Ridin' Dirty (Beautifully Dirty #2) (16 page)

“Well, you know you can talk to us about anything. If you need us, we’re here.”

“I know, thanks.”

We arrive at the shoot on time; we are able to change in the
Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders’
locker room. We might have turned on
Girl in a Country Song
by Maddie & Tae, then danced around the place for a minute before putting the bikinis on. Walking out, everyone is staring in our direction, we look pretty in these tiny things. They retract the stadium roof, shining the sun down on us, which gives us great natural light for the pictures. We stand on top of one of the tabletop jumps; thank goodness they gave us ladies’ riding boots to wear. Our string bikinis are all black with bright yellow H’s on both of the triangles that cover our chest, and the bottoms have Hyped Energy written across our ass, in cursive. The strings in both the top and bottoms are the same yellow as the writing. They put us all in the same black
Answer Racing
boots.

Right after the photo shoot, we go back to the hotel, change, and get ready for dinner. When I walk back into my room, there is a dozen roses on the desk, with a card that reads, “Thinking of you always. Happy Valentine’s Day Love, Cooper.”
Really, thinking of me always, REALLY
! I grab the card, flip it over and write my own message, “Clearly I’m not the only one you’re thinking about.” Then I call the front desk to let them know they can pick these flowers back up and deliver them to Mr. Brewis’ room.

The restaurant is just down the street from where we are staying. We decide to walk instead of drive, in case we all have a couple of drinks.

“Kenna, you drinking tonight?” I ask her; she tends to not even have a drink lately. I can’t figure it out.

“I might, why?”

“You never drink anymore,” Maddie busts out her answer before I can even say anything.

“I can’t drink when I have to deal with your drunk ass.”

“Ha, ha, it was only a couple times,” Maddie says back, laughing.

“Oh, yeah, only a couple times,” she says, smiling and rolling her eyes.

“Wait, Ansley had to deal with me one night, not you. So, there!” She is laughing harder now. It’s like she is cracking herself up.

“We’re all having a couple drinks tonight, but that’s it, considering we need to get up and function tomorrow at the race,” I speak up.

“Yes, Mom.” Maddie just can’t help herself.

I smack her arm as we walk in the front door of the restaurant. We decide to wait in the bar area until our table is ready. This is a big weekend for the Hyped Energy Company, as they have a couple large accounts that will be coming to the race and another one that hasn’t signed yet, but wants to see exactly what the energy drink is used to promote. Because of all of them coming we need to be on our A game tomorrow.

Dinner is enjoyable but Kenna, Maddie, and myself decide we want to trade these dresses in for our sweats. I personally can’t wait to get this make-up off my face and brush out my hair. We make our way back to the hotel. Walking in, I notice Ryan and another one of his teammates standing at the counter; they must have just gotten here.

“Hello, boys, whatcha doing?”

“Hey, who you calling boys?” Ryan looks around laughing, like he is trying to figure it out, then leans in and hugs me, then Kenna and Maddie.

“Oh, excuse me . . . men,” I say, putting quotes around men.

“We are just checking in. When we landed, we had to go directly to press day so we didn’t get a chance to do it earlier. Where are you three coming from dressed like that?” he asks, raising his eyebrows, while looking all of us over.

“We just went and had dinner at the restaurant down the street.”

“How was it? We need to grab something before heading up to bed.”

“Good, not great, but good. Now it’s time for sweats and my bed; it’s another long day tomorrow.”

“Why? What did you guys have going on today?”

“All three of us had a photo shoot at the track today, for the new bikini line that Hyped is coming out with.”

“Oh, really? How’s the track look?”

“Of course you’d worry about that,” I say, laughing back at him.

“Well duh, Peanut, what else would I be worried about? I’ve seen you all in bikinis and know that there’s nothing to worry about there.”

“Right now, you should be worried about getting your ass kicked if you call me that in public again!”

