Page 31

THIRTY-ONE

TRENT

The car rally and car show long over, Nowhere, Florida emptied quickly. We said goodbye to the other rally drivers and then watched the car show participants drive away and the shops close up as the sun set.

Team Barbie graciously left us with two bottles of wine poured into sports drink bottles, and Kit and I laid on the hood of the Cougar, enjoying one last drink before the rally was well and truly over.

“You need to stop petting it.” Kit swiped the bare metal first place trophy out of my hand, sloshing her drink.

“I can’t,” I answered, my face sore from smiling. “It’s perfect.”

“Don’t you have, like, a hundred trophies?”

I stole it back out of her hand, running my finger along the poorly welded joint holding the metal cut out of a rusted car onto the stand. “But this one is my favorite. I just have a bunch of dumb championship rings.”

Kit rolled her eyes. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

“I’m ridiculous?” I tucked my arm under my head. “You were the one who posted the naked rockslide video online.”

In a shocking turn of events, we had a path to victory. A final two secret points: our heavily edited rock slide video.

“I can’t believe you held out on me,” I muttered, shaking my head in mock rebuke.

“Held out on you?” Kit gasped. “I was protecting you. Us , actually.”

“Protecting us from victory?”

“Protecting your reputation from taking a hit.” She shook her head as she sipped her drink. “And judging by how fast you turned your phone off, I’d say that maybe I should have left us in second place.”

Kit posted the video and within the hour, it caught the attention of gossip sites, fan sites, and had even been viewed by a couple of my teammates.

ROB

I thought you were staying out of trouble.

NOA

Looks like you’re having a fun off-season, Vogt!

DIEGO

Great video! Thanks for keeping the heat off me for another week! See you soon!

The string of unanswered calls from my agent and the offensive coordinator guilted me into turning the phone off completely. I’d deal with that mess in the morning, once the afterglow of victory wore off.

“Nope, winning is in our blood. This was our destiny.” I took a sip of my bottle, readjusting so I lay flush against Kit’s side.

She lolled her head onto my shoulder. “Maybe your blood. I’m going to really enjoy going back to being a nobody.”

“You’re not a nobody, Kitten.”

“You’re probably right.” Kit sighed. “Breaking the Breakers wants to do an interview with me, so I’m definitely not a nobody. I was thinking I could do a video call once we’re checked in at the hotel.”

“You’re joking.” I tilted my head toward Kit. The last rays of sunlight shone behind her head, giving her an angelic glow.

“I guess you’ll find out when Poppy publishes my exclusive interview: How I Got Trent Vogt’s Pants Off.” She wrinkled her nose. “Actually, that may not be completely exclusive.”

I grinned. “There have been a few before you. Never videotaped, though, so you’re the only one with physical proof.”

“I’m glad I’ve got that going for me.” Kit lifted her head from the hood of the car, a backfiring engine catching her attention. When the car turned onto a side street, she lay back down.

“You really want to sell the Cougar?” I asked. “You don’t have to. I’ll pay to have it towed back to Virginia.”

Our final push in the Cougar shattered what was left of the transmission. The car died in the parking spot and refused to start up again without belching smoke and grinding metal.

And, surprisingly, someone still wanted it.

Kit hummed, her arm flush with mine, sending pin pricks of electricity through my body. “Yeah, this feels right.”

“You promise?”

“Promise. When I signed up, I just wanted to finish, but we won and it was…” Her voice hitched, her eyes glassy. “A real adventure. Unforgettable. And I really think my dad would have approved. It was the perfect send off.”

“Would you say it was a spiritual journey that has left you changed as a human being?” I raised an eyebrow.

“I’d say it’s been surprisingly cathartic,”she said, her eyes misting before she staunched tears with her wine. “Besides, the new owner seems really excited to fix her up.”

I brushed my hand over the worn green paint on the hood. “Thanks for letting me tag along.”

“You were the best non-hospitalized partner I could ask for.”

A tow truck rumbled down the street, and Kit sat up, waving the new owner down. As they signed paperwork and chatted, I checked the Cougar one last time. I skimmed my hands under the seat as a heaviness invaded my limbs.

What happens next?

The question had been at the back of my mind since that morning. We’d booked an early morning flight home. By breakfast, we’d land back in Norwalk. By lunch, I’d be in my apartment.

No guide book. No stops. No Kit.

“And I am officially car-less,” Kit said as the tow truck driver winched the Cougar onto his flatbed.

I wrapped my hand around her waist and she listed into my side as the new owner chained the car down. In minutes, the Cougar was gone.

“I can’t believe it’s already over,” Kit sighed.

I shot her a crooked grin. “Technically, there’s one more night.”

She heaved an exasperated sigh even as a smile tugged at her lips.

“One more night, huh? What are you getting at?” She blushed red, stepping out of my grasp. “Do you think rally rules still apply?”

“They could,” I shrugged, keeping my tone cool. “Your rules, your call.”

She pressed her finger to her lips, one side threatening to tug up. “Give me a good reason.”

“You think I’m fun? And good in bed? And a competent co-driver?” I stepped closer, brushing my lips against her temple. “It’s also entirely possible this hotel only has one room.”

“You’re so full of it, Texas.” She sighed, tipping her head up. “Tomorrow, this all goes back to normal. We go back to normal.”

“Tomorrow?”

She shot me an impish grin. “My rules, my call. On one condition.”

I stilled. “Please tell me it doesn’t involve charming a shirt off a cranky bartender.”

“Oh, that’s a good condition, but no. I need you to share that trophy with me.”

The poorly welded hunk of metal didn’t seem anywhere near as desirable in comparison. “I think we can work out a join custody plan.”

“You’re being very reasonable.”

A whole day on the road and I couldn’t shake the memory of her in my arms the night before. Not the sex, although that was pretty great. But Kit curled up beside me, her breath on my arm and listening to the soft noises she made in her sleep. And how badly I wanted that just one more time.

She paused outside the hotel, a plain, three-story brick building with a “No Vacancy” sign tucked into a first-story window and held the door open as I maneuvered our bags into the no-frills lobby with plain white walls and old wooden floors.

“Welcome to the Clarendon House. How may I help you?” The front desk employee wore a white button-down shirt and a tailored red vest.

“Do you have any rooms available?” Kit asked, holding a hand out for her purse. The one slung over my shoulder. I maneuvered it out of her grasp.

The employee typed into the keyboard, peering down at the screen. “We have two double rooms and the suite open tonight.”

I raised an eyebrow at Kit. “What’s it going to be, Kitten?”

“We’ll take the suite.”

I paid, and we walked up the single flight to our room in silence. Kit slotted the worn skeleton key into the lock, twisting the door open and walking inside.

The Clarendon House suite was head and shoulders better than any of the motels we’d crashed at the five nights prior. Instead of pre-used soap and dingy linens, the king-sized bed was fitted with ivory white sheets and a plush red duvet. The bathroom didn’t have errant, anonymous hairs or slimy tile, but a clawfoot tub decorated with a half-dozen tiny bottles of fancy soaps with names like “Morning Sunrise” and “Velvet Night.”

I stood at the doorway of the bath as Kit wandered inside, anticipation growing in my chest and the need to repeat the night before growing by the second. She ran her fingers over the tub, tilting her head at the antique faucets as she pushed on the hot water and then the cold.

She pursed her lips, turning back to me. “How about a bath?”

I nodded dumbly, my tongue sluggish as all my blood traveled straight to my dick.

“Last night,” she mumbled low enough that I wasn’t sure if it was for her benefit or mine.