When I finally saddled up and headed over to the track, I was ready. My pulse raced as I waited for my turn to shine. Reid and Chayse were putting on quite a show at the moment—racing each other for the crowd they’d invited for the event. It was smart to open the gates to the public. A free event every once a while was good for the brand. Throttled wanted to make money, but they also wanted to reward loyalty. Five hundred tickets had been handed out to MVP fans and their families. They would make enough money off the merchandise they sold to cover the costs.

Riding for an audience had always suited me better. I needed the applause to fuel me. I loved being the center of attention for those few seconds. I stopped my bike and signed few autographs when I got to the crowd. The excited faces of the young fans were my favorite.

“You’re my favorite rider,” a little boy said as I signed his Sallinger jersey.

“Thanks, man” I told him getting ready to sign my name. “What’s your name?”

“Joey,” he said proudly. The missing front teeth were really adding to his adorable factor. “I want to be just like you when I grow up.”

“I’m sure you’ll be better than me,” I told him. He didn’t want to be like me. I wanted to tell him not to wish away his youth. I remembered when things were easier. When I had no responsibilities. No heartache. No woman driving me to the brink of insanity. I smiled for a couple pictures with him and bit my tongue, not offering up my advice on not falling in love. The light in that kid’s eyes reminded me that I was a lucky son of bitch to get to have a career that I loved so much. I needed to stop thinking about what I didn’t have and be thankful for what I did.

The sudden gasp and wild cheering of the crowd told me the race was over. When I looked up I was just as surprised as the crowd by what I saw. Chayse McCade was taking a victory lap.

Had she really just beat him?

That was going to be a discussion for after the event. If Reid Travers had just got beaten by a rookie, I was never going to let him live it down. She’d earned it though. When she finally pulled her ass out of bed, she trained hard. Her riding was improving and whether or not she wanted to admit it, Hoyt was a big part of the reason. I was happy for the both of them. If they could get their shit together off the track that’d make it even better.

I pulled up to my starting point and waited for the crew to clear out. They knew how I wanted to the track to feel on the jump approach. We’d been over it a hundred times. We’d hard packed the dirt and made sure it was smooth.

My practice run felt good. I throttled and reached the exact amount of speed I needed, going alongside the ramp and circling back around. My bike was tight and loose in all the right places. My knee was strong and I felt solid as I signaled to the announcer that I was ready to go.

“Ladies and gentleman,” he called out on the loud speaker. “If you’ll turn your attention to the center of the field,” he paused. “Throttled Energy is pleased to welcome back last year’s Freestyle Champion... Brett Sallinger!”

I could hear the crowd going wild. It wasn’t the same as an arena with twenty thousand strong, but it was enough. Their support and readiness to see me ride was all I needed. I revved the bike a couple times to egg them on. Their cheers grew louder. When I popped the clutch and took off, I knew this jump was going to be perfect. There wasn’t a wobble or a moment of hesitation. I hit the ramp at full speed and was soaring within seconds. I let go of the handlebars mid-flight and stretched my body out parallel to the bike before pulling it back under me. I eyed my landing and set my wheels down perfectly.

Nailed it.

For my second run, I opted for a Lazy Boy Backflip, which consisted of me tucking my feet under the handle bars and laying my body out on the seat of the bike as the bike turned vertically. It wasn’t my hardest trick, but the crowd loved it and I always played it up, tucking my hands behind my head like I was taking a split second nap.

I was only scheduled for two runs, but the roar of the crowd made me want to give them more. I pulled off a Double Back Flip before calling it a day. It felt amazing. My adrenaline was full steam ahead as I rode back to the shed to park my bike. Nick had scheduled a meet and greet for us, so I didn’t have much time to waste.

“Hey there big shot,” a familiar voice called out just as I had shut off the bike and climbed off. “Can’t even tell that you were laid up a few weeks ago.”

I pulled off my helmet and got a good look at the brunette standing in front of me and wiped the sweat from my brow. It wasn’t hard to stare at her, considering she wasn’t wearing much. It was almost impossible not to let my eyes fall on her tits as she sauntered over to me—the low cut of her shirt left little to the imagination.

“Took a lot of work,” I said, trying not to let the fact that she was dancing her fingertips across my arm as I pulled off my gloves and tucked them into my helmet affect me. My pulse was still racing from the adrenaline rush of being on my bike.

“You looked amazing,” she said, giving me her best wide-eyed look. Her lips were full and slicked with gloss. “Just wanted to stop in to tell you good job,” she said with a bat of her lashes. “And I wanted to see if you needed me for anything. You know, after…”

Wasn’t that long ago that I would have had her on her knees filling that flirty little mouth of hers. She knew better than anyone that there was nothing I loved more than getting off after a good run—when my pulse was still racing and my muscles were aching for release.

Alicia brushed her tits against my body as she circled me like I was her pray. I was on to her game. I bit down on my bottom lip and took a deep breath as she tried to tempt me. She knew that I was the one that liked to be in control. I could have had that little skirt she was wearing up around her waist in the blink of an eye.

Too bad things had changed.

Well...

I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t think about letting her help me out. It would have been easy to fall back in to my old routines. Only problem was, I was more into blondes these days. One specifically. If getting back on the track had taught me anything, it was that I was a persistent son of a bitch.

Georgia and I might not be on at the moment, but I wasn’t going to risk it on the off chance she changed her mind. If being miserable for a little while longer without her was what it took, I’d suck it up.

“Thanks for the offer,” I told Alicia with a shrug. Her flirty smile fell by the wayside. “But I’m going to have to pass.”

“Oh,” she said, her brow furrowing. “I thought I heard you and your girl were off.”

“We are, but—”

“But it’s complicated,” Georgia’s voice interrupted evenly, cutting right through our conversation.

I thought I was imagining it at first, but the sudden distance Alicia put between herself and me said that it wasn’t a hallucination. I turned to find her standing just a few feet away from me and the sudden dryness in my throat made it hard to swallow. Georgia Bennett looked sexy as hell and as angry as a swatted wasp. The jealousy was written all over her face as she glared at Alicia. “And the last thing we need is you making it more complicated.”

Alicia, eyebrows rose, looked over at me for confirmation, or at least waiting for me to defend what Georgia had just walked in on. I shrugged. This was all news to me. I didn’t mind getting to see the feisty side of Georgia. The last person I thought was going to show up today was her. Especially seeing as how I hadn’t heard so much as a peep from her in two weeks.

“Is that right?” I asked. I pulled my neck and chest protectors off and tossed them on the ground. I wouldn’t let her see how excited I was that she was there. I kept a straight face and crossed my arms over my chest. Who was she to just waltz in here and think that I’d just forgive and forget? “Last I heard there was nothing going on between us.”