Freestyle 1: A Bad Boy Romance (Action Sports Alphas) (2 page)

I pulled the handle and pushed the door open with my boot before dropping down onto the pavement with a thud. I swear, no matter how many times I’d been in Jessie’s truck, I couldn’t figure out how to dismount from the damn thing with any amount of grace. I slammed the door shut and walked around the front. We were only two steps away from the parking spot when a girl, dressed in the smallest plaid ‘skirt’, if you could even call it that, and a black bikini top, came up behind us and laced her arm through Jessie’s.

“Hey! I’m so glad you came today! Rex hired some new girl for the weekend, and she is a total bitch. I wish you were working today. Oh, by the way, happy birthday!” The girl spit out all her thoughts without ever stopping to take a breath. Maybe she’d had one too many of those energy drinks this morning?

Jess grinned at her very energetic friend. “Thank you. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be in town to work this weekend so I didn’t get scheduled.” She turned back to me. “Megan, this is my best friend, Sam.”

“Hey, Sam, nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Megan replied, and quickly turned back to Jessie.

“Same here.” I added somewhat as an afterthought to our short exchange.

“You’ll never guess who Chad hooked up with. Danielle! Can you believe that? I never liked that bitch.” Megan blurted out.

Jessie glanced at me real quick then turned to her co-worker. “No way. That totally sucks. You don’t need any of his crap anyway. Let Danielle deal with his bullshit now.”

Megan nodded in agreement. “You’re right. Plus—there are plenty of way hotter guys out here today. Including Josh.” She winked at Jessie.

I swear I caught my, normally cool as ice, friend blush a bit at the sound of his name. She dropped the girl’s arm and looped her other arm through mine. “Well we’re going to head in. See you later.”

Megan waved us off and as soon as we were out of her earshot Jessie turned to me and shook her head. “That girl is so dramatic. Sometimes she’s just too much for me even.”

I laughed, secretly relieved to hear that she found her irritating as well. “Well she does come off a bit strong.”

“You can say that again. Her natural personality combined with all the caffeine is exhausting. That guy Chad she was talking about is her ex-boyfriend, they haven’t been together for months but she is still obsessing over his every move.”

As we passed through the entrance gate a sudden roar of engines filled the air. Jessie hopped up and took a skip step as she grabbed my hand and dragged me along through the crowd toward the stadium. “Come on, Sam! They’re getting started right now.”

I picked up my pace and caught up to her. As we rounded the front of the stands, an entire arena of steep ramps and dirt jumps came into view. I followed behind Jess as she climbed the loud metal steps. A roaring engine caught my attention and I spun around just in time to see a guy on a dirt bike flying off the lip of the first huge ramp. He leaned over and pulled the motorcycle sideways in the air until both he and the bike appeared to be parallel with the horizon line. I stood stunned for a moment, completely captivated as he righted the wheels just in time for a smooth dirt landing. I felt Jessie tug on my arm and heard her laugh.

“See, I told you you’d like it.” She looked very satisfied that her prediction had come true. She patted her hand on the bench next to her. “Now take a seat and enjoy the show.” She grinned at me. “But remember, the real show starts once the helmets . . . and other things . . . come off” she added with a mischievous wink.

I turned my attention back to the course just as the rider pulled up off another ramp and into a back flip. I think my jaw probably dropped halfway to the ground as the red bike quickly rotated and landed perfectly on the hard packed dirt. A buzzer sounded and he pulled off the side of the track to rejoin the line of helmeted men. Next, a shiny blue motorcycle wheelied out onto the dirt and the man riding it leaned forward with his elbows up near the sides of his head as he throttled towards the first jump.  As the bike floated through the sky he swung his legs up and around the front and tapped his heels together over the handlebars before regaining his seat and landing.

“What the —” I started to say.

Jessie lifted her chin towards the jump. “They call that a
heel clicker
.”

Just then the rider slid off the bike and held onto only the back fender as he stretched his body out flat in the air. I was shocked at the moves this guy was pulling.

“And that is what we call a
Superman
.” She added without ever taking her eyes off the guy.

He finished his run with a few more impressive tricks and pulled off the track. As he was riding away I saw the back of his jersey. It read ‘STEELE’.

