Other times, it was pain. Pure blinding pain that seemed to wash over me in waves until I wanted to scream. Pins and needles and knives were skin met skin.

When Daisy threw herself at me, I had braced for either of those, but it hadn’t come. I had waited and waited, but I hadn’t been disgusted or in pain. My body had quieted when her legs wrapped around me, when her lips found mine for the second time, when her hand pushed through my hair once.

Complete silence.

I shook the thoughts of it from my mind as I pulled into Holt’s offices behind Ash, Scout, and Fox. Maybe I had just been too stoned. Yesterday hadn’t been a good day, and I knew today was going to be rough so I might have overdone it last night.

That had to be it.

I wished I was already stoned today. Holt had a meeting with us, more specifically for me, because I had been arrested the day before last. I didn’t think it was my fault, but Holt didn’t seem to care that the other guy actually owed me his car and wasn’t giving it up. When I had politely reminded him that he owed me a car, he called the cops for assault.

“This is bullshit and you guys know it,” I said, pushing my hat back on.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s enough that my dad is worried about you being added to the list of racers so today is judgment day,” Ash said.

I groaned, following behind them as we made our way up to Holt’s office that overlooked the track.

I had been here plenty of times, and even had a talk or two with Holt about cleaning up my rap sheet, but this was the first time, he had called an official meeting.

There had been plenty of back-and-forth conversation about me being one of his rally drivers, with the hope to one day help him expand into different stunt driving. He told me from the beginning he liked the way I drove, and I liked the way he helped Ash and Scout with their careers, but it wasn’t until recently that I actually thought I could have a spot as a driver.

It wasn’t a job I ever entertained—the idea of being paid to drive a daydream—and I never thought it would actually happen. I was a poor kid from a bad life, even having the chance to own a garage with the crew felt so far out of reach, but it happened. I didn’t want to believe this could happen, too. I still agreed to the formal meeting, bringing Ash, Fox, and Scout along to help with whatever shit Holt was going to throw at me.

When we finally sat down at the oversized meeting table, I knew I made the right choice based on how Holt was looking at me.

“Well, I’m happy to see you showed up. I had some concerns you were going to think this was a joke.”

“No,” I said, sitting up a little straighter. “I know what’s on the line this time.”

“I wasn’t sure based on the arrest days ago.”

“Dad,” Ash said. “You want him on your team, don’t start the conversation with insults.”

“I wasn’t trying to insult him, it’s the facts. I do want you on my team, Kye, but the rap sheet you have makes me worried that this isn’t going to be a serious career for you, more of a hobby, and I don’t pay for hobbies.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to. The arrests have nothing to do with how seriously I would take this. I’m here for a reason today.”

“I already know you can race well. I’ve seen you drive and think you have plenty of talent, but I can’t have any of my drivers getting in trouble constantly. The company’s image relies on you being responsible and not causing any worry that you could be a risk on the track.”

I could feel my heart rate picking up, that I could actually have this in my life made me shake in anticipation.

“I can do that,” I said. “It makes sense that you want any employee or racer to stay straight. I can handle it.”

Holt was already shaking his head. “You say that, but nothing you have done has shown it.”

“So what?” Fox asked. “You brought us down here to tell him he doesn’t have to spot?”

“No,” Holt said, shooting him a look. I knew Fox had grown more comfortable with Holt over the years and wasn’t worried about saying what needed to be said. Somehow, Holt had come to like him more for it. If I opened my mouth right now, though, I would be out. “I’m saying that Kye needs to prove he can be a stand-up employee off the track before I consider him to be a stand-up racer on the track. No arrests, keep working hard, and show that you can maintain stability in your life. Your friends all seemed to have figured it out. They found their girlfriends, settled down a bit, and it’s working out. I don’t care what you do, but I need you to show that you can handle this type of responsibility.”

“You expect me to clean up my act by not getting arrested and getting a girlfriend?” I asked, my throat tighter now.

“I expect you to clean up the act, Kye, however that needs to happen, and make it clear you are serious about this. Prove that, and we can start working on a strong career for you.”

I held back my eye roll. The only thing in my life I was serious about was cars and racing. How the hell would I approve that any more than I already had?

FIVEDAISY

I knew there were going to be downsides of going to college in the same town I grew up in. I knew there would be issues with going to a smaller college. I had been right, which wasn’t a huge surprise.

First, it was leaving the sorority.

Now, it was being the center of one of the biggest rumors of the week. Technically, it wasn’t even a rumor because they all thought it was true, but now everyone I knew thought I was dating Kye. The response has ranged from telling me how terrible of a choice I was making, to asking if they could have his number when I was done, to needing to know all the dirty details. People who hadn’t been at the party were even hearing the rumors now.

Above all of that, though, I was at the center of it.

Everyone wanted to talk to me, ask about Kye, ask how we met. The rumors of what happened between Dean and him were out of control, ranging from Kye beating Dean up and breaking his arm to Dean beating Kye up and breaking his arm. Each one was only getting more ridiculous, but I realized that the rumors didn’t matter. I was temporarily back on top. Everyone from the sorority kept texting me. Some of them even apologized for icing me out.

Who would have thought Kye of all people would help me stay relevant at the exact moment I needed to?

All the good parts of this were adding up, until I realized I needed one thing to keep this going.

Kye.

Which was how I ended up walking up to the garage I knew he worked at, my hands wringing together as I got closer. Kye was only one scary guy in a pack of them, and now I was walking right into their cave.

A guy stepped up to the open garage bay, a sweet smile on his face, as he noticed me.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

I recognized him as the one I saw with the angry, dark-haired girl the day they got arrested last year.

“Um, I was looking for Kye. I was hoping I could find him here.” I sounded so nervous. I mean, I was nervous, but I wished I didn’t sound like it.

“You are here to see Kye?” he asked, his eyebrows jumping up.

“Yeah? Is he here?”

“Oh, he’s here. You don’t have a car with you?” He looked behind me like he hadn’t just watched me walk up.

“No?”

“You don’t have a car to fix, but you still want to see Kye?” he asked again, nearly dumbfounded.

“Is that a problem?”

He shook his head, smiling harder. “Not at all.”

The smaller red-headed girl that had been with them walked over. I knew Scout from school. Not that I ever talked to her, but I knew of her at least. “Jax, what’s up?” she asked, the surprise on her face matching his.