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Liam strolls past me, climbing the ladder like he does this all the time. He grabs the flag and tosses it to me. I miss because Liam smiles at me, looking like some kind of German god, screwing with my coordination. The pole clatters to the ground and draws the attention of surrounding crew members.
“Quick. Hurry up!” His yelling snaps me out of my impromptu spell.
I look up from the pavement to find his feet planted back on the ground, his phone filming me. My hand grabs the flag and I wave it around while Liam takes a video. He laughs along with me as I throw the flag in the air and catch it this time. A guard runs toward us, so I ditch the flag as Liam grabs my hand, sending another rush of energy up my arm.
We run toward the McCoy garage, not stopping until we both collapse by the wheels of Liam’s car. Our heavy breathing fills the silent garage.
I turn my head to find Liam staring at me, the blue shade of his eyes darker than usual. A look shouldn’t make me feel how it does, happy and excited all at once, craving him in ways I’m unaccustomed to. An uneasiness runs down my spine at the idea of feeling something more than friendship for this man.
A McCoy mechanic interrupts our moment when he asks us to move.
We head toward the Bandini pit area.
Maya hangs around the garage, fiddling with her camera. “Looks like you’re the winner of this round. But unfortunately, we have to cancel the Championship because Santi got in trouble.” She frowns at me.
“What? No.” My lower lip juts out.
“I’m sorry. Santi chose to steal a cart from a twenty-year-old security officer who used to be on the Junior Olympics for track or something. His old teammate from Kulikov slipped by without getting caught.”
“Either Santi has terrible luck or an undeveloped frontal lobe,” I mutter under my breath.
Liam clears his throat. “What if I step in for Santi?”
Maya and I both snap our heads toward Liam.
“I have nothing better to do. Plus, I’m a better match for Sophie than Santiago.” His words hit me like a sucker punch to the chest.
I recover before bouncing up and down, loving the idea. “Yes. Perfect! Let’s do it.”
Maya grabs her camera and introduces the change of plans. Liam pulls me into the shot as if it’s the most natural thing for him to wrap his arm around me. I suck in a breath as his body leans against mine, placing his firm hand on my hip.
“Next round is a race. And no, before Sophie complains and Liam gloats, neither one has an advantage here. I’m all about being fair and square. Well, to a certain extent.” She turns the camera toward Liam and me while flashing us a secretive grin.
Maya pulls out two remotes from her bag and leads us toward the back alley of the Bandini pit area. I have to give it to her. She goes all out with her vlogging because she set up a mini Grand Prix with a plastic racetrack and two remote control F1 race cars.
“Whoever has all four tires off the racetrack loses. Anything goes because what’s the fun in playing by the rules. So let this be the dirtiest race you’ve ever done. You have ten laps to make it happen.” She winks at us both.
“I hope your ego can handle a blow here and there because I plan on winning.” I gaze into Liam’s eyes.
“There are few things I like blown, and that’s not one of them.” Liam grins while Maya cracks up. I roll my eyes at the camera before I grab the remote from her.
“Bring it on, pretty boy.” I rev the toy car’s motor.
Liam shakes his head as he grabs his controller.
The idea seems easy enough, at least until we both start our cars and race them. Remote control cars pose a challenge to control. They jerk and swerve, making it hard to keep the wheels on the track for the first lap. Liam handles his with greater ease than me. That simply can’t do because I don’t want him to win.
Our cars complete another lap after what feels like ten minutes. Maya stifles a yawn.
For entertainment value, both of YouTubers and mine alike, I slam my car into Liam’s during one of the straights.
“Ah, the kitten has claws. It looks like Sophie’s done playing nice.” Liam looks into the camera as I slam into his car again, knocking two of his wheels off the track. My laugh comes off way more like a cackle than a cute giggle.
Liam lets me get away with just about everything before he turns the tables on me. I slam into the side of his car again before I take up most of the racetrack, not allowing him to move past my car without putting his wheels at risk.
His body inches up closer to me, stepping away from Maya and the camera. He leans in so the microphone doesn’t pick up on his words. “See Sophie, I drive like I fuck. Slow, then fast, then slow again until you’re all out of gas. I treat my car like a lover, stroking her before I enter her, only offering the best kind of foreplay for my girl. I don’t recklessly race because I prefer to be attentive. I fuck like I do everything else, with precision and strength—control and care.” He distracts me as his car surges past mine, his words hitting me harder than any collision with a remote-control car. Damn him for making race talk into our kind of foreplay.
Maya laughs at us. I glare at her before I pay attention to our cars again. Liam passes my car once more as I pick up the pace, the wheels swerving down the fake runway. Screw him and his dirty air.
