Grey rode his motorcycle down to the track. I watched a crowd of people slowly start to gather on the bleachers while some took a seat on the hill, looking down at the track.

I followed Grey as far as the starting line. "Good luck!" I told him.

He gave me a cocky grin. "After everything, they told you about me, do you think I need it?"

I shrugged, smiling. "Nah." I looked around the empty track. "Where are the rest of the guys?"

Grey chuckled under his breath. "They didn't want to race me."

My eyebrows knitted together. "What?"

"Yeah, then there's the fact there's a huge amount of money on the line, and I don't think anybody wants to risk losing that much to me. Except for this one idiot." Grey snickered as he climbed onto his bike.

I heard some girls yelling out his name from the bleachers, waving their arms to get his attention. Grey, being Grey, winked and waved back.

I crossed my arms, rolling my eyes. Of course, Grey had groupies—scantily dressed groupies at that.

One of them ran to the edge of the bleachers and leaned over the railing, "Hey! You should come to my tent after you win the race." She twirled a strand of her matted green hair. She was trying to be flirty and cute. I didn't think she was either of those things.

Grey opened his mouth to answer her, but I beat him to it. "No thanks! He's not interested." I smiled sweetly. She pouted and walked off to take a seat amongst her friends. I watched them whisper and point at us. Great.

"Jealous?" Grey poked my side, causing me to flinch as I slapped his hand away.

"No. Of course not. I just know she's not your type." I was not jealous. I had no reason to be. "Anyways, back to what I was saying. I'm guessing you've raced this guy before?"

Grey nodded. "Twice. And he's a sore loser. He's the last person I would have considered racing tonight, but he agreed to match the money I put up."

I wanted to ask what the offer had been, but I was afraid to. I knew it must be an unseemly high amount.

A thought occurred to me. "But don't you think that's weird? Like he must have something planned if he wants to race you again after losing the other two times. And if he's such a sore loser, why would he put himself in this position to possibly lose again?"

Grey shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe he's feeling lucky. I don't know, but it doesn't matter. I'm going to beat him like I always do."

I nodded. "Good."

We heard O'Malley speak through a megaphone loudspeaker. He was announcing the racers and saying that the race would begin soon.

"Mia, you can grab a seat over there." Grey pointed to Caroline on the bleachers, who waved at me. He slipped his helmet on and started up his bike. His fangirls started to squeal and scream.

"Okay, I'll see you after the race." I jogged off the track. I was making my way up and around the bleachers when I passed some guy coming downhill with his mustard color motorcycle.

I guess this was the other racer. He had this spikey platinum blonde Mohawk and wore a white biker jacket with stone-washed jeans and a black t-shirt.

Was I the only one that didn't know stone-washed jeans were still a thing?

He had two other guys flanking him as he slowly pushed his bike alongside him. "Are you sure about racing him again?" The guy on his right asked.

He sounded like he thought his friend was making a big mistake.

Since I was biased, I would have to agree.

I slowed my pace to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Listen, since I've gotten upgrades on this thing, I don't think he'll stand a chance. I mean, his bike looks like some ancient hand-me-down."

Okay, Grey's bike already had a good couple of years. But Grey did inherit from his father. Mr. McNamara could have been a racer in a past life. Grey had a video of him renting out a track to race his buddies. If I remember correctly, he never lost a race either. M

Mr. McNamara's love for the sport was passed down to Grey. So Grey has kept his bike in pristine condition even before he could ride it. His mom had wanted to sell it for years, but Grey always managed to talk her out of it.

I recalled how she used to panic seeing Mr. McNamara ride off on his motorcycle. But with Grey, it was even worse.

She would clench her fists over her chest and shout, "BE SAFE! BE SAFE! PLEASE!" Then she turned her head, tightly shutting her eyes, trying her best not to watch him ride off. It was kind of funny.

Sometimes I forget how much Grey and his dad were exactly alike.

"That's true. His bike is practically crap compared to yours."

The guy on the left spoke after them. "But still, what if he wins? Won't you be embarrassed again? Dude, you barely have any street racing cred like you used to." The guy on the right, his eyes grew wide like he knew his friend shouldn't have said that.

The racer guy paused, then punched his friend in the gut out of nowhere. The poor guy was hunched over on all fours. "Stop talking shit, Jason!" He kicked up some dirt at him. Then they proceeded to walk by him like they could care less about the guy.

