Page 52 of Shade
I don’t hear another word because guess who’s in front of me now?
You guessed it. My dream guy.
Shade skids to a stop in front of us, his back tire off the ground in a front endo that has him sliding forward on the seat suggestively, slowly, on purpose. Who knew riding a dirt bike could bethatsexy.
Hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen. That’s including the time he raised his sunglasses to wink at me when I passed him in the hallway.
I’m totally thinking about fucking him on that bike now. Was that his intention with that particular move? Oh yeah, he intentionally slid down the seat like that.
Tom rolls his eyes and sighs. “Really?”
I shove his shoulder. His beer sloshes around, spilling over his knuckles. “If you’re going to be a shit, leave.”
“I’m not being a shit. Just. . . I don’t know, control yourself.”
“Oh c’mon. If you saw a chick slide down a pole like that, what kind of reaction would you have?”
“I don’t know.” He slides his eyes to his leg and then winks. “Slide down my legs and I’ll let you know.”
Again, just so you know, I don’t.
My attention is diverted to the track where Shade does a wheelie off the course and into the staging area where the other bikes are.
I know nothing about an X Fighters event. Nothing. I’m quickly schooled in the art of freestyle competition. And I say art because these guys are impressive. The event starts out with the top twelve freestyle riders in the world with a qualification round. Each rider is given a chance to ride twice while being ranked by five judges. They’re each judging them on a different aspect of their run from variety, execution, style, use of course, and the last judge goes off the three Es as they call it. Energy, excitement, and entertainment.
The top seven riders advance to the finals automatically while the bottom five are placed with round one, which is considered the sudden death round. All their tricks must be right side up except for one trick called the joker where they’re allowed to do anything they want.
One rider from the sudden death round makes it to the finals where the riders go head-to-head with each other (winning over at least three of the five judges) until finally one winner is crowned.
For the next few hours, my mind and thoughts are all over the place. The sight, the sounds, the complete silence when a rider flies through the air followed by an incredible roar as their bikes hit the ground.
It’s when Shade’s in the final round, having come up from the sudden death round, is paired head-to-head with his brother Tiller that my attention isallon him.
While I watched him in the earlier round, it’s in his final run that he gains my attention completely. Okay, he had it all before, but there’s definitely something different about him in this run. Like he’s laying it all out for the sake of the win.
The announcer catches my attention when he says, “Next up, Shade Sawyer. This is the run he’s looking for. Wow, look how high he was on that bike flip! You just never know what he’s going to do. This guy is a maniac!”
You can see the hunger in his riding and the way he throws the bike and his body around effortlessly. He’s amazing out there, dialed in right from the start like he knows every inch of the course, every bump and rut. This is the first event they’ve ever had in Seattle, so this both surprises, and excites me to see his determination and dedication to his run.
He starts his run with a double no-footer Can Can, so they tell us. I don’t know the names of any of the tricks until the announcer shouts them out to the roaring crowd who are on their feet cheering him on.
He isn’t finished either. After landing the first trick, he shoots down a tunnel, then comes flying through the air with what they tell us is a superman. Kicking his feet out behind him, he then lifts his legs high in the air, his boots hanging back over his body, two feet above his torso, like a scorpion getting ready to strike and then holds it, for what seems like eternity and time stops for me.
This is why he does this, isn’t it? To feel weightless in a heavy world. The bike sails across the open air and here Shade is practically doing a handstand on the seat. It’s acrobatic and impressive and fucking dangerous. My panties are wet just watching.
He pulls his legs back onto the bike, grabs the handlebars and hits the ground perfectly.
Tom glances at me, shaking his head. “Dude’s impressive,” he remarks, finally giving Shade credit.
I can’t wipe the smile from my face. “Told you.”
The thing is, he is impressive, and he’s also incredibly sexy on the bike. The way his hips move when he lands, it all screams for the control he has over the situation and his body.
And that, my friends, translates into me thinking about having sex with him.In detail.
Oh yes, I’m totally breaking into this guy’s hotel room.
Shade wins the event, his brother bowing to him as the audience reaches epic levels of noise, but I’m not entirely convinced this Shade is any different from the mess of the man I saw in his hotel room back in January, the one with his head in his hands, the one mourning the loss of his friend.
