Unfortunately, the entire fucking trip is a waste. I don’t find him on the first day, so I get a hotel and stay for Sunday’s racing. I finally run into the bastard and he tries dodging me, saying he’s busy working with some of his Texas clients.
In the end though, I get the answer I’d been dreading. He said he tried his best, but no one wants me racing for them any time soon. I’m considered a hot headed asshole. Someone who isn’t a good influence on kids, and most organizations want to sponsor guys who kids can look up to. It’s a bunch of bullshit if you ask me.
I can’t believe I wasted two days on this shit. The only part that was kind of worthwhile was when I talked with the track’s owner. He told me if I ever quit racing, I’d have a job at his place. I could give motocross lessons or something. It all seems kind of weird to me, but I guess he had a point. If my agent is right, everyone kind of hates me, I might not get to race again. But try not to think about that very long because racing is my life.
It’s nearly five o’clock when I get back home and all I’m thinking about is her. Well, her and punching a wall. Both sound like great options right now. But I choose her.
I don’t even waste any time. The second I pull into my driveway, I cut the engine and jog over to her house.
Her grandmother opens the door and seems surprised to see me here. I hope Bayleigh isn’t pissed at me for going MIA for two days. Maybe she told her grandmother about it and now they all hate me.
“Bayleigh!” she calls out, leaving the door open but not exactly inviting me inside.
Bayleigh comes into the room and stops cold when she sees me. “Shit,” she says, her cheeks flushing. “Sorry, um—” She’s staring at me like she’s seen a ghost. “I’ll be right back!”
“You’d better,” her grandmother calls after her. “Sorry about that,” she says to me. “Teenagers…” she shakes her head. I’m not exactly sure why Bayleigh ran away like that, but it probably has something to do with how she was wearing pajamas.
“I’ve come to ask Bayleigh to dinner,” I say in an effort to knock out the uncomfortable silence.
“That would be lovely,” she says, giving me a genuine smile. She turns and yells up the stairs, “Your visitor wants to take you to dinner! Please dress appropriately.”
A few seconds later, Bayleigh comes running down the stairs, dressed in tight jeans and a black shirt that makes her look knock out gorgeous. The girl must have done this to me on purpose. We say goodbye to her grandmother and then walk out to my car. I open the passenger door for her and she grins up at me as she gets inside.
“So where are we going?” she asks.
“There are literally no good restaurants in town. And I know because I’ve been to every single one,” I say as I buckle my seatbelt. “So I was thinking we’d head out of town and hit up this steakhouse.”
“Out of town? Like how far?” she asks while she gazes up at the sunroof. “I'm not sure what my curfew is or anything.”
“I've got it taken care of.” I reach up to the sunroof and pull back the cover, revealing the evening sky. “There you go.”
She smiles and closes her eyes, letting the evening sun shine on her angelic face. I’m glad she’s not pissed at me for disappearing the last two days.
“I’ve had one hell of a time,” I say with a sigh. A breeze whips through the car’s sunroof and I reach over and brush the hair out of her eyes. “But seeing your pretty face takes all of that away.”
She doesn’t ask anything about where I’ve been. And although I didn’t want her to get upset with me, it’s kind of weird that she doesn’t care. A shock of jealousy rises up in my chest. Did she spend the time I was gone talking to that other guy?
I stew over this for a little while. Finally, all I care about is that I’ll get to kiss her again. I need to feel her lips on mine, because that’s when I truly know what she’s thinking. She liked me on the ferris wheel. I hope she still does.
When we reach a red light, I come to a complete stop as fast as I can. “Finally,” I say urgently.
“Finally what?” she says.
I lean over and kiss her. All my fears are taken away the moment her lips meet mine. She grabs my arms and holds onto me and kisses me back with all the same passion she had a few days ago. When we pull back, I make fun of her glittery lip gloss just to tease her.
“Sorry,” she mumbles.
She is so sweet it’s insane. I lean over and place a kiss on her neck. She sighs softly, and it only encourages me to kiss her again, and again, trailing my lips down to her collarbone.
The car behind us honks loudly, startling me and ruining the moment. I look up and the light has turned green.
“Whoops,” I say as I step on the gas.
Bayleigh’s grin is lopsided, her gaze woozy as we drive off. And now I finally have my answer.
She likes me as much as I like her.
* * *
