The Race

Maddy

I stumbled backwards, shocked. Aston glanced up and saw me in the mirror. He smirked.

The bastard fucking smirked and continued fucking Lexi like he didn’t give a damn.

Humiliated, I ran out of there. I didn’t stop until I got outside.

My insides rumbled with disgust. I threw up right into the patches of bushes nearby. I was mad at myself for even believing for a second that there could be something between us.

He had almost fucked me. I almost gave in to him. Just to find out that he had been screwing other girls? Giselle warned her but I didn’t want to believe her.

“Hey, Maddy! What are you doing here?” I heard Lexi’s voice behind me.

Aston was behind her, buttoning up his jeans. He glanced at me with a bored expression. You would not even believe he had tried to seduce me earlier today.

“I was just…. looking for Aston. Giselle says it’s almost time for the race,” I say.

Lexi had a big satisfied smile on her face. She reeked of sex, of Aston’s scent. Her hair was all tousled and messy.

A surprising wave of jealousy swept through me. In that very moment, I hated her.

She threw her hand around Aston who held his body at a distance from her. She kissed him long and hard on the lips. “Good luck, baby.”

Aston released her. He flashed me one last look, inscrutable, maybe still bored, before he strutted off.

Lexi grabbed my arm. “Come on, let’s find Giselle.”

We headed back to the Outlaws section and found Giselle still talking to Max. When she saw Aston drive up to the starting point, she came to join us.

Soon, the bikers were ready for the race. Aston and Max revved their engines. Helmets shut. Eyes concentrated.

I stood in the front lines with the girls, watching. In the deepest part of my heart, I wished for Aston to lose. He didn’t deserve it for leading me on and breaking my heart.

A white flag went up. When it came down, the bikers zoomed off in a storm of smoke and sparks.

Aston took the lead. He maneuvered the bike expertly, confidently. Leaning hard when he needed to, cutting Max off. The first turn was sharp. Max tried to spin ahead of him, to knock him off the road. It didn’t work. He merely shot forward.

The two bikers were close, neck-to-neck. “Come on, go Max!” the Outlaws cheered their leader.

“Go Aston!” the Ryders cheered their leader. Giselle shouted calls of support for Max while Lexi wanted Aston to win. When they came past us again, Lexi had her boobs open.

“Yayyy Aston!”

I shook my head at her. dumb bitch!

Max spun his bike to throw dirt in Aston’s face. It slowed him down just enough for Max to take the leader around the corner.

“Fuck yeah, Max. that’s how you do it!” I yelled despite myself. It was a dirty trick, unprofessional, probably broke a hundred biking rules, but I didn’t care. I wanted someone to humble that prick.

They came around the bend again. When they drew close, I screamed Max’s name. Loud enough for them to hear. I wanted to hurt Aston, to let him know that I didn’t think much of him, that I didn’t care who he was fucking.

But instead, I distracted him. He turned to look at me and skidded off the asphalt, landing into the side barrier just ahead of us.

The whole crowd went wild.

“Jesus, what the fuck just happened? He crashed? When has Aston ever crashed!” I heard voices rumbling all around us.

Meanwhile, Max had skated ahead to victory. The Ryders went wild with celebration.

“Oh my God, Aston! Is he okay?” Giselle and Lexi asked almost simultaneously. They fled to him. I couldn’t care less.

I ran to meet Max. I was the first girl there, throwing my hand around his neck. “Congratulation!”

He was sweaty, fidgety with adrenaline. He caught me mid-air and spun me around. “Hell yeah, baby! You are my good-luck charm. Soon as I heard your voice, I was off that skid like a fucking maniac. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” he said.

Before I knew what was happening, Max kissed me. Lip-on-lip, hard. I tasted his sweat and felt his heart pumping fast. The kiss threw me off-guard but in a good way. I was hot for someone’s touch. Anyone. Max’s kiss was just enough to push me over the edge.

Maybe it was the adrenaline, or maybe it was something else. But I kissed him back. The moment was hot. Nothing could stop it. Nothing except -----

“Get your fucking mouth off her!” Aston’s voice boomed. He yanked Max away from him and landed a punch hard.

I screamed at the top of my voice. The victory turned sour as the boys tousled, throwing punches. They were both almost equally matched. Their punches filled the air. Everyone was losing their minds.

They were finally separated by members of their team. It took a large number of strong-willed boys to pull them away from each other.

Aston’s face was bloodied. Max’s blood dripped from his forehead into his eyes.

“What the hell? What just happened?”

Aston turned to me. His eyes blazing with rage. “Come on, we’re getting out of here!”

He tried to drag my hand. Max stepped in between us. “She’s not going anywhere! She’s staying here with me!”

Aston’s jaws twitched with anger. “Maddy?” he called softly.

I could feel all eyes on me. The air was tense. Murder was written all over Aston’s face.

He stepped toward me. “You have a choice to make. Come with me now or…”

Max grabbed my hand. “…or stay here and celebrate my win.”

The tension deepened as everyone waited for my response. I could only choose one. Make a choice right here and now. What will it be?

I opened my mouth and ----