Jessie squealed and gave my arm a quick squeeze. “Ooh here comes Josh!”

Josh was riding a flat black bike and wearing grey and black gear. He gave the stands a nod of his helmet as he pulled out onto the dirt, and the crowd, especially the women, went wild. I’m pretty sure I even heard a few girls yelling ‘Marry me!’ as he rode past. I was amused by their reactions and laughed to myself. The back of his jersey said ‘COMMANDER’.  I turned to Jessie to ask if that was his last name, but she was fully occupied admiring Josh.  I swear I saw her eyes fill with hearts, just like they always do in cartoons when the characters are love-struck, as she watched him.

Josh hit the first ramp super fast and pulled a back flip, this guy clearly knew how to play the crowd. The audience went completely nuts and a large majority of people, including my best friend, stood on their feet to watch the rest of his run. He continued with a whole set of insane maneuvers, finishing the last jump with some move that required him to latch his feet under the handlebars while straightening his body into the air. Essentially, he was dangling the motorcycle from his feet.

A big voice boomed over the loud speaker. “Another great run from the Commander. What perfect execution on that final cliffhanger.” 

Jessie placed her hand dramatically over her chest and looked to me. “Isn’t he amazing?”

“He definitely isn’t a novice.” I teased.

After the rest of the riders completed their runs, the judges deliberated for a few minutes before selecting a winner.

The announcer returned to his microphone. “In first place we have Josh ‘The Commander’ Lawrence.” Everyone cheered and clapped their hands together as he rode out to the podium in the center of the arena. “Second place goes to Cory Steele.” The crowd cheered again as he pulled up next to Josh. “And in third place we have Grant Anderson.” The applause and cheering continued until all three men were next to each other. They each removed their helmets and hung them on their handlebars.

Jessie had been right. “Damn those are some hot ass guys!” I exclaimed. Josh was pretty sexy. He had a nearly shaved head and dark eyes. His huge collection of tattoos was evident as ink poked out the top of his jersey and covered the skin all the way up his neck. The third place victor definitely wasn’t too hard on the eyes either. But the one who had really caught my attention was the runner up.
Steele
, as his jersey had named him, had a face that could make you forget the existence of the rest of the world. The side of his mouth lifted into a smile as he nodded to the fans. He scanned his eyes across the audience, and as they passed our section he paused for a moment. I’m sure I was probably just imagining it, but it felt like his piercing green gaze had landed directly on me. I pulled in a sharp breath and felt my stomach do an instant flip-flop as my eyes met his stare. The energy I felt from our eye contact shattered as he turned back to face the trophy girl.

The girl who was presenting the awards was a tall, perfectly tanned, beautiful blonde. Her giant breasts nearly spilled from her top as she bent down from the podium, in her leather halter and matching short shorts, and placed a medal around each of their necks.

Jessie stood and grabbed my hand. “Let’s head back out there. An awesome band is going to be playing in a few minutes.”

CHAPTER 5

SAM

“Hey, Rex, how’s it going? This is my friend Sam.” Jessie introduced me as we walked up to the Nitro Energy trailer. Rex was a nice looking guy. He appeared to be somewhere in his mid thirties and had spiked brown hair and wore a pair of sleek black sunglasses.

He extended his right hand to me and I met it with my own. “Nice to meet you, Sam.”

“Nice to meet you too.” I replied.

“Glad you made it out today, Jess.” He looked back over at me and blatantly scanned me up and down, temporarily tipping his glasses down onto his nose. “How come you’ve never brought your friend around before? She’d be a great addition to the group.”

Jessie laughed. “Trust me, I’ve tried.” She looked at me with playful accusation. “She only agreed to come today as a late birthday present to me.”

Rex turned his attention back my way. “Well if you’re ever looking for a job, be sure to give me a call.”

I was sincerely flattered by his offer. “Thank you. I definitely will.”

Jessie glanced back over her shoulder, as if she was looking for something, and then flashed Rex her bright white smile. “We’re going to go catch that next band. I’ll catch up with you later.”

Rex nodded his head toward the stage. “Should be a great one. Redeye always puts on a good show. Have fun ladies. Great meeting you, Sam.”

I smiled and waved at Rex before I spun around and Jessie began pulling me away down the long row of vendors. We passed trailers that were selling everything from nachos and beer to tires and clothing.

