He shakes out his wrist and snorts. “It’s not my bike.”
“Are you hurting?” I ask, already dragging the other bike to the side of the track, too, and kicking down the stand.
Another snort, louder this time.
I hang my helmet on the handlebars. “Why’s that funny?”
He sits down next to the bikes, sets his helmet down,and shrugs like it’s no big deal, but his face is all scrunched up again. “I hurt all the damn time.”
I take a seat next to him with a frown. “Why?”
He glances away. “Some stuff with my hip.”
“Same reason as the kidney?”
He dips his chin. “Yeah.”
I hesitate before asking, “An accident?”
“Bike crash.”
Is that a Crews curse or something?
Dane’s sister wrecked herself badly, too, a crash so brutal it made the rounds on every racing site. At leastshewas sane enough to stop riding after that.
“Why are you still riding if it hurts that much?” I ask, genuinely curious about what could motivate this guy.
There’s a challenge in his eyes as he asks, “Why areyoustill riding?”
It lands harder than I expect, flashing all the sacrifices Dad has made to get me here. That I’ve made too.
I clear my throat, ignoring the question. “Okay, so… it reallyisthe kidney? You’re not doping?”
His brows knit together. “What the hell?”
“Come on,” I mutter, folding my arms. “You know what went down yesterday was weird.”
He sighs, running a hand through his dust-tangled hair. “Probably looked like it, but I’m not doping, doing drugs, or whatever shit you’re thinking.”
I raise an eyebrow.
“I mean…” he waves a hand, “… yeah, I’m pretty liberal with the Naproxen.”
“Naproxen,” I echo.
“Pain meds.”
He does fucking what?
But before I can call him out on it, he grins suddenly. “Youreallythought I’d be doping?”
I feel heat crawl up the back of my neck, but I ignore it. “Well, there weresigns, Bambi. Let’s just acknowledge you’re weird and cagey as fuck. Obsessive with your bike, you don’t seem to sleep…”
His grin widens, something wicked sparking in his eyes. “You’re awfully aware of what I’m doing.”
That heat creeps to my face.
Fucking hell.Fuck this.
