“Hey, man.” Ben nodded at me.

I wanted to make him bleed from his eyes.

“Hey, how’s it going?” I asked and turned my attention back to the track before he had a chance to answer.

A thick silence filled the air, and my jaw twitched with a pent up smile.

You could feel the tension like a blister ready to pop, and I was enjoying the hell out of it.

I didn’t care if K.C. was comfortable, and I didn’t want Ben or Tate at ease, either.

In no universe would I be okay with her seeing him.

Or anyone, probably.

But K.C. decided to push.

“And Jared, this is Tatum Brandt,” she introduced us sarcastically. “Say ‘hi.’”

Yeah, we’ve met.

I slid my arm down around K.C.’s waist—because I’m a dick—and I let my eyes slide over to Tate slowly as if I couldn’t care less.

The air coming out of my nose heated up, and I couldn’t do anything but tip my chin at her and look away.

She was probably relieved that I could be that civil, but it was all an act. My insides were hot, and I wanted to kiss something and hit everything at the same time.

Ben thinking that he actually had a shot with her pissed me off.

And her outfit really pissed me off.

She was wearing a short, black school-girl skirt with a thin, white shirt—probably a tank top—and a gray jacket over it.

“And we’re ready!” Zack called out from the track, and I looked over to him as everyone started clearing the dirt road where Liam and Madoc would race.

Tate took a few steps towards the track, and I immediately took my arm off of K.C. and reached in my pocket for the fossil necklace. It wasn’t something I carried on me regularly, only on Sundays and for races.

“Ready?” some girl called out from the track.

The crowd cheered wildly as engines revved. Most of them probably had no idea that this was a shit race.

Madoc’s GTO against Liam’s Camaro?

Not even close.

Camaros could get the job done, but Liam was cluelss when it came to modifying his ride. Madoc had this.

“Set?” The girl yelled, but my eyes were glued to Tate who had turned to watch the take-off.

“Go!”

Cheers erupted, and everyone’s bodies blocked my view of the track as I stayed back against my car. It didn’t matter. I knew who was going to win, and there was only one person I wanted to watch right now.

Tate stood with her back to me, and for once, I didn’t have to pry my eyes away. I wasn’t guilty about wanting her anymore, and I was going to look.

She stood on her toes, trying to peer over the other spectators’ heads. The muscles in her legs flexed, and I wanted my hands on her.

The smooth contours of her skin and the memory of how, just two nights ago, those legs were wrapped around me, made me want to get her into the same position on the hood of my car.

I realized a long time ago that Tate wasn’t fourteen anymore. I mean, even at that age, she was beautiful, but we’d both just been kids.

The little desires and urges that used to sneak into my head had turned into full blown fantasies.

And now, we were old enough to entertain them.

“Shit!” K.C. cursed a few feet in front of me. “I spilled beer.”

Tate twisted around to see what happened, and the whole world stopped when she found my eyes instead.

That’s how she was different from other girls.

I liked it when she looked at me.

Taking off her jacket, she tossed it to K.C., who I still hadn’t looked at. I guess she messed up her shirt and needed something to cover it.

And holy f**k.

I swallowed hard.

Tate’s white tank top was thin, tight, and I could see her ni**les hardening against the night air.

I looked to Ben who had done a double-take. He was trying not to look at her, but it was hard.

Goddammit. I clenched my teeth.

The idea of ripping over there and hauling her all of the way home was tempting.

And if he kept f**king staring at her like that, I was going to dig out his teeth with a spoon.

They both turned back to the race, and K.C. put on Tate’s jacket.

Madoc and Liam finally rounded the fourth corner, but Madoc had a heavy gain. Crossing the finish line, the crowd clapped and waved their hands in the air, clearly pleased with their bet and the show.

Ben smiled down at Tate, who laughed at the rush of air brought on by the cars. She hated Madoc, so I assumed she was just fascinated with the scene rather than his winning.

They laughed and talked, looking completely comfortable with each other.

Really?

Tate didn’t want comfortable. She wanted to get pushed. She wanted someone’s hands and mouth on her, driving her insane. She wanted to be made love to in the rain.

And right now, she was trying to be someone she wasn’t.

Grabbing K.C. at the waist, I pulled her into me, and her eyes widened in surprise.

“For Liam, remember?” I whispered, not doing this for her in the least.

Trying to make Tate jealous was idiotic, but I wanted to see if she’d react. She’d certainly gotten good at that during the past month.

K.C. looked nervously to Tate, and I was afraid she was overthinking. Playing around in front of Liam was fine, but she probably had a huge problem doing anything in plain sight of Tate.

After a few moments, though, she gave in and wrapped her arms around my neck. I took the invite and dipped down to kiss under her jaw.

I buried my face in her neck, trailing soft, slow kisses up to her ear, my brain telling my body what to do.