The Line That Binds Series Box Set (64 page)

“I know. I’m just here to watch, and maybe do some jumps later,” he mumbled and Iz bumped his shoulder again.

I let out a sigh, relieved that out of all the possible fights tonight one was already resolved. He knew there was no chance he’d race. He wasn’t ready.

“It’s a fifty dollar buy-in,” Spaz said, answering someone’s question. While Spaz started dishing the rules to the other riders, and Iz and Gavin started talking to themselves, I glanced up where Gavin had come from. Behind Ryan’s truck, I could see LJ’s window. Her light was out.

I watched Ryan’s bike disappear off his truck then reappear alongside. He turned his head around for a moment, something catching his attention. LJ walked up beside him. I clutched the bottle in my right hand and the Honda’s throttle grip in my left.
Why did she come out?
Ryan smiled as he talked to her. She didn’t return one.
Thank God.
The music drowned out their conversation and I was tempted to throw the bottle at whichever truck was to blame. I ached to hear her voice. It’d been days since I had.

Her hair was loose tonight. It’s silky, black strands swayed with the light breeze, flicking against her cheeks. She tucked some around an ear and kept walking, still listening to whatever the douche was telling her as he pushed his bike. The bulky bomber jacket she was wearing shifted as she shrugged her shoulders at him. He laughed. They were close enough that I heard it. She showed him a very small grin, her lips tipping in the softest of expressions.
Shit!
I shouldn’t be worried about this. Stupid high school crap was nothing compared to what she was dealing with. But I couldn’t stop it from digging into my skin anyway.

I tipped my bottle back again, forgetting it was already empty. The last few drops trickled over my lips while I continued to stare at hers. I instantly thought of the last time I tasted them, lying in my bed last week after waking beside her. I gripped the bottle tighter in my hand, squeezing until I thought it might break. This was almost too much to handle. I let the bottle fall, tossing it aside without much force or care. When her face turned forward again, she lifted her stare from the ground, meeting my eyes fully for the first time in close to a week. Still yards away, maybe she felt safer with the distance between us. At the same time, though, it felt as if she were standing right in front of me, the distance dissolving the instant our eyes connected. Tints of light from the trucks shone on her face, causing her to glow like a freaking angel.
Dammit.
I took a deep breath as her eyes tore from mine, looking instead to Iz and Gavin.

“Hey, who do you want to hold the cash?” Spaz asked.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from LJ as easily. “A neutral party,” I replied, wishing I had my cooler next to me to interrupt my thoughts.

“No shit,” he said. “But who? Gavin?”

“The little kid?” Colt asked with a laugh.

I was just about speak, but Ryan approached and beat me to it. “LJ can hold the money. I trust her judgment. She obviously knows a bad deal when she sees one.”

I stood up so fast my head spun from the alcohol. But I held my shit together because I was ready to pummel him.

“Benj,” Spaz said, stepping in front of me and pushing his hand against my chest. I glanced down warningly, but he didn’t remove it. He kept his voice low and said, “Let’s just get on the track and take these assholes’ money.”

“Yeah, whatever,” I grumbled, staring at Ryan, who smirked at me then collected the cash from the other riders. He took ours from Spaz and moved over to LJ.

“Don’t let him get to you, man,” Spaz said while I watched Ryan talk to LJ again. Iz glanced at us from beside them and rolled her eyes. “See. You don’t have anything to worry about. Iz says he doesn’t have a shot with her.”

I stole what little comfort his words held and hung on. It didn’t help settle my thoughts about her, though. She didn’t trust me. All I’d been trying to do was protect her, help her. Even though the fault was mine, it still hurt that she could stomp me out so easily.

Shit.
I needed another beer. Finally tearing my eyes away from the gross scene of Ryan attempting to charm her, I threw my leg over the bike. “Tell me when we’re starting. I don’t need to know anything else.” I kicked the starter peg and gripped the throttle, revving the engine so it ripped a torment equal to my own. I looked at Spaz and yelled, “Tell these assholes they’re gone after the race. No hanging out.”

