Page 106 of Burnout
Quinn
My bestie is a badass! Congrats. What time will you be here? Colter and Knox aren’t getting back until tomorrow.
Me
I’ll be there in about two hours.
Quinn
Putting my party pants on!
Me
About that…how do you feel about celebrating in Flagstaff?
It takes basically no convincing on my part to get Quinn to agree to surprise the guys by driving up to Flagstaff.
We turn up the music in my Bronco and sing nonstop for the three hours it takes to get there. We arrive a little after the event has started. Quinn gets us seats and I weave through the crowd, trying to get as close to the back as I can to see if I can spot Knox.
I know from watching him practice, and him and Colter talking about the show that Knox doesn’t ride in the first half. The other riders have a series of jumps that are more technical and he helps in the back until it’s time for him to go out.
I can see where the riders are disappearing out a side gate when their turns are over, so I walk that way. Lucky for me, there isn’t anyone to stop me. I guess they aren’t worried about superfans getting back here, although the way some of the girls are dressed up for this event, I think they maybe should be. I feel a spark of jealousy at the thought of one of them hitting on Knox.
My smile widens when the man I’m looking for comes into view. He’s sitting on his bike watching the event just out of sight from the crowd. He glances in my direction as I get to the last fence that separates us. He does an actual double take and then a wide grin splits his face.
My heart leaps out of my chest as he gets off his bike and walks toward me.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, linking his fingers through the fence around mine.
“I didn’t want to wait until tomorrow to celebrate with you.”
His smile is crooked and sexy. He removes his gaze from mine and searches down the fence. He walks to a shorter section and hops over to me. He’s decked out in his riding gear, blackjacket, black pants, black boots. Nobody should be able to make a single color look this good.
Knox’s arms immediately wrap around my hips and he picks me up. I drape myself around him and kiss him. Or really, I should say I do my best to kiss him back. He’s got full control of it and I’m just along for the ride.
His hands slide up the back of my shirt and then his fingers tangle in my hair.
“Missed this mouth,” he rasps.
His words feel almost as reaffirming as nailing my beam routine did.
My mouth is tender when he finally pulls back. He gives my bottom lip one final nip. “I better get back before I miss my signal.”
“Okay. Good luck.”
He shakes his head as he walks off. “Don’t need it now that you’re here.”
THIRTY-FIVE
I watchAvery walk back to the stadium seats and climb up into the middle section about halfway up. Colter rides back and grins at me. “Ready to put on a show?”
My nerves kick up. I’m doing the Superman seat grab for the first time in front of an audience tonight. It’s a fun trick with a lot of variations to make it harder or give it more style. I’ve landed it dozens of times in practice, but it’s always different in front of a crowd.
“You’ve got this. Piece of cake.”
I nod in acknowledgment, then jut my chin toward the audience. “Your girl is here.”
“Quinn’s here?” His brows pull together like he’s trying to understand my words.
