Chapter 82 82. The race
Tabitha’s POV
I swallow the lump in my throat and keep my eyes on the track, pretending that the tightening in my chest is just the noise and not the ache of realizing how fragile this illusion is.
The conversation around me continues, filled with laughter. Evelyn elbows me lightly and grins. “Speaking of brothers and sisters,” she says while wiggling her brows, “your future sister-in-law is here with us today.” She gestures at me.
I laugh awkwardly, unsure what to do. Melanie is giggling while Elsie’s smile fades a little.
“Tabi, meet your future sister-in-law,” Evelyn jokes while pointing at her friend and sister.
I blink rapidly, my mind stuttering. “Uh—”
Melanie chuckles and shakes her head. “Ignore her, Tabitha. She’s just messing around.” She fake-smacks Evelyn and the latter yelps before erupting in laughter. “You’re such a menace, Eve! You’re making Tabitha uncomfortable.”
Evelyn giggles and is about to retort when a familiar voice interrupts.
“You ladies seem to be having a pleasant conversation.”
I turn around. Evren and Jace are walking toward us. Jace wears a lazy grin while Evren’s expression is calm and unreadable as usual, his eyes trained on me from the moment he steps into the deck.
Melanie straightens up instantly, her blush returning in full force, though she tries to hide it behind a polite smile.
Evelyn groans. “Ugh. What are you guys doing here?”
“What? You think you’re the only ones who bought VIP tickets?” Jace raises a brow. He flashes his usual grin and greets the others. “Hey, Mel. Elsie.”
“Hi, Jace,” they say almost in unison.
I catch Melanie’s quick glance toward Evren again, but he doesn’t look at her. His gaze is fixed on me. He steps closer, and before I can even ask what he’s doing, he reaches out and brushes his thumb against the corner of my lips.
“You had something there,” he murmurs.
I almost choke on my breath. My heart pounds so hard I hear it over the engines. I manage a small nod and mumble, “Thanks,” before stepping back to wipe the crusted sugar myself.
Jace chuckles. “Didn’t think you’d actually show up, Tabi. If I knew, I would’ve asked you to hitch a ride with us.”
I clear my throat.
“Well… you went out too early. I was still asleep by then. Besides, I came here with Evelyn.”
“Fair enough,” he says with a shrug.
Elsie looks up at Jace. “Do you think Reed and Luca can make it through the qualifying round?”
Jace snorts as if she just asked him a stupid questions.
“Of course. Reed’s been itching to get back on the track. And Luca’s a machine when it comes to precision runs. I’d be shocked if either of them didn’t qualify.”
Evelyn nods, leaning on the railing. “The number of participants this year doubled compared to last year.”
“Yeah,” Jace agrees. “They did the marketing and other stuff right this time. Some of those racers came all the way from other parts of the country. It’ll be a cutthroat championship tomorrow, that’s for sure.”
I follow his gaze back to the track. The racers are lined up now, each one poised behind their starting mark. Reed adjusts his grip on the handlebar while revving the engine, his raging red and black suit flashing under the sun. Luca checks his side mirrors and gives a final nod to one of the marshals. A few spots down, Arthur’s helmet is slightly lifted, enough for me to see his jawline and the focused set of his mouth. He looks far from the friendly guy I met before. This time, he looks as intimidating as the rest. He looks like an Alpha through and through. To his side, Rhett stands in his purple gear. His helmet dangles at his side as he combs his fingers through his hair. Just like Arthur, there’s that intense fire in his eyes while staring at the track ahead of them. Evelyn was right, her brother is hungry for that first place tomorrow.
The loudspeakers crackle to life. The announcer’s voice booms across the field.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first day of the Tropical Thunder Circuit! The qualifying rounds are about to begin!”
The crowd erupts into cheers. Flags wave and the engines roar in unison like an animal stretching before the hunt.
“Alright folks, here’s what’s happening today, the racers will go through two rounds to trim down the best of the best,” the announcer explains. “First round will kick off with all riders on the track for about twenty minutes. Their goal is to set the fastest lap time they can. After this round, only the top twenty fastest riders move on to the second round. In round two, which lasts about fifteen minutes, these riders push even harder to set better times and fight for the top ten spots. Between the two rounds, they get about half an hour to rest, cool down, and fine-tune their bikes, but they stay alert and watch the competition to prepare for the next challenge. At the end of round two, the fastest ten riders earn their place for the championship race tomorrow.”
I grip the railing as the first racer revs his engine and rolls onto the track. The air thickens with the smell of burning rubber and sea breeze. Evelyn, Elsie, and Melanie cheer while Jace and Evren watch in silence. My pulse keeps pace with the rhythm of the engines.
The race has begun. And somehow, so has everything else.