I slid the bike to a stop at the barn door, flipped the cooler open, and removed another bottle. There were a million reasons to ditch this race, but I knew I had to stick it out just to kick Ryan’s ass. I watched them all in the distance, readying their bikes. Spaz moved with the other riders around the track, showing them the route. It was pretty basic, but there were a few worn spots where the track crossed that could confuse anyone unfamiliar. Ryan stayed with LJ and Gavin. In the dim light near the trucks, I saw his silhouette reach out a few times, trying to be intimate, trying touch her any chance he could. I wasn’t sure how much more I could handle without snapping. It was like the Halloween party all over again. All I could think about was her in his arms. My vision clouded, red with fury and shadowed by alcohol. I downed the rest of the bottle as my pulse raged on inside my ears.

“Hey,” Gavin said, walking up to my side.

I tipped my head down and nodded. “Hey.”

“That guy Ryan isn’t the reason why you and LJ aren’t together, is he?” He turned and faced LJ, now left alone as Ryan took off toward the track.

“No,” I admitted. “That was all me.”

“That explains why she’s been miserable all week,” Gavin said without facing me.

“Miserable?” I asked, knowing its truth wasn’t entirely about me. The curse was the true cause.

“I didn’t want to get involved, but seeing that dick hit on her changed my mind.”

I nodded to myself and dropped the empty bottle beside the cooler. “Yeah, well… I wish I could do something to change what happened, but I can’t.”

“What did you do?”

“I kept something from her. But I was only trying to protect her. I just…” I paused as LJ looked in our direction, folding her arms at the chill. “I better get over to the start,” I said, noticing Spaz waving at the far end of the track. “You can do some jumps after these idiots leave, okay?”

“Okay,” he agreed.

I grabbed my helmet beside the cooler, tugged it on, and rode over to the makeshift starting line butted against the property’s edge. There was a gap between Iz and another rider, so I pulled between them.

Iz turned her decaled helmet toward me, only her eyes and nose showing. Her voice was muffled and difficult to hear over the bikes, so I leaned closer. “Why aren’t you fighting, Benj? I know you don’t want something to happen between them, so why would you sit around and wait?” She stood for a moment, adjusting her bike’s position and glancing at Spaz as he talked to Colt down the line.

I nodded slightly, knowing how right she was for most ordinary scenarios. But did that really apply for mine, when I was to blame for what would inevitably happen to LJ? She didn’t even want to talk to me. How could I fight that? Should I even fight that? I glanced back up to Iz and admitted, “I’m afraid I’ll push her further away.”

“That won’t happen. I know she really cares about you. That means you’ve got a chance to fight.”

I glanced back to Spaz, who was pointing to a girl I hadn’t even noticed before at the edge of the track. Her hands gripped a red bandana to signal our start. I looked past her movement to LJ, knowing I shouldn’t keep wasting time. “Maybe you’re right.”

Wind picked up with quick gusts, whipping my hair around my face and shooting another chill through my body. I hugged the comfort of my thrift shop bomber jacket as I looked at the bikes lined across the back of the property. The sun was gone and the moon hadn’t come out to take its place. That void left the grounds eerily dark. Truck headlights cast just enough light to see the riders. I hoped it was enough for them to see the track.

“Why are you talking to him?” Gavin asked beside me, keeping his eyes on the riders.

“Who?” I looked in the same direction. A girl with a classic pin-up-style look walked toward Gavin and me. She stopped at the low bank that formed the edge of the track. Like ours, most of her features were claimed by the night.

“The dude who isn’t Ben,” Gavin said, now eying the racer chick. She looked like she’d hopped out of a Rosie the Riveter poster wearing a bandana and a bouffant curl in her bangs.

I ran my fingers through my limp hair, a little jealous of how cute hers looked. “Ryan?” I asked, looking back at the riders. “I’ve already told him that I’m not interested.”

