With a chuckle, I shake my head and let myself out, careful to close the door quietly.

A hot lesbian on the rebound, huh? Never had one of those before.

****

When I get home, I head straight for the one thing I know will help me. The jitters were out of control today, and the beer did fuck all to calm them.

I grab a long shot glass, and crack open the tequila. One shot. Two shot, three, then four. With each one I melt back into the lounge. The calm finally sets in.

Five shots, six—hell, I might as well finish the bottle.

****

I wake up in a lather of sweat on the lounge, and stumble down the hall. When I stop short in front of the spare room, I have to really concentrate to focus on the bed.

A bed and four lonely walls. I hate this room.

“Fuck you, V,” I spit out into the space, the echo of my words taunting me.

I wish V would hurry up and get the fuck here, already. Every time I walk past this damn room it’s a reminder of what he’s done and where he is. I wish he’d used that fuckin’ brain of his. He should never have gotten involved in the first place.

 

CHAPTER THREE

SOPHIE

“You doing anything this weekend?” April asks, as I finish with the last of the washing up from dinner.

“I’d normally be working a Saturday, but I didn’t get a shift this week again.” Which means less money in my pocket. I don’t know why all of a sudden my shifts have been changed. It’s not like the place isn’t busy.

“Why don’t you come to the next round with me? I’ll be doing a little bit of work, but at least I’ll have my girl to talk to.”

Do I really want to hang around a racetrack and listen to a bunch of guys talk shit?

April turns her head to the side, blinks as if she has a lash stuck to her eyeball, and then makes this mopey puppy pout.

“You really want me there?”

“It’s only a couple of hours drive and we can go out to the local pub for a few drinks after. Eevie is coming too, and we always try and keep each other company. Come on, you know you want to.”

I let out a heavy breath. It’s not a matter of not wanting to do it. The idea sounds amazing, and I get along well with Eevie, but really, how can I afford it? I just paid another instalment on the loan, and I’m barely keeping my head above water.

“Cash flow is kind of tight, babe,” I admit. I grit my teeth as blood rushes to my face. I fucking hate being in this position.

April curls her hands over my shoulders and drills me with her typical don’t-fuck-with-me gaze. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got you covered. It doesn’t take much to get you off your tit anyway.”

I look into her steely-grey eyes, searching for pity. Typically, there isn’t any.

“Yeah, okay. I just hate being a fucking charity case.”

“Soph, you’re far from it. You’re my bestie, and if I’m gonna buy you a few drinks, who cares? What’s a few drinks between friends?”

“’Kay. Just no Jägerbombs, ’right?” I smirk at her, and she does the same back to me.

“No, Soph. I swore off those for life, remember?”

How could I forget the day Jones broke her heart? That was one hell of a ride she took on the porcelain bus. Even though it’s been well over a year, a part of me still hates him for that.

“Good. It’s settled then. You’re coming,” she confirms with a nod.

“I need to do a bit of reading for uni, so do you reckon you could drive so I can catch up?”

“No worries, Soph. Just glad to have you.”

****

After watching the boys on the track for the first few races, we set up some camping chairs under the portable team canopy and take a seat. My back is killing me, thanks to the sofa bed. On top of that, I’d tossed and turned all night thanks to April and Jones humping each other into the early hours of the morning.

“I really need to set my dad up with someone,” April says. She watches him with admiration as he works in the distance. Mac is the kind of father that everyone wants—kind, loving, and supportive, so really, the total opposite to mine.

The next moment, Rocco comes over to Mac and they take a good look at one of the bikes, unscrewing something on the side so they can examine it further. Their discussion turns heated, and I can tell Mac isn’t impressed by the way he’s flapping his arms around. Rocco takes his phone out of his pocket, and makes a call, walking away from the group. As he speaks into the phone, he’s pretty animated with his hands.

“How long has Mac been single for?” Eevie asks.

“Too long,” April says. “My mum is being such a bitch about this whole wedding thing, trying to be all controlling, but I won’t have a bar of it. She seriously expects for her and Daddy to walk me down the aisle. It’s never gonna happen. I reckon she’s just doing it to get in his face, and it fucking shits me to tears.”

“Don’t let her ruin it for you, April. It’s your day and you’re going to remember it forever, so you need to stick to your guns,” Eevie says with certainty.

I look at Eevie and she smiles. Were there dramas with her wedding? Maybe she’s speaking from experience.

“Yeah, I will. I just don’t need the stress. And besides, I just want to see him happy. He’s was walking around proud as punch after we got engaged. He’s been busting to walk me down the aisle, but after we met up with Mum last week, it’s like he’s deflated.”

“You want me to cut her?” I ask April. I’m not serious, of course, but I get a kick out of saying it. I’ve only met her mother once, but the way she treated April, it was as if it was a huge inconvenience having to spend time with her only child. It left such a bad taste in my mouth. I will never be so cold when it comes to my own children. Never.

“Ha! Thanks for having my back, Soph, but for now it’s all good. If she keeps it up, though, I might cut her myself.”

“Well, I’m here if you need me,” I offer with a wink.

“If he just found someone nice, you know? It wouldn’t hurt for Mum to see that he’s finally moving on. He deserves that.”

“We love Mac, April. You know, I have an idea,” Eevie says.

“Oooh, do you know someone?” April says, eyes wide.

“I know someone who would be perfect for him, but…” She frowns.

“But what?”

“Let’s just say she’s a bit shy, and definitely not the kind of woman that’d just jump right into something. She’d be looking to start up a friendship first.”

“Well, I’d say she sounds great.”

Eevie smiles and then releases a loud sigh. “I’ll bring her along next round.”

 

CHAPTER FOUR

ROCCO

“Goddamn piece of shit,” I mutter under my breath as I screw the plastics back onto Jones’s bike. Clearly I wasn’t concentrating when I pieced it back together after the last round. I’d thought it was running smoothly, but clearly I was wrong. Mac couldn’t wait to grill me over it. I fuckin’ deserve it. I don’t wanna be responsible for the guys not getting the points they need. I’m so fucking angry with myself. There’d better be enough Patron within my reach tonight.

Today has felt like a constant attack. What could’ve gone wrong went wrong. The throttle got stuck on Billy’s bike and I had a hard job to get him cleared through scrutineering. Stone’s bike kept backfiring, thanks to an air leak in the midpipe/headpipe junction. There were snapped levers left right and centre and I only had a few spare, meaning I had to approach another team for back-up parts. Not fucking cool. Taking care of this shit is my job, and today I fucking sucked at it.

I finish loading up the truck with Mac, wary that I’m being watched.