Captivating Clay (Team Loco #3)

by Amy Sparling

  My entire body lights up at his reply. I sit here, heart pounding, goofy grin on my face while I try to think of what to say next. And then he texts me again before I can say anything.

  Clay: You gonna hang out with me at Jett’s party?

  I could cry if I wasn’t so happy that Clay is flirting with me right now. Now, more than anything, I want to go to this party. But twelve hundred dollars for a flight is ridiculous and it’s more than double what’s in my bank account right now.

  Me: Nope, sadly. I can’t afford a plane ticket.

  Clay: Don’t you live in Texas? Can’t you drive?

  Me: It’s pretty far away and my car is broken. Transmission crapped out and that’s $$$ to fix.

  I lay back on the couch, not even paying attention to what’s on the television. I’m so glad my parents aren’t home right now because they’d definitely make fun of me for how giddy I am that I’m finally texting with Clay, and that it’s going well. Well – it’s going okay. I can’t go to the party and that’s a total let down. Again, I rack my brain trying to think of some magical way to get six and a half hours away. Hitchhiking is a terrible idea… but it’s all that comes to mind. Which means I’ve got nothing.

  Several minutes pass before he replies.

  Clay: That is the worst news I’ve heard all day.

  Me: lol… it’s not a big deal. Maybe I can go next year.

  Clay: It is a big deal. The only reason I’m going is to see you.

  My heart flutters and my toes get all tingly. If that’s not flirting, I don’t know what is. Clay likes me back.

  He likes me back!

  He doesn’t care about all of the reasons we shouldn’t be flirting right now.

  This is the best day ever.

  And also the worst day ever.

  Because there is no way I can get myself to Lawson on Saturday.

  Chapter 23

  I’ve watched a lot of movies by myself in my apartment. I stay away from girly romance movies, but that doesn’t really matter because romance seems to be in just about every plot. It’s in action films and horror films and every single superhero movie. If I’ve learned anything from movies, it’s that a huge romantic gesture usually wins the girl over.

  I’ve been texting with Avery for an hour now. She can’t make it to Jett’s party which is my only reason for wanting to go this year. I don’t care about riding on his track or swimming in his heated pool or hanging out with this cool ass dad. I just wanted to see her. And now she’s not going.

  I look up every airline and every flight. I’m trying to find something to send her from Dallas to Houston before the party but it’s all booked up. I’ve looked into trying to rent a car for her but you have to be twenty-five years old to legally rent a car. I roll my eyes. The law says I’m old enough to buy beer and get drunk enough to make stupid decisions, but it doesn’t want me to rent a car? That doesn’t make any sense at all.

  I’ve exhausted all travel sources. Every flight website. Google. I can’t find a single flight for her. I don’t know how she’d feel if I bought her a ticket, especially at overpriced holiday surge rates, but I have to try. I feel like bashing my head against the computer, and then I get another idea. I search for flights from my house to hers. California is much busier and has more flights out, and sure enough there are a few seats on a flight that leaves tomorrow morning. I’d get to Dallas at noon, and then Keanna and I could drive to Jett’s house and arrive at night, stay there overnight and be there for the party on Saturday.

  I can’t believe I’m even thinking of this. Will she like it? Will she think I’m insane?

  I text her and ask what city she lives in, since I know it’s probably not Dallas, but one just outside of it.

  Green Leaf. I search that, and find that it’s an hour away from the airport. Then six and a half hours away from Jett’s house. Even if I book the flight, that leaves one very important detail uncovered. How are we going to drive there?

  I call three car rental places and explain my situation, but none of them want to rent a car for me. I offer to pay a huge deposit, but they all say it’s a law and they won’t break it. Jerks. Those rental cars are cheap models anyway, probably not even worth ten grand, yet if I offer to give them a ten thousand dollar deposit they still won’t take it.

  Then I get an idea.

  It’s definitely crazy. And it’s all just to see a girl at a party. But, hey that’s what life is all about right? Doing crazy things to make sure you don’t miss out on what matters in life. I think Dylan Baker would be proud of me.

