’s kicked up inside me.

I take the turn hard, my tires begging me for mercy. But I don’t let up, already racing something I can’t outrun.

The world shrinks to the sound of her voice. Lola. My compass in this shitstorm.

“He’s leaving a gap on the inside,” she says. Still cool as ice, sharp as a blade. “Take it.”

I trust her. With my life, my career… with this fucking ache in my chest I can’t shake. I punch it. The Viper howls, thirsting formore. The gap’s closing. Every inch of asphalt cranks the tension higher.

We’re trading the lead, a dance with the reaper. But something’s off. My edge is dulling. Focus slipping away like sand.

Lola catches it. She always does. “Cole, what’s wrong? You’re not hitting your marks. Your lines are sloppy.”

“I’m fine,” I growl. The lie tastes like ash.

I’m not fine. My head’s a fucking warzone. All I see is her. That smile. Those eyes. Her touch burning on my skin.

“Get your shit together, Lawson,” I snarl at myself. Empty words.

The more I try to focus, the more she floods my mind.

“Cole.” Her voice cuts through. Sharp. Worried. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”

I hesitate. Pride and need at still at war inside me.

“I… I can’t concentrate,” I admit, voice raw. “My head’s not in it.”

The words hang there. Heavy. Real. Everything I can’t say trapped behind them.

I feel her pause. The silence stretches, filled only by the roar of engines and the thundering of my own heart.

“It’s me, isn’t it?” Her voice is softer now, barely a whisper in my ear. “I’m throwing you off.”

Fuck. I grip the wheel tighter, knuckles white. “Lola, I?—”

“No,” she cuts me off. There’s steel in her tone now. “Listen to me, Cole. Whatever’s between us… it doesn’t exist right now. You hear me? For the next hour, I’m just your engineer, and you’re just my driver.”

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. But she’s right. She’s always fucking right.

“You’ve worked too hard for this,” she continues. “We’veworked too hard. Don’t let… Don’t let us ruin it.”

I swallow hard and force myself to breathe. To focus on the track ahead.

“Copy that,” I manage. The words feel inadequate. There’s so much more I want to say.

“Good,” she says. All business now. “Tane’s coming up on your left. He’s gonna try to force you wide on turn thirteen. Don’t let him.”

Just like that, we’re back in the race. But something’s shifted. The tension between us has morphed into something else. A shared purpose. A silent understanding.

I lean into the turn, feeling the G-forces try to tear me apart. But I’m solid now. Focused. Lola’s voice is in my ear, guiding me home.

We’ve still got a mountain of shit to sort through. But right now? Right now, we’re a team again. And that’s enough to set my blood on fire and send adrenaline pumping fiercely through my veins.

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