Page 15 of Rivals

I scoff. “As if.”

“You sound so Clueless when you say that.”

My eyes narrow once more. “You’ve watched Clueless?” I somehow cannot picture that. It just doesn’t seem like Rathe, not that I really know him.

He nods his head as he takes a seat in the chair that is still too close to me yet too far away. “I do have a sister.”

“Bless her heart,” I tell him, using my best southern accent.

Now, he scoffs. “You should be blessing my heart. She’s the devil sometimes.”

“I’m sure she had to be with you around. You do have this charming effect on people, like bringing out the worst in them.”

“Ouch, your words wound me Sutton.” He grabs at his heart as if I actually hurt him.

I shrug. “The truth hurts. Maybe, you should work on that.”

“Noted.” We sit in silence, both of us staring at the other, daring one another to make the next move. Now, that my mind and heart are moving normally again, this moment feels so strange. “So, now do you want to tell me what the hell that was upstairs? I mean, since you like to be so truthful.”

I shrug and look away. “The schedule overwhelmed me, that’s all.”

Rathe chuckles and it causes two reactions. First of all, it’s irritating and second, it calms the nerves dancing within my body. “I thought girls like you would live for the spotlight, so what’s the issue?”

“Girls like me?” My voice rises at his accusation.

One of his large hands comes up to scratch at his beard. “Yeah, girls like you. You know the hot, high maintenance, rich girls. The ones who’ve had everything handed to them on a silver platter with their trust fund waiting as soon as they blow out the candles on their eighteenth birthday cake.”

I’m pretty sure my mouth is on the floor now. He can’t be serious. There’s no way he actually thinks I’m anything like the girls he just described. I always envied those girls, but I was definitely not one of them. “You’re kidding right?”

He shakes his head. “Nope.”

“You’re an ass. One thing...you don’t know me,” I tell him, as I stand up and make my way to the door.

His laughter causes me to stop. “Oh, but I do. I think I know you better than you think.”

The confidence in his words fuels my anger. I look over my shoulder at him. “I can promise you that you don’t. You don’t know the first thing about me and never will.” I yank the door open and step into the hallway where the cool air rushes past me. I didn’t realize how hot it had been inside his room. My anger isn’t helping things. There’s only one thing that will for sure calm me down now. I need to race.

Sixteen

Sutton

I’m sitting on my bed, sipping a soda, replaying the day when I hear the front door open. Today was a fail in every way. After getting our press schedule and my run in with Rathe McCall, I was a mess on the track. I clocked my worst time ever. I just couldn’t keep my head in the game no matter how hard I tried. Eventually, Tucker called me in and insisted I call it a day. I did, but I couldn’t help feeling like a failure. Evanna appears in the doorway, her sky-high heels in her hands, “What’s up bestie?”

I sigh and flop back to lay on my bed. The mattress moves as she lies down beside me. “I got the press schedule today which is so much worse than I thought it would be. I kind of had a panic attack that Rathe had to save me from but then he went on to tell me exactly how he feels about me.”

Evanna lets out a low whistle. “So, is that a good thing?”

I shake my head. “Nope, not unless you think someone believing you are a privileged spoiled attention whore is a good thing.”

She sits up abruptly then turns around to face me. “He said that?” Her voice rises with her anger.

I shrug, playing it off like it’s no big deal. “Yeah, he clearly thinks he knows me without actually knowing me.”

“Please, tell me you corrected him,” Evanna says.

“No, I mean, what’s the point. I mean, he may be my teammate technically and once upon a time a fantastic driver but he’s clearly judgmental. He’s made up his mind about me as is so why bother?”

Evanna’s eyes bug out. “Because he’s wrong!”

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