Switching Gears Part 17

Nice of you to join us, ladies. You look nice and ready, Marty. How are you feeling this fine morning?

I cringe at Coles voice and the way it makes my heart flutter, but turn around with a c.o.c.ky smile. Im feeling fine, actually. Wheres"

Emmy! You made it! Whitney walks her bike over to us with a huge grin on her face. A few people from the high school biking team stand behind her, bikes and helmets at the ready. I wave at them, but on the inside Im not super thrilled theyre here. This was supposed to be between Whitney and me. I didnt want a huge audience.

Whitney stops when she reaches my side. I wasnt sure youd actually show, but now that youre here, lets get this over with.

Bring it on, then.

She just smiles and shakes her head as she walks past me. Cole laughs, and I wait for him to say something sarcastic to go along with my attempt at sounding cool, but he doesnt. All he does is rub his hands together. Lets get started. He walks over to his bike and puts on his helmet.

What are you doing? I ask.

Im coming down after you guys finish the race. You think I just came up here to watch? He shakes his head. Not a chance. This is one of my favorite trails.

Oh. Uh Ill see you at the bottom then. I try to look away, but Im sort of distracted by the way the muscles in his arms flex as he puts his gloves on.

Kelsie grabs my arm. I never thought Id say this If youre about to compliment his spandex, Ill never go riding with you again.

He has a nice b.u.t.t. Thats all I was going to say.

I shake my head and put my gloves on. No one looks good in spandex, so stop checking out my friend.

Friend? She looks like shes going to laugh, but she winks at me instead. Also, FYI, I can check out whoever I want. She grins and hands me my helmet.

True.

And just so you know, he does look good in spandex. He has a nice b.u.t.t. And I totally saw you checking him out earlier.

I roll my eyes, but deep down I have to agree.

She hands me my CamelBak, and I strap it on. I was also going to tell you to be careful.

Ill be fine. See you in a bit. I walk my bike over to where Whitneys waiting at the top of the trail.

Ready? she asks, adjusting her sungla.s.ses.

Yep.

Coles on his phone but closes it when I look at him. I wonder if its the sponsor he invited. And if he came, where is he? Im suddenly a little more nervous than before. You sure youre up to this, Marty? Youve been on this trail before?

I raise an eyebrow, wondering why hes making me look weak in front of Whitney. Does it matter? Actually, I hadnt been on this particular trail before. Which kind of makes me nervous, but I try my hardest not to show it.

He shakes his head. No. But be careful. Its rockier than the trails youre used to. And slick in some places.

I brush him off. Thanks for the warning. I turn back and look at the trees again. I can do this. Im fine. Theres nothing to worry about.

He grabs my arm. Hey. Are you okay?

Im good. Why? I touch my face, suddenly self-conscious.

I want to make sure youre not mad still. You havent been answering my texts, so I figured you were. Im sorry. I should have told you about the sponsor stuff earlier I sigh. Its fine. Not gonna lie, I was a little surprised you threw it on me right before the race, but its okay. Im good now. Ive been training every day so I can beat her. Which I can do, you know.

I know. And just so you know, I had a really nice time with you on our date.

I turn to look at him, surprised at the sincerity on his face. I did too. And I did.

Then were cool, right?

Whitney steps between us. Can you guys do whatever youre doing after the race? Ive got a hair appointment in an hour, so lets do this.

He stares at me for a second and finally grins. Okay. You ready? He glances toward his friends, who look as anxious as I feel. Though, theyre just anxious to get riding; I can tell theyre sick of waiting for us to start. Mark, you timing this?

Mark nods and touches his watch. Cole glances at me. Ready?

I nod.

Ill see you at the bottom, Emmy! Kelsie yells. Kick her b.u.t.t!

I cant wait to see her try, Whitney says.

I grin at Cole, and he smiles back. May the best biker win. He gestures to the trail.

Mark yells, Go!

I dont hesitate at all, just push off and hang on as my bike flies down the mountain. My adrenaline kicks in, and I smile as I make every turn. Its an amazing feeling. Like Im really flying. Trees surround me, and it feels like Im alone in a huge forest, feeling free and more alive than Ive felt in weeks.

My bike soars over a rock and lands on a thin board a few yards away. I ride over it like Ive done it a million times. The truth is though, Ive never ridden a trail this complicated, but Im holding my own and its awesome.

I wonder if Whitneys right behind me, but dont turn around. I dont want to miss any part of this ride.

After riding for a few quiet minutes, the distractions start rolling in. Thoughts of Mom pop into my head. How hurt she looked when I left her on the couch this morning. How Dad has been bugging me to talk to them. Why am I being so weird about it? Moms still here. Shes still very much herself. I should be happy about that, right?

But then thoughts of what I read on the Internet hit me. Her not remembering my name someday hits me hard. I cant handle that. I cant see her struggling to put a name to her own daughters face. And when I have my own kids, she wont even know who they are. I shake my head and get it out of my mind.

Not today. Dont think about it.

Focus on the race and thats it.

My thoughts change directions, and I frown at where they lead. To Whitney. How much I want to beat her. I dont know why I want it so bad. I just do. I want to be captain again. Crave it. Or maybe its the fact that Id give anything to do this for a living and want to prove it by winning this. By winning the Back Country race in a few weeks. I have to prove Im as good as her. As good as Cole even. Good enough to get a sponsor. Good enough for him to I dont know. Like me? Because honestly, Im having a hard time talking myself out of liking him.

Im guessing Im about halfway down the mountain now. Its a little slick, but as long as I have control, Ill be fine.