“He’s ignoring that message.”

Pin-up Chick raised her right arm, holding a red bandana identical to the one wrapped around her head. “That’s his problem, not mine,” I stated.

“It’s Ben’s problem too,” he replied.

Ignoring Gavin, I kept my eyes on Pin-up Chick as she dropped her arm dramatically to start the race. The bikes lunged from their starting points, shooting forward with so much speed I doubted their ability to make the first turn.

After they ripped through the first bend with no problems, Gavin swung his hair off his forehead and eyed me. “He’s a good guy, LJ. Not like that dick you were just—”

“Gavin,” I warned. “You don’t even know what happened. Just drop it, okay?” I huffed and tightened my arms across my chest. I knew why he was trying. I liked Ben, too. I loved Ben, in fact. God, did I love him. I could see it all in his eyes tonight, even from far away. Every ounce of his pain mixed with mine, crushing my heart for the millionth time this week.
Why did all this have to happen?

“Fine. I just think he’s the kind of guy who deserves another chance.”

“How do you know he didn’t cheat on me or something? Would you want me to give him another shot if that happened?” I closed my eyes in a squint, hoping it would help fight the tears as I focused on the race.

He exhaled audibly and crossed his own arms. “I can tell he didn’t. Whatever. I’m just trying to help.”

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. If I talked about it anymore, I’d fall apart again.

With no more words, we watched the bikes tear up the track. I focused on Izzy, mainly. She looked smaller than the guys, but she flew through the turns and kept her jumps low to stay with the pack.

Ryan and Ben’s bikes raced so close I was pretty sure they’d bumped a couple of times. During the last lap of twenty, all the riders were stacked together. In the middle of the group, there was a small collision. Whatever had happened put Ben and Ryan in last place. It also slowed Spaz and most of the other riders down enough to give the lead to Izzy and the skinny guy, who Ryan had mentioned was his cousin. They crossed the starting line too close to tell who had won from our distance.

Before Gavin or I could flinch toward the starting line, the bikes were cutting through the headlights, riding toward the trucks. Gavin grabbed a cooler next to his feet and jogged in that direction. I reluctantly followed. Shoving my right hand into my jacket pocket, I grabbed the fistful of folded bills—the reason I couldn’t avoid the crowd. As soon as the last bike’s engine cut off, Izzy’s exuberant laugh tumbled over the still grounds. She had won.

Pin-up Chick was walking just ahead of me when a headache pierced my thoughts.

“I wish I had the guts to leave him,”
Pin-up Chick’s voice said moments later.

“Hey,” I called out, running up alongside her and making her turn. I didn’t know her story, but it seemed like she needed an escape. And I was willing to give it to her.

“Hi,” she responded with ruby lips that matched her bandana. Her hands were shoved into the pockets of her fitted leather jacket.
No exposed skin, except her face.

“I’m LJ.” I extended my hand, hoping she wasn’t wearing gloves to combat tonight’s early-winter chill.

“Viv,” she said, removing her bare hand from her jacket and shaking mine.

The emotional rush jolted through me, warming my cool cheeks and sedating my headache. I sighed when it disappeared as quickly as it came. “Your hair looks amazing. Just wanted to tell you that.”

She smiled brightly at my words, not noticing the change. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Nice meeting you,” I said, veering away from her. She said a goodbye and quickened her pace toward the trucks just as I felt the blood begin to drip from my nose. I grabbed a tissue from my other pocket, pinched my nose, and kept walking my slow pace.

Shadowed in the darkness behind the trucks, people finally came into focus with my last steps. Spaz held Izzy off the ground, pressing her body to him while they kissed. Ryan was in the bed of his truck, strapping his bike down. And a couple of trucks were already backing out to leave. Their lights flickered over Ben as he leaned on his bike. His eyes were already on me. Gavin was chatting beside him.

“Give me my winnings, chick!” Izzy squealed and ran to me. Her arms crashed around my body and squeezed.