“Ladies and gentleman,” he called out on the loud speaker. “If you’ll turn your attention to the center of the field,” he paused. “Throttled Energy is pleased to welcome back last year’s Freestyle Champion... Brett Sallinger!”
I could hear the crowd going wild. It wasn’t the same as an arena with twenty thousand strong, but it was enough. Their support and readiness to see me ride was all I needed. I revved the bike a couple times to egg them on. Their cheers grew louder. When I popped the clutch and took off, I knew this jump was going to be perfect. There wasn’t a wobble or a moment of hesitation. I hit the ramp at full speed and was soaring within seconds. I let go of the handlebars mid-flight and stretched my body out parallel to the bike before pulling it back under me. I eyed my landing and set my wheels down perfectly.
Nailed it.
For my second run, I opted for a Lazy Boy Backflip, which consisted of me tucking my feet under the handle bars and laying my body out on the seat of the bike as the bike turned vertically. It wasn’t my hardest trick, but the crowd loved it and I always played it up, tucking my hands behind my head like I was taking a split second nap.
I was only scheduled for two runs, but the roar of the crowd made me want to give them more. I pulled off a Double Back Flip before calling it a day. It felt amazing. My adrenaline was full steam ahead as I rode back to the shed to park my bike. Nick had scheduled a meet and greet for us, so I didn’t have much time to waste.
“Hey there big shot,” a familiar voice called out just as I had shut off the bike and climbed off. “Can’t even tell that you were laid up a few weeks ago.”
I pulled off my helmet and got a good look at the brunette standing in front of me and wiped the sweat from my brow. It wasn’t hard to stare at her, considering she wasn’t wearing much. It was almost impossible not to let my eyes fall on her tits as she sauntered over to me—the low cut of her shirt left little to the imagination.
“Took a lot of work,” I said, trying not to let the fact that she was dancing her fingertips across my arm as I pulled off my gloves and tucked them into my helmet affect me. My pulse was still racing from the adrenaline rush of being on my bike.
“You looked amazing,” she said, giving me her best wide-eyed look. Her lips were full and slicked with gloss. “Just wanted to stop in to tell you good job,” she said with a bat of her lashes. “And I wanted to see if you needed me for anything. You know, after…”
Wasn’t that long ago that I would have had her on her knees filling that flirty little mouth of hers. She knew better than anyone that there was nothing I loved more than getting off after a good run—when my pulse was still racing and my muscles were aching for release.
Alicia brushed her tits against my body as she circled me like I was her pray. I was on to her game. I bit down on my bottom lip and took a deep breath as she tried to tempt me. She knew that I was the one that liked to be in control. I could have had that little skirt she was wearing up around her waist in the blink of an eye.
Too bad things had changed.
Well...
I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t think about letting her help me out. It would have been easy to fall back in to my old routines. Only problem was, I was more into blondes these days. One specifically. If getting back on the track had taught me anything, it was that I was a persistent son of a bitch.
Georgia and I might not be on at the moment, but I wasn’t going to risk it on the off chance she changed her mind. If being miserable for a little while longer without her was what it took, I’d suck it up.
“Thanks for the offer,” I told Alicia with a shrug. Her flirty smile fell by the wayside. “But I’m going to have to pass.”
“Oh,” she said, her brow furrowing. “I thought I heard you and your girl were off.”
“We are, but—”
“But it’s complicated,” Georgia’s voice interrupted evenly, cutting right through our conversation.
I thought I was imagining it at first, but the sudden distance Alicia put between herself and me said that it wasn’t a hallucination. I turned to find her standing just a few feet away from me and the sudden dryness in my throat made it hard to swallow. Georgia Bennett looked sexy as hell and as angry as a swatted wasp. The jealousy was written all over her face as she glared at Alicia. “And the last thing we need is you making it more complicated.”
Alicia, eyebrows rose, looked over at me for confirmation, or at least waiting for me to defend what Georgia had just walked in on. I shrugged. This was all news to me. I didn’t mind getting to see the feisty side of Georgia. The last person I thought was going to show up today was her. Especially seeing as how I hadn’t heard so much as a peep from her in two weeks.
“Is that right?” I asked. I pulled my neck and chest protectors off and tossed them on the ground. I wouldn’t let her see how excited I was that she was there. I kept a straight face and crossed my arms over my chest. Who was she to just waltz in here and think that I’d just forgive and forget? “Last I heard there was nothing going on between us.”
“Maybe that’s something we should talk about,” I told him. He wouldn’t even look me in the eye. I glanced at Alicia, wondering exactly how long it was going to take her to figure out that she didn’t belong in the middle of this conversation. “If you aren’t too busy hooking up with the first girl that comes along.”
The first thought I had when I saw him standing there wasn’t that he was letting some other woman hang all over him. It wasn’t even the fact that I saw him staring at her chest or her mouth. It was that I barely recognized him. His hair was short—almost to his scalp. The bright eyes I’d let myself fall into on more than one occasion were clouded and the circles under his eyes added even more darkness to his appearance. His face was shadowed with stubble. His lips were pursed and his brow was furrowed as he watched the woman’s movements.
All I could think was that I was watching another person. This wasn’t the man I loved. The man I loved had sweet, kind eyes and a smile that made me think everything was going to be okay. This guy was hard and unwavering as he let the woman hang all over him. Had I done this to him? Had I made him unrecognizable? It didn’t matter if I had, the real problem slowly unfolding in front of me was that I’d pushed him into the arms of another woman.
“You think I’d really just go hook up with the first girl to come around?” he asked, defensively. “She’s not the first, either. For the record,” he informed me, adding insult to injury. Of course, he’d make it clear that he could have any woman he wanted. I guess I deserved it... kind of.
“You don’t owe me an explanation. I was actually here to give you one.” If you’ll stop glaring at me like an asshole. My blood had boiled as I watched him with her. I wanted to attack her and tell her to get the hell away from him because he was mine, but I couldn’t move from where I stood. He had turned her down, so I hoped that meant he still wanted me. I swallowed back the fear of being rejected. I’d come too far—all the way to Texas to be more specific. I had no choice but to find out. I wouldn’t live with the regret of not knowing. I regretted enough already when it came to him.
“Oh, now you want to talk about it?” He huffed out an impatient breath and shook his head. “Nice to know that I have absolutely zero say in what goes on between us.”
“That’s not true.” Or at least I didn’t want it to be. I’d been unfair to him. I had to make him see that I’d made a mistake.