by Amy Sparling
“Me too,” Bree and Keanna say at the same time.
“So do you guys travel with the team when you can?” I ask.
They nod. Keanna says, “I’m usually here the most since my life is also so focused on motocross. But I love when the girls can come with us, and I especially love having you. There’s too much boy on this team,” she says with a laugh.
“Team Girlfriend forever,” Bree says.
“Team Girlfriend plus an intern,” I say, laughing. “I’m technically still on the job, I think. Marcus has me doing random stuff for him at all hours.”
“You know…” Keanna says, her voice taking on a tone that makes my smile fade away. “There’s four of us girls and four of the guys and only two of ya’ll are still single…”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Bree says. Her mischievous grin is even worse than Keanna’s.
I roll my eyes. “I’m just an intern.”
“Are you single?” Bree asks.
I shrug. “I mean… yeah.”
“And are you into guys?” Jenn says.
I can feel myself blush. “Yes.”
“It’s a perfect match!” Keanna says. She turns to the other girls. “We should totally set them up.”
“No.” I shake my head. “No freaking way. Clay is a total asshole.”
“Aw, he’s not so bad,” Keanna says. “He can be sweet.”
“I dunno,” Jenn says. “He is kind of scary.”
Keanna shakes her head. “That’s because you haven’t known him long enough. He once bought me flowers. He’s super sweet once you get to know him.”
“He doesn’t want to get to know me,” I say, turning my attention to the jet on the inside of the pool. I pretend to be super fascinated with it. “I’m totally fine being single.”
“We can’t force them together,” Jenn says. “I mean, is he even your type?”
I can’t help but picture Clay. Tall, athletic, covered in tattoos. That square jaw and the intensity in his dark eyes. “Well… I mean… he’s hot,” I admit. The girls all freak out at this confession. I shake my head. “But that doesn’t matter. He is a jerk and he’s always so quiet and scary and I don’t like him.”
“Give it time,” Keanna says with a wink.
I don’t know when my heart started pounding but now I feel flushed and embarrassed and all kinds of awkward. “Please promise me you won’t say anything in front of the guys about this, okay? I don’t like him. He doesn’t like me. Let’s not make it into something it’s not.”
“Hi, ladies.”
I freeze.
We all turn around and see Clay himself, looking absolutely gorgeous in a pair of black swim shorts and nothing else. His body is lean and rippled, and the tattoos stop at the top of his arms, leaving his bare chest a blank canvas of muscles.
Keanna’s eyes go wide. “How much of that did you hear?”
Oh God. I’m so nervous my ears have started ringing.
Clay nods politely at us and then walks toward the pool stairs. “Clay?” Keanna says.
He turns around and pulls out one of his earbuds. “Did you say something?”
I swear, the four of us all breathe a collective sigh of relief.
“Nope!” Keanna says with a grin.
Clay puts his earbud back in and steps into the pool at the opposite end of us.
“Holy shit, that was close,” Keanna whispers.
Now that the moment is over, my heart has started beating again. I let out the tense breath in my lungs. “You’re telling me.”
Chapter 9
Before I know it, I’m once again walking into an airport terminal. The last couple of years I’ve been on Team Loco has been filled with traveling and airports and too-small plane seats with no leg room, but you never really get used to it. This two week schedule of training camp nonsense is particularly brutal. We don’t stay in any one place more than one night before moving on to the next one.
I was looking at the itinerary last night and I wonder if whoever scheduled this thing was high when they picked the dates. We’re doing all five training camps in nine days, and then we have a full week off before Christmas. If it were up to me, I’d have scheduled them once a week. Or not at all.
But it’s not up to me. I’m just “the talent” as Marcus likes to say. I hitch my backpack on my shoulder as I make my way through the small Alabama airport. This place smells like cleaning chemicals yet it looks just as dirty as the parking lot. I can’t help but yawn as I walk. I got no sleep last night and it’s taking all of my energy this morning to stop thinking about the things that kept me awake.
