Page 17 of Maddox
Four cars are lined up, revving their engines and as we exit her car, they take off, the tires spinning in the loose dirt.
Fascinated, I watch them go while Draven walks away. After a moment, I move to catch up when she approaches a group of people I don’t recognize.
Beyond the four standing by a fire and smoking weed, I see a few students who go to our school and silently pray that this doesn’t get back to Micah.
“S’up,” one of the guys says when I stop beside the fire.
Draven grabs the joint from her friend’s hand before offering it to me. I decline because I’m in an unfamiliar place and these days I’m cautious about that shit.
To my surprise though, I spy a familiar face through the crowd and rock back on my heels.
What the hell isJoshdoing here?
On the way to where we’re standing, he pauses by a cooler and grabs two beers before approaching with a pretty smile.
When he passes me a beer, I accept it as he says, “Damn, Delaney, partying on the dark side. I like it.”
Laughing uneasily, I sip from the can. There’s no way Micah won’t hear about this. He’s been friends with Josh since they joined the football team in junior high.
I’m so fucked.
“What are you doing here?” I ask and his lips curve into a sly smile.
“Surprised?”
Snorting, I shake my head. “Probably about as surprised as you are.”
“I don’t know about that,” he says with a wink, and I hide my grin behind my drink.
I’ve known Josh since second grade. He’s always been a bit reserved but totally cool in the face of our peers who constantly feel the need to show their superiority.
“Wanna watch the next race?” he asks, and I agree because the longer I stand here and don’t partake of the weed the weirder the stares that I get.
We pick our way to the track, and I eye the makeshift stands and people. This is a big deal.
With a thrill of excitement, I turn to the cars, my heart jumping into my throat when I spy Maddox standing by a pretty woman with his hand around her waist.
Her long blonde hair brushes her ass, and I eye her womanly curves with envy when she looks up at him with a sultry smile.
My mouth sours when they kiss, and I look away only to watch from the corner of my eyes as he steps back and rounds one of the idling vehicles.
Oh shit. Is he going torace?
Josh glances at me sideways but doesn’t comment as I inch closer, fascinated by the low rumble of the muscle cars and the crowd surging forward to watch the spectacle.
When a man standing before the cars raises his hand, I flinch and cover my ears, too late when he fires a gun into the air.
Although I’ve been around guns my whole life with Peter being a sheriff’s deputy, I’ve never been a huge fan.
The first few times he tried to teach me how to safely use a firearm, I flat out refused to touch the cool metal and only bribery by way of candy got me close enough to understand where the safety was.
“Fuck yeah!” some guy behind me shouts and I turn back to the race.
The cars fishtail in the dirt. Maddox’s muted blue Mustang with tinted windows and a wicked black stripe down the side passes an older model and I cough as the dirt ridden air flies into my face.
My heart kicks into a thunderous tempo when Maddox maneuvers between two other muscle cars.
He’s a skilled driver, sliding to the right once he’s free and I don’t realize I’m muttering until Josh says, “Chill. Maddox always wins.”
