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A loud squeal sounds out as I hurl around a corner.
“Go-karts?”
I laugh, throwing my head back as I spin my car around another. “Yeah, on 118th street. I’ll see you soon.”
I click the phone shut and squeal as I hit the gas.
Less than half an hour later, I’m turning a corner when I see Killian standing on the sidelines. I grin devilishly and turn the go-kart toward him, squealing to a stop at his feet. He looks down at me with a raised brow and a smirk on his face.
“Really? Go-karts?”
I nod and grin. “You keep saying that like it’s going to change. It’s my happy place. We can talk after. Go sign up and I’ll see you on the track.” I wink and take off again.
“So, tell me,” Killian says, a grin on his face as he pulls the helmet off. “How does a girl like you get into something like this?”
I chuckle lightly, pulling my hair out of the tie and shaking it loose. It’s a knotted mess, but it’s worth it every time.
“Ever since I was a kid, the track has been my happy place. Whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed or just need a break, I come here.”
He nods with a smile, staring into my eyes, then takes a seat next to me. I have to resist the urge to shift in my seat. Somehow when he watches me, it feels so intimate. Like he’s truly trying to see me.
“Something you did with your family?”
I shake my head and chuckle. “Nah. It was just me and my mom, and she was hardly into that kind of thing. I was about fourteen when my first boyfriend dumped me, though, and I was so upset and didn’t know where to go. At that age, there wasn’t much in my town to do, so I found myself at go-karts for something to keep my mind off things.
“When Mom died a few years later, the first job I got was actually at the local Go-Kart track. The owner was used to seeing me around and helped me out in a big way. When I turned eighteen, I looked to other ways to make a living for myself. The rest is history.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” he says, and I shrug.
“I’m not,” I reply honestly. “I learned young the type of people I can and can’t rely on and how to look after myself. It was a hard lesson, but a necessary one.”
He gives me a small smile and nods. “I’m not gonna lie, it's an odd one, but it makes sense. And now you still love Go-Karts and trust no one?” he jokes.
“Yup,” I giggle and poke him with my elbow. “What about you? We all have some weird thing we like. What’s yours?”
He shrugs. “I dunno. I’ve always been partial to beaches. Does that count?”
“Mmmm, I’d kill for a sandy beach and a daiquiri right now,” I reply. He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.
“So, why did you really call me out? Somehow I don’t think you brought me out here just for the pleasure of my company on the racetrack.”
I give him a wry look. Right to the point, this one.
“Well, you would be right about that. Let’s get dressed and go grab a drink or something?”
His nose turns up, and I have to resist laughing at the mannerism. “How about coffee or something instead?”
“Coffee? But there’s no alcohol in that!” I exclaim.
He chuckles. “I think you’re plenty self-destructive enough, woman. You can handle one sober night.”
I glare at him as he walks off.
Maybe this partnership thing wasn’t such a good idea.
I resist the urge to grumble as I stir sugar into my latte, wishing there was at least a bit of Baileys or something in it. I lift my eyes from the cup and watch Killian inside the coffee shop, a smile on his face as he chats with an old woman in line. Red lipstick stains the woman's teeth and her skin looks like leather, but the smile on her face clearly shows how pleased she is with Kill’s attention.
“My grandson lives in a small house here in Arganda del Rey.”
