Page 51 of Speed Crush

And by the time you notice… you’ve already given it.

I may even hope it stays.

Chapter 10

Pinned and Teasing

Noah

ThemomentIkillthe engine and the simulator pod powers down, I realize I’m drenched. Two hours in full gear, laser-synced to the Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park Circuit, replicating every elevation, every off-camber turn, every bump under the tires that shouldn’t exist but always do.

Paolo’s voice crackles in my ear. My data engineer from Italy—gruff, brilliant, and probably caffeinating mid-lecture. “Turn twelve—slightly wide on Lap 41. Otherwise? Flawless.”

I grunt my thanks in Italian, peeling off one glove, then the other. My fingers twitch, muscles still firing like they haven’t gotten the memo I’m done.

I unclip the harness and slide out of the simulator rig, feeling the remnant vibrations through my whole body.

The back of my fireproof undershirt sticks to my spine, and my thighs ache from braking pressure that isn’t even real.

My headset is still on as Paolo drones in my ear in rapid-fire Italian, breaking down sector times.

It didn’t work. Not the driving. That was fine. Crisp. Precise.

What didn’t work was what I’d hoped it would do—distract me fromher.

Two hours of pushing every lap harder, sharper—trying to erase the look on June's face the last time I saw her. The wall she slammed up between us when I walked out of that garage.

She wanted space. Fine. I gave her space. But that was two days ago.

And I’m done playing cool.

I roll my shoulders and reach for the zipper at my collarbone and drag it down slowly. The fireproof fabric loosens across my chest as I pull it down off my shoulders and tug the sleeves around my waist. Cool air hits my sweat-damp skin and I groan as I reach up to rip the helmet off.

And that’s when I feel it.

Eyes.

I roll my helmet onto the ground and turn around.

Juniper "June" Kennedy.

She’s standing on the other side of the glass door.

The last girl in the world I expect to see at five-thirty in the morning at Mega Max.

The only girl I want to see.

Our eyes lock. She doesn’t move. Doesn’t speak. So I open the door and pull her in

Hoodie loose around her frame. Ponytail a little crooked. Folder clutched in her arms like it’s a shield. Her lips are parted, her dark eyes are on me, molten and unreadable, and it’s obvious—she wasn’t expecting me to be here.

And she sure as hell wasn’t ready to see me like this.

She’s not even trying to hide that she’s staring. Not at the sim rig. Not at the screen. At me, with my undershirt clinging to me like a second skin.

So I do what I always do when I’m caught off guard. I grin.

Then, I reach for my undershirt to yank it up, dragging it over my head slowly, letting the cool air sting against overheated skin. Deliberately.

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