by B. N. Hale
Speeding around the corners, he relished the pull of the kart, the familiar feel of the tires slipping on the concrete. Three times around the track and he came to a screeching halt across the finish line. He turned off the engine and a moment later she stopped beside him. Then she yanked her helmet off and glared.
“What in the—”
The door clattered open and Roman appeared in the opening. “You just beat the lap record—my lap record. How did you do that?”
Reed pulled off his helmet and stepped out of the kart. “After my parents split up my dad decided he wanted to start a small business, and bought a go-kart track in a neighboring town. Part of the agreement was for the previous owner to show my dad how to run the place. The guy used to be a professional racer so he really knew how to drive. I spent most of the first month racing with him. Within a year my dad had driven the track into the ground, but I still remember how to drive.”
Kate began to laugh, the sound building with amusement and chagrin. “Did you know this was our date for the night?” She glanced at Roman as if he’d betrayed her, but he raised his hands helplessly.
“No idea,” Reed said. “But the moment you said go-karts all the memories came flooding back.”
“Get back in your kart,” she said. “You’re going to teach me how to do that.”
Reed raised an eyebrow and looked to Roman. “We might clip the walls a bit.”
“I have time to fix it,” Roman said, and then smiled. “I’ll watch you and then practice it on my own. I can already imagine Jerry’s face when I show him what I can do.”
He disappeared and Reed sank back into the kart. Then Kate called out to him. “You know, I wasn’t prepared for this.”
“For the track?” Reed asked, pausing in donning his helmet.
“For all the surprises,” she said, her eyes on him. “I keep thinking I have you figured out, but then you come up with something like this.” She swept her hand at the track.
“I haven’t driven a kart in fifteen years,” he said. “Not since my dad lost the track. It’s not exactly a normal topic of conversation.”
“You never took a date to do it?”
Reed cocked his head to the side. “Actually, no. After my dad’s business tanked he was depressed for a while, so I made a point not to bring it up. I guess the habit carried into adulthood.”
“Any other secret talents I should know about?” she asked.
He grinned. “They’re best discovered on their own.”
She matched his smile. “So how do we do this?”
While still parked, he described how to pull the brake right as you turned the steering wheel, how to backspin the wheel so the tires kept the kart from spinning out, and when to release the brake and press on the gas, accelerating out of the turn into a straightaway.
“Try to stay in the center of the turn for now,” he said. “When you know how the kart is going to react, then you can bring it closer to the inside wall.”
“But you didn’t know that kart,” she said shrewdly.
“True,” he said. “So maybe I was trying to get your attention a little bit.”
“Only a little?”
“Did it work?”
She grinned. “I like it fast.” Then she flushed and shoved her helmet on. “Ready when you are.”
“I’ll go first,” he said. “Stay behind me and only pull a little on the brake. Then we’ll take it faster.”
He gunned the engine and accelerated but kept well below top speed. Coming up on the first curve he did as he’d explained—moderate speed and moderate pull on the brake. Then he slowed on the opposite side and looked back. Kate turned into the curve at the right angle and braked, but didn’t turn into the skid. The kart spun out and bounced lightly off the wall.
“Sorry Roman!” she shouted.
His voice came over the intercom. “Like I said, I can fix it.”
“I can testify to that!” Reed called.
Kate laughed and turned her cart forward once more. When she waved her readiness, Reed did the same, leading her into the long curve. He’d forgotten to say she would need more speed with the longer curve, and she came to a stop halfway through.
For the next hour he taught her how to skid around the corners, coaching her until she could pull off a respectable drift. Roman requested a turn, and Reed and Kate sat in the small bleachers overlooking the track.
Reed was conscious of their proximity but did not move away. After doing the track several times, it felt good to sit in the open and stretch, and he enjoyed watching Roman attempt the skid.
“Please tell me I did better than that,” Kate said, gesturing to Roman spinning on the track.
Reed sipped on the Sprite they had gotten from the concession stand. “You did.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Really,” he said. “He’s doing well, but he has too many habits. You had less experience so you could learn easier.”
She smiled as Roman hit the guardrail again. His curse was audible from their seats in the bleachers. He backed up and tried again. Night had fallen and so had the temperature. Kate scooted closer to Reed.
“It’s funny how everyone has random things from their past,” Kate said. “Did you know Brittney is a really good artist?”
“Seriously?”
“She got into it as a kid,” Kate said. “I didn’t know until I saw her collection of pencils on her desk and asked.”
“Everyone has a past,” Reed said. “It would take a lifetime to truly know another person.”
“So tell me something else about yourself,” she said, opening a bag of chips.
Reed considered her request. “I got stitches on my forehead when I was two. My sister and I were playing king of the mountain and she pushed me off. I hit a cabinet and split my head open.” He held up his hair to show the scar, a thin line just above his ear.
