her eyes, she hit me again. “Let’s go, crazy man. It’ll be fun. Maybe something will spark my memory.”
Holding her hand, we walked to her car, so I could let her in. She’d planned on driving since she knew I’d be drinking. She handed me the keys and I drove us to the party.
There were cars everywhere and people scattered about the yard, drinking and having a good time. Like always, there was a spot for me in the driveway. “VIP treatment, huh?” she laughed.
I looked at her and smiled. “That’s pretty much the same thing you said the last time we were here.”
“And that was the night of our one night stand?”
The memories of that night and how stupid I was came flooding back. “Unfortunately,” I grumbled, getting out of the car. “But that’s not happening tonight.”
When she got out of the car, a few of the guys in the yard whistled, but when they noticed she was with me, they backed off—which was smart of them. Lara was a beautiful woman, but I wouldn’t stand for any of those punks salivating over her.
We walked around the back of the house where Chance and the rest of our friends were gathered. Competition was high in our sport, so I didn’t necessarily have close friends inside the group, but we all respected each other. That was why most of my friends consisted of Evan and the rest of the football players.
Chance noticed us and waved us over. “Collins, you made it!” he shouted.
There were other people sitting around him, including Troy Baker, my main competitor. He played dirty on the track and always tried to wipe me out, but I’d bested him every time. With Lara’s hand still clasped with mine, we walked over.
Chance tossed back the rest of his beer and pointed at me. “We all know that fucker, but the beautiful girl is Lara Jacobs.”
Troy narrowed his gaze. “Isn’t she the one who kicked Jonathan’s ass a few years ago?”
The group burst out laughing and Chance’s eyes went wide. “Oh yeah, that’s right. That was so long ago, I’d forgotten about it.”
I hated Jonathan Rimmel. He was a fucking douche, who liked to push girls around. I’d tried to warn Lara about him, but being the stubborn ass that she was, she didn’t listen. And when he tried to force her into one of the back bedrooms, she went crazy on him. She did some damage to his body, but I finished the job. We hadn’t seen him around since.
Lara lifted her arms. “It’s a shame I don’t remember.”
Chance walked over and winked at her. “I do, sweetheart. It was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. Come sit with us and I’ll tell you all about it.” Then he looked at me. “If you want to go in and grab a beer, Bubba’s in there. He’s been dying to talk to you about his new bike. I figured I’d save your girl and keep her company.”
I glanced at them both, and Lara shrugged as if she didn’t care. “Go ahead. I’ll be fine out here.”
“All right, I’ll be right back.” Then I pushed a finger into Chance’s chest. “If you so much as try to come onto her, I’ll kick your ass. Got it?”
Eyes wide, he tried to look innocent and failed. “Dude, I never put the moves on her. I was just being friendly. You know how I am.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Exactly.”
Lara rolled her eyes and pushed me toward the door. “Go talk to your friend. If Chance puts the moves on me, I’ll cut off his balls.”
Chance grabbed his crotch and shied away, making me laugh. I had no doubt she could take care of herself. Pulling her to me, I kissed her and headed inside. I didn’t like leaving her alone, but I knew she’d get bored as fuck listening about bike parts and suspensions.
There were dozens of people taking shots and making drinks in the kitchen. Bubba was in the corner, wearing his signature green and black jersey and straight-billed cap, talking to two other guys who rode in the class below me. He was only twenty-three years old, and one of the smoothest riders I’d ever seen. One of these days, he was going to be the best.
Bubba noticed me approaching and excused himself from his friends. “Holy shit, you’re finally here.”
I shook his hand and laughed. “It’s been a while.”
“That it has, my friend. I thought you’d ditched us there