  I book the flight.

  Avery has no idea. We texted all night and now I’ve sent her a good morning text on my way to the airport. I’m not sure when to break the news to her, but it’ll have to be soon because I need her exact address in order to pick her up. Everything else is all arranged. My flight lands in Dallas at noon, then I’ll take a taxi to a nearby used car lot. I’ve already spoken with the owner, a man named Greg, who agreed to sell me a used car. I had him get all the paperwork ready last night so that all I have to do is sign, drop off the check, and drive away. I don’t have time to wait for a car purchase to go through—this has to be fast.

  It all goes smoothly, and within fifteen minutes of shaking Greg’s hand, I’m sliding behind the steering wheel of my three-year-old car, the same model that Avery happened to tell me she liked. It’s shiny red with black leather interior and it’s in pretty excellent shape for being used. It’s ironic how the law won’t let me rent a car but they’re totally fine with me buying one.

  I pick up my phone while I sit in the parking lot at the dealership. This isn’t really a texting situation, even though we’ve texted a few times today. I call her and my heart beats so nervously in my head that I can barely hear the phone ring in my ear.

  She answers after five rings, just long enough to have made me start worrying.

  “Hello?” Her voice is nervous and it makes me smile.

  “What are you doing?” I ask.

  “Um… nothing really.”

  I grin. “Want to know what I’m doing?”

  “I assume you’re getting ready for Jett’s party,” she says.

  “Yeah, only I changed my plans a little.”

  “What does that mean?” I think she’s a little suspicious now, and suddenly I’m scared to tell her the plan. What if she thinks it’s weird? What if she doesn’t like me the way I like her?

  I take a deep breath. “I changed my flight to take me to Dallas instead of Houston. I’m here now, actually. I was hoping to get your address so I can pick you up and we can head to Jett’s.”

  “You know that’s a six and a half hour drive away?” she says. I try to analyze her voice, but it sounds mostly stunned, not annoyed. That’s a good sign.

  “Yes, ma’am I do. But there’s no one else I’d rather take a road trip with than you.”

  She’s quiet for a minute, but I think it’s a good kind of quiet. At least it feels like it. “I’ll text you my address,” she says. “I’m going to hang up now so I can get ready.”

  I smile. “See you soon.”

  When I pull up to her address, there’s only one car in the driveway, and it’s the one she told me about last night over text. The car she shared with her mom that’s broken down. I breathe a little sigh of relief. That means maybe her parents aren’t here? I’m already doing a lot of firsts today—opening myself up to a relationship is a pretty big deal. I’m not sure if I can handle meeting a girl’s parents right now. What would I say? What would they think of me?

  I’ve never been so nervous as I pull into her driveway and walk up to the door. On the track I am confident and in the zone. During TV interviews, I’m fine and laid back because the cameras aren’t that big of a deal. But now, standing here on the porch of a girl’s house, I am so terrified I feel like I could puke.

  I knock on the door.

  Avery opens it. She’s wearing a blue jacket and jeans, and her hair f
alls loosely around her shoulders. Her suitcase is next to her. She smiles up at me and all my fears slip away.

  “I can’t believe you did this,” she says.

  “I can’t believe it either,” I say.

  Even now, as I’m looking at her beautiful face once again, there’s all this tension in the air. All this worry and insecurity and nervous, nervous energy. In this moment it feels like there’s only one thing I could do to make it better.

  I lean down and kiss her.

  It’s soft and quick, just a slight kiss on the lips. But it makes everything better.

  When I pull away, Avery smiles up at me. “So is this how it is now?”

  I nod. “If you want it to be.”

  She shrugs one shoulder. “I only want it if you want it.”

  “Looks like one of us has to show our cards,” I say, giving her a flirty grin. She peers up at me, a smile tugging at her lips. I know all of our history is stacked between us, making it difficult to open up and trust each other. We’ve been pushing ourselves apart for so long now. How do we come back together?

