Running From Forever (17 page)

“I had to pee.”

“Are ya done?”

“Yeah.”

“Are ya coming back to bed then?”

She didn’t answer, instead, she walked to the
other side of the bed and folded back the sheets, crawling in next
to me with her back against mine, making me smile. Even as badly
hungover as I was, the girl still made me grin. I didn’t know what
it was about her, but I knew that I couldn’t let her go now that I
had her.

***

“Ahh, make it stop!”
Kayla shouted, throwing her pillow over her head. “That’s the worst
frickin’ noise I have ever heard!”

Chuckling, I leaned over and turned the alarm
clock sitting next to me off. It’s a miracle, given the state I was
in last night, or this morning, I guess, that I even remembered to
set it.

“Why do you have an alarm clock set for twelve
o’clock in the afternoon on a Saturday?”

“You see, most people use them to wake them up
at a specific time. I figured I’d give it a try.”

“I’m well aware of their purpose, asshole.” She
rolled over to face me. “But normal people don’t use them on the
weekends…in the middle of the day…after drinking their face off the
night before.”

“Some people work two jobs, princess,” I joked,
throwing my pillow at her face as I sat up and hung my legs over
the side of the bed, my back facing her. “Ones that require you to
work even on a Saturday.” I rubbed my face

“So what’s your second job?” she asked.

I felt the bed shift as she changed position and
looked over my shoulder, turning slightly with one eyebrow
raised.

“Wanna come find out?”

I wasn’t ready for her to leave, but I knew I
had to get going. My only option was to ask her to come with
me.

“Are you going to get in trouble for bringing
me?”

“Uh…no.”
Not that I gave a fuck
anyway.

“I don’t have anything to wear.”

I looked her up and down and raised a
questioning eyebrow. “I believe you have clothes on right now,
sunshine.”

“I can’t wear this!”

I walked over to my dresser, pulled out a pair
of sweatpants and a tee that were a little small on me, then threw
them to where she was still sitting on my bed. I grabbed the flip
flops from the bar’s lost and found box in my closet.

“Better?”

“I guess a little.”

“No one’s going to give a fuck. Trust me.”

“So, are you going to tell me where you
work?” she asked, spitting out the toothpaste in her mouth while I
brushed my teeth next to her.

“You’ll see.” I grinned before nudging her to
the side so I could rinse my mouth out, too.

“Is it illegal?” she asked as we stepped off
the train.

“What?!” I turned and looked at her like she was
insane.
Did she really think I was doing illegal stuff? I
thought I looked like a pretty legit guy…

“What? I had to ask!”

“No, it’s not illegal!” I answered, annoyed. I
squatted down in front of her.

“What’re you doing?”

“Taking a shit on the sidewalk—what does it look
like I’m doing? Get on my frickin’ back.”

“You’re giving me a piggyback ride?” she asked
as she climbed on.

“It’s a long walk and I don’t want to hear you
whine,” I told her, standing up and starting to head in the
direction we needed to go.

“You don’t have a car?”

“Jesus Christ, do you always ask this many
fucking questions? No, I don’t have a car, we live in the fucking
city.”

She laughed. “K, I won’t ask another one,” she
said, making me smile. “At least not until we get there,” she
added, causing me to shake my head and her to chuckle again.

By the time we got there, I could barely feel
my legs, and dropped her once my feet hit the parking lot.

“Regretting not having a car, huh?” she joked,
seeing me panting with my hands on my knees.

“No, I just underestimated how much you
weighed.”

That, I knew, warranted a smack, and that’s
exactly what I received, but she didn’t fight it, instead laughed
it off. By now she got my personality and knew that I was clearly
joking. The girl didn’t have an ounce of fat on her anyway.

“So, a stadium?” she started, pulling her hair
up into some kind of mess pile on the top of her head. “What do you
sell hot dogs or something?”

“Not even close.” I smirked, grabbing her hand
and pulling her towards the entrance, making her squeal before
picking up the pace and following.