“Yeah, I know,” he said, pulling me into him and squeezing me tightly. I wrap my arms around him, leaning against his chest, and closing my eyes for a moment. He is still such a huge part of my life.

When I open my eyes, not only is Kenna staring at me, but I look over to see Cooper standing there. I push away from Ryan, but glare a bit at Cooper. Clearly he got the hint from my return of the flowers, and from the look on his face, he’s pissed. He turns and steps on the elevator, the doors shut and he is gone.

Dropping my head, I stand there for a moment, I’m not sure how the hell this is ever going to work between us. He is driving me crazy. Ryan walks up behind me; he never touches me, but I can feel him standing and supporting me, like always.

“What’s going on with the two of you?”

“Nothing, absolutely nothing! I’m heading up to bed. I’ve had more than enough for one day. You coming, girls?”

“I am, these damn heels are killing me,” Maddie says, pulling them off. She now stands there in her bare feet in the middle of the lobby.

“Kenna?” She looks pissed . . . but why? She seems pissed. Was it because Ryan hugged me? I know she likes him, and he is showing that he’s interested too, so what the hell is up her ass?

“Ansley, wait, what is going on?”

“I said nothing, Ry, so drop it.” I start to walk way as I hear Kenna start talking to him.

“Did you see Cooper’s interview from last weekend’s race?”

“No, why?”

“You should ask him about it.”

“What the fuck did he do?”

“Oh, nothing, just told the world that there is no one special in his life.”

“Shit, I’m sure there’s a reason, anyone that knows him, can tell he’s fucking in love with Ansley.”

“Yeah, well he didn’t tell the world that, and the way he was flirting with the reporter also let Ansley know he wasn’t thinking of her while he said it either.”

“What a jackass. He might have just really fucked this up with her. He knows that she’s been screwed over so many times, and yet he goes and does something like that.”

“K, well now you know. I’m heading up too. It was nice seeing you again, Ryan. Good luck tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Kenna.”

I turn as I wait for the elevators to see Ryan hug Kenna goodbye. She meets up with us just as the doors open for us to get on. Maddie stands there, quiet for the first time all evening. I hate that I feel like I just ruined everyone’s night.

The next day we head to the stadium around ten. We need to be there when the pit party starts around eleven. I choose my black leather pants and so does Kenna, but Maddie goes with her schoolgirl black and yellow checked skirt. We all matched it with our black tank tops with the saying “Let’s Get Hyped” written on the front of it, in yellow. Well, we can’t forget about our boots with three-inch heels. We all look damn good, if I do say so myself.

Walking in from the VIP parking area, we still have to pass by fans that are waiting for the gates to open. We get quite a few whistles and a whole lot of comments I will never repeat, asking us to do things that shouldn’t be yelled in public.

We make our way to the tent that is set up, in the middle of the pit area, which means several of the bike trailers are in sight, including both Ryan and Cooper’s. I can’t help but stare a bit in the direction of the Yamaha truck. Cooper’s standing under it, and yet, I feel like I can’t go over there.

“Girls, this place is going to get crazy soon, you ready for it?”

“Maddie, aren’t all the races pretty much crazy?”

“Yep, but today I bet we get to see more of the country boys. You know what they say about Texas?”

“Everything’s bigger in Texas,” all three of us say in unison and then laugh.

We walk around, getting everything ready to go before the gates open. There are big round tables under out tent, draped with black table cloths with big displays on all of them. Today, we’re handing out stickers and beaded necklaces with an H hanging from them, along with cans of the Hyped Energy drink.

It’s eleven o’clock on the dot and the first of the fans start coming in. Before we know it, we have a crowd around us. People are always ready to get free stuff, but they also seem to want to get pictures with all of us together or individually. We often get asked out or we will have the random guy who will drop to his knee with a marriage proposal. The first time it happened I just laughed, like really guy . . . get up.

