“You don’t look like you’re happy to have won,” Chip called out to Swift.
“We won?” He asked slowly. “We’re in first?” Swift’s gaze moved through the eliminated racers lined up, and with a clench of my heart, I knew he was looking for me. His eyes locked with mine a moment later, and I gave him an encouraging nod. They won. It wasn’t a joke.
He exhaled deeply and bent over, his hands on his knees. “Oh, thank God.”
Everyone burst into cheers again. A knot formed in my throat and I smiled, clapping harder.
Chip clapped Swift on the back. “You need a moment?”
“I’ll…be…okay,” he said slowly. “Just need to breathe.”
“Take your time,” Chip told him. He turned back to Plate, who was smiling broadly. Plate pumped a fist in the air as Chip began to speak. “Well, boys. Eight countries. Six continents. Ten teams….and you’re in first place!”
“Yeah, baby!” Plate shouted. Swift stood upright, and Plate grabbed him in an enormous hug, spinning him around. “We did it, bro!”
As if just now able to believe it, a slow smile spread across Swift’s face. He let out a gigantic whoop and slapped Plate on the back, then screamed, raising a fist into the air. “Fuck yeah!”
“Bleep that,” someone in production called out.
“How’d you boys do it?” Chip asked, giving them toothy smiles. “You came in first place in almost every leg. Then toward the end, you were in last. But somehow, you managed to fight back to the front of the pack to win the prize. What’s your secret?”
Swift immediately looked to me. “We made some really great friends along the way.”
Friends? The knot in my throat felt like it was the size of New Hampshire.
“That’s right,” Plate said immediately, heading down the steps. He grabbed Georgie’s hand and then mine, and dragged us up onto the stage. “We couldn’t have done it without these two ladies.”
I looked over at Swift, uncertain. Friends? Friends? The word kept ringing in my ears.
Swift took two steps forward and immediately enfolded me in a hug. He squeezed me tight against him.
More cheers erupted from the gathered crowd.
“We owe you guys everything,” Swift murmured in my ear.
I squeezed him back. “You don’t owe us anything. It was all you.”
“Here comes second place,” called Chip. “Why don’t you boys come on up here? Team Three’s still waiting for a connecting flight overseas, I’m sorry to say, so we won’t get to see them again.”
I looked up and couldn’t resist a small, smug smile as the Green Machine threw their backpacks down on the sand and jogged up the steps.
“You guys ran a great race,” Chip told them, shaking their hands. “I’m sorry it just wasn’t enough.”
“We were close,” Drew said in a tight voice, his hands on his hips. His mouth was a firm, unhappy line.
Swift just held me tight against him.
“You boys ran a good race,” Chip said.
Georgie snorted. I shot her a look.
“Well, it’s hard to run a good race when everyone else teams up against you,” Foster said, tone belligerent.
“Oh no, you did not just go there.” Georgie put her hands on her hips.
“What is it?” Plate asked.
I rolled my eyes and just held tight to Swift. “It’s called sour grapes. Don’t pay any attention to it. You guys won fair and square.”
“That’s rich, coming from you two girls,” Drew said. He mimed flipping a braid, imitating me. “Oh wow, boys, this challenge is so hard. Can you do it for us?”
Georgie scowled. “Whatever. That is not how it went down.”
“It’s okay, Georgie. They’re just bitter bitches because they played shady and it still got them second place. Oh wait, I’m sorry. Second place is still first loser, right? You boys are officially first losers.” I gave them a smug smile. “Guess you should have stolen someone else’s money, huh?”
“Wait, what?” Swift’s arms tightened around me.
“They stole your money?” Plate bellowed at the same time.
“It’s not a big deal,” I said quickly. “The race is over, and it didn’t do them any good.”
Swift’s hands went to my shoulders and tightened. Not enough to hurt, just enough to let me know that he was tense. “When?”
“When what?”
“When did they steal your money?”
I gave Georgie a guilty look. I hated that we – okay I – had brought it up. I knew the boys would lose their shit. “Morocco?”