Stay in control. Youve got this. The words keep repeating through my head, and I use them to keep moving. Keep pedaling. Keep myself together. Victory is at my fingertips. I can almost taste it. The wind rushes by and my adrenaline pumps through my veins, making me push harder. I swear Ive never gone so fast in my life.

I wish Lucas were here to see me ride. Hed be cheering me on at the bottom. He loved coming to my races.

A hill is ahead, and I s.h.i.+ft gears right as I start the climb. As far as I know, Im still alone. But as I start up the hill, sweating and panting, Whitney rides by me like its nothing. She doesnt say anything, which makes me feel a little better. No c.o.c.kiness or smart remarks. Just her and her game face. But seeing how easy she pa.s.sed me makes me realize shes going to beat me no matter how hard I ride.

I keep pus.h.i.+ng myself and reach the top, right after she does. I switch gears again and head down the rocky terrain, b.u.mping up and down on my seat. My tires slide a little and as I careen out of control, I pull on both my brakes.

Which is the stupidest thing I could do.

Everything goes in slow motion as I flip over my handle bars. I land hard on my back, try to twist onto my side to catch myself, but start rolling down the mountain instead. Fire tears through my forehead and pain radiates through my body each time I hit a sharp rock.

Im well aware of the sound of my bike cras.h.i.+ng down the mountain after me. When I finally roll to a stop, it flies over me, almost hitting me in the face. I hear it land in some bushes a few feet away.

It takes me a minute to realize what happened as I try and catch my breath.

Everythings quiet. Im floating. It feels like Im not connected to my body anymore, but I know I am because Im still awake and staring up into the trees above me.

My head is swimming. I close my eyes and open them again. Trees. And black dots.

Blink.

More trees. More dots.

Pain.

The only thing I hear is my shallow, noisy breathing.

I lay on the ground for a while, trying to make the dizziness go away.

After letting the crash sink in, cursing a few times and trying not to cry, I force myself to sit up, my body protesting every movement. Im pretty sure Im okay, but I take things slow just in case. I flex my feet, move my legs, shake out the pain and stiffness in my arms and wrists.

Sore, but all good. Nothings broken.

Something warm drips down the side of my cheek and I reach up, my eyes widening as I see the blood on my fingers.

Someone shouts my name. Unless Im imagining things, which could be possible seeing how I just had the worst crash of my life.

Emmy? The shout echoes through the trees and I flinch as my head pounds from the sound. Even though I had my helmet on, it still hurts when you knock it against a rock.

I raise my hand and cringe at the pain that shoots through my arm, my shoulder, my neck. Not seriously hurt, but I think I might have whiplash.

Emmy! Someone rushes down the trail toward me and I groan. Its Cole. I dont want him to see me like this. When he reaches me, he kneels down and touches my face. Emmy. Talk to me.

I take a breath to steady my breathing and close my eyes. Go away.

He lets out a breath. Good. Youre talking, at least. Are you okay?

I nod. Yes. I flex my fingers again just to be sure. I think anyway.

He stares at my forehead, his eyes wide. Youre bleeding. He unbuckles my helmet and takes it off my head, setting it down in the dirt next to him. I dont even protest.

I know. I blush at the tender way he looks at me as I feel blood trailing into my eyebrow. Wheres my bike?

He glances behind him and his face is pained when he looks back at me. He hesitates and opens his mouth, but I stop him.

Dont tell me. I dont want to know. Not yet anyway. My baby is obviously broken. I spent so many hours building that bike. I dont know what Ill do if its not fixable.

Its not as bad as it could be. Thats all Ill say right now. Before I know what hes doing, hes taking off his s.h.i.+rt.

What I trail off. Im perfectly aware I may have a concussion or something, but his chest is really nice to look at. Yep. Im positive I have a concussion.

The cut on your forehead is deep. He wads up the s.h.i.+rt and presses it to my forehead, making me flinch. Im pretty sure you need st.i.tches.

Great. I hold the s.h.i.+rt in place, despite it being covered in Coles sweat. I dont know whether to be grossed out or a little turned on.

I take a breath, noting how it doesnt smell like sweat, though. It smells like him. A woodsy kind of smell. Whatever cologne he wears. Why would he wear cologne to a bike race?

I stare at him and curse myself. Why did I wear makeup?

Duh.

He gives me a strange look as he realizes Im watching him. You okay?

Yes. Thank you. Uh for the s.h.i.+rt.

He looks around and then back at me. We need to get you to the hospital. Can you stand?

I think.

He wraps his arm around my waist and lifts me to my feet. I wobble a little and cry out as I see my bike lying in the dirt a few feet away.

What? What happened? His voice is panicked. What did I do?

Oh, no. No. I walk over to my bike and bend down, examining it. My front wheels bent.

He exhales a sigh of relief. Dont do that! I thought I hurt you.

No, you didnt hurt me. But look at this. Do you have any idea how long I saved up to get these? I frown as I study my wheel. Theres no way Ill be able to fix it.

Cole bends down next to me. Im sorry. That sucks.

Yes. Yes it does. I bought these a few weeks ago. I sigh. Where the heck am I going get money for new wheels? Theres no way Mom and Dad can lend me money, especially now that Mom I stare at the ground. Mom. Sh.e.l.l kill me when she finds out what happened. And worse, sh.e.l.l kill me again for lying about Park City.

Looks like your rear derailleur is messed up, too.

I glance at it. Hes right. Perfect. My day is officially ruined.

He picks up my bike and helps me to my feet again. Come on. Lets head down the mountain. We need to get your head looked at. He pulls his phone out. Im calling Kelsie and letting her know what happened.

I can talk to her. I can only imagine what shes going to do when she finds out Im hurt.

Ive got it. Just try not to go into shock or something, okay?

Im not going to go into shock.