“What? No.” My lower lip juts out.
“I’m sorry. Santi chose to steal a cart from a twenty-year-old security officer who used to be on the Junior Olympics for track or something. His old teammate from Kulikov slipped by without getting caught.”
“Either Santi has terrible luck or an undeveloped frontal lobe,” I mutter under my breath.
Liam clears his throat. “What if I step in for Santi?”
Maya and I both snap our heads toward Liam.
“I have nothing better to do. Plus, I’m a better match for Sophie than Santiago.” His words hit me like a sucker punch to the chest.
I recover before bouncing up and down, loving the idea. “Yes. Perfect! Let’s do it.”
Maya grabs her camera and introduces the change of plans. Liam pulls me into the shot as if it’s the most natural thing for him to wrap his arm around me. I suck in a breath as his body leans against mine, placing his firm hand on my hip.
“Next round is a race. And no, before Sophie complains and Liam gloats, neither one has an advantage here. I’m all about being fair and square. Well, to a certain extent.” She turns the camera toward Liam and me while flashing us a secretive grin.
Maya pulls out two remotes from her bag and leads us toward the back alley of the Bandini pit area. I have to give it to her. She goes all out with her vlogging because she set up a mini Grand Prix with a plastic racetrack and two remote control F1 race cars.
“Whoever has all four tires off the racetrack loses. Anything goes because what’s the fun in playing by the rules. So let this be the dirtiest race you’ve ever done. You have ten laps to make it happen.” She winks at us both.
“I hope your ego can handle a blow here and there because I plan on winning.” I gaze into Liam’s eyes.
“There are few things I like blown, and that’s not one of them.” Liam grins while Maya cracks up. I roll my eyes at the camera before I grab the remote from her.
“Bring it on, pretty boy.” I rev the toy car’s motor.
Liam shakes his head as he grabs his controller.
The idea seems easy enough, at least until we both start our cars and race them. Remote control cars pose a challenge to control. They jerk and swerve, making it hard to keep the wheels on the track for the first lap. Liam handles his with greater ease than me. That simply can’t do because I don’t want him to win.
Our cars complete another lap after what feels like ten minutes. Maya stifles a yawn.
For entertainment value, both of YouTubers and mine alike, I slam my car into Liam’s during one of the straights.
“Ah, the kitten has claws. It looks like Sophie’s done playing nice.” Liam looks into the camera as I slam into his car again, knocking two of his wheels off the track. My laugh comes off way more like a cackle than a cute giggle.
Liam lets me get away with just about everything before he turns the tables on me. I slam into the side of his car again before I take up most of the racetrack, not allowing him to move past my car without putting his wheels at risk.
His body inches up closer to me, stepping away from Maya and the camera. He leans in so the microphone doesn’t pick up on his words. “See Sophie, I drive like I fuck. Slow, then fast, then slow again until you’re all out of gas. I treat my car like a lover, stroking her before I enter her, only offering the best kind of foreplay for my girl. I don’t recklessly race because I prefer to be attentive. I fuck like I do everything else, with precision and strength—control and care.” He distracts me as his car surges past mine, his words hitting me harder than any collision with a remote-control car. Damn him for making race talk into our kind of foreplay.
Maya laughs at us. I glare at her before I pay attention to our cars again. Liam passes my car once more as I pick up the pace, the wheels swerving down the fake runway. Screw him and his dirty air.
“You don’t play fair.” My car speeds up along with my irritation.
“No, I don’t play at all. I fuck, I own, I dominate. Playing is for boys, and I can assure you I’m all man.” He smirks down at me.
Has this man ever had a friend of the opposite gender?
“You can’t talk to me that way.” My teeth grip onto my lower lip.
His car buzzes past mine again, but I try to concentrate this time, not wanting to take the loss.
“I can because I’m here to fight dirty. If you gave in to your desires, you’d know that. I want to learn every inch of you while I map out your body like the night sky you love so damn much. And fuck it’d be so good between us, with me showing you things you never thought possible.” His tongue darts out to lick his bottom lip.