Swift released me and stepped forward. “Morocco, huh? That was a while back.”
“Yup. And we did just fine.” I kept my tone upbeat.
But Swift kept moving toward Chip. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, muscles bulging, and looked the host right in the eye. “The race is done, right? It’s over?”
Chip frowned, and then resumed his normal plastic smile. “It is. You’ve won. Now what—“
“You’re sure it’s 100% over?” Swift asked.
Chip nodded.
“Good. Then I can’t get in trouble for this.” Swift turned and slammed his fist into Drew’s face.
~~ * * * ~~
“To an awesome race,” Plate said, raising his glass of champagne in the air. “Even with all the douchebags.”
“Even with,” I said, raising my glass of champagne. Georgie raised hers, and at my side, Swift raised his mug of beer, his other hand in the ice bucket. He’d managed to do quite a bit of damage to Drew’s face – and to his hand – before he’d been pulled off of him. Drew had threatened to sue, and Georgie had threatened to sue Drew right back for harassment, and the race lawyers had gotten involved and soothed everyone’s feelings with a few minor settlements and promises for future spots on other reality TV shows.
Me, though? I couldn’t stop smiling. Swift had won, and he’d beat up the bad guys to boot. It was hard not to be on cloud nine at the moment. We sat in the restaurant of the expensive resort hotel. We’d be staying here overnight, courtesy of the show, and then everyone would be heading home in the morning.
Plate downed his champagne and belched. “That’s the last of the bottle.”
“Thanks for a great dinner, guys,” Georgie said with a smile. “It was fun to go out and celebrate. I’m glad the good guys won for a change.”
“Too bad Jendan and Annabelle couldn’t be here to celebrate,” Swift said, gazing at his beer mug. “They were good guys.”
“They were. They just got screwed with a layover.” I gave his knee a squeeze under the table. “Maybe we can meet up with them again back in the states at some point and all go out for a beer.”
Swift gave me an intense look and nodded.
“Can’t meet up with them too soon,” Georgie called out. “Me and you have a date with a beach house, remember?”
“I remember.”
“Beach house?” Swift asked. “You guys staying in Hawaii for a while, then?”
I nodded and toyed with the stem of my glass. “We wanted to stick together for a bit. Keep the sister-thing going for a while. Plus, neither of us wants to jump on a plane right now.” I gave him a weary smile. “If I never see another flight attendant, it’s too soon.”
“Amen to that,” Plate said, then got to his feet. “I think this hotel has a dance floor. You wanna go do some breakdancing, Georgie Price?” He held his hand out to her.
She giggled and got to her feet, slapping her palm into his. “I do a mean cabbage patch, just so you know.” Georgie looked over at me. “You guys coming?”
I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. “I don’t think dancing’s my thing.”
“And I’m going to call my dad and then call it a night,” Swift said, then tapped the ice bucket. “Me and my new best friend are gonna take it easy.”
“Party poopers,” Georgie called out, then shrugged. “More fun for you and me, Plate.”
&
nbsp; He crooked his elbow at her. “Milady,” he said in an exaggerated voice. She snort-laughed and took his arm, and they left the restaurant.
I watched Georgie leave, a bit of concern on my face.
Swift leaned in to whisper to me. “They’re fine, Tiny. You know Plate wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. They’re just going to go dance like idiots and then he’ll take her back to her room. She’s already made it clear to him that she’s not jumping into anything right now, and he’s ready to wait.”
I nodded. “It’s just hard. I worry about her.”
“I know you do.” He eased his hand out of the ice bucket and wiped it off with a cloth napkin. “But I’m glad they left, because that means I get to talk to you alone.”
“Oh?” My heart began to flutter in my chest. “What about?”
He gave me an intense look. “Will you spend the night with me?”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Did I think we’d win? Never any doubt in my mind. Why? Because we’re awesome. We’re smooth with the ladies, and chill with the dudes. Except the Green Team. Those dudes can go fuck themselves. And please make sure you quote me on that.” – Plate, Team One Percent, The World Races Post-Interview
“Spend the night?” I repeated dumbly.
