“You want me to race against Preach?” I asked Aanya.
The thought didn’t suck. He’d probably beat me, but his times weren’tthatmuch better than mine. I’d give him a run for his money.
“I’m not sure his hockey legs can keep up with mine,” I taunted.
“Ohhh, she’s throwing down the gauntlet.”
“Thesehockeylegs are all about sprints, so I wouldn’t taunt me too much.” His grin widened as his gaze swept over me.
Heat crept up my neck and pooled in my cheeks. I wasn’t sure what was going on with me right now, but this was actually kind of fun.
“We’ll see about that, Cher.”
“Oh yeah!” Oliver yelled.
A few of our teammates looked over, so I shushed Oliver.
“Oh no. We need witnesses, because this is about to go down!” He pointed at Aanya. “The bet is dinner this time. Taste of Rome. Losers pay.”
Preach flinched and glanced down quickly.Oh shit. His financial situation. I didn’t have that kind of money flowing, either.
“Hold on, now.” I shook my head and put my hand up. “I’m thinking more like a burger at Mickey Dee’s. And maybe a shake or somethin’. I’m not made of money, Oliver.”
He laughed and said, “Oh…so you think you’re gonna lose?”
“I’m not saying that, but still. Last bet was ice cream…”
“Fine, whatever.” He shook his head. “Let’s go!”
We hustled to the start of the 100 meter, and my heart got pumping. The thrill of a race. A race for stakes. Even if it was just a burger and shake, but still.
“We don’t have to do this,” Preach said as he came up to me at the starting line.
“You scared?”
“As if.” He laughed, and I knew he was quotingCluelessto me. I had to give it to him, the guy had a sense of humor.
The rest of the track team, still hanging out after practice, gathered around.
I tapped my charm, then glanced at the sky. Sure, this wasn’t a real race, but still. Any time I was on the track, I thought of Emmett. He’d get such a kick out of this kind of race. We’d done it tons of time. Him, me, and Alec.
For you, Emmett.
“You got this, girl,” Aanya said.
Sam trotted over, holding a stopwatch. “I got Coach’s clock, so it’s official.”
Coach stood off to the side, his arms over his chest and a big grin filling his face.
“He made me tell you to not get hurt,” Sam said, then trotted to the finish line.
Aanya stood off to the side of me. “I’ll count us down.”
A wave of nerves rushed over me like river rapids as I bent my knees. No starting blocks because of my hand, but that was okay. I’d slayed it earlier when I’d done an upright start.
“You’re going down, Cher.”
“Bring it,” Preach whispered.