Pieces (Riverdale #1) (14 page)

     
Luke waved amused. “Nice, shirt.”

     
Jake laughed and slung his arm around her
shoulders, dipping his head to press a kiss to her lips, instantly soothing the
lower lip she had bitten. “I love it.” He murmured against her mouth. When he
pulled back her eyes were staring up at him and he gobbled up the heated look
in her eyes. “I missed you.” He whispered into her ear before tucking away a
wild strand of hair that had fallen from her bun.

     
“I missed you too.” She said barely
audible.

     
Jake pointed to Luke. “I told my brother
to come with us to the track.”

She
smiled, her embarrassment fading, and turned to face Luke. “That’s great. You
can keep me company while Jake pretends he’s Evil Canevil.”

     
Luke laughed, “Are you guys sure?”

     
“Yes.” Cara said immediately.

     
“Yes.” Jake said affirmatively and
squeezed Cara’s hand. “Do you have the pick-up? I can throw my bike in the flat
bed and we can all head down together.”

     
“Yeah, it’s out front.”

     
“Well, come on, let’s go!” Jake said,
clapping his hands together and rubbing them vigorously, adrenaline already
pulsating through him. “I got my two lucky charms, going to be a great night.”
He wiggled his eyebrows, his trademark gesture and started marching towards the
front of the tattoo parlor, dragging Cara along. Luke followed shaking his head
at his brother, but couldn’t help the smile that was on his face. Jake glanced
over his shoulder and caught the smile. Yep, he was indeed the best medicine.

     
Cara had only been to the track one other
time, and it had been just to pick up Jake after something had gone wrong with
his bike. She had never really experienced a race, and most certainly hadn’t
seen any stunts performed. She was excited and she was nervous. She was excited
to be there, to cheer Jake on, especially as his girl, but she was scared he’d
get himself hurt. This wasn’t exactly legal, and Jake didn’t have stuntman
credentials.

     
When they had arrived at the race track,
they could hear the roar of the engines from the parking lot. They made their
way closer towards the track, so that when they took the motorcycle out of
Luke’s truck, they wouldn’t have to go too far. The brothers hoisted Jake’s
motorcycle from the flat bed out of the pick-up.

     
“You guys can go by the bleachers, I’m
just going to check my bike in with Pete and meet you guys back over there.”
Jake said as he straddled his bike. Holding his helmet it one hand, he crooked
his finger at her with his free hand. She stepped towards him and he wrapped
his arm around her waist, pulling her against him. “Love you.” He whispered
before pressing his lips firmly to hers.

     
She knew one thing for sure she’d never
get tired of Jake kissing her. She smiled against his mouth, before wrapping
her arms around his neck. It should’ve been casual, but it wasn’t. The heat
between them was so evident and so strong she thought she would combust into
flames. His tongue slid into her mouth and played with hers, and for a brief
moment all the noise from the track diminished and she thought they were alone.

     
Jake broke away first, and leaned his
forehead against hers.

     
“I love you too.” She said and wiped her
thumb over his lips, removing the stain of her lip gloss.
 

     
Jake looked over Cara’s shoulder and sent
a wink to his brother.
 
“Take care of my
girl, she’s a nervous one.”

     
Luke nodded. “Are you going up now?”

     
Jake shrugged and put his helmet on. “Not
sure, won’t know until I check in. I’ll text you.” He revved his engine and
granted Cara one more smile, before he steered his motorcycle into the raceway.
Cara watched until he was out of sight and then turned to Luke and smiled at
him.

     
“Shall we, Darlin’?” Imitating a southern
drawl, he offered her his arm, and she slipped hers through his.

     
She laughed at him as they walked through
the gate of the racetrack. “Where’s Ava, tonight?”

     
Luke sized up all the motorcycles that
were lined up by their proud owners. Much like a car show, there were a bunch
of bikes just for spectators viewing pleasure. Cara had to admit, some of them
were really beauties, and part of her yearned to ride each and every one of
them

     
“She’s sleeping at Sam’s tonight. She
needed a little girly time with her aunt.” He said flatly.

Cara
studied Luke. She had known him as long as she knew Jake, and was aware of all
the unfortunate situations that had always seemed to find him. She was even at
the house the day Marie, dropped Ava on the door step. She still could remember
how he was afraid to hold her, fearing he was too clumsy to have such a fragile
being in his arms. Cara knew Luke was a fantastic father, and Ava loved him to
pieces. But she understood the loss of a mother, and knew that Luke ultimately
would never fill that gap for his daughter.

