Ridin' Dirty (Beautifully Dirty #2) (19 page)

I put the things we brought on the counter and give both Mr. and Mrs. Evans a huge hug. It’s like having a piece of home with me when they are around.

“I love it when you guys are here.”

“Well, we love coming here,” Mrs. Evans says as she hugs me back.

“How long are you here for?”

“We are going to the race this weekend and then we will fly to Vegas with Ryan, and then we will fly out for home that Sunday, when he does.”

“That’s awesome. Oh, the girls and I will take you shopping one day before you leave. We know all the good spots for bargains, we’ve gotten some great clothes but at reasonable prices.”

“Oh, that sounds perfect.”

“Thanks, Ansley, you are costing me more money.”

“Sorry, Mr. Evans,” I say, as both Ryan’s mom and I start laughing.

“Hey, Ans, you and the girls made it,” Ryan says as he walks in from the back yard.

“We did.” Ryan leans in to give me a hug as I answer.

Walking over, he gives both girls a hug, as well. We start getting some of the food going as the afternoon starts. Ryan and Mr. Evans start the grill up and throw on the chicken and ribs that Ryan picked up. In the back yard some people are in the pool, some playing corn hole, which makes me laugh to myself. I thought it was just a game played in the South, not everywhere, and then there are others just sitting around shooting the shit.

Kenna and Maddie are hanging out with the rest of Ryan’s team; they are in their glory with all the boys vying for their attention, just about as much as those boys are loving all the flirting the girls do with each of them. Those two have them eating out of the palms of their hands. Though as I look. Ryan seems a bit pissed; huh, maybe it’s because Kenna is getting noticed by a couple of his teammates. It makes me chuckle a little.

“Your roommates are something else,” Ryan says as he looks down at the grill.

“And your teammates are dying to get with them.”

“That they are, and your roommates know it, too,” he says, a bit irritated, but trying not to sound that way so he chuckles too.

“Oh, your teammates aren’t starving for attention either. They know they could have anyone they wanted.”

“Well, clearly they want your roommates.”

“It’s kinda funny watching them all . . . Maddie flirts with one, and then another one does something to catch her eye and then she’s on to him.”

“They are ridiculous, aren’t they?”

I nod my head and both of us start laughing out loud. As the afternoon goes into the evening, we sit around talking about what Ryan needs to do to clinch the title, and then who his competition is going to be in Vegas, when everyone comes together. Both Ryan and his dad say that Cooper is a force to be reckoned with, and they can’t count him out at all.

We start picking up things as people start to say their goodbyes, and then we follow behind shortly after the last of the guests leave.

“Bye, Ry. Good luck on Saturday if I don’t get a chance to tell you before then,” I say, giving him an extra-long hug.

“Thanks, Peanut.” He is rubbing my back, as he gives me a squeeze.

“I’ll be rooting for the both of you to do well. I don’t care who wins.”

“Well, I’d love to say I’d be ok if Cooper killed it, but I need him to be off his game for five seconds, so I can get a good start. Otherwise, I have a feeling, it’ll be the two of us duking it out til we cross the finish line.”

“I still love you both, either way.”

“I love you too, Ans. Drive safe going home.”

“I will.”

“Text me when you get there, so I know.”

“Ugh, it’s as bad as it was in high school. I’d get ready to go home and either you or Coop would think you’d have to walk me there.”

“Yeah, so . . .”

“Ryan, I lived in between your houses,” I say and roll my eyes at him, before I walk out the door.

He stands in the doorway and yells, “We just wanted to make sure you made it home safely.”

I wave my hand up in the air at him as I climb in my car, where Maddie and Kenna have been waiting for me.

Cooper

WELL, TONIGHT DETERMINES
the championship of the West Coast. I’m going to have to have one hell of start in order to beat Ryan. If he gets the holeshot, he’s going to be gone and then there is no catching him, and I know it.