I almost felt bad for him.

"What the hell are you staring at, blondie?" He sneered as he got up and dusted off his knees. "You should learn to mind your business," he added, pointing his finger at me.

Agh! Rude. I was going to say something but decided I couldn't be bothered so

I walked away instead.

"That's what I thought!" he shouted to my back.

Real mature.

Never mind. I didn't feel bad for him. I probably would have punched him too.

On the bleachers, I skipped down to Caroline. I was thinking about everything those guys said. It made me want to call Grey and give him a heads up.

I pulled my phone out, and I saw two texts from my mom. I had put my phone on silent after her call. I quickly skimmed the message. It was just her sending the phone numbers, as promised. Then she threw in a "Whenever you're ready to talk, I'll be here for you."

I saved her numbers and then called Grey. I watched him slide off his helmet and then grab his phone from his pocket and answer. At the same time, I watched those three jerks make their way onto the track.

"Mia? You okay?" He twisted around and on his bike, and his eyes instantly found me standing in the middle of the empty bleachers.

I nodded. "Yup. I just," I sighed. "This might sound stupid, but I walked past those guys, coming onto the track, and they said some stuff."

"To you?"

By the sound of his voice, I could tell that he was ready to leap into action if they had said anything he didn't like.

"No. He was bragging about some bike upgrades and how he's finally going to beat you."

I saw him and heard him let out a hearty laugh. "Is that so? Well, I guess I have to see how good those upgrades are when racing."

I bit my lip nervously.

"It drives me crazy when you do that. Stop it." He pointed to me.

I released my lip. "Just be careful. I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about him."

"Noted. I'll be fine. Okay? No worries."

I nodded and hung up.

Grey watched me walk down to Caroline and take a seat before he repositioned himself on his bike, sliding his helmet back on.

"Hey, Mia. I got smores!" Caroline held up a new tray of smores.

Where does she manage to put all of that?

I was still full from the BBQ earlier. Plus, even if I were hungry, my anxiety wouldn't let me eat.

"Gosh! This is so nerve-wracking," I muttered under my breath.

"Don't worry. Your boy got it this." She bumped my shoulder before shoving another s'more in her mouth. "HMM." She groaned into the snack.

I watched Grey and the other racer line up their bikes at the starting line. The guy must have yelled something over to him because Grey gave him the finger.

"So when it's only two racers, Finn lets them do just three laps around the track. Then the winner takes the cash pot. Short and simple," Caroline informed me.

We watched some half-dressed girl walk out onto the track. She reached behind her, then slipped her bra off from under her shirt and held it up.

Oh gosh.

O'Malley spoke, "Okay, get ready..."

The guys revved up their bikes.

"Set... Go!" The girls waved the bra down, and the guys took off.

The crowd screamed while I maintained a death grip on the bleaches. If I had super strength, I would've dented it.

On the first lap, Grey was in the lead. Then the other guy sped up on the second, putting Grey a few feet behind him. For the third lap, I swear my lungs were suffering from the lack of oxygen that I kept forgetting to give them because I couldn't remember to breathe. Grey was in the lead again, but then the other guy sped up, and as he did, I wasn't sure what happened, but they were practically head to head when the other guy looked like he purposely swerved towards Grey to get him off balance or something. But Greyson must have slightly slowed down, giving the other guy the chance to make it in front and... Oh no.

The crowd cheering for them for the last few minutes got silent as the other guy raced across the finish line.

Grey lost. Ah, shoot.

"OH MY GOD!" Caroline shouted furiously. "NO FLIPPING WAY. HE MUST HAVE CHEATED SOMEHOW!"

I hopped up off the bleachers running to make my way down to Grey.

As I made it to the track, I heard the other guy talking smack, and I watched him poke Greyson in the chest. I stood behind them.

"I knew this day was going to come. How does it feel to lose to me?" he held his arms up, pointing his thumbs down at himself. "Sucks, doesn't it? You walked around here all high and mighty because you thought no one could ever get on your level and kick your ass out on the track. Until today, of course. "

Greys placed his helmet on his bike and crossed his arms against his chest. "Double or nothing? How about a round two, Eddie?"

The crowd gasped as if they didn't expect Greyson to rechallenge him.

"Nah, man. I think I'm good. I need to bask in this glorious victory."

