by Amy Sparling
I’m a little nervous that the security guard who kicked us out of the pits will suddenly appear and kick us out again. This is clearly not a place for spectators, but we’re so lost we can’t exactly find our way back. We walk for several minutes and find another elevator. Kylie presses the down arrow button.
“We don’t know where that goes!” I say.
She shrugs. “It goes down. Down is where the parking lot is.”
I groan, but I follow her into the elevator when it opens up. We ride it down five levels to the first floor. When the doors open back up again, it’s obvious that we are in the wrong place.
The floors are carpeted in thick luxury carpet, and there’s cream wallpaper and big screen televisions all over the walls. There are fancy looking tables, and the concession stands are more elegant, with hardly anyone in line. To our left is a long glass wall that looks out onto the track. We have somehow managed to end up in the VIP box seats level. The place where rich and famous people watch the events.
“Oh crap,” Kylie says. She stands a little straighter. “Just act like you belong.”
“We tried that earlier today and it did not end well.”
“How is this place so complicated?” she says, rolling her eyes. “But seriously, look around, Bells. I want to be rich enough to afford these tickets one day.”
The level is pretty nice. Everything is all fancy and clean and it smells like a nice hotel instead of popcorn and beer like on the normal levels.
Most people here are sitting in the little enclosed box seat rooms watching the races, but some people are walking around getting more snacks. No one pays us any attention, luckily.
We walk toward the end of the corridor, where another set of elevators are, marked with an exit sign. A woman dressed in the stadium’s uniform stands there, but she’s checking for tickets as people come into this area, not as they leave it.
“Maybe we should stay,” Kylie says, running her finger along a leather sofa.
“No way,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m not getting in trouble again. Let’s just get out of here.”
Kylie pouts but doesn’t argue.
We walk with purpose to the elevator. I try to look bored and normal and like I totally belong here. The woman just smiles at me. Awesome. She’s not going to check to see if we have a ticket.
The elevator doors open and—
I freeze. Kylie smacks into my arm since I stopped abruptly in front of her. I’ve met this guy before.
Clay Summers walks out of the elevator, still wearing his racing gear. He almost walks right past me, but then he looks up, and our eyes meet.
He furrows his brow.
“Excuse us,” Kylie says, grabbing my arm.
“I know you,” Clay says, tilting his head. “How do I know you?”
My throat is dry and I’m too nervous to speak. If Clay is here on this level, then Liam might be, too.
“She’s Bella,” Kylie says, giving him a once over. “And who are you?”
I guess my best friend doesn’t pay much attention to everyone else on Team Loco.
Clay snaps his fingers like he just remembered. “Ah, that’s how I know you. You’re Liam’s wallpaper.”
“I’m what?” I say, my voice returning to me at last.
He grins and holds out his hand. “I think I met you at that little Texas track, right?”
I nod dumbly. “I’m his wallpaper?” I say, still not understanding his last comment.
He nods. “Yeah, on his phone. It’s a picture of you. Where’ve you’ve been all day?”
I look at Kylie, whose eyes are probably a mirror of my own—wide eyed and freaking out.
“I’m on his wallpaper?”
Clay laughs. “Yep. Why are you surprised by that?”
I shrug and reality slams into me hard. I’m on Liam’s phone. He sees my face every single day when he uses his phone. Why has he been ignoring me?
“Hold on. I’ll go get him,” Clay says, flashing me a grin. “He’ll be happy to see you.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” I say quickly. “We were just leaving.”
“Ignore her,” Kylie says. She waves a hand at Clay, signaling that he should go get Liam. “We’ll wait here.”
“Cool,” he says, smiling. He turns back around and hops into the elevator.
I am positively freaking out.
Kylie grabs my arm and pulls me over to a set of leather armchairs that aren’t occupied. We have a perfect view of the elevator door.
“He has you on his phone screen!” Kylie whisper-yells as we sit down. “I told you it was true love!”
I shake my head. “It doesn’t make sense. He’s been ignoring me.”
“Who cares? He loves you.”
I give my best friend a look. “Isn’t it weird that he hasn’t talked to me?”
“You don’t know what was in that letter,” she says, throwing my look right back at me. “He probably confessed his love and you never replied because you never got the letter and now he’s sad.”
“There’s no way that’s what happened,” I mutter.
The elevator opens, but it’s just a family with VIP passes.
I exhale and lean back in my chair. I don’t know how much time passes, but it feels like an eternity. By the time I finally look at my phone to start tracking the time, another twenty minutes goes by. The elevator door opens every so often, but it’s never Liam or Clay or anyone else from Team Loco.
“We should go,” I say.
“No way.” Kylie holds up her hand as if that will stop me from moving. Someone should break it to her that she doesn’t have super powers. “Give it ten more minutes.”
I do. And then I wait fifteen minutes. And another seven minutes.
I stand up. “This is stupid. Let’s go.”
I don’t wait for Kylie’s reply, I just trust that she’ll follow me.
I go right up to the elevators and press the button. A few seconds pass and the doors finally open.