I find the terminal and drop my backpack off next to a sleeping Keanna. Zach and Aiden’s girlfriends must have gone home because they’re not with her. I don’t really pay attention though because I’m not trying to make eye contact with a certain girl.
I find Jett and Aiden getting breakfast at the McDonald’s and I join them, loading up my empty stomach with hash browns and two bacon, egg and cheese biscuits.
“You look weird,” Aiden says, his mouth full of food. He acts a lot different when he’s not trying to impress his girlfriend. He’s not as polite or refined.
“Weird?” I say. “I’m not weird.”
Jett studies me while he sips his coffee. “No, Aiden’s right. You do look weird. You sick or something?”
I shake my head. “I’m fine.”
“He’s weird,” Aiden says.
“Definitely weird,” Jett agrees.
I finish my food and get the hell out of there. I have no real family, and these guys are as close as it gets. The fact that they can see through me is really pissing me off. I don’t need anyone to know that I’m weird today. And weird is the perfect word for it.
Ever since I overheard the girls’ conversation at the pool, I’ve been thinking about her. I know I shouldn’t, and I wish I wasn’t, but there it is. Avery thinks I’m hot but she doesn’t like me. Well, I think she’s hot, but I don’t like her.
So… perfect.
We don’t like each other. Which is exactly how it should be.
I wear my earbuds in public so that people don’t bother me. I wear them at the airport so I can feel alone because being surrounded by hundreds of people annoys me. I wear them at motocross events so the fans will stay away from me because they think I’m busy. Last night, however, I was just wearing them so I could listen to music while I soaked in the hotel’s hot tub. I didn’t know the girls were there, and I hadn’t turned on my music yet when I’d walked into the room.
I heard everything.
But I was saved by the earbuds.
I fish them out of my pocket as I walk back to the terminal, placing them one by one into my ears. Avery is curled up in one of the hard plastic airport chairs, reading a paperback book. She seems totally engrossed in the book judging by the way her teeth dig into her bottom lip while she reads. I can’t see the cover of it from here. I wonder what kind of books she’s into.
But then I shove the thought away. I don’t care about her reading preferences.
I choose a seat as far away as I can get from her while still being close to the boarding line. I scroll through my phone trying to find something to listen to, but nothing sounds good. I keep glancing up at her for no good reason. Why is my brain doing this to me? She’s just a coworker. Hell, she’s not even a coworker – she’s an intern. I should treat her the way I treat Marcus, and I definitely don’t daydream about Marcus.
When it’s time to board the plane, I’m finally listening to music that makes me chill. I step in line behind the guys, while Avery boards the plane chatting with Keanna. She hasn’t looked at me, not once, since we got to the airport. I don’t know why I even notice that. Once again, I remind myself to stop thinking about her. But there’s something that happens when you discover that a beautiful girl thinks you’re hot. It takes over your brain and it’s suddenly all you can think about. Even if you’re single on purpose, even if
your job is more important, even if she’s just an intern you’ll probably never see again in a few months.
It changes you.
We’re set free once we land in Tallahassee, Florida. The training camp is tomorrow morning, so we have this day to relax. I tell the guys I need to sleep, which I do, and I head off to my hotel room to crash and try to catch up on all the sleep I missed last night. Really though, I just need to get away from Avery.
The moment my head hits the pillow I’m wide awake again. She’s filling my thoughts, no matter how much I try to stop it.
She ended up sitting in an aisle by herself just a few rows up from me on the flight here. She was still engrossed in her book, and she never looked up from it. But I couldn’t stop watching her. It’s like I’ve become a different person in the last twenty four hours. Clearly this is verging into crush territory.
And I haven’t had a true crush on a girl in forever.
I learned from an early age that I’m better off alone. I was better without my pathetic excuse of a mother. I was fine without my grandfather. I was better off every time the girls I dated ended up leaving me because I cared about motocross more than them.
