“Do you want us to report the dog for impeding?” Samuel chimes in.
I snort. “Oh, yeah, absolutely.”
“I’ll go talk to the stewards about it,” Cory says, frowning. “We can’t have a stray dog running around during qualifying.”
“But what if we pay the dog to impede all of our rivals?” Samuel asks. “Cory? Don’t just walk away—that’s a genius idea and you know it!”
Cory scowls at him over his shoulder.
Samuel grins and holds out his fist for me to bump. “Nice session.”
“Thanks.” I hesitate. “Um—Samuel?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know what I’m supposed to do now?”
I thought Sofia and Cory would want to talk to me right away, but Cory’s gone to talk to the stewards and Sofia is sitting at her computer with a look on her face that forbids interruptions.
Samuel’s eyebrows lift a little in surprise, then he smiles. “Go grab some food and come back in, like, an hour. Sofia likes to sit with the data for a while before she and Cory talk to you about it.”
“Right. Thanks.”
“No problem.” He glances around and then adds, with a conspiratorial smile, “She’s really impressed. I heard her talking.”
A shiver of pure excitement runs through me. “Thanks, man.”
Chapter 5
“Did you see that dog?” Travis asks, the second I walk into his changing room.
I laugh. “I think you mean, ‘Sorry for nearly hitting you, Jacob.’”
He grins. “Oh, please. I barely moved.”
“You left me, like, two feet of space!”
“I left you a car’s width.” He takes my wrists and tugs me closer. “Anyway, I was just making sure you know what to do in case you ever run up behind Cole Milton.”
“He walked by me earlier,” I say, looping my arms around Travis’s neck. He’s not half as sweaty as I am, and he smells really good, like mint and fresh pine.
“And?”
“And he’s kind of hot in person.”
“You did not just say that.”
I cackle. “It’s true! He has kind of a dark, broody thing going on. Very sexy.”
“You’re messing with me.”
“I am ninety percent messing with you, ten percent admitting a shameful truth.”
“If I kiss you right now, will that stop you from talking?”
I grin. “It’s worth a try.”
He presses his soft, warm lips against mine, then he rests our forehead together. “Hi.”