  Her eyes flit downward. “You show your cards first.”

  I slide my hand around her waist and pull her close. When her eyes meet mine, I bend and kiss her forehead. “This is how I want it to be,” I whisper against her forehead. “You and me.”

  “What about all the reasons we shouldn’t be together?” she says.

  I peer into her eyes so she knows I’m telling the truth. “I don’t give a damn about those reasons. I want what I want, and that’s you.”

  She wraps her arms around me, and I hadn’t realized just how good a woman’s touch can feel until now. “Okay then, you have a deal,” she says with a cute smirk. “This is how I want it to be, too.”

  Chapter 24

  I am so glad my parents decided to go shopping at the exact time Clay came over. I told them a friend was coming to pick me up for the party and they didn’t question exactly who this friend was, just that I would be home in time for Christmas. Thank God for little blessings. I’m not ready to tell them about Clay just yet. My parents don’t freak out when I date someone, but they’ll want to meet him and all of that. I’m just not ready for that kind of awkwardness. I need to figure out how Clay and I will work before I introduce anything else into the relationship.

  There’s a shiny car in the driveway, red, which is my favorite color for a car. Clay pops the trunk and I put my suitcase in next to his. I peer up at him. “Exactly how old are you?”

  He smirks. “Why do you wanna know?”

  “I’m only eighteen,” I say. “I thought you were like…. twenty-one.”

  What I don’t say is that I know he’s twenty-one. It’s all over his biography on the Team Loco website. “Don’t you have to be twenty-five to rent a car?”

  He rolls his eyes as he starts the engine. “Yes, isn’t that the stupidest thing ever?”

  I give him a look. “So where’d the car come from?”

  “I bought it,” he says, flashing me a grin as he backs out of my driveway. “I figured it could be my Dallas car.”

  “You don’t live in Dallas,” I say.

  “But you do. So I was thinking maybe you could hold onto it for me when I’m not here? Drive it around and stuff…”

  “Clay!” I punch him in the arm. “You are not giving me a car.”

  He shakes his head. “No, of course not. I know you wouldn’t accept a gift like that… but maybe you’ll agree to drive my car for me when I’m not here?”

  “You are something else,” I say, unable to hide my grin. This is the exact type of car that I told him I would buy if I could afford it. He was listening.

  “Hey, if I’m going to be a boyfriend, I want to be a good one. I don’t settle for second best in life.”

  My breath catches in my throat. “Boyfriend?”

  Clay glances at me, then focuses back on the road. “It doesn’t have to be right now, but … that’s my goal. That’s why I’m here. I don’t want to stay away from you anymore.”

  “I don’t want to stay away from you,” I say. I watch him while he drives. This conversation would be a lot better if he didn’t have to focus on the road, but it’s at least we’re talking, which is more than Clay usually gives. I’ll take it.

  “So,” I say, a few minutes later. “How are we going to do this? The long distance and all of that…”

  Clay shakes his head. “Nope. We’re not talking about that now.”

  “We’re not?”

  He grins and it makes my toes tingle. God, he’s so handsome, and even more so when he’s not being all quiet and illusive. “No, we’re not,” he says. “What we are doing is driving to the party and having an awesome weekend with our friends and we’re not going to worry about the logistics or anything bad right now. We’re just focusing on the good stuff.”

  I lean back in the seat. “Okay,” I say. “We can put off the bad stuff until later.”

  “I refuse to call it bad stuff,” he says. “Nothing about me and you being together is bad. Maybe it’s a little ... inconvenient, but that’s all. We’ll figure it out.”

  I reach over and put my hand on his arm. “We’ll figure it out.”

  The drive only takes six hours, and we even stop for lunch, so maybe Google maps doesn’t know what it’s talking about. Or maybe Clay was speeding. I didn’t pay attention. I was too focused on the fact that I was sitting in a car with Clay Summers and that he had flown all the way here. I can’t believe he did all of this. I can’t believe he confessed that he liked me too. I can’t believe a lot of things, but I’m so glad they happened.