I offer to drive my truck to the race, so Jesse and I are riding together since it’s only about an hour and a half from the house. We’ll stay at the hotel Saturday night after the race, because it’ll be around midnight when it finishes. Since we need to be there for the press conference that starts at ten, we pull out about seven in the morning. Knowing that we need to be in full gear for the cameras, we go straight to the truck at the track. Pulling in, I notice that Ansley’s tent is further away this time, which is perfect. That way I can concentrate more on the race and not her.

My mechanic and I check over my bike, discussing different changes we should make, based on the way the track looks. Knowing that I want to be out front from the beginning, we put a different tire on. The tread on this one will help me dig deeper out of the gate. It’s going to be a bar to bar fight.

I return from practice and see Ryan’s parents walking over to the truck. I want to get a quick shower in before talking to them. I am a completely filthy, sweaty mess. I shout to my manager who they are and to let them know I’ll be out in a minute.

As soon as I am done with my shower, I quickly throw on a pair of shorts and t-shirt and walk out.

“Hey there, kid. How the hell are you?”

“I’m good.” I lean in to give both of them a hug before sitting down at one of our tables.

“You looked good out there. You came in with the fastest lap time. You going to take this championship away from my son, or what?”

“Ha, ha! I’ve been busting my ass to have a shot against him.”

“Oh, I think you have more than a shot. It’s going to come down to the start and who rides smarter.”

“Agreed. Ryan is cleaner at the starts than I am, though I’d like to believe that I’ve gotten better over the years.”

“I’ve been watching, and I understand how you got your nickname. You’ve been practicing them, haven’t you? It’s all about timing, you know that.”

“It is.”

“Just don’t get distracted by the thirty second board girl and you’ll be fine,” he says, laughing.

“No, that wouldn’t be good, would it?” I am chuckling at his comment.

“Speaking of the thirty second board girl, I heard Ansley is doing it tonight.”

The look of shock tells him what he needs to know. “Umm, I had no idea.”

“What’s the matter with that?”

“Well, I just don’t need any distractions, that’s all, and seeing her down there is the one thing I didn’t want to happen.”

“Oh, you’ll be fine.”

“No, now Ryan will have a leg up on me,” I say, as I get up to get a drink from one of the tall coolers storing them.

“Oh, yeah, how’s that? You both are friends with her, so it’s no different for him.”

“Believe it or not, it is. But that is conversation for another time, I really need to get ready for my heat.” I don’t want to go into details; my head needs to be in this race and only this race.

We quickly say goodbye to each other and then we go our separate ways. I can tell by the look on his face, he has more questions, but he’s tabling them for now and I am grateful, more than he knows.

I am in the first heat and win it. After my TV interviews, I make it back under the tent before I can be stopped by anyone else. Taking a shower and relaxing is my first priority right now. After stepping out of the shower, I walk out of the bathroom to a room full of people. My heat race is up on the screen, as well as Jesse’s on the other TV that hangs on the wall. The team managers, my mechanic, Jesse and his mechanic, either are sitting on the couches or are standing up. Jesse has just taken second, behind Ryan, in his heat, so now it’s time to see where we should line up on the start, figure out where we can capitalize and make passes safely. Soon it’s going to be go time and it means it’s now or never.

Before I know it, we are suiting up. My phone beeps, but I choose not to look at it right now. Nothing is going to distract me from this race, not even the one person holding the thirty second board. So, whoever is on that phone is going to wait. I walk over and give Jesse a fist bump. We got this if we get a good enough start, one of us can come out on top. We get a pat on the back from our managers, and then we are riding to the starting line. We pick our gates, and there we sit for a bit, while everyone else lines up. Our mechanics go over everything one more time.

We are all leaning forward, elbows up, and eyes straight ahead until the board reads ten seconds, then I count it down in my head as my eyes are down watching for the gate to drop. I get a handful of throttle and go. There is a long straightaway before the first turn, as long as I get through that, I have a chance of making a run for it. I can see Ryan in front of me, off to the left side. He gets the inside line and the holeshot. I know I am sitting in the best place I can be in, second. Now, I need to watch his lines, figure out if he makes mistakes in certain areas of the track, and take advantage of any I see.