Grey smirked. "I think you're afraid that you got lucky and that it won't happen again, which is true. If you raced me again right now, you'd lose. So I can understand why you would want to save face."

Eddie got up into his face. Grey had about five inches on the guy, and Eddie had to tip his head up to speak. "You're such an effin' sore loser. You look pathetic asking for another chance to race me." Eddie looked at Greyson up and down.

O'Malley came over and handed Eddie the cash pot. He smiled. Digging up the wads of cash, he held it up in Grey's face. "This must kill you," he chuckled. "Three thousand is a lot to lose in one night."

WHAT? I didn't realize I had said that out loud. Not that I cared.

Grey whipped around, finally noticing that I'd been there the whole time.

"Is that your girl?" I heard Eddie say. "Hey sexy, how about..."

"SHUT UP!" I told him, effectively cutting him off from saying some sleazy pick-up line. I already got hit on by one douchebag tonight. I was over it! My eyes went back to Greyson. "I'm going to KILL YOU!" I growled. "THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS? You had three thousand on the line for a stupid race!" I was beyond furious.

Grey didn't respond but instead turned his attention back to Eddie.

OH, I WAS GOING TO... I came up behind him, ready to swing at any body part within my reach. But he caught my hand and pulled me into him, pinning me to his side. I opened my mouth to say something, but he covered it with his other hand.

"Double or nothing. My offer still stands."

Eddie shook his head.

"Did you not pack that much cash on you?" Greyson asked.

Eddie folded his lips into a thin line. I saw his nostrils flare.

One of his guys whispered something in his ear, and Eddie waved him off.

"I'll add another 500 on top to make it worth your while," Grey smirked.

I began to protest. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I yelled, but it was muffled by his hand.

I was practically thrashing around under his huge ass bicep at this point, but he somehow managed to keep me in place.

"Okay, Okay," Eddie said, bobbing his head. "You're on. But," he holds up one finger, "if you lose, I want that bike." He pointed to Grey's bike.

I stilled. He cannot be serious. Grey would never agree to a race with his father's bike on the line.

"Deal," Grey said easily.

Too damn easily if you asked me.

I bit down on Grey's hand, causing him to flinch.

O'Malley wore a grin as he traded looks with Grey, and then he held up the megaphone again. "LOOKS LIKE WE GOT A REMATCH!" The crowd cheered. The guys put more cash into the pot.

"Back to your bikes, gentlemen."

Greyson released me but then placed his hands on my shoulders, squeezing them.

"I can't believe you would do that."

Grey kissed my cheek unexpectedly. Then I felt his mouth brush against my ear. "Trust me," He whispered the words so softly.

I hated it when he did that."...Okay..." I whispered back.

O'Malley waved me over to him on the sidelines. "You wouldn't want to signal the start of the race, would you?"

I felt like any other day. I would have said no. But tonight, I was like, screw it, why not.

If I was doing one out-of-character thing already, I might as well make it two.

I knew Grey's eyes were me as I sauntered over to the middle of the track. I held my hands up in the air.

"TAKE SOMETHING OFF!" numerous people shouted at me.

I thought about it.

I also thought about telling O'Malley to tell someone else to do it.

But instead, I pulled off my shirt, leaving me in my Victoria's Secret sports bra. It probably wasn't what all the guys were hoping would be underneath this, but oh well. This wasn't too revealing, and it covered more than your average bra.

With my shirt in my hand, I raised it above my head.

"Okay..." O'Malley began. "Ready...Set...GO!" I flagged my shirt down to the ground as the guys zoomed past me. I ran over to the sidelines, slipping my shirt back on.

"Didn't think you had that in you," O'Malley said with a crooked smile.

I flicked my wrist. "It was a one-time thing. So why not?"

I watched the guys go around the first turn. I've never seen Greyson lean so hard into his turns. His knees looked like they could almost graze the ground. He wasn't racing like this before. The next thing I knew, the guys zoomed past us.

"HOLY SHIT!" O'Malley said, dragging a palm down his face.

"WHAT?" I asked nervously, unsure whether to interpret that as a good or bad sign.

O'Malley shows me this speedometer clock thing, almost like what the cops use to see if you're speeding on the highway.

"That's the fastest Grey has ever gone!" He tapped the screen—100 mph.

"Is that bad or good?" I didn't know anything here.

O'Malley combed through his beard. "It's impressive. It's why he has the lead."

