Page 32 of Stolen Sun

We walk inside to where the cabinets are, and I open the tall one to the left where I keep my gear. I give her the black and purple fire suit I ordered earlier this week.

She smiles. “Pink or purple.”

I give her a half-smile in return. “Yep. You wear this over your clothes.”

She takes it from me, nodding her understanding.

I reach back into the cabinet to grab my own suit and put it on.

Her eyes widen, and her eyebrows shoot up. “We’re doing this right now?”

“We’re doing this all night,” I tell her and wink.

“Fuck,” she whispers more to herself than me.

My laugh bursts out before I can stop it. “That’s a very dirty word for such a pretty mouth.”

She narrows her eyes at me as she puts on her suit. After placing the helmet I ordered to match her suit onto the countertop, I take out my own and lock everything up.

“Let’s go sign your waiver, so we can get in line.” I grab her hand as we walk toward the announcer’s booth.

When we get back to the car, I put her helmet on. She's starting to look pale, so I make an effort to calm her down before I strap her in.

“Do you like roller coasters?”

“Yes,” she says nervously.

“Well, this is a lot like that first big drop that takes your stomach, except we’re just going in a straight line,” I explain, hoping she settles down enough to enjoy it. If she wants an out, she’s going to have to say so. I’m not offering one.

We walk to the car, and I show her how the harness works, fastening and tightening it up for her this time. Then I tell Zander to meet me at the staging lanes and get into the driver seat. After I reattach the steering wheel, I look over at Noel who's watching my every move.

“It’s fun, and you’re safe. I promise,” I reassure her before I crank the car.

When we’re two cars away from the front of the line, I fasten my harness and put on my helmet. “Zander, which side looks good?” I ask through the headset built into my helmet. Zander is standing in the middle of the two lanes checking the track for me.

“Left lane,” he answers. “Noel, you ready?” He laughs into his radio.

“Nope” She reaches grips the upper straps of her harness until her knuckles turn white.

I can’t help but chuckle and give her thigh a squeeze. I turn on the Bluetooth for the noise-canceling headsets. “Even if it Kills Me” by Papa Roach blocks out everything, including the girl in the passenger seat. Now it’s just me and the machine.

Zander guides me, so that my tires fall perfectly in the grooves of the left lane. Backing up, I spin the tires in the water box then pull forward to warm them up. Halfway through the burnout, smoke clouds the sides of the car as the noise from the engine vibrates inside my chest.

The music fades in my headset as it picks up on Noel’s voice, “Oh, fuck! Declan!”

I smile to myself but don’t answer her as I pull up to stage. Inching forward, I watch for the pre-stage and stage lights. The trans brake keeps the car in place whileI rev the engine, allowing me to hold still at the RPMs I need.

As the third and final yellow light on the tree blinks to life, I disengage the trans brake, launching us forward just as the green light flashes. I quickly grab second gear when I hear the motor dial up high enough, and we jerk forward again. The back tires make a chirping sound.

My right foot keeps the pedal down as the stands and people on either side of us blur past. Then it’s time to shift once more. Stepping down on the clutch with my left foot just enough to shove into third gear, I slam the shifter forward. Then, as fast as it began, the ride is over.

I slow the car down to a crawl and enjoy the high as we make our way back to the trailer to let the car cool off between passes. My blood is pumping as the playlist shuffles to “Awaken” by Breaking Benjamin.

Noel hasn’t made a sound, surprisingly. Once the car is shut off, I put the steering wheel back on top of the dash, making room to climb out around the roll cage. Noel still doesn’t move as I remove my helmet and jacket.

I try not to smile as I run my hands through my hair and walk over to open her door. She sits perfectly still while I undo her harness and help her out of the car. She fidgets with the buckle under her chin as soon as she’s standing. Her hands are shaky and useless, so I move her them out of the way to undo the helmet myself.

The helmet slips off her head. Her face is flushed, and her green eyes sparkle.

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