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“You ever think about racing?” Rory asks, leaning against the car with his arm touching my leg. “If you drive half as well as you fight, you’d be damned good at it, I bet.”
“I’ve thought about it,” I tell him. “But fancy cars like that are expensive.”
“That’s why you get someone with money to sponsor you,” he shoots back, grinning. “It probably wouldn’t be hard.”
“Why? Are you offering?” I arch a brow, giving him a teasing look.
“Depends. What are you offering in return?” His gaze slides up and down my body. I dressed to catch their attention for this, in jeans that hug my legs and hips tight enough to draw their eyes to my curves, and a shirt that’s more than a little low cut. The way I’m sitting on the trunk of the car has me leaned forward a bit, making it easy to look right at my chest if someone is bold enough.
Levi seems pretty bold, darting glances over at me and letting them linger. I catch him in the act more than once, and the last time it happens, I let my gaze hold his and then smile slowly.
He smiles back and steps closer, clearly pleased at the attention.
“I don’t know,” I say to Rory, keeping up the banter as I answer his question. “I don’t have a lot to give you.”
He laughs, green eyes gleaming as he looks me over. “We both know that’s not true, Hurricane.”
His words are clearly flirtatious, and this is usually the point where I would back off or roll my eyes and tell him he wished or whatever. But now I just smile back and shift so more of my thigh is pressed against his arm.
Levi jiggles the flask in my direction, catching my attention again. “You want any more of this?”
“Are you going to have some with me?” I ask him.
“Sure, why not?” He holds my gaze as he takes a long swig and then passes the flask to me, watching just as I do the same, not even wincing at the burn now.
There’s a nice buzz humming in me, and it makes it so much easier to do this. I’m not worried about coming on too strong, or thinking depressing thoughts about how fucking much I miss my dad. The alcohol is dimming most of my emotions, and I lean into the ones that are left. I lean into Levi and Rory’s flirting, smiling and laughing at their jokes while we watch the next heat get underway.
Aside from the buzz, the drinking makes me have to pee. This part of town doesn’t have a lot of businesses open right now for me to use one of their bathrooms, but there is a little convenience store up the hill a way, half tucked into an alley.
“I’ll be back,” I say, hopping down from the car.
“Where are you going?” Levi asks, watching as I move.
“Bathroom,” I reply. “Don’t worry, I won’t be gone long.”
I wink at him and then hurry off, letting the sounds of the cars and the people fade as I head up the hill and turn into the alley, then push my way into the convenience store.
It’s dingy and fluorescent, like most convenience stores are, I guess. The man behind the counter waves me in the direction of the tiny bathroom, and I start to head that way before the chimes over the door go off and Sloan comes pushing his way in.
He looks at me, eyes narrowed a bit, and before I can get a word in, he’s dragging me back outside and further around the back to the darker part of the alley, where we can’t really be seen.
“Jesus. What the hell?” I demand, pulling away from him out of habit.
“What are you doing?” he asks, and it sounds so accusatory that I roll my eyes right in his face.
“Right now? Trying to go to the fucking bathroom.”
“You know what I mean,” he grits out.
I do know what he
means. The whole time I was out there flirting with Levi and Rory, I could feel his eyes on me, watching, judging. He wouldn’t say anything in front of them. He never does, but clearly he’s not above stalking me to the bathroom to get his answers.
And I know my role in this exchange. It’s the same as it always is. Sloan pushes, and I push right back, not backing down.
“So what?” I ask him, folding my arms. “What I do isn’t any of your goddamn business. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that. What’s the problem anyway? Are you jealous?”
His nostrils flare, but he doesn’t answer the question, glaring down at me instead. “Of course not. I’m just sick of watching you yank my fucking friends around. I knew you’d fall for Rory’s flirting eventually, and I know you and Levi had a thing once—but, Jesus fucking Christ, I didn’t think you’d end up bouncing back and forth between them like that. What, can’t make up your damn mind?”
