Chapter Eleven

“I, uh, I tried to find you last night,” Nicky said between grunts as he dead lifted dumbbells under Dixie’s supervision. “Not in a stalker way, I mean, just… you know, tried to find you.”

Dixie bit her lip, trying to hide her smile. She’d been smiling every minute since her date with Javier the previous evening. He was charming, funny, handsome, and a gentleman – other than a kiss goodnight, he’d made no move towards her.

Probably sensing her own personal barriers when it came to intimacy, she mused, and then returned to the conversation at hand.

“I… well, I, sort of…”

“Had a date with De Costa,” Nicky finished for her, not meeting her eyes, his cheeks flushing of their own accord.

“Note to self: if you don’t want the world to know your business, do not tell Cade Craigston,” Dixie said on a sigh, and Nicky gave a half laugh.

“Well, yeah, Cade might have mentioned something,” he said sheepishly. “Did you… did you have fun?”

Dixie smiled, unable to stop herself. “I did. He’s really nice – very interesting to talk to.”

“I guess that could be true… when he’s not being a total douche, which, in my experience, is all the time.”

Dixie grinned. “Yeah, but you aren’t nearly as cute and charming as I am to talk to.”

Nicky’s eyes flashed to hers briefly, and then slid away. “That’s definitely true. Well, I’m… I’m glad you had fun.”

“We’re seeing each other again tonight, and then I can’t believe the first race is tomorrow,” Dixie breathed. “I don’t know if I’m terrified or stupidly excited for you guys.”

“Both, maybe?” Nicky ventured. “I wouldn’t say I’m scared, but I’m… apprehensive. New equipment, new year, new jitters.”

“I’m not worried about you at all,” Dixie said, her voice serious, so much so that Nicky glanced up at her, catching her gaze. “I’ve been around a lot of racing and a lot of motorcycle riders, and you’re just… you’re so natural, Nicky. No one rides as smoothly and smartly as you do. You just have to trust yourself and let your instinct ride you around. I’m not worried about you at all,” Dixie said, her eyes still on his, ignoring the frisson of energy and emotion zinging between them. “What I am worried about, however, is whether you are ever going to have anything better than little chicken legs if you don’t start leg pressing more than five pounds.”

Nicky bit back a smile. “I think I’m up to at least ten pounds now.”

“Come off it, Gamble. It’s time to take the training wheels off,” Dixie insisted. “Power up before the race tomorrow.”

Nicky groaned as Dixie gestured to the leg press machine nearby, her stern expression telling him he had no choice in the matter.

“Slave driver.”

“Lazy rider.”

**

Dixie was finding it hard to breathe.

She had started the first race of the year up in the hospitality suite, along with sponsors and suits, guests and friends of the 76 team, but found she couldn’t stay in that sterile, silent environment with bikes screaming by below her.

She’d fought her way down to the garage area, flashing her hard pass as needed until she was in the tiny garage area, her eyes glued to either the televisions or the track as the riders whizzed by again and again, crushed into the same space as Cade, the mechanics, the press and the 76 crew.

The start of the race had been clean, but within three laps, a rookie rider had taken out several riders in the middle of the pack, narrowly missing sweeping Nicky into the melee. Javier was in the top three, jockeying for position along with Rossi and Lorenzo, with Nicky bobbing and weaving, making his way slowly but steadily up to the front.

But every time he passed someone, and she saw how close their wheels were riding to each other, she couldn’t breathe.

Add to that the aggressive style of Javier’s passing, and it was enough to give a girl a heart attack.

As the laps counted down, Cade and Dixie paced and paused, watched and worried as Nicky passed another rider, then another, coming dangerously close to low siding in one of the turns in a bid to gain another spot.

The last lap flag billowed from the flag stand, and a few minutes later, the bikes screamed across the finish line – Javier in second after a last turn pass on Lorenzo, and Nicky in a respectable fifth.

Dixie screamed for them both until she couldn’t hear her own voice anymore, jumping up and down when Nicky pulled into the garage area and killed the engine. She jumped over and gave him a high five and a huge grin before he’d even taken his helmet off, the press and crew invading every inch of space around bike and rider.

She then turned and sprinted several garages away, arriving just as Javier pulled in and removed his own helmet while killing the engine on his motorcycle. She stood back several feet as his team congratulated him, meaning only to wave and tell him great job before returning to the hospitality suites.

Instead, Javier shocked her by weaving through the crowd towards her and the ceremony stage behind her, then pausing to give her a kiss on the mouth and a wide smile. “Mi tesoro, you must be my good luck charm!” he shouted in her ear above the din. “Dinner tonight before we break camp and all leave?”

She nodded, breathless as the tide of fans and officials swept him away from her towards the podium for photos, awards and free flowing champagne. She was further breathless when several photographers spun and captured pictures of her, probably looking dazed and dizzy.

Well, that was unexpected, she mused happily as she thought of Javier’s kiss, spinning on her heel and weaving back through the crowd towards Nicky’s garage area.

She could definitely get used to this life.

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