     
“Luke if Ava needs to talk to someone
about her mom, she can talk to me.” She offered and then blew out a breath,
hoping she wasn’t overstepping her bounds. “I mean I know my mother died, and
hers didn’t, but I know how it is to be a girl in need of her mom.”

     
Luke met her gaze and held it for a
moment. “I never thought of that.”

     
Cara smiled softly at him. “Ava’s a lucky
little girl though, she has you. I didn’t have my dad, and even if he had tried
to be a father, he wouldn’t have held a candlestick to you. She’s going to be
fine, but if she does want to talk about her mom, I’d be happy to help.”

     
That earned her a smile from him, a
genuine one that reached his eyes. She was used to Luke and used to him hiding
his troubles, but his eyes always let them know something was up. Different from
Jake in so many ways, but that was one common thread.

     
“I’m happy my brother came to his senses.”

     
“I’m happy we both did.”
 
She was equally to blame and she knew that.

     
He motioned to the bleachers. “Should we
grab a seat to watch our favorite daredevil?”

     
“Sure.”

 
    
They
found seats, allowing them a perfect view of the track. Cara looked around,
amazed at how many people were there. The noise levels from the motorcycles,
combined with the lights that were shining, it was no wonder the, cops didn’t
shut this place down. The track was wide and stretched around the entire
perimeter. In the center there was a blocked off roadway. That’s where Jake was
with about a dozen other bikers. Their bikes were relatively different then
Jake’s. They were smaller and a lot less heavy and vibrant in color. The bikers
who, owned them, matched their riding jackets to the color of their bike, even
their helmets matched. Those bikes didn’t make as much noise as the ones that
would race, but knew they held a lot of power.

     
She watched along with Luke as one of the
bikers, riding an electric blue bike, revved the engine. He sped up the roadway
and then he stood fully on the bike, before he did a summersault, his hands
gripping the handle bars the entire time his legs were suspended in the air.

     
“Holy shit,” Luke muttered and turned to
face Cara. “He’s not going to do that is he?”

     
“No but not because he doesn’t want to.
His bike is too heavy.” She answered, not taking her eyes off of the stuntman
and his bike. When he reached the end of the roadway he straddled the bike,
repositioned his gloves and then steered the bike upward, so that the bike’s
back wheel was the only on touching the pavement. Suddenly he removed his hands
from the handlebars and spread his arms out to the side, as if he was balancing
himself walking a tightrope. Next, he returned his hands to the handlebars and
tucked his legs through them. His feet pressed against the handlebars and
kicked off, somersaulting again before his bike stood upright and his feet dragged
along the asphalt.

     
Luke glanced down, his phone vibrated in
his pocket. He arched his hips and pulled the phone to glance at the text he
received. “He’s next.”

     
Cara looked at him nervously. She couldn’t
help the butterflies in her stomach, she prayed to anyone who would listen,
that Jake would be okay.

     
Luke laughed and squeezed her hand
tightly. “He’s got this. Don’t you worry.”

The
truth was Luke didn’t know what Jake was about to do, and neither did she. They
both knew for a fact that he was wild and would do anything for a rush. Heaven
help them.

     
Jake’s bike came into view, front and
center of the roadway. She watched him intently as he secured his helmet and
adjusted his gloves. She could feel Luke’s leg twitch nervously beside her and
before she could stop herself, and began to bite her nails. They slid to the
edge of the bleachers, their eyes glued to Jake.

     
The engine purred, exciting the crowd. He
sped to the middle of the road, before slowing down. He planted his left foot
on the pebbled ground and spun the motorcycle in circles, donuts to be exact.
He did half dozen full circles, before riding straight to the end of the
roadway. He turned to face the direction in which he had just drove, sped up
and tilted the motorcycle upward. Duplicating the same as the biker before him,
he drove back to the end of the roadway balancing the bike on its back wheel
only. When he reached the end of the path, he brought the bike downward to its
normal driving position.

     
“He did it!!” She jumped to her feet. “He
didn’t get hurt or anything either!” She felt the smile spread over her mouth
and she grabbed Luke out of his sitting position. “He was fucking awesome!”