  We have a blast on the road trip. At first it was a little awkward but soon we got comfortable with each other, and we have so much fun together when Clay’s defenses are down. He let me see this side of him a few times while we were on the road with Team Loco, but he always quickly put his shields back up. This time, they’re down. I hope they’re down for good.

  “Check it out,” Clay says a few minutes after we reach Lawson.

  He points up ahead and I lean forward. The large sign on the side of the road says THE TRACK, with an arrow pointing toward the facility. Not that it needs an arrow to show you where it is. The place is huge. There are dirt bike tracks as far as you can see, and two gorgeous houses on either side. Clay pulls up to the second house, which is two stories tall and absolutely beautiful.

  When I finish taking in the sights, I realize what we’re about to do and I get nervous. Entering a party at Jett’s house would be scary enough if I were going alone. But now I’ll have Clay on my arm, as my date, and everyone’s going to see it.

  “I’m scared,” I say as the engine cuts off. Clay looks over at me, then takes my hand in his.

  “Why are you scared?”

  I shrug and gaze up at the large house in front of us. “I—I don’t really know,” I say with a weak laugh. “This is just scary.”

  “We don’t have to go,” he says. His gaze melts right through me.

  I shake my head. “No … I want to go. But now we’re walking in like a couple and…”

  His lips slide into a grin. “Trust me, they’ve all seen this coming.”

  I roll my eyes. He leans over the center console and kisses me right on the cheek. It’s possible that I’ve never been more happy than I am in this very moment.

  Jett’s house is gorgeous. Well, I guess it’s his parent’s house. Aiden had told me that the problem with being old enough to move out on your own and being a member of Team Loco is that it doesn’t really make sense because you’re not home long enough to need your own place. But if I were Jett, I’d never move out either. His parent’s house is amazing. It’s so beautiful and massive and his mom has decorated the entire downstairs with warm, inviting Christmas décor.

  Keanna lets us inside, and I’m glad to have her with me when she introduces me to Jett’s parents. They’re both really beautiful people, and they tell me to make myself at home.
Jett hugs me and then I meet his little sister, a toddler who tells me I’m pretty.

  We’re the first people to arrive since we’re here a day early, but Jett’s family doesn’t mind. Keanna is excited and she shows me to one of the guest bedrooms where I put my stuff. Clay puts his stuff in the guest room next to mine. I like how he does it without asking. I’d think most guys would want to try to sleep in the same bed with me, but we’ve only been dating for like six hours so I like being given my space.

  Clay sticks to my side while we’re given a tour of the facility. Jett takes us on a golf cart ride all around the track and the several buildings on site. Keanna points out the building she works in, and Clay tells me they have the greatest gym there.

  I keep waiting for Keanna to find a way to get the two of us alone so she can gush about the fact that Clay and I are totally a thing now, but it never happens. She just accepts us for what we are, and she doesn’t gloat about it.

  When the sun sets, Jett’s parents light up the firepit on the back porch. We all sit around it chatting about Team Loco and all kinds of stuff. Luckily no one puts me on the spot about my new relationship. I sit next to Clay on a porch chair that’s big enough for both of us to fit. He wraps his arm around me and I lean into him, loving every single thing about this moment.

  Jett and Keanna share a chair as well, but it’s smaller and Keanna sits in Jett’s lap. I love their relationship. It’s one of the few things in this world that you know you can count on.

  Mrs. Adams made hot apple cider, and when my drink is empty I decide to get some more. “I’ll be right back,” I tell Clay as I stand up.

  “Wait,” he says. I pause, halfway standing and halfway still sitting next to him. I think he’s about to ask me something, like to get him a refill on the cider as well, but instead he just grins. “You look really beautiful tonight.”

  I feel a blush creep from my head to my toes. Clay grins, like that’s the reaction he was hoping I’d have. “Come here,” he whispers, tilting his chin up. I bend down and kiss him, right here on the back porch where anyone could see. It sends a surge of nerves and happiness right through me.