“You’re banning her?” I ask in surprise. The crash wasn’tthatbad.
“From driving, yes. You can take a two-person kart, as long as you’re driving, not her,” he tells me, pointing to a bigger kart nearby.
I look at her in question. “What do you think? Are you done with go-karting, or want to take a spin with me?”
She grins up at me and bites her lip.Ah, fuck.Now all I can picture is taking her for a spin in bed.
“I’d love to go for a spin with you,” she says, not too innocently.
My head tilts back as I groan and try to compose myself. “You’re trouble,” I tell her before grabbing her hand and leading her over to the kart. I help her sit in the passenger seat, then walk around and get settled on the driver's side.
“Alright, you ready to go, trouble?” I ask with a grin.
She nods, and I’m pleased to see that her crash and subsequent banishment haven’t affected her mood. I pull out, and before I can get up to speed, Dex wizzes past us with a long, excited, “Woooo!” as he goes.
“You have to pass him!” she yells as I speed up and followclose behind. I’m not sure if Dex slows on purpose, but he moves to the side as I get closer, letting us pass without touching him. Wren sticks out her tongue at him, and he narrows his eyes playfully at her, as he pretends to try harder not to let us pass.
The following laps are filled with Wren’s giggles as Dex and I take turns in the lead, pretending his solo car isn’t much faster than our two-person one. When we finally end, with us in the lead, Wren is grinning from ear to ear.
“You have fun?” I ask as I help her out and onto the platform.
“Yes! That was amazing!”
“I think you two cheated,” Dex says after exiting his own kart and coming to join us.
“We did not!” Wren exclaims. “How could you even cheat at go-karts?”
“Watching you was distracting. And I can’t see you if I’m in front.”
She gasps in mock horror. “Did you let us win?”
“Of course not,” he says easily. “But I would have won if you weren’t such good eye candy.”
He kisses the top of her head as I wrap my arm around her shoulders and we lead her to the picnic table where Jagger and Sly are seated.
“Where’s Elias?” Wren asks when we’re close enough to hear them over the roar of the go-kart engines.
Sly gestures to the side as Elias comes out of the building carrying two large trays full of drinks and food.
My eyebrows raise a little in surprise.
We all move to sit around the table as he sets the trays down. “Thank you, Elias,” Wren tells him with a smile.
“Of course. Root beer, right?” he asks, handing her a soft drink cup.
“Thanks,” she says with a nod, taking the cup and a small sip.
Everyone starts picking at the food: nachos, hot dogs, burgers, and fries, eating silently until Elias sighs. “Is no one going to mention the elephant in the room?”
My brows pinch in confusion, and I see my look is mirrored in the others.
“What elephant?” Dex asks before shoving a fry into his mouth.
“The fact that Wren can never be allowed to drive again.”
“Hey!” she says indignantly. “I wasn’t that bad.” Her eyes move to me as she asks. “Was I?”
“Uhhh…”