And there he is, in the flesh, looking just as surprised as I am.
15
Liam
When Clay told me I was needed in the VIP box, I assumed my little brothers wanted to take more pictures with me to show all their friends. The last thing I expected was to see Bella Castro standing in front of me, looking like she’s just seen a ghost.
I guess the ghost that scared her isn’t really a phantom – it’s me.
I step out of the elevator and the door slides closed behind me. “Hi.”
The terrified expression slips off her face, leaving just the beautiful girl I know staring back at me. “Hello.”
In one moment, I’m standing here in the real world, my shoes planted on the carpet, my heart thudding in my chest. In the next moment, I’m hers. My arms reach out for her, wrapping around her waist. My eyes meet hers for just a second before I watch her eyes crinkle at the corners as she smiles at me… and then they close. I’m going to kiss her and she knows it.
Our lips meet and every single thing in the world no longer matters anymore. All I am is hers, a guy who can’t live without her, who can’t go a single minute without wishing she was next to me.
Bella’s arms wrap around my neck, pulling me tighter. We kiss until my heart feels safe again. When I pull back, my hands take hers. She’s smiling up at me, a little breathless, but just as happy as I am.
“Wow,” Kylie says. I hadn’t even realized she was here, standing just a few inches away from us. “That was romantic as crap.”
I break eye contact with Bella and we both look at her best friend. “Shush,” Bella says, turning back to me. “Um, so… that was interesting.”
I grin. “You’re here.”
She nods. “I’m here.”
I lift her hands in mine, bringing her knuckles up so I can kiss them. “You’re not wearing your VIP bracelet,” I say, noting her bare wrist. “What happened to it?”
“We had a bit of a sticky… situation,” Kylie
says, flashing a sardonic smile.
“You are so not funny,” Bella says. She turns to me. “The pit passes were sold out by the time we got here.”
I shake my head. “No, I mean the VIP pass I sent you.”
Both she and Kylie look confused. “The tickets? And the pass?” I say.
A lady walks by, and I nod toward her. “See that VIP bracelet she has? Where’s yours?”
“I didn’t get anything,” Bella says.
“The envelope!” Kylie says, lifting a finger as she remembers something. “That’s what was in the envelope, huh?”
“Okay, now I’m confused.”
Bella bites her lip. “What did you send me in that envelope?”
“You didn’t get it?”
She shakes her head. “I got the envelope, but it was ripped open and damaged and it was empty inside.”
My shoulders fall as a mountain of relief tumbles down on top of me. I’m so happy I could dance around and make a fool of myself. “That is really good news.”
Bella gives me a side eye. “How?”
We walk over to some empty couches and I tell her all about the letter I’d written her that included two tickets, pit passes, and VIP passes to get her into this exclusive level. She tells me that she never got it, and then Kylie explains how she tried very hard to make fake bracelets at the pits. They tell me about Keanna turning her away, and then how they got lost and ended up on this level accidentally. I can’t believe that all this time we’d just been thinking the other one had moved on. I didn’t move on.
And now I know she didn’t, either.
“I can’t believe we still found each other,” I say, holding onto Bella’s hand with both of mine as if she might slip away at any moment and that empty pain in my chest will return.
“I can believe it,” Kylie says. She wiggles her eyebrows at Bella. “Because when you’re on a mission… fate will step in.”
Bella gives her a look in return, one that clearly says shut up.
“So how much time do you have?” I ask. “There’s an after party at the hotel the guys are staying at. You two should come.”
“We have all the time in the world,” Kylie says.
Bella nods. “That would be fun.”
“I still have to go back to the Team Loco bus and get all my stuff, but I’ll be able to leave in about half an hour. How did you get here? Because you can ride with me if you want.”
“I drove my car,” Kylie says. “But text me the address and I’ll meet you guys there.”
“No,” Bella says. “I’m not going to abandon you. I’ll ride with you.”
Kylie shakes her head in a defiant gesture. “Absolutely not. We didn’t come on this mission for you to ride with me. You ride with him, and I’ll meet ya’ll there. Seriously, I don’t mind.”
I don’t know why Kylie keeps saying the word mission with some weird inflection as if it means more than it does. But I’m glad she’s cool with letting me steal her best friend for a bit. I tell them to wait here and that I’ll come back and get Bella as soon as I’m done wrapping up with my team. Since this is the Houston race, I actually drove myself to the stadium tonight instead of riding with the guys from the hotel.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I tell Bella. “Then we can head down to the VIP parking and take my truck to the hotel party. Kylie, you can meet us there.”
“Will there be hot single guys at this hotel party?” Kylie asks.
“Most likely,” I say.
She rubs her hands together. “I’m excited.”
I turn to Bella. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay,” she says softly. I lean over and kiss her. I don’t know if I should be kissing her like this, but she leans into me, her hand squeezing mine, and I feel like kissing her was the right choice to make.
Clay gives me a sardonic look as we pack up our riding gear on the Team Loco bus. Since I’m not going home just yet and I’m not staying in the hotel like they are, I took a quick shower in the bus’s tiny shower so that I won’t smell like sweat when I see Bella again.