I was fine living in my studio apartment with only the ocean as a friend. My job with Team Loco is enough social interaction to keep me from becoming some weirdo hermit. So why? Why now? Why is my brain suddenly latched onto this girl and trying to come up with ways to see her again?
Even if I tried to date her, she would realize that I’m a shit boyfriend who cares more about my dirt bike than a girl. She’d leave me, just like the others. Only we’d still have to work together.
I sit up and look around the hotel room. Different city, same room. Same crappy TV and corporate furniture and ugly artwork on the wall. I need to get out of here and clear my mind. I throw on a hoodie since it’s a little cold outside and I make my way down to the lobby. The hotel is on a busy street and there are shopping centers and stuff within walking distance. Maybe I’ll grab a coffee or something –I don’t care what I do, I just need to get out and stop thinking about her.
I head over to a small coffee shop across the street and get a coffee to help keep me warm. The barista tells me about a park that’s just a few blocks down, Cascades Park. The whole area is lit up for Christmas, and people are out enjoying the beautiful night.
I put my earbuds in and let myself get lost in the park. There’s sculptures, manmade lakes, and a nice walking trail. The air smells crisp and cold and the spirit of Christmas has definitely hit this town. I never really got Christmas – it’s a pointless holiday if you’re not a kid, and even when I was a kid, I rarely got presents. But I can appreciate the good mood everyone seems to be in.
And then I see her. Standing at the edge of one of the lakes, watching a cascade of water fountains shoot up and dance around in the water, is Avery. She’s gripping a steaming cup from the same coffee place I went to, holding it up to her face. She’s wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt, and even from several feet away I can tell she’s shivering.
I should keep walking. Everything in me tells me to keep walking, to pretend I never saw her and go about my day. But my legs carry me over there against my will. I shrug out of my hoodie and drape it over her shoulders.
She nearly bolts out of her skin. “Oh, my god!” she says, her hand flying to her chest. “You scared me!”
“Of course I did,” I say, shaking my head like the fool that I am. “Sorry about that.”
What the hell was I thinking? You can’t just walk up to a girl and clothe her.
She’s gasping from the shock and shivering now and I must have really scared her. Luckily the plastic lid on her coffee kept her from spilling it everywhere. She looks down at my hoodie around her shoulders and then back up at me. “Thanks,” she says, tucking her arms into it one by one. “I didn’t think it’d be this cold.”
“It is December,” I say, giving her a grin.
She shrugs. “Yeah but it’s never very cold where I’m from. Plus I’m just so new to this traveling thing. I’m not good at packing.”
A cool breeze hits me like a wall of ice. I try not to show how cold I am because I don’t want her to feel bad. My hoodie covers her like a baggy, oversized dress. It’s cute. And it screws with my head a little.
“Listen,” I say, and it’s killing me but I know what needs to be done. If I don’t stop this now, it’ll only get worse. I have to squash this crush before it becomes anything. “I know Keanna and the girls are probably messing with you because you’re single and I am too—”
Avery’s eyes widen and the color drains from her cheeks. I force myself to keep talking. “Seriously, don’t let her get to you. She’s annoying like that. We’re obviously two professionals and there’s nothing between us and there never will be, so I just wanted to set your mind at ease.”
She nods slowly. “Obviously.”
“Cool,” I say. I turn my attention to the lake because looking at her feels uncomfortable. I didn’t exactly want to say any of those words, and I didn’t really mean them. But it’s better this way. “So what are you doing out here alone?”
She shrugs, her attention also on the lake. “I took this job to travel. So I thought I’d try to see some places when I get a free moment.”
“Tallahassee isn’t very exciting,” I say.
She wraps my hoodie tighter around her body. “It’s better than not seeing anything at all.”
