Jace’s look tells me to stay the fuck out of it. He turns back to Gianna. Her arm is still linked with Monique’s and she blinks a few times before nodding.
‘Monz and I won’t cause any trouble,’ she says quietly. ‘We’ll stay up here with you guys. We won’t run off. Just let us stay?’
‘The Tropics isn’t a place for you,’ Jace says sternly. ‘And The Prank wasn’t either. You shouldn’t have followed us tonight. You could have got caught back there.’
‘But we didn’t.’ I nudge him. ‘We’re all good now. Monz and Gianna can stay.’
‘Yeah, relax, mano.’ Renny blows smoke through the corner of his mouth. ‘É nóis.’
Jace glowers at Renny and me while Tyler stays neutral, standing off to the side.
The smell of weed drifts through the air before I see him, but X runs over the crest of the hill to us, with a smile so wide he’s clearly oblivious to the tense situation he’s just walked into. ‘Yo!’ His eyes zone in on Jace. ‘Next race. You in?’
Jace gives Gianna a warning look before he turns to X. ‘Yeah. Give me a minute.’
‘It’s a straight race, but it’s not winner takes all,’ X clarifies. ‘It’s two out of three, that cool?’
‘That’s fine.’ Jace waves him off.
X turns to head off but pauses. ‘Wear the mask.’ He snaps his fingers at the silver skull hanging around my brother’s neck. ‘I think the crowd will dig it.’
Jace pulls his keys from his pocket, moving through the circle toward the Mustang. He stops at Gianna’s side and she unlinks from Monique to turn to him.
‘Please let me stay?’ Her bottom lip juts out a little.
Christ.
There’s that look in her eyes that makes me want to give her anything she wants, and I’m not the only one. Jace’s eyes soften and he sighs before his lips press into a thin line.
‘One race,’ he says. ‘You can watchonerace.’
She squeals and pushes into his arms, giving him a hug.
‘Yeah,’ Jace says, trying to act tough. ‘Alright, alright.’ He heads toward the Mustang but before he opens the door I call out, ‘Yo, what time is it?’
Jace turns around to throw me an unimpressed look, but then it slides off his face. ‘Hammer time,’ he calls back. He slips the silver mask over his face.
I wait till he gets into the Mustang and drives down the hill toward the start line, where three other cars are already lined up.
‘C’mon.’ I pull Gianna’s hands, leading her further up the hill.
Her hands slip from mine as she points down to the track between the brick structures. ‘But the race is down there.’
‘The view’s better up here.’
‘Alright.’ She turns to Monique. ‘Are you coming?’
Monique’s eyes flick to mine and she flashes a knowing smile before turning back to Gianna.
‘No, babe.’ She nudges Gianna’s arm. ‘You go ahead. I’ll stay here.’
Renny steps to her side and wraps an arm around Monique. ‘You go, Little G. I got her.’
A flush creeps into Monique’s cheeks and she shares a coy smile with Gianna, who finally turns to me. I hold out my hand. She takes a few quick steps before the warmth of her fingers steals through mine. I smile at how it feels.
I’d always torn my eyes away from her because she’s my best friend’s baby sister, and when thoughts of her crawled into my mind, I’d pushed them out.
But I don’t care anymore. She’s more than that now.
