Page 50 of No Way Home
I popped the top and took a swig. It was rich and chocolaty, with a hint of peanut butter. Too delicious to be a normal protein drink from the store. Zero doubts, this was a Bowen Dupree Original.
“This is really good.” I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “Did you bring me one?” I tugged on the hem of his ridiculous shirt. Cash’s massive face blew a red, heart-shaped kiss at me.
Bowen chuckled. “No, sorry. I just wanted to embarrass Cash a little longer. This is coming off before we start.”
“Of course it is.” I smiled. “Where is everyone?”
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his athletic shorts, and I wondered if he was telling his hands to keep to themselves, the same way I was telling mine. “Already inside, checking out the vendor booths.”
“You didn’t check in with everyone else?” I took another swig.
“Nah, I had to wait for my partner.”
So, his entire family was inside, having fun together, and he’d stayed out here to greet me at my car? I felt as if I were floating. I couldn’t stop smiling or watching him. His crooked grin, those eyes, that piercing.
“Did you get a bug bite?” he asked.
I scowled. “Huh?”
“You keep scratching your stomach.”
Crap. I hadn’t realized what I was doing. I made myself stop and put my hand on my hip instead. “Oh, yeah. A mosquito got me good.” I looked around at the chaos, swallowing the lie.
I didn’t do it for him. I did it for me.
Yeah. Okay. Keep telling yourself that.
Shhhhhh.
“How’d you find me in all of this?” I waved my hand at the sea of vehicles.
He shrugged like it was nothing. “Been watching every car that came through the gate for the last half hour.”
My heart banged against my ribcage. Griff should’ve been out here waiting for me. But it was Bowen.
“Is everything set up for the documentary?” I asked.
Cash had contacted Netflix a few weeks ago to see if they wanted to film a documentary of the race, most specifically of Charlie doing the race. After a TV news reporter dragged Charlie's name through the mud, Cash was determined to show the world that she was so much more than the lies spread about her. Charlie didn’t know what was going down yet, but the rest of us had to sign our lives away to make it happen.
“Yeah.” Bowen scrubbed a hand over his hair. “We need to be on our best behavior.”
I clicked my tongue. “Don’t want anything embarrassing to happen and give those camera guys any extra footage.”
He chuckled. “Facts.” But then his smile faded, and he stared at me, eyes soft. “I missed you, too,” he said in a hush. “Missed my…friend.” The word sounded unnatural, like English was his second language, and he was pronouncing it for the first time.
“Hey, I think that’s Bowen Dupree,” a college-aged girl whispered to her friend as they walked past.
If Bowen noticed, he gave no sign. His gaze held mine, steady and unflinching, like no one else existed but the two of us. But there was a heavy sadness in his eyes, like he already knew the truth. Griff and I were standing on a bridge made of glass and it was splintering beneath our feet.
I had to fix this. So I stepped closer, smiling up into his handsome face. “You ready to kick some butt?”
He forced a smile too. “So ready.” He held out his fists.
I set the drink on the hood of my car, gazed into his eyes, and tapped my knuckles to his. “Wah-hoo-wah,” we breathed, the word feeling like anything but a cheer.
As we meandered to the registration line, I was determined to make our day together one we’d never forget. And I did.
But not the way I’d hoped.
