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“Since you’re here, mind giving me a hand?” Knox asks, jumping up onto the bed of the trailer, causing it to groan and bounce under the added weight.
Lifting myself up, I hold one side of the bike, so it doesn’t tip over, while Knox unhooks the tie-down straps from the handlebars.
“Ry not here yet?”
“He’s around. Saw him talking with thenew employee.”
I quirk an eyebrow at his smirking tone, not able to figure out what it means.
Once he’s done, he hops to the ground and attaches the ramp for me to guide his bike down.
“I didn’t know he was hiring. For the garage or for the team?”
He wipes his hands off on the jersey of his race kit. “The team. I can’t wait for you tomeet her.”
Again with the weird tone of voice.
“The king has arrived!” Trevaughn loudly announces behind me, and I want to roll my eyes. I’ve had to live with that stupid nickname since junior high. It’s a curse of having the last name Kingston.
Knox and Trevaughn are both transplants from New York City. They met while living in the same family shelter. Trevaughn recently moved back to town after being gone for a while.
Trevaughn and I tap fists, then he helps me remove the ramp and slide it onto the bed of the trailer.
“Have you seen the new girl with Ry?Holy shit.”
“She is very pretty,” Knox replies, taking a quick glance my way, and I give him a scowl in return. What is up with him tonight?
Trevaughn and I follow as Knox walks his bike toward the track.
“I’m definitely going to hit her up for her numb—”
Trevaughn gets interrupted by a gaggle of girls wanting Knox’s autograph and to take selfies. We step out of the way, not bothered by it. Price of being a hometown celebrity.
Interested in who this new woman is, I turn to scan the growing crowd for anyone I don’t recognize.
“What does she look like?” I ask.
“Tall blonde with the most gorgeous green…”
Trevaughn’s voice fades into the ether when my eyes lock on the last person I would expect to see here. Searing pain claws inside my chest as my heart electroshocks itself back to life when gorgeous soft green eyes stare back at me from a distance. Peyton Marley was always the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, but the person watching me from across the field isn’t a girl anymore.
Having her this close is like looking directly at the sun. Intense and blinding. I knew the day would come when I’d see her again. I thought I’d be better prepared for it. Clearly, I’m not, as evidenced by my shaking hands, the beads of sweat that pop along my forehead, and the breath that gets knocked out of my lungs in a violent whoosh.
Go to her. Grab her in your arms and never let go. Tell her you fucked up. That you didn’t mean what you said.
But my feet stay planted.
Four years ago, I didn’t only lose my best friend. I lost the girl I loved, too. I had no choice. She was going to give up her dream of college to stay. For me. I couldn’t let her continue to be stuck in this small town and tied to a guy who literally had permanent grease stains under his fingernails. Peyton deserved better. And as much as it killed me, when she said she loved me, I lied and said I didn’t love her back. I pushed her away, and those last words I spoke in desperation to save her from a life that Parker and I never wanted for her have haunted me every damn day since.
Statue-still and gaping like an idiot, I can’t tear my gaze from her. She looks phenomenal. Her wheat-blonde hair, that always reminded me of autumn sunrises, is longer, falling in waves past her shoulders. Tight denim hugs every delicious curve, as does the fitted Randy’s Custom Auto team jersey she’s wearing.
I saw her as a speck from where I sat in the stadium last week at her commencement. She didn’t know I was there, but there was no way in hell I would miss seeing her toss her cap up in the air. Pride swelled my chest to bursting until it felt like an overinflated helium balloon as I watched her. When the ceremony was over, her effulgent smile struck like an arrow aimed true to my heart. All I could think was,Parker, look at our girl. She did it, man.
A hand waves in front of my face. “Where’d you go?” Trevaughn asks, then follows my line of sight. “That’s her… and she’s walking toward us. Shit. How do I look?”
He runs a hand over his tight curls, then cups it over his mouth and exhales. “Dude, give me some gum.”
The girls surrounding Knox finally disperse, and he turns his attention to Trevaughn. “What?”