     
Luke laughed at her as she jumped up and
down elated. She watched Jake glance up at the stands to catch a glimpse of her
and his brother. She looked at him as he took his helmet off and she waved her
hands wildly hoping he could see her cheering him on. She knew she looked
ridiculous by the chuckles that were coming from Luke, but she didn’t care.

     
Jake blew out a breath, he was pretty sure
he was wearing a shit eating grin, as the adrenaline swirled in his veins. The
decision was made; he was definitely in the market for a motorbike. One taste,
left him starving, and aching to learn all there was. He wanted to be able to
get on a bike and make people’s heads turn, he wanted to feel that rush. He was
a step away from comparing it to sex, but he stopped himself, okay it was a
close second.

     
He glanced up at the stands, and tried to
scope out Cara and Luke. And then there it was that protruding weight on his
chest, feeling as if he had just been hit by a Mack truck, desperate for air.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned between gasps to look over at Pete.

     
“You did good—“He stopped midway as Jake
gasped. “Jake, you alright?”

     
He couldn’t make out his words, all he
heard was the sound of his sharp breaths pounding in his ears. He didn’t even
hear the engines that surrounded him. He closed his eyes, so much for a great
experience. He willed himself to catch his breath, realizing as these attacks
progressed, they began to last longer than when he initially started having
them.

     
He could start to hear Pete’s dull voice,
he couldn’t make out the words, or if in fact he was even talking to him. Deep
breaths, he told himself, but barely managed short gasps. He must’ve been
imagining it, but he felt as if the pain that was searing through his chest was
spreading to his abdomen. He was now hunched over his bike when he felt two
arms engulf him from behind.

     
When Pete rang Cara’s phone, she was
certain that watching Jake, he was having another attack. She didn’t even
bother to answer she just bolted down the bleachers, with Luke on her tail.
They made their way around the track. Luke grabbed her from behind before she
ran across the track. She wasn’t paying attention, she almost ran across the
track as a race was underway. He guided her, cutting around the track towards
the center path where the stunt bikes were. She ran to him, tripping over her
own feet until she reached him. He was doubled over his bike, when she slipped
her arms under his and brought his body upright.

     
“Jake, baby, are you alright?” She looked
at Luke, over his shoulder. He bent his knees, so he was eye level with his
brother.

     
“Jake, look at me.” He held his chin in
his palm forcing Jake to stare at him.

     
“Should we call an ambulance?” She said
shaking. She had never seen him have an anxiety attack like this before. She
wasn’t sure if it even was that, but she knew whatever these attacks were they
were consuming him, more often than not.

     
“No.” Jake gasped. She walked around him
so that she faced him. “I’m. Okay.” He closed his eyes and reached for her
hand, his breathing began to regulate.

     
“You’re not okay. Jake, this is getting
worse. You need to see a doctor.” She demanded and pleaded all in the same
breath.

     
His eyes met hers, and she saw he was
getting control over his breathing back. He smiled at her to the best of his
ability. “Babe. I’m. Good.” He looked at his brother. “You’re supposed to take
care of her. I told you she’s a nervous one.” He exhaled sharply, obviously
still in pain. His hand was clutching his stomach and she laid her hand over
his.

     
“Stop talking. You need to catch your
breath.” Luke said.

     
They remained silent for a few moments,
allowing him to relax. Not sure what she could do to ease him, she caressed his
back softly, pressing fleeting kisses along his jaw. She stole a glance at
Luke. His face was blank but concerned etched through his eyes. He was just as
dumbfounded as Cara, as to what was causing Jake’s attacks. Why wouldn’t he be,
neither one of them were doctors.
 
She
felt Jake’s breath labor and he wrapped his arm around her waist.

     
“Well that was fucking amazing, you know
besides the whole not being able to breathe thing.” Jake said with a big grin
forming on his face. “Hey Pete, sign me up for next week.”

     
Pete looked at him as if he was a maniac
and Cara smacked his arm.

     
“You just gave us a heart attack you ass.”
Granted he didn’t get hurt while actually riding, but not two seconds ago he
was gasping for air. He was out of his mind.

     
“Jake, what the hell was that just now?”
Luke asked as he combed his fingers through his hair raggedly. “Cara’s right
man, you scared the shit out of us.”