We have to head to the track now, the main race is going to start. Kenna has to walk in front of the bikes at the starting line with the
AMA Pro Motocross
sign, and Maddie is holding the thirty second board today. All three of us will be on the podium, as the trophy girls. I get to hand the first place winner his.

The gate drops and the boys are off; I am able to watch this race and I love it. I secretly cheer for both of them to kick ass. Ryan gets a shitty start and comes off the gate in almost dead last. Cooper didn’t get a good start either, but he is mid pack. In the end, Cooper finishes second and Ryan is standing next to him on the podium in third.

Kenna is next to Ryan, ready to hand him his trophy as he smiles at her. The embrace I notice from them is a bit friendlier than it’s been in the past, and I smile, knowing this little secret.

Maddie gives Cooper his trophy, he hugs her tightly, and I can feel a pull in my heart. It hurts; I want it to be me, and the water in my eyes reflects that. I look away, until Jesse walks over to get up on the first place box next to me. He gives me a small hug.

“Congratulations, Jesse.” I try to sound happy for him.

“Thanks and don’t worry about him,” he whispers in my ear.

I pull back, smile at him, and move away so he can do the TV interview next. Shortly after all the interviews are done, we all pose with the guys for photos. Flashes are going off everywhere, between the fans, the magazine reporters, and the local newspapers.

I walk off the podium with the girls and we head back to the pits, as there will be another round of people coming through before they head out for the night. They are with the companies that had passes for the day to check out Hyped Energy. Just as expected, there are about a hundred people that come back to the tent, as well as a few other stragglers that walk through for the last minute autographs and pictures.

A guy walks over with a couple of his friends; I can tell he’s a bit intoxicated but asks for a picture with me, so I walk over and stand next to him.

“Hey, buddy, my eyes are here,” I say, pointing to my face, as his eyes won’t get off my chest. For that matter, his hands are a little too grabby for my liking, too. I try to move away and he tightens his hold.

“Knock it off, jackass, before I have someone come over and take care of you.” I push against him one more time. If he doesn’t let go, I’ll be yelling for one of the security guards stationed under our tent. Just as I am about to, I feel him let go, and I do a double take, because the next thing I know, I see Cooper’s fist connect with the guy’s nose and him on the ground. “Hey, fuckhead, I’m pretty sure I could tell from all the way over there that the lady said to let go.” He turns to me and asks if I’m okay. I nod my head yes and thank him. Even though he’s pissed me off, he is still there for me when I need him. I go to give him a hug and he starts to walk off. I stand there knowing Cooper is going to be in trouble for this. He’ll either be fined or banned from a race or worse, it could be both. Oh, this isn’t good.

Security escorts the asshole and his friends off of the property. And now, our tent is being taken down, the girls and I go grab our bags, so we can head back to the hotel.

Walking into our hotel suite, I get a text from Ryan.

Ryan
—You ok?

Me
—I am.

Ryan
—You sure?

Me
—Yes, how are you?

Ryan
—Fine, Cooper needs to get his shit together. He’s going to get fined for this, I’m sure.

Me
—That’s what I thought too.

Ryan—
But I’m going to see what I can do about it, since I saw what happened. I’m going to let the
AMA
know that security didn’t step in so that caused Cooper to do it.

Me
—Thanks, Ry . . . you’re a great guy and good friend.

Ryan
—You know I would have taken care of that guy for you, too?

Me—
I know you would have and it’s fine, I was just about to get security when Coop came over.

Ryan
—I love ya, girl, get some sleep. I’ll come over this week to say hello.

Me
—K, sounds good. Love you too, Ry.

I crawl into my bed after washing off my make-up and brushing out my hair, throwing the sides back in a clip. I want to talk to Coop, get one of his hugs, and figure this whole thing out. I send a quick message to Coop thanking him, then I roll over and snuggle against my pillow. I realize just how much I miss him when a tear rolls down my cheek. Shutting my eyes, I fall asleep sad.