“Yeah,” Swift said, and his mouth curled with amusement. “You know, you and me go upstairs together, and we pretend like there’s no one else in the world for about eight hours?”
A hot blush scorched my cheeks. “I knew what you meant.” It just was taking a moment to digest, that was all.
“Thinking up a polite way to turn me down, then?”
Was he crazy? I grabbed the front of his Race shirt and pulled him against me in a quick, lip-mashing kiss. “Is that your answer?”
He grinned at me. “Your room or mine?”
“Seeing as how I’m sharing mine with Georgie? Yours. Unless you’re sharing with Plate.” God, my face felt so very red at the moment.
“Nope. I made sure we had separate rooms tonight.”
And that made my face burn a little hotter. Did everyone know what Swift’s plans were tonight?
“So is that a yes?”
I nodded, feeling shy but excited. He took my hand in his, raised it to his mouth, and kissed my knuckles. “You know you’re…special to me, right?”
I frowned at him. Special? “Swift, I’m not asking for a declaration of love, here. I agreed to sleep with you. I don’t need to be bribed into your bed with words. I’m a big girl. I can make a decision to sleep with a guy without hearing the three magic words, you know.”
This time, he looked embarrassed. “Right. Okay. Shall we head up?” He pulled a wad of bills out of his wallet and tossed them on the table. I stood up, and the moment I did, his arm went around my waist.
This was it. This was us. My last moments with Swift, I realized. After tonight, we’d head back home (or in my case, I’d stay in Hawaii with Georgie) and we’d figure out our lives from there. This chapter was ending, and I was pretty sure Swift wasn’t going to be in the next one. Nothing he’d said to me had indicated otherwise. My heart hurt a little at that, but I was going to take this for what it was – a celebration of falling in lust with someone and a wonderful, exhilarating time in my life.
No more, no less.
We went upstairs, and I clenched my sweaty fists to keep from trembling as Swift slid his key card into the slot, and then opened the door to his room. “After you.”
I stepped inside, and blinked.
This wasn’t just a regular room, like the one me and Georgie shared. This was a deluxe suite, complete with Jacuzzi tub in one corner of the room and enormous king-sized bed. Snazzy art hung on the walls, and there was a plush sofa directly across from the bed. “Wow. This…doesn’t look like my room.”
“Winners got an upgrade,” he told me with a grin. “Make yourself comfortable.”
Comfortable? When I was here to sleep with a guy for the first time? Right. I’d just kick off my shoes and relax and…try not to break out into a nervous sweat. I kicked off my shoes and padded around on the thick carpet, feeling ill at ease.
“I just need to make a quick phone call,” Swift said, brushing past me. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” I was actually relieved. It’d give me a few minutes’ reprieve to relax and stop freaking out.
He grinned and gave me a quick wink, then flopped down on the edge of the bed and pulled out his cell-phone. It was a weird sight. After weeks of not having a phone, I didn’t think about mine much anymore. Strange. I sat on the edge of the sofa as he held the phone to his ear.
“Dad?” Swift’s voice was husky. “It’s me, Richard.”
I tensed, wondering if I should get up. Was this a private conversation? Should I leave?
Before I could decide, Swift pressed a hand to his eyes, hiding them. “We did it.” His voice was husky with emotion. “Me and Plate. We won. We got the money.” His throat worked, and my own eyes burned with tears. He nodded a few times and made sounds of assent. “Yeah. Half a mill each, but Plate said he was going to donate his prize money to the cause, too. That means after taxes there should still be enough for most of your treatments.” He paused again, and then a smile crossed his face. “Fuck, really? That’s awesome. I’m so glad.” He rubbed his forehead again. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll be home in a few days and we’ll get you all set up. This is gonna work out, Dad, I promise. We got it handled. Yeah…..yeah. I love you too. Call you tomorrow.”
