The cars are flashy, and the two up for the first heat are a dark green with a snake detailed on one side and a bright red one that’s almost blinding.
Both drivers have a tight grip on their steering wheels as a woman in short shorts and a tank top walks out into the street to stand between them. She holds up a flag teasingly, wiggling it over her chest while they rev their engines higher and higher. And then she drops it, and they’re off, tires squealing as they peel out of their spots and launch into the race.
The people standing around us are loud as they cheer on their favorites.
“Let’s go, Jase!”
“Fuck yeah, Dante. Hell of a start, man!”
There’s clapping and hooting, and we all watch from the hill we’re on as they tear down the incline and then drift around the corner, heading as fast as they can to the finish where more people wait.
The heats are pretty short, less than a minute to get from point A to point B, but the excitement makes it stretch on longer. Eventually, the green car edges out the red, crossing the end point with just seconds to spare before the red car comes flying across. They cut their engines and Jase and Dante get out, still talking shit as they accept who won.
Jase was the victor, by just a hair, and he’ll be moving into the next heat against whoever else makes it through.
It feels almost normal to be sitting there, watching this the way I used to back in the day. Usually I’d have Scarlett with me, chanting the name of whichever driver we decided to cheer for that night, but even without her here, this scene feels comfortable and familiar.
Sloan’s mostly keeping to himself, watching us and the race with his usual detached expression, but Rory and Levi have their attention on me.
“You ever think about racing?” Rory asks, leaning against the car with his arm touching my leg. “If you drive half as well as you fight, you’d be damned good at it, I bet.”
“I’ve thought about it,” I tell him. “But fancy cars like that are expensive.”
“That’s why you get someone with money to sponsor you,” he shoots back, grinning. “It probably wouldn’t be hard.”
“Why? Are you offering?” I arch a brow, giving him a teasing look.
“Depends. What are you offering in return?” His gaze slides up and down my body. I dressed to catch their attention for this, in jeans that hug my legs and hips tight enough to draw their eyes to my curves, and a shirt that’s more than a little low cut. The way I’m sitting on the trunk of the car has me leaned forward a bit, making it easy to look right at my chest if someone is bold enough.
Levi seems pretty bold, darting glances over at me and letting them linger. I catch him in the act more than once, and the last time it happens, I let my gaze hold his and then smile slowly.
He smiles back and steps closer, clearly pleased at the attention.
“I don’t know,” I say to Rory, keeping up the banter as I answer his question. “I don’t have a lot to give you.”
He laughs, green eyes gleaming as he looks me over. “We both know that’s not true, Hurricane.”
His words are clearly flirtatious, and this is usually the point where I would back off or roll my eyes and tell him he wished or whatever. But now I just smile back and shift so more of my thigh is pressed against his arm.
Levi jiggles the flask in my direction, catching my attention again. “You want any more of this?”
“Are you going to have some with me?” I ask him.
“Sure, why not?” He holds my gaze as he takes a long swig and then passes the flask to me, watching just as I do the same, not even wincing at the burn now.
There’s a nice buzz humming in me, and it makes it so much easier to do this. I’m not worried about coming on too strong, or thinking depressing thoughts about how fucking much I miss my dad. The alcohol is dimming most of my emotions, and I lean into the ones that are left. I lean into Levi and Rory’s flirting, smiling and laughing at their jokes while we watch the next heat get underway.
Aside from the buzz, the drinking makes me have to pee. This part of town doesn’t have a lot of businesses open right now for me to use one of their bathrooms, but there is a little convenience store up the hill a way, half tucked into an alley.
“I’ll be back,” I say, hopping down from the car.
“Where are you going?” Levi asks, watching as I move.
“Bathroom,” I reply. “Don’t worry, I won’t be gone long.”
I wink at him and then hurry off, letting the sounds of the cars and the people fade as I head up the hill and turn into the alley, then push my way into the convenience store.
It’s dingy and fluorescent, like most convenience stores are, I guess. The man behind the counter waves me in the direction of the tiny bathroom, and I start to head that way before the chimes over the door go off and Sloan comes pushing his way in.
He looks at me, eyes narrowed a bit, and before I can get a word in, he’s dragging me back outside and further around the back to the darker part of the alley, where we can’t really be seen.
“Jesus. What the hell?” I demand, pulling away from him out of habit.
“What are you doing?” he asks, and it sounds so accusatory that I roll my eyes right in his face.
“Right now? Trying to go to the fucking bathroom.”
“You know what I mean,” he grits out.
I do know what he means. The whole time I was out there flirting with Levi and Rory, I could feel his eyes on me, watching, judging. He wouldn’t say anything in front of them. He never does, but clearly he’s not above stalking me to the bathroom to get his answers.
And I know my role in this exchange. It’s the same as it always is. Sloan pushes, and I push right back, not backing down.
“So what?” I ask him, folding my arms. “What I do isn’t any of your goddamn business. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that. What’s the problem anyway? Are you jealous?”
His nostrils flare, but he doesn’t answer the question, glaring down at me instead. “Of course not. I’m just sick of watching you yank my fucking friends around. I knew you’d fall for Rory’s flirting eventually, and I know you and Levi had a thing once—but, Jesus fucking Christ, I didn’t think you’d end up bouncing back and forth between them like that. What, can’t make up your damn mind?”
I glare right back at him and shrug my shoulders, narrowing my eyes challengingly. “Maybe I don’t want to make up my mind. Maybe I’m the kind of girl who doesn’t like to choose.”
Sloan clenches his jaw, and I can see the muscle flexing. He looks pissed as shit, but there’s also something that flares in his eyes beneath all that. Something that makes me push harder instead of telling him to fuck off and mind his own business.
“What? Would you like that?” I ask, stepping just a bit closer, making my voice more of a taunt than anything. “Sharing me?” I laugh huskily, cocking my head. “Ohhh, I get it. You know, I thought you were pissed off when I kissed Rory after the fight. But maybe I was reading it all wrong. Maybe it just turned you the fuck on to see your friend with his tongue down my throat.”
“Shut the fuck up, Mercy,” Sloan bites out.
“Why?” I shoot back, narrowing my eyes at him as I take a step closer. I’m actively trying to push all his buttons right now, trying to get a rise out of him, and I don’t even care that it’s probably a stupid move. “I think we’re finally getting somewhere. Finally, I’m starting to understand what makes Sloan Kennedy tick. You like to watch, is that i—”