Jessie stood on her tippy toes and looked across the way. “They should be coming through any minute.”

I began to ask, “Who—” just as the sound of revving motorcycle engines came up on us. A trail of freestyle motocross riders had exited the stadium and were now making their way back through the crowds. Most of them had their helmets off as they coasted across the busy pavement. “Holy crap.” I muttered. “It’s like a sexy dude parade.”

Jessie grinned at my enjoyment. “I told you when the
real show
would start.” Suddenly she averted her eyes from me and bit down on her bottom lip as Josh rolled up next to her.

He reached his right hand out and flirtatiously grabbed the side of her waist. His deep, low voice rolled out. “I expect to see you tonight at the after party.”

Jessie was practically squirming under his touch. “Of course we’ll be there.”

Josh raised his head toward me. “We huh?” He looked me over. “I like the sound of that.” He pulled away from us and showed off by doing a quick wheelie down the asphalt.

My best friend seemed to be in awe of this guy. Her eyes followed him as far as they could before she spun around to me. With her head tilted to the side she gave me her most innocent pleading look. “So I did tell you about the after party, right?”

I smiled at her and shook my head slightly. “I’m pretty sure you left that detail out.”

“Well now that you’ve seen what we’re up against, what do ya say?”

I heard another motorcycle rolling up behind me. It slowed as it passed us, and the man riding it slowly and deliberately looked me up and down before flashing me an incredibly sexy smirk. He had dirty blonde hair that was all mussed up from having been under a helmet and a striking green gaze. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from him even as he rode off into the distance. STEELE was printed in thick black letters across the back of his jersey.

Jessie was watching me with amusement. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

I snapped back to reality and blushed as I turned my attention back to her. I tried to hide a grin. “Yeah, I guess it could be fun.”

“I can guarantee it. Now come on, the show is about to start.” Jessie looped her arm through my elbow and we headed off toward the main stage area.

CHAPTER 6

SAM

The stage was a temporary structure that had been set up in the center of a small grassy field. A drum set, mic and some guitars were waiting, and a few guys were bent down adjusting the various amps on the stage. Although the band wasn’t in sight yet, the crowd was packed in tight all around the field. Bodies upon bodies were standing in the heat. And from the looks of it, the fans were anything but mellow. I slowed down off to the side of the throng of people to take my place and wait for the show. Jessie however, had other ideas.

She reached back for my hand and turned to me. “No way, we’re going up to the front!” She practically had to shout it for me to hear as the large crowd began cheering. I looked up at the stage and saw the band had just arrived and were walking to their instruments. Before I could protest, Jessie was dragging me through the pulsating crowd. She was a tiny girl, but Jessie managed to pave a path through the bodies.

As we finally reached the front, there was a metal barrier gate that created about a 6 foot gap between the fans and the stage. Jessie squeezed herself into a tiny spot along the fence and then somehow squished me in next to her. The lead singer picked up the mic and the entire band went straight into a hardcore song. To say the fans went completely nuts would definitely be an understatement. Within a matter of seconds we were being violently pushed forward and backward by the wave of people. Each time we went forward my stomach was painfully slammed against the fence. I looked at Jessie and she seemed to be moving with the flow of the crowd, not at all bothered by the constant press of bodies. I however, began to panic.

Through the first three songs I tried my best to push back against the crowd, but all of my strength proved practically irrelevant against the large bodies behind me. Although I really liked the song the band was playing, I couldn’t do anything but focus on my impending doom. I was sure that at any second I was going to be flattened into a pulp against that barrier. Claustrophobia set in and I
had
to get out.

Suddenly, a large man with a shaved head and tattoo covered arms stumbled forward and elbowed another big guy in the face. I doubted it was intentional, but the second guy definitely took it personally. He swung around and threw a fist into the side of the other guy’s skull. All of the people directly surrounding the men joined in, and an all out brawl began. I looked over to find Jessie and I only saw the back of her head as she was swept away in the crowd. “Jess!” I screamed at her. As soon as my voice came out I realized I could barely hear it myself over the blaringly loud music and wild fans. I began pushing my way toward the back of the crowd and by that point had lost any visual of my friend. Breaking my way out of the mob proved much more difficult than the way in had been.