Last Chance - L. P. Dover Page 0,7
so we’re basically on the same team. Most of the time, I ride in the class below him, so it’s not like we really ride against each other. We train together all the time. I can’t recall how many times he’s outsmarted me when it comes to fixing our bikes. I owe him a lot.”
That was the one positive thing about Luke I could agree to. “He’s loyal to his friends, that’s for sure. I know how he is with Evan Townsend. But I don’t know if that makes up for his choice in women, or how frequently he chooses them.”
“And yet, you’re here with him,” he teased.
I elbowed him in the side and he laughed. “Only because I have to be. I guess you can say I had no choice.” We sat down on a secluded bench, where the trees opened up to reveal the clear night sky and the bright stars above.
“At least you got to meet me, right?”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Mr. Harris.”
Slamming the empty shot glass down, I poured another and let the amber liquid slide down my throat. What the fuck was going on? I never had to try so hard for a girl before. Why was Lara fighting me? Usually I could walk away and never look back. Why did I want her so fucking bad?
“Collins, come have a drink with us,” someone shouted from the other room.
“Can’t,” I called out, heading for the door. When I looked out the glass door, Lara was nowhere to be seen. Where the hell was she? I knew it was a mistake to leave her alone with Harris. Fuck.
Storming outside, there were people who called my name, but I ignored them. There was only one thing on my mind; finding Lara. I walked over to a group of riders who sat by the pool. “Have any of you seen Harris?”
I recognized a few of them, but they rode in the smaller classes. One of them, a young guy in his early twenties, nodded and pointed toward the garden on the other side of the house. “He went that way with some blonde chick.”
A feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time resurfaced, burning inside my gut. I didn’t want Harris alone with Lara. He could have anyone he wanted, but not her. I thundered past the pool to the other side of the house. I could hear Lara’s laugh the closer I got, and it only fueled my anger more. She should be laughing like that with me.
When I found them, Harris stood from the bench and slapped my arm. “Hey, man.”
I knew that if I said anything to him, I’d lose my shit. Instead, I just glared and held out my hand to Lara. “It’s time for us to go.” She swallowed hard, but took my hand. Luckily, she didn’t fight me because I was just about ready to haul her over my shoulder.
“You okay, man?” Chance asked. “Why are you leaving so soon?”
He was my friend, but I wanted to tell him to fuck off, to not even attempt to look at Lara the way he was doing when I walked up. “I’m just not feeling it tonight,” I lied. “I’ll see you next week.” I held out my hand and he shook it.
Chance then focused on Lara. “It was nice meeting you. Maybe I’ll see you again.”
She smiled and said, “Maybe.”
That was all I could take. Without so much as another word, I pulled her away from the garden, to the front of the house where my truck was parked.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she snapped.
Teeth clenched, I huffed. “I leave for one second and you disappear with Harris. That’s fucked up.”
She threw her hands in the air. “He asked me to take a walk. It was harmless. What does it matter anyway? I’m nothing to you. Tomorrow you’ll forget about me and move on to someone else.”
Sucking in a breath, I closed my eyes. “So that’s how you see me.”
“I’m sorry. I guess after everything that happened with Kate, you changed. I loved being around you before, but now . . .”
“Now what?”
She stared at me for the longest time and I waited for her to speak, but then she gently grabbed the keys out of my hand. “It doesn’t matter. Right now, I need to drive you home. You’re drunk.” She walked around to the driver’s side and got in.
I was too angry to argue about my level of sobriety, so