Page 30 of Rivals

“Damn it, Sutton! It’s in our damn contract! There’s an entire clause stating that two Revv-It Racing employees can’t have any non-professional relationship. Both will be automatically terminated if caught, no questions asked.” Rathe paces the room back and forth like a caged animal.

“What?” I whisper, as all the blood in my body goes rushing to my head. The sound of my pulse vibrating in my ears.

“I didn’t know about it the night I kissed you. Maxton reminded me of it right before we left to come here yesterday. It’s why I acted so differently. I never really read the damn contract. I was young and just saw the amount of money I’d be making and signed on the line. This wasn’t planned.” Rathe is standing in front of me now, reaching for my hands but I can’t let him do that anymore.

I can’t find comfort in him. I can’t let him guide me through the tour because I’ll only continue to fall for him. There’s no way I can afford that. If I fall anymore there’s no going back. I take a deep breath and swallow past the acid burning my throat because the next words I say are going to be so hard. “Last night was a one-time thing. Call it a mistake. From here on out we will be nothing but professional. You take care of you and I’ll take care of me.”

“Sutton…” his voice is quiet, and I can hear the silent plea in his tone. It pulls at my heart, but I can’t risk this career now.

I take a deep breath and cross the room to the door. “We go back to being rivals,” I tell him, before I step into my room and close the door.

Thirty-One

Sutton

This past week has been like living in hell! Trying to ignore Rathe, his presence, and the way my body reacts to him is damn near impossible. It’s been miserable. If it wasn’t for Evanna keeping me sane via FaceTime I don’t know how I would have gotten through it. I sigh and fall back on the bed. Tonight, is our night off at least, the first one since we started this tour.

I stare at the sky-blue ceiling of yet another hotel and remind myself I have one week down and one week left to go. Starting tomorrow, I can really start a countdown until I’m back home. The only good thing I can say is that at least I have managed to learn how to handle the anxiety of flying.

Grabbing my phone, I send a quick text to Evanna telling her to call me in about an hour. I unpack what I’ll need for the night before I grab the menu from room service. I’m starving and everything sounds amazing. My stomach growls angrily at me just telling me to pick something. I end up ordering an entire pizza and soda. Once I double check to make sure everything that has to be taken care of is, I start the shower to let it get good warm before hopping in.

The warm water caresses my skin and instantly my mind goes right back to the memory of Rathe’s hands on my skin. “Damn it!” This has been the biggest problem. I can’t ignore him. I can’t ignore that night and the damn memories. I can’t ignore the way he makes me feel or the fact that I’ve been weighing the pros and cons of actually jeopardizing my contract. It’s crazy and I know it but Rathe brought out something in me I didn’t know existed.

The water starts to cool, and I hop out of the shower and dress quickly in my shorts and tank top just as there is a knock on my door. Opening it up I see a hotel employee dressed in uniform with my soda and box of pizza. “Thank you so much,” I tell him, as I take the food from him. “Let me grab your tip.” That was never something I thought about until the second hotel of our tour. The guy just kept standing there and for some reason the scene from Pretty Woman came to mind and it dawned on me that he was waiting for a tip. Now, I’ve tried to be more mindful of it.

“Here you go. You have a nice night.” His smooth voice has my body instantly reacting. I spin around to see Rathe slipping money into the employees' hand. His sweats hanging low on his hips and the muscle tank hugging every inch of his body. “A whole pizza? All to yourself?”

This is the first time since I left his room, declaring us rivals once more, that we’ve been truly alone. The first time that we’ve really spoken to one another. Well, I guess I haven’t spoken, but he did speak to me. “What are you doing here?”

He shrugs as he steps into the room, letting the door shut behind him. “To be honest I’m not really sure. I shouldn’t be here, I know that. I guess between the two of us, you’re the stronger one.”

I shake my head. “That’s not true.”

Rathe cocks his head to the side and takes one hand and scratches at his beard. The sound fills the room. “Isn’t it though?”

“Why would you think that?”

The low, throaty chuckle that comes from him sends shivers down my spine. “I thought that was obvious. I mean, staying away from you these past few days has been a form of torture I didn’t know existed. Watching you laugh, smile and talk to all these other guys, even if it’s for the press drives me crazy with jealousy. Sitting on the jet, so close to you, yet so far away. It’s like I’m close enough to reach out and touch you but I’m not allowed.”

“Did you ever think maybe that’s part of the problem?” Rathe’s eyebrows pull together in confusion. “We’re not allowed. Maybe, that’s the big draw for you. Maybe, it’s wanting what you can’t have.”

Rathe shakes his head. “I’m not that type of man Sutton. I don’t give a damn about what I can’t have. I just move on to what I can have. I don’t like wasted time.”

I sigh. “That’s great but you shouldn’t be in here.”

“It doesn’t bother you at all, does it?” he asks. His eyes are full of curiosity and another emotion that I can’t pinpoint.

“What are you talking about Rathe?” I’m so lost. I feel like I’m not really an active member in the conversation right now with the way he’s changing subjects.

Rathe moves in closer to me and I swear it’s like the air automatically gets thicker and the room shrinks a couple of sizes. His presence is always so commanding. “It kills me to keep my hands off you, to stay away from you. The taste of your kiss haunts me but you’re perfectly fine.”

The laugh that bubbles out of me is anything but joyful, it’s sarcastic as hell. “Fine? You think I’m fine?” Rathe shrugs. “You’re an idiot! I’m anything but fine. Everything about you and that night haunts me. I can’t be around you without feeling this flutter in my stomach which is annoying as hell and it makes it hard to eat which pisses me off because as soon as I’m away from you I’m starving. It’s why I have to order a whole damn pizza for myself! I want to yank every bimbo's extensions from her damn head when I see you talking to them because I’m so jealous and I don’t get jealous but I swear I’m the color of that witch from that movie with the ruby red slippers. I’m going crazy trying to ignore it all and smile through it and act like nothing’s wrong! I’m so not fine, Rathe!”

Rathe’s hands wrap around my wrist and yank me into him. I tumble into his chest and his hands wrap around my waist holding me to him. His warmth invades me. His scent is everywhere and makes my head feel foggy. “It’s about damn time woman.” His mouth comes down on mine hard and fast. This kiss is anything but soft or tender. It’s rough and bumpy, but so necessary. All the frustration over our current situation is fought out in this kiss, in the way our teeth accidentally bump, our tongues dance and our lips mold. It’s everything and not nearly enough all at once. This is everything we can’t have but everything we need wrapped up in one messed up situation.

My pizza and soda are forgotten as I fall back onto the bed, pulling Rathe with me. Neither of us are willing to let this moment go. We refuse to break the kiss in fear that it will break this moment between us. If our lips stay sealed to one another then we can fight reality, keep it at bay. There’s no contract or clause or career between us right now. It’s just Rathe and I, skin to skin, breath to breath, heartbeat to heartbeat.

Thirty-Two

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