Page 8
Story: Persistent (Adrenalin #3)
“Didn’t have to. I heard you two all night long.” He pins me with a look that says don’t fuck with me. “Besides, you were suspiciously absent this morning, too.”
“I wanted an actual coffee, not that shit Trevor brews,” I lie. Although technically, it's a half truth. Trevor’s coffee is nasty.
“You’re gonna play it like that, huh?” The crinkle of his eyes matches the disappointment on his face, which almost makes me want to come clean. Almost .
“Fine, I had company but it’s no big deal. I’m staying in tonight cause I’ve gotta talk to my mom.” Another fib. Jace knows all about my twisted family history, so this is one excuse he won’t give me shit over. Now, I just need to call my mom to cover my lie .
“Something happen?” His face morphs from skeptical to concerned.
“Not that I’m aware of, I just need to check in. I haven’t talked to her in weeks, and I don’t like to go that long without knowing she’s good.” Though also true, until just this moment I haven’t given my mom a second thought. My mind’s been too consumed with Lennon.
“Okay, you get a pass tonight, but tomorrow we rage.” I bump the fist he holds out, wondering if I’ll be able to beg off any more after tonight.
***
Mom’s ears must’ve been ringing, cause not long after the guys head out for the evening her name pops up on my phone.
“Hey, Ma.” I feel myself break into a grin. Talking to her never fails to put a smile on my face.
“Hi, Ax. You sound tired.”
“You always say that.”
“Because you always sound tired. It’s not natural to live on the road.” She’s been nagging me about that for a while, which is part of the reason I think I’ve been toying with the idea of slowing down. I’m not ready to say that aloud though, to her or my team.
Seeing as I did some of my best riding over the past year, the guys would probably think I need my head examined if I told them I might be ready for a break.
Hell, depending on the day I might even agree with them.
There are only a handful of people in the world who can do what I do, and walking away from it before you hit thirty is unheard of unless an injury forces you to retire.
By all accounts, I’m riding too well to think of stepping away, yet despite my success on the track I’m thinking about what life might look like without it. Where that life might be.
So I dragged my team here under the guise of checking out the bike scene to see if Katah Vista could be that place.
Rumor has it the trails here are epic, and so far, I have to agree.
Everyone who talked up this place said the town is just as cool as the terrain, with a tight knit local crowd.
It sounds similar to the kind of community I’ve found on the racing circuit, and if I’m going to settle anywhere, I want the homey vibe just as much as the epic trails.
Zoning out to my mother’s thoughts on my living situation, I realize I haven’t seen as much of the town as I planned to, yet. A certain devil got me distracted, but I did explore a bit after lunch the first day, and so far, I like what I see.
Main Street is lined with tiny buildings painted every color of the rainbow.
While I wouldn’t say I have an eye for architecture, I do know I prefer variety to the same old, same old, which makes this place way more interesting to look at than other towns I’ve passed through.
Then there's the massive flower boxes lining the center of the road instead of the generic yellow lines. Maybe it’s because my mom likes flowers, or it’s just another thing that makes this place unique, but either way, I love those damn planters.
The best part is how cars take a back seat to everything else.
Walking, biking or even the bus are the preferred methods to get around, and for a guy who makes a living on a bike, that’s a pretty refreshing thing to see.
Of course, the bikes people ride here are powered by your legs and not a gas tank, but I’m still calling it a point in the town’s favor.
I wouldn’t mind taking the time to check this place out properly, although I don’t want to get Ma’s hopes up about me putting down roots unless I’m really ready to do it. Besides, it’s not as easy as just deciding not to move around anymore, which she knows all too well .
My career may require more travel than a desk job, though it has the added benefit of making me hard to find.
“You know why I stay on the road so much,” I remind her to end this tangent.
“I know,” she says softly. “It’s taking a toll on you, though. I can hear it in your voice.”
It pains me to know Mom wishes a better life for me even though this really is a good one. Most of the time. “Let me worry about that.”