“I got this two years ago,” she said, lifting her sleeve to show a wide scar on her shoulder. “Bake and Tyler were practicing knife fighting in the kitchen and it grew heated. I was foolish enough to intervene and caught a knife in the shoulder.”
He reached out and traced a line down the scar. Knobby and wide, it had obviously been a small but ugly wound. Her eyes widened at his touch and he realized the intimacy of the contact, of his hand caressing her shoulder. Their eyes met and he withdrew his fingers.
“I thought you said no physical contact.”
“Let’s just say the lines are becoming blurry.”
She raised an eyebrow and studied his expression, but he smiled and looked away. She opened her mouth to speak and then shut it. Before she could decide what to say, Roman managed to drift around a corner, his ensuing shout of victory echoing off the track walls.
“He’s getting better,” she said.
“Habits aren’t so hard to change,” he said.
“Really?” she asked, incredulous. “I’ve been trying to break the habit of hitting snooze on the alarm clock for years.”
“On which days do you wake up on time?” he asked.
“When I have a reason that forces me from the warm comfort of my incredibly soft blankets.”
“Exactly,” he said. “Breaking a habit is easy.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand what you mean. How is this easy?”
“You’re just missing the key ingredient,” he said, and met her gaze. “Any habit can be broken . . . if you have the right motivation.”
Her eyebrows knit together as she studied his expression. He didn’t want to tell her that he’d made his choice, but he did want to make his stance clear. She began to smile, the expression spreading to lighten her features.
“Care for another race?” she asked, gesturing to the track.
“Always,” he said, his eyes on her.
Chapter 6
They continued to race until it got late, and by then Kate had improved significantly—an irritation to Roman, who had yet to do as well. Bidding h
im farewell, they walked out to her car and climbed in.
“We stayed later than I thought,” Kate said, eyeing the clock on the dash.
“It’s past eleven,” Reed said, surprised at how quickly the time had flown.
“I was going to take you to an ice cream place a few miles from here. They serve a dish called the race track, which has a car made of candy on top of a chocolate and vanilla waffle cone.”
“You think they’re still open?” he asked, loathe to end the date.
“We’ll get back after midnight,” she said. “Unless that’s another rule you’re willing to bend on.”
“Let’s go,” he said. “But not too late.”
She pulled onto the road. “Next thing I know, you’re going to want sex in the back seat.”
He grinned and shook his head. “I don’t drive that fast.”
She laughed and turned onto the main road, accelerating toward the highway. As they drove away Reed found himself wishing he was still racing with Kate. In an odd way they’d been close. Separated by car and space, they had nevertheless woven around each other, the cars occasionally touching.
“I still can’t believe you drive a go-kart like that,” she said.
He smiled. “I played a lot of Mario kart at the time, and it felt like the real thing. Mario kart lost its appeal afterward.”
“I bet it did,” she said. “Nothing like the real thing.”
“True,” he said.
“Did you ever beat him?” she asked. “The professional racer?”
“A few times,” he said. “But I’m pretty sure he let me win.”
“That’s nice of him.”
“Those were the times he was sober,” he said. “It was tough to tell, though. He and my dad drank a lot.”
She got off at the next exit and followed the directions on her phone to the ice cream shop. They pulled in and the sign revealed it was about to close, so they rushed in to place their order. With Race Track Supremes in hand, they settled into her car and ate as the entire strip mall went dark.
“This is surprisingly good,” he said.
“Roman mentioned it,” she replied. “I figured it went with the theme.”
“Are you getting tired of planning these dates yet?” he asked.
She swiveled in her seat to look at him. “Are you?”
“It’s different, planning for one person over several dates. I’m used to just one or two, or occasionally three dates with the same girl. This is our tenth, and even though I’ve only planned half of them, it’s proving to be an increasing challenge.”
“You didn’t answer the question,” she said.
“Neither did you,” he countered.
She tipped her spoon as if to say, fair point. Her gaze lingered on him, gauging the purpose of his conversation, and he tried to keep his expression mildly curious. He was curious, but if they were going to elevate their relationship, he wanted to see what she wanted. But was he saying too much? Eventually she shrugged.
“When I was a little girl I watched movies and read books that always talked about adventure. I remember wondering what an adventure would be like, and fell asleep many times imagining my own. I never thought I’d get one.”
“You really feel that way?”
“I do,” she said. “There may not be dragons or knights, but this adventure certainly has magic.” She smiled coyly, making him laugh. “Now your turn. Are you tired of it yet?”
“When we started this game, I thought I would crush you,” he admitted. “I never thought you would prove such a formidable adversary.”
“I hope that’s not all you see,” she said.
“Poor word choice,” he said. “I just mean you’ve surprised me—and continue to do so. I never thought this game would become an obsession.”
“Now I’m an obsession?” Her lips twitched with amusement.
He grunted ruefully. “I seem to have a talent for finding the wrong words tonight.”
