Page 24 of Rivals

After our heart to heart Evanna and I get ready for the day. She’s going to drive me to the airport and drop me off. I think she’s worried if I drive myself or take an Uber that I’ll end up not going. She could be right, but I don’t want to tell her that. I take my time getting ready. I slip on my favorite pair of medium wash skinny jeans, cheetah printed Converse and a red V-neck t-shirt. As I’m staring in the mirror, I decide to leave my hair down and let it do its natural waves. Makeup has never been a big thing for me, but I decide to swipe over a coat of mascara and some eyeliner before adding a pair of small diamond stud earrings. As I study myself in the mirror, I think I look like I have myself together even if I’m a mess on the inside. However, when they see me today, they will only see what I want them to see.

Evanna is in the kitchen making oatmeal when I finally leave my bedroom. The kitchen is large, and a breath of fresh air compared to our old one. The new kitchen is white with pops of light gray and pale blue. We don’t have a table for the dining room yet, but we don’t really need one because the island in the kitchen is massive, at least to us it is. All the appliances are new and stainless steel. Evanna slides me a bowl of oatmeal. “Eat up because we don’t have a lot of time. By the way, you look great.

“Thanks,” I tell her, as I take a seat. We eat in record time. As we head through the living room and out the front door, we grab my luggage. I packed as light as possible since I’ll have a stylist and what not for the events. Evanna and I pile into her new Ford Mustang and head for the airport. My nerves are at an all-time high, but I plaster the smile on my face to make her think everything is all good.

We pull into the parking lot and Evanna grabs the closest parking spot she can. She gets out of the car with me and helps unload my two bags. “I wish I could go in and wait with you, but I know you’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I got this.”

Evanna smiles. “I know you do, but it doesn’t mean I’m not here to help.”

I step forward and pull her into my arms. “Thank you Evanna. Thank you for being amazing. I wouldn’t be doing any of this if it wasn’t for you.”

“Likewise. I love you Sutton. Be careful, but have fun. Don’t stress the small stuff,” Evanna tells me.

I nod my head and give her a smile. “I will. You better be safe and if you need anything just call me.”

She waves her hand dismissively. “I’m good. Now, go be a rockstar.” I give her one last squeeze then turn around and head to the airport. I feel like I’m leaving every comfort I have in the world, but I know it’s got to be done. Maybe, this will turn out to be another great thing in my life.

Twenty-Five

Rathe

I’m staring at the windows, watching as the planes land or get prepared for takeoff. It’s a beautiful day, sunny and clear, not a cloud in sight. However, the way I’m feeling on the inside is anything but sunny and clear. This morning I had been looking forward to spending time with Sutton over the next few weeks. Initially, I had thought we’d have time to get to know each other away from our normal surroundings without the pressure of friends or work schedule on the track but Maxton and that damn contract ruined that. Now, all I can think about is how she’s off limits.

It’s as if my body is somehow in tune with hers. I can feel her presence the moment she comes within a few feet of me. It’s so strange because I seriously only thought that happened in those dumb romantic movies that Ryann used to make me suffer through. I never expected to actually experience it but here I am. I noticed it the first day on the track when every hair on my body stood at attention, but I truly believed it was because she was my rival. I thought she was going to take my job and leave me in the dust. My assumptions were apparently wrong though.

I turn around and sure enough I see a stunningly beautiful Sutton standing there with a bag on one shoulder and another beside her looking nervous as hell. Maxton’s words briefly play through my mind, but my feet move on their own, towards her and by the time I realize it I’m standing in front of her. The tropical scent that seems to follow her is everywhere and those stormy blue gray eyes hold mine captive. How did I not see this coming the first day on the track? “Hi,” I tell her. Mentally, I kick myself because it’s been days since I last saw or spoke to her and the best line, I could come up with was hi.

Sutton smiles even though it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Hey, how have you been?”

I nod my head. “I’ve been good. How have you been?”

“I’ve been good.” The air between us is thick with unease and tension. Neither of us knows what to say or how to act. I want to pull her into me and consume her, get lost in her kiss and forget about the outside world but I can’t. It was done before it ever got started. I wonder if she realized the contract made us impossible too. “Actually, that’s a lie. I’ve been a mess.”

Her confession catches me off guard because Sutton doesn’t strike me as the type to confess things easily. It’s almost as if she’s letting me inside the confines of her wall with one simple little truth. It’s an olive branch of trust that I know not to take lightly. “What happened?”

Sutton takes a deep breath and looks past me out to the window where the planes are. “This happened. The press tour and airplanes. I never considered all this when I signed that contract. I just got excited that I could get Evanna and I in a better part of town and someone was going to pay me to race. It seemed like a dream come true, but I never considered all of this.”

Ironic, how the contract seems to have screwed us both over in different ways. “Look, I know the press tour seems intimidating right now, but I promise after the first couple of stops, you’ll get used to it. Plus, I’ll be there, right by your side the whole time. I’ve done this a couple of times already, so I got you. Also, they’re going to love you.”

“I don’t know. I’m not the friendliest person. I’m not really a people person actually.”

I shake my head. “I don’t believe that. I think you have a guard up because of things you’ve gone through in your past, but I think that people still love you Sutton. You draw people in without even realizing it. I mean Tucker saw it obviously. Maxton and Ryann, too.” I take a deep breath trying to decide if I want to add myself to the list. I want to, so damn bad, but I also know that it doesn’t matter what I want now. Why give us something else to hang onto when it can never be anyways.

“I hope you’re right. That’s not my biggest concern right now though.” She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. I’ve noticed her doing this before and I think it’s just a nervous gesture, but I’ve never wanted to kiss her before when she did it.

I clear my throat and try to shake the image from my head. “What’s your concern?”

“Those damn planes.”

Surely, I heard her wrong, but then I remember Maxton mentioning her not being very happy over the planes earlier. I guess, I forgot about that until now. After he told me about the clause in the contract, everything else kind of just flew out the window. “You’ve never been on a plane before.”

Technically, I didn’t ask her, but she answers with, “No.”

“It’ll be okay. I promise. I know they seem intimidating too right now, but I promise, you get used to them.” I try to be comforting, but it’s never been my strong suit.

She gives me a smile. “Thanks, Rathe.”

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