“You can’t hide forever. There are other ways to deal with him.”
I close my eyes and lean my head on the back of the couch, letting a sigh escape. “He’s looking again, isn’t he? That’s why you called.” I don’t know what odd jobs my old man does to scrape by, but when he runs out of cash, which happens every three or four months, he tries to track me down.
Her silence confirms he’s started poking around again. “How much did he ask for?”
“A few thousand. And don’t worry. I told him the same story I always do, that my bills go directly to you, and you pay them, so I don’t have anything to give.”
I ball my hand into a tight fist, my knuckles growing white as I squeeze. The bastard should know that by now. I set things up that way so Ma wouldn’t take pity on him and slip him a few bucks. Her heart is too pure.
“Your team hasn’t posted anything about your travel, have they?” she asks, her voice a little shaky. I hate when she worries about him actually finding me.
“They know not to post about where we’ve been until after we leave.” That doesn’t mean a random fan didn’t recognize me and post something—it’s happened before—but it’s unlikely to have happened already. I’ve only been here for a day .
That’s another reason I wanted to check this place out. Supposedly, this town has its fair share of celebrity residents—pro athletes who live and train here year-round. Yet, no one makes a fuss about it. That’s the rumor, anyway, and if that’s true, it makes this place just like the racing circuit.
Those guys know all about my old man, and they keep him away if he ever dares to show up at an event.
It happens at least once a season since the schedule is public.
He’ll hitch a ride to the closest event and try to sneak in, but the circuit protects their own, so I haven’t seen him in person in nearly a decade.
If Katah Vista protects its people the same way my guys do, which people say is the case, it could be the ideal place to call home.
As long as he doesn’t find out about me being here now.
“Well, he shouldn’t have any idea where you are then. So tell me, how’s the film coming along?” Ma tries to get me off the subject of my sperm donor, and since I want to enjoy this conversation, I let her.
“Eh, not bad.” I sigh heavily. “Jace said we got some good footage…”
“What’s wrong?” she interrupts.
“What? Why would anything be wrong.”
“You sound bored. You never sound bored when you talk about riding.”
I rub a hand over my face, wondering how she can hear what I didn’t say.
“Just a lot on my mind, I guess.” A certain little devil to be specific, although, I don’t want to say that to Ma.
She’ll really get on me about settling down if she thinks I found someone, and one night of incredible orgasms does not equate to finding someone.
Besides, it still weirds me out that I thought about Lennon on the bike. Aside from being dangerous, it was so… strange . But in a good way. I liked the direction my mind went, imagining him on the bike with me—a part of my happy place .
“This is why you need a break from the travel.” Ma’s voice pushes Lennon’s image from my mind.
“Can’t. Not yet, anyway. We have two more locations to film, then the racing season starts. I am staying in a house instead of a trailer right now though, so I’ll get some good rest over the next few days,” I head off the objection I know she’ll have to my tight schedule.
Then it hits me, it’s because of the house I felt so good this morning, not the guy.
I mean, who wouldn’t feel great after a night in an actual bedroom instead of the cramped little sleeping nook in my trailer?
And even though he stayed over, waking up next to him wasn’t exactly refreshing.
It was rushed. And a little frustrating.
Since I never have people stay the night, I obviously confused his presence with the importance of a kick ass bed. Okay, maybe the insanely good orgasms played a role in wearing me out, but it was definitely the bed that made me wake up feeling great. Right?
“Promise after this season you’ll take a break then. Maybe even come for a visit.” Once again Ma pushes thoughts of Lennon and that comfy bed aside. It's short lived, though. As soon as we hang up, his image rushes back into my thoughts, pressed up against the wall as we rutted against one another.
I wonder what he’s wearing under the jeans we soiled this morning?
Nine can’t come around fast enough.
Table of Contents
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- Page 8 (Reading here)
- Page 9
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- Page 13
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