“I won’t hold that against you,” she said. “Especially since you’re still in the lead.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“My roommates keep a tally,” she admitted. “And you’re still in the lead—not by much, mind you, but enough. The island date gave you a big advantage.”
“The one where we fell in the pool?” he asked, incredulous.
“They call it the one where I took a shower in your house,” she said. “Ember thought it was the closest you and I came to spending the night.”
“True or not,” he said, “I’m glad to know I have the lead.”
“Don’t sound so smug,” she said, throwing a napkin at him. “Tomorrow they’ll post the picture of us at the track, and the details of the night. You can see for yourself if you’d like. Ember put it online after I used the band in the library. It’s getting a following and people are voting.”
Reed pulled out his phone and followed her direction to the site, surprised to find an image of himself standing with Kate. The picture had been taken of them on their third date, and the way they looked at each other implied exactly what they felt.
“I can’t believe she posted it online,” he said.
“Does that bother you?” she asked. “There are thousands of people posting now. There’s even a Creative Dating hashtag about us.”
“I had no idea.”
“Are you upset?”
He considered her question but then shook his head. “I always wanted my methods of dating to become more commonplace. By the tone of these comments, it seems to be having an impact. Turns out all I needed was you.”
“Truest statement you’ve ever made,” she said fervently, and they both laughed.
They finished their ice cream and stepped out to drop the napkins and spoons into a trash can. Then she drove him home. On the way he read some of the comments aloud, surprised and gratified by the praise some of the girls seemed to be heaping upon them.
“They’re calling you the new age woman,” he said.
“Hardly,” Kate said, pulling into his driveway.
They got out and she walked him to his door, but Reed found himself looking around, wondering if someone was taking a picture of them. They reached his porch and he embraced her, and once again she lingered in his arms. For the first time, he did not feel the sting of regret, and smiled as he held her to his chest. When they parted she had a knowing smile on her face.
“I’ll expect your invite,” she said.
“Be ready,” he said with a smile. “I have to maintain my lead.”
She laughed and walked to her car, glancing back as she got in. “I look forward to what’s coming.”
He could not restrain his smile. “You should,” he said.
Excerpt from Volume 11
“What is Reed waiting for?” Marta asked. “He should have asked you out for your next date by now.”
“I don’t know,” Kate said.
Kate looked down and realized she’d been fidgeting with her napkin so much that it had torn. With an effort she put it back on the table and leaned back in the bench, causing the vinyl to creak.
“Your date is tomorrow,” Ember said, demolishing a roll. “What’s taking him so long?”
Kate and the blondes were sitting at dinner at Marta’s restaurant. It was the third of July, just one day before they were supposed to go on a date, but Reed had yet to extend an invitation. She reflexively pulled out her phone and looked at it, but there hadn’t been an answer since they’d talked earlier that day.
Brittney frowned. “Have you asked him what he’s waiting for?”
“She can’t do that,” Ember protested. “It will show how nervous she is.”
“I’m not nervous,” Kate said.
“Liar,” Marta said, pointing at Kate’s fork.
Kate looked down and realized she was now tapping her fork against her knife. She grimaced and put the fork down, annoyed that her hands continued to betray her nervousness. Then she leaned fo
rward and lowered her voice.
“We talk every day, now,” she said. “And I see him almost as often.”
Despite her concern, Kate smiled. Over the last two weeks they’d been together almost constantly. They weren’t dates, at least not in the context of the challenge, but they went out for lunch or breakfast whenever the opportunity allowed. Sometimes they just sat together watching a movie with Jackson and Shelby or the blondes.
But the tension was past the breaking point, and every time they were together she wanted to grab his neck and yank him into a kiss. She swallowed and forced the image from her mind, sipping her water in an effort to cool the heat in her belly.
“You saw him yesterday,” she said. “When he came over for Brittney’s dinner night.”
“He hasn’t mentioned your date at all?” Brittney asked.
Kate shook her head. “He hasn’t said a word about tomorrow night.”
“He didn’t forget,” Brittney said. “Did he?” She glanced at Ember.
Ember folded her arms, her expression like a grizzled detective. “No. He’s up to something.”
Kate frowned, her eyebrows pulling together as she glared at her roommates with suspicious eyes. “Are you hiding something? You did invite me to dinner.”
Brittney shook her head. “I don’t know anything.”
Ember scowled. “I wish I could say I knew, but I haven’t heard anything.”
They all looked to Marta, who shrugged. “I don’t know anything, either. And I didn’t invite you to dinner. My mom said we should come and eat . . .”
They all stared at her, the truth settling in. In that moment Marta’s mother bustled up to the table and placed four rolls of silverware on the table. Then she pulled out a pad and paper and looked to them.
“You ready to order, girls . . .?” Her voice faded when all eyes settled on her
“Mother?” Marta asked. “Did Reed enlist you to get us here?”
“Of course not, dear.” She waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll come back when you know what you want.”