“So your girl finally showed up,” Clay says, shoving his stuff in his gear bag. “I’m happy for you.”
“Me too,” I say.
I duck out early with the promise that I’ll show up at the after party. I find my way back to Bella with no problems thanks to the VIP passageways that keep me away from all the screaming fans. I get recognized in public every so often at home, but here at a race that’s filled with fans? It’s like I’m Justin Bieber or something. Everyone notices me and wants to say hello.
I don’t realize how nervous I am that Bella might not be waiting for me until I turn the corner and find her still sitting on the same couch I had left her just half an hour ago. I exhale.
Kylie plugs the hotel’s address into her GPS and I send a text to Jett, who is already on his way, to let him know that Kylie is allowed inside if she gets there before us.
“See you soon!” Kylie says, hugging Bella goodbye before she heads to the elevators to leave.
Bella and I take the opposite exit, the one for VIPs only. There’s an awkward silence in the elevator ride down, but I tell myself it’s just my nerves making things seem weird.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I say just to break the silence, but Bella must have had the same thought because at the exact same time, she says, “You did really great tonight.”
“Thanks,” I say, running a hand through my half-damp hair. “Second place… not too bad.”
“Your first podium,” she says with a grin. “I’m proud of you.”
The doors open and we walk a short distance to the private parking garage that’s also just for VIPs. When we get to my truck, I open the passenger door for her. She smiles at me and climbs inside.
When I get in and start the engine, it almost feels like we’re thrown back into summertime. Having her next to me in my truck feels like all the good memories I have tucked away in my heart all season. I missed her so much.
“So what’s been up?” Bella asks. She’s all light-hearted smiles and upbeat tones. I get the feeling she’s trying very hard not to feel awkward.
I am, too.
“Why is this so awkward?” I ask, unable to keep my feelings hidden quite so well. “We shouldn’t be weird around each other… right?”
She shakes her head. “No, we shouldn’t. But it still feels weird.”
“I’m sorry I kissed you.”
“It’s… no, that’s okay.”
I drop my forehead to the steering wheel. “Did I just make things more awkward by mentioning that?”
She laughs. “A little.”
I sit up straight and turn down the radio. “Let’s start over. Forget about the awkwardness, and the letter—”
“I never got to read the letter, remember?” Bella says.
“Oh… right.” My cheeks get warm. “Well, that means this is more awkward for me than you, so.. yeah, let’s start over.”
She grins. “What was in the letter?”
“Nothing.” I drive forward, toward the bright red LED lights that say EXIT.
“Aw, come on! I want to know!”
I shake my head. “Definitely not.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and gives me a playful pouting face. “You’re no fun.”
I laugh. “Looks like we’re back to normal.”
“Yeah but… were we ever normal? We started out as enemies and then a summer fling and then some kind of half-attempt at friends… We are not normal, Liam Mosely.”
“I guess I can’t disagree with you there.”
Bella reaches over and brushes her fingertips through my hair. “So let’s just forget about all the awkward weirdness and have fun tonight. I’m excited to see what a Team Loco after party looks like.”
I draw in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay. All awkwardness is forgotten.”
She pokes me in the arm. “Good.”
There are
a lot of uncertainties going through my mind right now. I don’t know if Bella wants me the way I want her, if she’s only in it for a friendship. I wonder what she’d say if she did read that letter I wrote her – or if I should recap the contents of it to her before the night is over. I am unsure of so many things, but as we drive through the nearly empty streets of downtown Houston, I am very confident about one thing.
That decision I’ve been secretly wondering about, the one that will affect my entire career and life in general – I have officially figured out what I’m going to do.
16
Bella
I’ve only been to a few parties in my life, and certainly never to an “after” party. I don’t know what to expect as I walk into the Hilton hotel with Liam by my side. We take the elevator all the way to the top, a journey of twenty-two stories that makes me nervous and angsty with each passing ding of the elevator. I’m not dressed for a party. I’m pretty sure my cute touch of makeup from earlier in the day has worn off by now. I smell like exhaust fumes. I’m so not the type of girl to be seen at an after party.
“Are you okay?” Liam asks. He’s standing close to me, but not close enough if I’m being honest.
I look up at him and nod.
We step out on the top floor and there’s only one hotel room in this small hallway. I can hear music thumping faintly from the other side of the door.
Liam walks toward it. I hold my hand and grab him. “Wait.”
I take a deep breath and let it out quickly. “I’m scared.”
“Of what?” Liam asks softly. His fingers run down my arm, a small but gentle reminder that he’s here. He’s not across the country, or on the other end of the phone. He’s here. With me.
I picture strobe lights and loud music and beer and drugs and dozens and dozens of girls dressed in scantily clad bits of leather and spandex. Basically, every raging party or strip club scene I’ve ever seen in a movie is running through my mind right now, preparing me for the wild party that’s on the other side of the door.
“I’m scared of this party,” I admit. “I don’t know how to party.”