Her face was priceless once we got past the
under concession area, walking into the pits where my trailer and
team were waiting. “Wha—wait a minute,” she fumbled, coming to a
stop, making my body jerk backwards. “You race dirt bikes?”

I grinned then pulled her forward, making us
walk again. “You got it,” I confirmed, glancing quickly over my
shoulder.

She didn’t say another word and only smiled and
nodded her head when I introduced her to the rest of my team. When
I say my team, I really mean a few of my buddies, ones I grew up
with. We all shared the same passion for dirt biking, I was just
the only one that tried to make a living off of it. It wasn’t
bringing in nearly as much as the bar did, but it paid its way and
some small bills too, allowing me to still use the excuse of it
being a second job instead of just a hobby.

The guys checked everything out on my bike and
got it running while I changed into my riding suit. I couldn’t help
but notice Kayla’s eyes on me the whole time. I’d never brought a
girl with me there, but with Kayla, it was different. She wasn’t
just any girl to me. Yeah, she had all the right parts, but there
wasn’t that need-to-fuck-her-right-now attraction. She was just
different.

Bev gave me my number, pinning it onto my chest
and back, taking notice of Kayla before walking away. I had to
chuckle to myself. Bev was my best friend, Micah’s, mom, and in a
way, mine, too. She and her husband, Steve, were big in the
motocross world, organizers of almost every big race. Back in the
day, Steve was the one to beat, bringing in the checkered flag at
almost every race. He was our idol growing up, and we spent hours
and hours in their backyard, which happened to be set up like a
motocross track, trying to mimic his moves, practicing to be just
like him someday.

Once I was ready, I did my usual prerace
ritual—I sat on my bike, helmet on, eyes shut, clearing the world
around from my brain. Usually everyone stayed silent while I did
it, but this time I heard a little voice, one that sounded worried,
asking Micah if I was going to be okay. It made me smile. She
cared; she was worried about me.

“Merrick? He’s a fucking rock star,” he tried to
whisper, but Micah’s whisper was like a normal person’s everyday
voice. We blamed it on always being around loud noises and going
half deaf because of it. “He hasn’t lost a race in over a year.
Nothing to worry about, honey.”

Curiosity getting the best of me, I had to look
over to her, not being able to hear her response. She was frozen,
arms crossed over her chest, looking like she was going to shit her
pants. I needed to calm her nerves, so I gestured for her to come
over next to me. She did, coming up along the side of my bike.

“I wouldn’t have brought you here if I thought
something would happen,” I reassured her, holding her upper arm
loosely with my hand. She nodded her head, forcing a smile. “But I
think it’s pretty fucking cute that you’re worried about me.”

That brought the real deal to her face. “I’d be
just as worried if you were some ugly asshole, too, so calm the
ego.”

I shook my head, chuckling. “Wait, so you think
I’m hot?” I joked, pointing my thumb to my chest, making her roll
her eyes. “This would have been valuable information last
night.”

“You’re annoying,” she said, shaking her head
before turning. “Good luck, rock star,” she added without looking
back. She walked over to my trailer and joined the rest of the
guys.

My concentration went to shit, still smiling
from her sass. The girl cracked me up.
Maybe bringing her wasn’t
the best idea after all.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see
Kayla climb up the ladder on the side of the trailer behind the
others, getting their spot on top to watch the race. I was shocked
to say the least, not believing she was going to watch. I thought
for sure, by the way she was freaking out, that she would stay
below and just wait, but she surprised the shit out of me doing the
opposite. It gave me another shot of adrenaline before following
the other guys out to the track. I wasn’t sure why, but it felt
good having her there.

Rolling up to the starting gates, my mind
finally cleared and I forgot about Kayla, life, and Kayla. It
wasn’t an easy task, but I succeeded. There was nothing that could
hold me back when I was on that track. It was my safe haven, a
place where nothing else mattered, a place I could always rely on
throughout my youth and now into my adulthood. When I had nothing
left in life, besides my friends, I always had the track to run to.
It was freeing…