The summer thunderstorms earlier this week left the track a bit muddy and slippery. Randy and Mitch make their way over to our group. Fallon, a soon to be senior from Highland High, is the announcer for tonight. One of the deputies has given him a police megaphone to use. Fallon Montgomery is one of those guys that everyone in a five-county radius has heard of. His family is loaded. Montgomery Pharma is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the nation and their headquarters is located in Research Triangle Park; not to mention, about half our county is employed in one way or another by his family’s company or one of their subsidiaries.
“Good evening everybody!” Fallon yells through the megaphone. “Who’s ready to see some racing tonight?”
We all yell back at him.
“I can’t hear you! Who’s ready for some heart-pounding, loud as fuck, strap yourself to your seats, racing tonight?”
We all scream louder, whistles raising the noise levels to a crescendo. No one, not even the parents, show they are bothered by Fallon’s crude language. Guess that shows just how much clout his family has in the area. No one would dare go up against them.
“Ok then! Gentlemen, start your engines,” Fallon signals and the racers mount their bikes and twist their handlebars sending engine revs crashing into night. “You guys know the rules. No dirty business. We have two deputies watching tonight who will be more than happy to haul your asses in.”
Fallon stands back to the side to get out of the way of the racers.
“On your mark,” he starts.
I look to Ryder. My palms begin to sweat, and I grab on tighter to Maria’s arm. I can’t see Ryder’s face because of his helmet, but I know he’s in the zone. You can just tell by the energy emanating off his body, by the way his body hovers over his bike, one leg outstretched propping it up, how his hands grip the handlebars. It’s sexy as hell.
Fallon shouts out, “Get set.”
Ryder tenses. I tense. Everything seems to go suddenly silent as my eyes glue on to Ryder’s form.
“Go!”
And with that, the bikes scream away from the start line. A loud whoosh of exhaled breath I didn’t know I was holding comes rushing out of my lungs. I hear Ryder’s dad calling out to him, giving encouragement. The chaos on the track is nuts. Two riders slide out on the mud around the first corner. One rider rams into the back of another by accident as his bike hits a rut and his front tire clips the bike next to him. Ryder and Elijah are in the lead. They will race around the dirt track four times.
By the second lap, the racers seem to have gotten into the groove and used to the conditions on the course. Two laps down, two to go. Maria and I are holding each other’s hands, jumping up and down, cheering Ryder on. On the last lap, Ryder pulls out ahead from the pack. He leans into the last curve, leg stretching out to the ground to help turn the bike as it skids along, and then he’s off again like a bullet. He takes a quick look behind him to see how far away the person in second is, then slows down when he passes by our group. He points his finger in our direction, touches his heart, then to everyone’s astonishment, speeds up to go over the last small bump. He jerks the front of his bike up hard, revs the handlebar, and does a freakin’ backflip before landing his bike on both wheels and crossing the finish line. Elijah follows thirty seconds after in second with the remaining riders close behind.
Maria is screaming in my ear, “Oh my God! That was fucking epic!” The crowd goes bananas.
Once all the other racers cross the finish, Fallon comes back out with his megaphone, Ryder in tow. He throws Ryder’s arm up in the air in victory.
“Holy shit! You are a freakin’ rock star!”
The other racers, including Elijah, as well as Jayson and Julien, head out onto the track to tackle Ryder in celebration. Me? I am speechless. That boy. That wonderful, crazy-ass boy.
After things settle down and the track is cleared to be prepared for the next race, the boys help Randy take Ryder’s bike back to the truck to load it up. Ryder, beaming like a fiend, walks off the track and stops in front of me and Maria. His eyes lock on me. Ryder runs his hand through his dark hair that’s soaked with sweat, grinning a devil’s smile at me. He has never looked more handsome.
Maria’s eyes ping back and forth between me and Ryder before she clears her throat and says she’s going to find her brother.
“You are one ballsy son of a bitch,” I tell him, shaking my head, a huge smile exploding across my face.
“So you liked it?”
“Loved it,” I breathe.
We hear Randy call out for Ryder. Ryder reaches for my hand and links our pinkies together.
“Elizabeth.” His tone grows serious. “There’s something I would like to talk to you about tomorrow. Can I come over around one or so?”
“Oh, is it important? Do you want to talk now or after we get home tonight?”
He thinks about my question for a minute but his dad’s voice calling for him again breaks his thoughts.
“Jay, Jules, and I have got something to do tonight. Otherwise I would say yes. Tomorrow at one?” His pinky finger squeezes mine once and then let’s go.
“Yeah, sure. I’ll be home.”
He brushes his hand against mine and walks away to join his dad and the boys. Maria, who has been waiting in the shadows watching it all instead of actually finding her brother, comes skipping back over to me.
