he track comes alive the moment it hits six. I finish my shift and sit over by Alex, watching the racers hit the circuit.

It's nice spending time with Alex outside of working hours. She becomes more talkative–not so stressed–and she smiles more, too. It's the smile of someone who, for a brief second, has remembered what it's like to be happy. I imagine it must be hard having to balance college, the bar and looking after her father; I want to do something to help.

"I can take on more shifts if it helps you out," I say, but the patio is loud tonight and filled with chatter, so she doesn't quite hear me. She leans in closer and I try again before adding, "I mean, I could do with the extra money, anyway. I'm saving for a bike."

She frowns and downs the rest of her beer. "Just use mine, I'm fine with it. I never have much time to ride these days, anyway."

"I know, but I think I'd just rather have my own bike."

The current circuit finishes, and the patio breaks out into a chorus of cheers. Alex turns to face me still wearing that smile. "Look, I don't get paid for most of my shifts, I just do it to help out my dad."

I shrug and say, "Then I'll take some of your unpaid ones."

She tilts her head, searching my face for some kind of catch. "Why would you do that? You're not getting anything out of it."

"No," I say, "but you are."

She frowns as if she doesn't understand. "Why would you work for free for my benefit? You hardly even know me."

I sip my coke before looking at the track. "You agreed to train me when you hardly even knew me," I say, "and I know what it feels like to see your family suffer. I just want to help."

She's about to speak, but I've rendered her speechless. "I don't know what to say."

I smile. "Most people settle on thank you, Alex."

She laughs and gently hits my arm. "Thank you. You're something else, you know that?"

I flick back my hair and pretend to be all coy. "Well, you know, it's not the first time I've heard that."

She laughs and says something, but I don't quite catch it over the chatter. I'm about to ask her to say it again when Tyler runs up the patio steps.

There's this second where I see him and my heart does this flip. I hadn't noticed it before–it was only ever fleeting–but the more time I spend with him, the longer it seems to last.

He grins at me before scanning the bar. I expect him to come over, but he finds his friends in the corner and takes a seat between Sam and a beautiful blonde. Sam passes Tyler a coke while the blonde scoots up next to him. She whispers something into his ear, and Tyler grins.

Alex follows my gaze and freezes. "It's just training with you two, right? I mean, you don't like him or anything, do you?"

I let out a laugh. "Of course not. Why?"

She sighs before biting her lip. "He has this habit of going after my friends. It ends up making things pretty awkward when it doesn't last. I just wanted to check–"

"It's not like that," I say. "He's just training me."

She looks relieved. "Good. You wanna get out of here? Most people are heading to Mojack's tonight."

I glance at Tyler, who is still preoccupied with his friends, and nod. "Okay."

Alex insists on walking to Mojack's. It's drier than earlier and relatively warm, so I don't really mind. It gives me some time to talk to Alex without all of the background noise.

She hooks her arm in mine and tells me she's studying Psychology at college, and how she's always wanted to be a therapist. I have no idea why, I find it hard enough to understand my own feelings, let alone anyone else's, but when I tell her this, she laughs.

By the time we get to Mojack's, the place is packed. We slip through the doors and over to the bar, where Alex orders us both a beer from a bartender named Cutie. It's hard to tell whether this is his actual name or a name Alex gave him, but he seems to respond to it, anyway.

She must notice the look on my face when she passes me a beer. "Collect your bike in the morning. I'll walk you home tonight if you don't want to walk alone."

I hesitate. This isn't exactly the first time I've drank, but I hadn't planned on drinking tonight. "Just one."

Alex grins and leans back in her chair, taking in the rest of the bar. "This is pretty much the only place we come to unwind," she says, waving at someone in the distance. "They do incredible food, too."

I don't bother to tell her I've been here with Tyler. Instead I take a sip of my drink and try not to wince at the taste. "It's nice."

There's a different kind of vibe here tonight. Last time, the place had been crawling with old bikers, and now there's not a single person over the age of twenty-five.

I'm still looking around when Tyler and his friends walk in. They head to the far side of the bar and lean on the counter to order their drinks. Only once he's gotten his beer does Tyler finally notice me. He grins again, and it looks like he might come over this time when the blonde from before grabs his arm.

"I'm heading to the bathroom," Alex says. "Watch my drink?"

I nod and she squeezes through bodies to get to the bathroom. Despite my best efforts, I end up looking to where Tyler was standing, but he's already gone.

"Looking for someone?"

My heart starts to race, and I swivel in my seat to find Tyler standing over me, that perfect grin on his face.

"No," I say, "not particularly."

He grins and leans closer like he doesn't believe me. "Liar."

A second passes, then another. I have to look away, because every time he grins like that, my heart can't take it. "Isn't there a blonde waiting for you somewhere?"

He suppresses a smile before positioning his mouth near my ear. "Don't be jealous, sirenita. She's just an old friend."

My heart does a summersault. I'm so used to the serious Motocross Tyler, that this Tyler unnerves me.

I'm grateful Alex chooses that moment to come back. She takes one look at Tyler leaning into me and says, "Isn't there someone else you can harass?"

He ignores her and says to me, "I'll find you later," before heading back over to his friends.

I'm about to turn back to the bar when Sam beckons me over. I tense, and Alex looks at Sam before shaking her head. "Don't go over there," she warns. "The guy's an asshole."

I pretend I don't see him, so he pushes through the crowd and sits on the stool next to mine. "Hey," he says. "Roxy, right?" He leans closer to be heard above the music. "How's training with Ty going? He treating you right?"

Surprised, I turn to him. "You know about that?"

Sam laughs and drops his voice an octave. "First thing you should know. Nothing gets past me."

I look at him innocently. "Is that because you're always inserting yourself into other people's business?"

Alex hides a smirk by downing her drink. Sam shoots me a warning look and says, "No, it's because my dad owns the track. I make it my business to know what's going on behind the scenes."

Without meaning to, I glance at Tyler, who is ignoring whatever the blonde is saying to watch me and Sam. His expression is dark and unusually serious. If I didn't know better, I'd say he looks jealous.

"You know, a few of the guys have a bet going," Sam says. "Some of them think Ty is going to beat you in the tournament. Others, not so much."

My gaze snaps to his. Knowing there's a bet and that Tyler didn't tell me makes me furious. "And what about you?"

"Me?" Sam leans back in his chair and grins. "I bet on you, darlin'. It's why I'm checking in. I'm counting on you."

I swig my beer in a bid to break his gaze. Why do I suddenly feel nauseous? "What happens if someone else wins the tournament?"

Sam smiles again, and I hate that it's so endearing. "It's not about which of you wins the tournament, it's which of you crosses the finish line first."

My skin grows hot and starts to prickle. I'm about to speak, but Alex beats me to it. "You guys seem awfully concerned about a girl you don't know. Don't you have anything better to do?"

Sam laughs, and I feel his warm breath near my ear. "You can thank your brother for that, Lex. His ego's getting a little too big for some of us. Always going on and on about how he's unbeatable, about how he could train our Roxy up himself and he'd still win the tournament. If he ends up losing, that kid is done around here." He leans forward now, tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear. "I got faith in you, darlin'."

Before I can blink, Alex inserts herself between us, breaking Sam's contact. He stands up, too, towering over her tiny frame, but she doesn't seem to care.

"Go to hell," she says.

Sam smiles and says, "I'm already there," before he pushes back through the crowd.

❤️