I was flooded with relief. "Okay. That's good. He just has to keep that up for another two laps."

They zoom past on the second lap with Grey still in the lead. I looked at the speedometer again.

105 mph. GASP!

Eddie revved up his bike on the last lap, and I watched him speed ahead of Greyson on the last upcoming turn.

Gone was my relief, and in its place was pure panic. I was clenching my teeth hard enough to break them.

Grey sped up to catch Eddie on the turn, and HOLY CRAP! When Grey leaned in, Eddie tried to do the same but lost control of his bike and slid across the track into a stack of hay. Total Hollywood movie moment, but he doesn't have a stunt double, so that had to have hurt.

That accident put Grey in the lead.

He was going to win this time! I started to jump, rooting for him along with the crowd.

There was no way Eddie could even catch up at this point, but he tried. He picked himself up and got back on his bike, probably going faster than before. But so was Grey. He was a blur when he breezed by, and I checked his speed.

110 mph. JEESH! The crowd roared as Grey crossed the finish line.

My lungs expanded, and I welcomed the deep breaths of air.

Grey circled back around to meet us. He stopped a few feet away from me, shutting off his bike before slipping off his helmet.

"MY MAN! THAT...THAT was insane!" O'Malley used his hands and mimed his head exploding. "Are you sure you don't want to consider professionally racing?"

Grey shook his head, combing through his loose strands of hair. "Nah. This was all for fun and a little cash. I meant what I said. I'm done after tonight."

"That's a damn shame." O'Malley hung his head.

Off in the distance, we heard an engine rev up, and we all turned to watch Eddie speed off the track with his buddies right behind him. I guess he really was a sore loser.

O'Malley gave Grey the cash, and Grey swiped off a couple of the bills on top, handing it to him. "Thanks for everything," he told him.

"No problem. Don't be a stranger, alright. Your handsome mug is the only one that is always allowed to pop in and check up on me anytime. You're good people, Grey." He patted his shoulder before bringing him into one of those manly hugs.

"I could say the same. But I would be lying," Grey replied as a joke.

I knew Grey had a soft spot for this guy, but he wouldn't let that be public knowledge.

"Say whatever you want. I know the truth." O'Malley turned to me next. "Take good care of this one in college." He lightly punched Grey in the shoulder. "I don't think this daredevil is quite done yet."

I laughed on the outside, but I thought he better be done on the inside. "Will do."

I spotted Caroline running over to us.

She threw her arms around me, catching me off guard. "It was so nice to meet you, Mia." I hugged her back, not wanting her to be offended. "You too," I told her, and I meant it.

After all our goodbyes, Grey extended his hand to me, and I took it. "Let's get out of here."

When we hit the main road, Grey finally said, "Go ahead. I know there are all types of questions floating around that pretty little head of yours."

I was quick to deny it. "What? Psh! No!"

I bit my bottom lip. Grey knew me too well. I mean, I have been quiet for the past ten minutes.

"Mia," he said my name in an even tone.

I grumbled. "Fine. Are you done with racing?"

"Yes."

The next one left my lips before I could even think about it. "Aren't you nervous carrying around this much cash on you?"

"Yup. I honestly can't wait to get you back home so I can put our money somewhere safe."

We passed by some more abandoned warehouse buildings. Loosened my grip on his stomach a bit, and I craned my head around to stare at his side profile. "Our money?"

I couldn't think of this as our money. I didn't do anything to help him earn it.

"Yup. I made that for us. We can use it for whatever we want. Or we can save it. It's up to you."

"I think we should," the cacophony of motorcycles cut me off. I looked over my shoulder and saw three bikes gaining on us.

Why did that look like Eddie and his crew?

"Shit," Greyson mumbled under his breath.

AH hell.

"Greyson," His name came out so calmly that I was almost proud of myself for not giving away the fact that I was freaking stressed.

I peeked behind us again, and I saw Eddie rev up his bike going ever faster.

"That's why they left the track in such a hurry. They couldn't wait to get us alone to try something like this," Grey growled. I could feel the anger steaming out of him.

"What are they trying to do? What do they want?" I asked anxiously.

"I don't know, and I don't care, but we gotta lose them," his voice was laced with determination.

Grey let go of one of the handlebars for a split second just to pull one of my arms around him tighter. "Hold on to me. It's going to get a little crazy."

He revved up the engine, and I knew I was about to get a taste of those record-breaking speeds.