He clicked off his phone and then flung it down on the bed. Swift laid flat on his back, pressing his palms to his eyes. I bit my lip and watched him, wondering if I should go comfort him or let him have a moment. I decided on comfort and moved to his side, gently stroking one arm.
“You okay?” I kept my voice soft. “Want me to leave you for a bit?”
“God, no.” He turned and pulled me against him, dragging me down on the bed until his face pressed against my stomach. I was startled, but it felt good to be held, and so I dragged my fingers through his long, shaggy hair. He seemed like he needed to be touched right now. “I’m just…really glad we won,” he said after a moment.
“I’m glad you won, too.” I nudged a lock of hair from his forehead. “For you and your dad. And what Plate did…that’s wonderful.”
He nodded against my stomach. “I didn’t ask him to. He just…said he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if Dad needed the money and he blew it on a few new Harleys. And the club said if we won, they’d match it. So between us and the club…he should have enough for his treatments.” He sucked in a ragged breath. “I’m so fucking glad. You don’t know how helpless it feels to know that someone you love needs all this money for something to save their life and you don’t know how the fuck to get it.”
I stroked his hair. I didn’t know how that felt, he was right. Georgie had always had money from her modeling success, so I knew that if I ever had a dry spell, I could turn to her. “I feel like such a jerk.”
He lifted his head, reddened eyes looking at me with confusion. “What? Why?”
I sighed. “Because for a while I wasn’t sure if you were telling the truth about your dad or if it was a sympathy ploy to help you get ahead. And I feel terrible about that.”
Swift stared at me, aghast. “You thought I’d really lie about something like that?”
“Well, I was hoping not…”
“I would never!”
“I know that now! It’s just that sometimes during the race, you were acting weird. Like you weren’t telling the truth all the time, and I didn’t know what to think.”
His arms tightened around me. “I wasn’t telling the truth all the time.”
A sick feeling curled in the pit of my stomach. “Oh?” He had a girlfriend, didn’t he? Or he was married. Or something else equally horrible and unthinkable.
Swift sighed. “Yeah. See, here’s the thing…I’m not really in a club.”
Of all the things I
was expecting him to confess…that wasn’t it. “What?”
“I’m a prospect. Plate, too. Our dads are both in the Brothers of Chrome but they don’t want us to join officially. Too much sketchy shit and they’ve spent too much time in prison. So we grew up with the club, and we know the inner workings of the club, but we’re not officially allowed to wear colors.”
I digested this. “But your tattoos…” The big wheel on his chest, the swallows on his shoulders, everything.
“The wheel on my stomach isn’t the official logo. Actually, when I got the tattoo, my dad tanned my fucking hide for a week for daring to get tatted up. Then he sat me down and let me know some of the shit the club’s in, and how he’d never let me patch officially. Me and Plate, we’re part of the club, but not really in the club. We’re more like…mascots.” He sounded ashamed of the word. “Everyone’s kid brothers, you know?”
“But the show…”
“The show wanted a couple of bikers and so we fudged a few things to ensure we’d be able to get the money for Dad. The club knows about it. We were careful not to show any specific allegiance. Even our cuts don’t have official patches.”
Oh. So his big secret was that he’s not a thug? “So who are you, really?”
Swift grimaced. “I’m a mechanic, like I said. Fuckin’ sad, huh?”
I giggled. “What’s wrong with being a mechanic?”
“Doesn’t sound nearly as cool as a badass one percenter.”
“Oh please. You are talking to someone that could have written the definition of ‘nerd’ in the dictionary.”
“You are pretty nerdy,” he admitted, and I smacked his arm. Then he grinned up at me. “Nerdy and hot and one of the best people I’ve ever met.”
My cheeks heated, and a knot formed in my throat.
“You let us win, didn’t you? Race is over now. You might as well be honest.”
“Let you win?” I scoffed. “Don’t sell yourself short.”
“I’m not. There was another penalty envelope on the last round, and I realized when I reached in that one envelope was fatter than the others. And I realized you knew it too when you picked it out. You deliberately took the penalty when you could have given it to us.”