Chapter 73 Join Me

Chapter 73 Join Me
Purple’s POV:

Harry didn’t say anything, letting silence envelope us, and it was unlike our other silent moments. This one felt like a routine—like something we do every day: say nothing and let our silence speak for itself.

Just when I thought he wasn’t going to say anything, he took my hand in his. “You are different, Pancake.”

Everyone was different, I thought… so maybe he could do better with the lines.

“You have always been different; you have always had me wrapped around your little finger,” I chuckled.

“Not different enough for you to love me.” I know I mentioned it and tried to convince myself that I didn’t care if he didn’t love me at all, but as long as he was willing to be with me, I would be fine… that was a lie, because every minute with him, I wish he would let me know he indeed loves me.

“Too different to make me obsessed with you.” Then he pulled me into his arms and I hugged him tightly.

One thing has been very clear to me: I didn’t just start loving this man… I have loved him for a long time, and that’s why I hated him the most after he hurt me.

“What time is your flight?” He kissed the top of my head. I broke the hug to have a clear look at him, to memorize his face because I won’t see him for days.

“5 a.m.”

“I will drop you off at the airport.”

I nodded and took in a healthy amount of breath before asking, “The race out there is quite risky, and uhm… I heard about Bernoi.”

"Don't do that, Pancake." He cut me off like he could read my mind and just knew I wanted to convince him out of it.

“I know it’s worthless trying to talk you out of it, but…”

“That’s not it.” He sent his fingers through his hair with a defeated look. “I am scared if you try to convince me… then I might just listen.”

He would listen to me?

“But I really want to do this… if not, then I…” Harry was panicking, and I couldn’t believe it. I pulled him into a tight hug again. I don’t know what he gets out of this, but I didn’t want to stand in his way.

“Be careful.”

He nodded, and broke the hug when his phone rang. “I need to go back to the race.”

That was risky, but I could only hope for nothing to happen to him. “Join me,” he proposed, and I raised a brow, not able to understand his words.

“I will be more careful with you behind me; that way, you won’t have to worry about me.” He held my hand tightly because I was about to slip out and take a step back.

“I am not getting on a bike, Harry. No way.”

“You miss it,” he muttered, leaving me confused. “The feel of the wind hitting strongly against your skin as you run, and do you know what else lets you experience that?”

Racing.

Being on the bike would feel like me running all over again, letting my body fight against the push of the wind as I try to win a competition—not against the other competitors, but against the wind.

“Don’t think too much about it, come on.” He dragged me towards his gang, and I let him because he was right; I missed it.
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When Harry parked his bike at the start line, I felt a lot of gazes on me and leaned closer to Harry. “Is this allowed?” Am I allowed to join him on his bike?

“You are a Rebel, so it’s very much allowed,” he replied before tilting his head to face me clearly. “Just hold onto me and try to imagine you as an athlete, only this time I am not your competitor but… your partner.”

I nodded with a smile because if my only job was to hold him tightly, then I was going to pass that with flying colors.

“Put on the helmet.” I nodded and put it on, but it wasn’t tight enough; Harry had already worn his. I tapped a finger on his helmet; when he turned, I pointed at mine.

He nodded, made sure the bike was parked well enough before coming off. He stood next to me and helped strap the helmet on. I just love the attention he gave me, even with hundreds of people watching.

“Go, girl!” I heard Etsy’s loud voice, even with all the cheering. Harry got on, and I held onto him tightly. I looked back and there were Nate, Chris, Maurice, and Allen. I found out minutes ago that Yvan didn’t participate because he was busy at the shop. Simon must hate me for leaving without a word.

Another set of riders parked on our left, and the crowd went wild screaming, “JK!”

The asshole took off his helmet and looked straight at me. He smirked and winked before putting his helmet back on. The countdown started, and I leaned in closer, holding Harry tightly.

Then I felt the wind cut through as he sped out with his team members trying to protect his bike. The rules of racing were quite different in Roonie… it wasn’t about who got there first; it was about the team working together to let the leader get to the finish line first, and the opponent trying hard to hinder that.

So in this crazy racing event, Harry and JK were the trophies, and their team members tried to protect them and clear the way for them.

Harry was speeding and switching lanes so fast I felt like I was going to die in three seconds. I held tightly to him.

No… no, I can’t do this… I want to go down.

That’s everything I want to scream out to Harry, but I remember his words: I missed the feel of the wind hitting over my skin. I loosened up a little and decided to let myself enjoy this.

I felt Harry’s hand grip mine, pulling me to hold him tighter, and I did. He tilted his head for just five seconds, and when I nodded, he focused more on the race. JK was ahead, and no matter how much Harry tried going further, JK’s team made sure they were driving just before Harry to stop him.

Then, at the corner of my eye, I saw Allen press hard on the brakes and switch lanes, hitting a rider with a blue jacket who fell off his bike. Before they could recover, Chris and Maurice were forward and sandwiched JK, preventing him from riding straight, and Harry gave a thumbs up to them before he increased his pace.

When he got close to JK, he threw him a middle finger and drove ahead.

“Whoooo!” I screamed loudly as we took the lead. Okay… maybe racing wasn’t that bad and Victory tasted like the taste of cold water after a long run.