I watch her as she watches the water. She really is beautiful, with soft features and kind eyes. She looks so adorable all snuggled up in my hoodie, and even though she is strictly a coworker, I know without a doubt I’d give her my hoodie every time. I’d give her anything she wanted, no questions asked.
Which means that having this talk just made it seem like I don’t like her. It didn’t actually do anything. I should probably do something about that.
Chapter 10
Since the first two training camps went really well, I should have known something would happen to mess it all up. Here I was thinking I was actually good at my job and that these two weeks of camps would be easy. Ha! The day hasn’t even officially started yet and things have already gone to crap.
And on top of that, the weather got even colder overnight and now I’m freezing my butt off. I’m wearing jeans, my running shoes, a long sleeve Florida tourist shirt I bought from the hotel’s gift shop and the warmest fleece jacket the gift shop sold. It is so tacky it’s embarrassing, because it’s that kind of clothing that old people buy while on vacation, but it’s all I had. I gave Clay back his hoodie when we returned to the hotel last night and it was too late to try to take a taxi to a mall for some real clothing shopping.
Lesson learned. Always pack for all kinds of weather, especially in December, you big idiot.
I’m standing in the frigid cold at the score tower of the local motocross park, waiting on Marcus to return with the owner so he can let us into the building. Like the first two tracks I’ve been to, the owner of the place lives on site in a house that’s usually within walking distance of the main race track.
The two of us got here much earlier than scheduled because Marcus called me this morning at five-thirty saying there was a complication and we needed to fix it before the camp began. Now, I’m wondering what that all means. The sun hasn’t even risen yet and I’m standing here freezing my butt off. I guess this internship won’t be all roses and fun, free travel.
Finally, they arrive, and the owner, a man who is probably in his seventies, lets us into the score tower. It’s a small building that’s two stories tall so the announcer of the races can sit up on the second floor and view the entire track during race days. And, much to my annoyance, this little building is just as cold inside as it is outside.
The fluorescent lights flicker on and the owner tells us he’ll make us some coffee from the little kitchenette in the corner of the room. Marcus doesn’t seem affected by the freezing temperature and I try my best to act
like I’m not wishing a pit of hot lava would open up from the floor and swallow me whole.
“So here’s the deal,” Marcus says, opening his laptop on a little table in the room. “We had three kids drop out of the training camp today. Apparently they were all siblings and they had some kind of family issue come up so they couldn’t make it. I talked with corporate and they want us to fill the spots on a first come first served basis.”
I tilt my head. “This is why we had to get here early?”
Marcus laughs, a hearty sound that fills the freezing room. “Oh, sweet child. You have no idea what we’re in for. There are so many people on the waiting list that we can’t just do a first come first served thing to fill those spots. We’re doing a lottery. I’ve already announced to the email group and on Facebook that everyone who wants a chance to fill the three empty spots needs to show up at seven in the morning and get a raffle ticket. We’ll choose three winners.”
“Okay, that’s not so bad.”
Marcus turns the laptop screen around to show me his email inbox, where there are dozens of replies to his initial email. “People are freaking out,” he says. “I’ve already been cussed out a few times for not posting about the openings sooner, for not making a second training camp so more kids can attend—” He shakes his head. “This whole thing was corporate’s idea to make us look better and to donate to charity, but it’s such a hassle. You think the fans are obsessive—parents of kids who want to be professional racers are even worse.”
“Maybe a lot of people won’t show up because it’s so cold,” I say hopefully.
Marcus laughs again. “You are too funny.”
My cup of coffee warms me a little, and I keep my hands wrapped around it for warmth. As the sun slowly starts to rise, a line of headlights can be seen at the entrance to the track. It’s five minutes before seven, and all hell is about to break loose. I’m sitting in the score tower with Marcus, who is chatting with the track owner. There’s a ticket booth window on one wall of the building where people can walk up and pay their entrance fee on a normal race today. This morning, they’ll be driving in, getting a raffle ticket, and then hanging out near the spectator area to see whose names are drawn.