I see an opening and I go for it, though Ryan quickly covers the line, almost taking me out. I haven’t seen this in him before, not with me anyway. I know that there is a lot at stake, so I’m really not too surprised. I try taking a different line in the whoops section, but I am bounced everywhere, so that doesn’t pay off. I see, ‘ride smart’ on the pit board my mechanic is holding out for me to see as I go by him. That is exactly what I decide to do; I follow behind him, not by choice but because he keeps picking up speed with every lap that goes by. I try to maintain his speed, but he is just a clean, fast rider. Ryan has this championship in the bag, as long as he keeps it on two wheels.

Fourteen laps later and the white flag is flying, showing us there is one lap left. Ryan has a three second lead on me so unless a lapper, a racer that he’s passed and is now a lap down in the race, gets in his way or something major happens, he’ll have the number one plate by the end of the night attached to his bike.

The last lap goes by in a flash, and the next thing I know we are getting the trophies for the night. Ryan is being congratulated by the director of Supercross and is handed the red plate. I stand off to the side, watching his mom and dad go over to him and give him the biggest hug ever. I am about to head in that direction, when I am stopped dead in my tracks as Ansley comes into sight. She runs over, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him on the cheek, which makes me want to turn and make my way to my tent. I decide in the end to show the friend I’ve had for my entire life the respect of shaking his hand to congratulate him.

Once in the trailer, I throw my helmet across the room, as well as my gloves and jersey. I’m done with the two of them, all together. Just then, my phone vibrates, letting me know there is a message for me to listen to. I hit the play button without even paying attention to who it’s from. My vision is a bit blurred.

“Cooper, it’s Ansley . . . umm, I just wanted to tell you good luck tonight. Stay safe.”

That’s all I heard before I chucked it across the room, shattering it in a million pieces. I’m glad I didn’t hear this before I went out to ride. My mechanic comes in and tells me to take a chill. I rode well and kicked ass for my rookie year, he said and he reminded me, I still have the East/West Shoot Out in Vegas to show everyone what I am made of. Little does he know my anger has nothing to do with the fucking race, but everything to do with Ryan and Ansley. To think I was going to tell him congratulations and shake his hand.

With everything going on, I never see or hear where Jesse ended up tonight. I don’t feel like I am being a good friend to him, worrying only about myself. I walk out in just my pants, looking for him. He is standing off to the side with his grandparents, who are hugging him. Now I feel even worse.

“Hey, bud, how’d you finish up?” I ask, as I grab a Hyped energy drink out of the cooler.

“I ended tonight in fourth, but I finished right behind you in points. Congrats on second tonight and for the whole season,” he says, walking toward me.

“Well, third is pretty incredible, too. Who would have thought, two rookies killing it this year?”

“Not me, there are a lot of killer guys this year; it was anyone’s to win.”

“No kidding. Well, I will let you get back to your grandparents. I’ll see you back at the hotel.”

“K, sounds good.”

We hug it out and I go back inside the truck to grab a few things.

I am back at the hotel bar, having a drink by myself until a
Rockstar Energy Girl
walks in.

“Can I join you?”

“What’s your drink of choice?”

“Are you on the menu?”

“Could be after a couple more of these,” I say, raising my glass at her.

“Sounds good to me.” She pulls out a barstool to my left and sits down.

After about four more rounds and a few shots, I can barely walk or remember what I was drinking to forget, but we take our party of two up to my room. As soon as we enter my room, my tongue finds her neck and with one big swipe, I go from base to earlobe, before I stop and nibble just a bit. She tastes of sweet berries, and I want to eat her up. I slowly unzip the back of her leather pants. That’s right they zip in the back, straight up the crack of her ass. Gliding those pants, inch by inch, down her legs until she steps out of them, leaving on her “take me from behind” heels, is HOT as hell. She goes to remove her tiny, yellow leather vest, with the big black R framed with a star on the back of it for
Rockstar
. I stop her. I am going to unwrap this present myself.