The crowd roars. I nearly cry from relief. Then Escobar hits him with another cheap move. Shady bitch accelerates just enough to try and force Gio off balance on the next straight.
Gio’s bike shakes a little. I freak out. "IS THAT LEGAL?!" "YES," the same guys answer in unison.
"How?!"
"IT JUST IS!"
I want to pass out.
But then Gio’s plan starts to unfold exactly like he explained. Escobar’s Ferrari speeds up but it takes too long to react because it’s too heavy, too fucking slow in the turns.
Gio slices past him again, this time smoother. He ducks low and slips through the tiniest pocket of space on the track. He’s in front now. For real this time. Escobar floors it.
Gio just nods his head like yeah, I expected you to do that, asshole, and pulls away with this terrifying confidence.
Someone has to pick up my jaw, because wow. He’s actually doing it. He’s beating the giant red demon. The crowd is losing their minds. "Holy shit… holy shit holy shit, he’s winning," I say, grabbing my hair.
The second they hit the final stretch my whole body leans forward like I’m the one steering the damn bike. Gio is in front. Exactly like he promised. Exactly like he told me he could.
Please, Gio, just finish. Please, before I pass out. He pushes more throttle. I can hear it even from here. I clench my fists. Here he comes.
When he crosses the line, I launch myself into the air.
I scream so loud half the crowd jumps. I accidentally smack someone.
People around me start cheering with me, howling like wild animals because he did it. Lorenzo bolts straight toward me and basically throws himself on top of me.
I stumble back a step and catch him and then we’re hugging and jumping up and down like two escaped mental patients, laughing so hard I can’t even breathe.
Everyone’s staring at us and laughing.
Lorenzo throws an arm around me and physically turns me to face them. "THAT’S HIS BOYFRIEND!"
My heart stops.
The stranger blinks. "No shit?"
"No shit!" Lorenzo crows. "Look at his face. You think he screamed like that for fun?"
I nearly choke. "He’snotmy boyfriend."
Lorenzo doesn’t even look at me. "Sure, sure. Whatever you say, tesoro." He winks. And I die.
Gio climbs off the bike, rips his helmet off, and actually starts running toward us, all excited, pushing through bodies like they’re air, eyes locked on me like I’m the finish line.
I’m pretty sure he didn’t even turn the engine off.
Amazing. Environmental king. I laugh and a second later he crashes straight into me and we’re just standing there laughing like idiots in the middle of all the noise.
He goes straight for my mouth before I even catch my breath. I kiss him back just as hard, fingers digging into his neck a little more than necessary.
Not my fault. He shouldn’t be this hot.
And the fact he’s doing this in front of so many people makes it even hotter.
He’s not shy about it at all. He doesn’t care who’s watching or what they think, he just makes it very clear he’s focused on me. His hand finds my wrist and he starts dragging me away from the crowd. He pushes through bodies and I shuffle behind him, mumbling"sorry, excuse me, sorry"to everyone he shoulder-checks.
We end up in a corner behind someone’s car and he pins me there, mouth on mine again. I kiss him back then pull away just enough to talk.
