Page 22 of Midnight Racers

I freaking loved these things growing up and used to hand Dale his ass when we went toe-to-toe on them.

Two hours later, we were all screaming and cheering as Declan and Pete were the last guys standing in the competition. Pete drove over the line first, hooting since he won. He stood up inside the car simulator and bowed.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” He grinned down at Declan, who flicked him the bird.

“Your ass is mine tomorrow,” Declan grumbled.

“Official testing is at nine tomorrow morning,” Joshua said. “Flynn texted to say they’re on their way home, and he’ll meet us at the track tomorrow with Jordan.”

“I need the details of the track,” I replied.

“No worries. I’ll give you the coordinates before you leave. Safe home, everyone.”

It was stupid to be disappointed, but a huge part of me had been looking forward to seeing Flynn today at work. The other guys were great, but there was something about the times we had spent together that had felt special, even though I couldn’t explain why.

I mentally kicked myself as I walked into my house and turned the alarm off. My cat sauntered through when I opened the hall door into the rest of my home. She hated the world and everything in it, staring disdainfully at everyone and only giving affection on her terms. She reminded me of myself since she was single and a tiny bit feral. The entire conservatory was hers as she preferred to sun herself in there and had taken to attacking anyone who went in there except me. Dale hated Pixie since she tended to hiss at him and scratch him.

She had good taste.

“Did you miss me?” I asked bending down to pick her up.

She went rigid to show her displeasure before I rubbed behind her ears, and then she relaxed and head-bumped me. Her purr vibrated against my neck.

“What would you like for dinner?” I said, wandering to the fridge.

Pixie was an evil spawn that had clawed her way from the depths of Hell. She had been returned to the animal shelter twice when I gave her a home. The lady who ran the rescue centre tried to advise me to get a cute kitten, but my lilac point Siamese was the love of my life. She was nearly a year old when I got her, but we understood each other and both hated people equally.

I set her on the floor and went to her shelf in the fridge. She was a diva who refused to eat cat food, preferring to believe herself a deity from ancient Egypt. She jumped up on the stool beside me, her white head poking into the fridge. She pawed at the container with prawns in it and I eyeballed her.

“You’re getting very demanding.” She meowed back. “What about some nice dry cat food?”

I swear her nose wrinkled up in disdain.

“Okay, you’re the boss.” She went and jumped up on her sofa to watch me as I heated them since she tended not to like cold meals. Yeah, she was a spoilt diva. I didn’t buy myself prawns.

She launched herself down and examined it from all angles before deciding they were acceptable to eat. Then she sat and picked one out at a time to sit and chew.

My dinner was a reheated casserole that Mum had put in my fridge, as she tended to still cook for a full family and fill my fridge and freezer twice a week when she came to visit her furry grandchild. Pixie tended to only accept women in her life, and frowned upon men.

I had settled myself with a cup of tea and the latest vampire-werewolf romance I was reading when my phone pinged.

Flynn:Did you want a lift to the track tomorrow since you haven’t been before?

I stared at my phone. My stomach flipped and butterflies invaded my chest. He hadn’t texted me before, and although it was strictly professional, I couldn’t stop my reaction to him.

Me:Joshua gave me the location after the race today.

Flynn:Who won? I swear if it was Declan we’ll never hear the end of it.

Me:Pete won. Declan came second.

Flynn:At least that’s bearable. He’ll be out to win tomorrow.

I smiled at the way he knew his team. Not one person had said a bad word against Flynn or Jordan today. I had been used to working in an environment of constant moaning.

Me:I was told to be fast to choose my car tomorrow…

Flynn:Yeah, everyone has their favourite that they tend to work on. It turns into a demolition derby if people don’t get the cars they want.

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