Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 135604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Jamie’s hands curled around my back. He looked like he was feeling my meaning and let me know that when he agreed, stating, “We’ll get you one then.”
Sweet. I was getting a helmet. I smiled. “I want a pink one.”
He smiled back.
“Or leopard print,” I added, watching Jamie’s brows lift. “And I want it to cover everything. Not just the top of my head.”
“You really don’t wanna see shit, do you?” he asked through a chuckle.
“If I see anything, I might not ever get back on,” I replied, half-serious. I knew I’d eventually look.
“Come here,” Jamie mumbled, tipping his chin up while pulling me with his hands, not giving me much of a choice.
I stepped closer, bent down, and kissed him, with just a little tongue since there were people around. Then I drew my arms around his back and gave him a hug, ducking my head beside his.
“How many lessons do you have this afternoon?” I asked as we were hugging.
Jamie drew in a breath to answer, but that breath held and his words never came because his phone started ringing.
“Hold up,” he said, easing me back with his hand on my hip.
I stood between his legs, letting my arms drop to my sides.
Jamie kept his one hand on my hip and leaned so his other hand could fish the phone out of his pocket, then he hit Answer after checking the screen and brought the phone to his ear. “Yeah.”
Jamie listened. He didn’t speak for what had to be close to a minute. His brows drew together as his eyes stayed locked with mine. He was breathing slowly through his nose, looking like he was concentrating hard on each and every breath he was taking.
He looked tense, too, maybe. Or at least bothered by something. Jamie was no longer smiling about leopard print helmets, that was for sure.
“Yeah, I hear you,” he finally said. His voice was gruff. “Nah, I wouldn’t. Made your decision. What’s there to talk about?”
Who is it? I mouthed, but Jamie just shook his head and kept his focus on the call.
“Right. Yeah, I’ll do that,” he mumbled. “Yeah, you, too.” He pulled the phone away from his ear, hit End, then leaned to the side again and slid it back into his pocket.
“What’s going on?” I asked him.
Jamie slid his hand to my other hip again so he was holding me with both and tugged me closer, answering, “Nothin’,” as I went.
He was lying. Something was definitely going on.
“Not nothing,” I argued, gripping on to his shoulders and pushing back so I was leaning away. “Tell me. Who was that?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
His hands kept urging. I kept resisting.
“Tell me,” I insisted, putting pressure on his hands and his shoulders where I held. I wasn’t letting this go. “Jamie—”
“My major sponsor just dropped me,” he revealed, looking into my face, his hands no longer tugging me forward but just keeping hold.
I blinked at him, feeling my stomach drop out. “What?” I whispered.
His sponsor dropped him? What the hell? Why would they do that?
“Babe,” Jamie started, head shaking as he prepared to play this down, I just knew it.
“Why would they do that? What happened?” I asked him.
“Don’t matter,” he replied curtly. “Made their decision. It’s done.”
“Yeah, but why?”
“Let it go. It don’t matter,” he told me, then he jerked his chin as his eyes moved past me. “Come on. I gotta get goin’ and you’re gonna be late,” he said, pushing off from his bike and forcing me back a step.
I slapped my hand against his chest as he tried directing me to move, informing him, “I don’t care one bit about being late, and I will not let this go. I wanna know what happened.”
Jamie quit trying to direct me.
“Let it go, babe,” he repeated.
“No,” I said, moving my hands to my hips and pushing his off. “Tell me right now what happened. Why did they drop you?”
Jamie’s jaw clenched. His nostrils flared as he pulled in a deep breath.
“Got pissed when I took off the other day and went to Raleigh to be with you,” he revealed, not looking sad or angry or hurt. Just stating facts. His face was expressionless.
Something sick twisted in my gut. I thought I might vomit.
“Not just ’cause I left without telling ’em, but ’cause I was supposed to plug some new sports drink or some shit while I was down there, and considerin’ I never got to run, I never got to be seen drinking that shit while holding a fuckin’ trophy,” he continued. “They’re pissed ’cause of that and ’cause that wasn’t the first time I bailed on them. Pulled the same shit when Dash had his wreck. Needed to see to him. Needed to see to you. They don’t get that, they can fuckin’ drop me. I don’t give a fuck.” He jerked his chin at Whitecaps again, keeping my gaze. “Now give me a kiss and get your ass inside. You’re gonna be late.”