Careless and Reckless — Chapter 35

Myself and Eli head towards Wyatt and I can feel the grin on my face. I had no idea he was such a good racer. Everyone said he was amazing but damn his skills are on a whole new level.

Maybe one day I'll ask him to help me. One day.

By the time I reach him there are several people surrounding him, all gushing over his racing abilities and offering congratulations.

He wears his signature smirk as he thanks them but when he notices Eli and I he brushes them out of the way and walks over to us.

Him and Eli high five and exchange a few words before he turns to me and Eli disappears somewhere.

"That was actually pretty impressive," I tell him, not letting on how awesome I actually found that as to not inflate his already massive ego.

He quirks an eyebrow at me. "Only 'pretty impressive' ? I'm sure it was a lot better than that."

I scoff at him. "You wish."

He rolls his eyes at me in a playful manner. "Do I at least get a congratulations hug?" Wyatt asks with a fake pout that makes me want to laugh.

I refrain but do give him a hug. His arms are large and strong and they envelop my tiny frame with ease. After a few seconds I know I'm supposed to let go but I don't want to; the whole situation is just so comforting and inviting. I feel protected and a warmth was being to grow inside of me.

I do, unfortunately, let go at the same time Wyatt does but it wasn't without hesitation.

Stupid.

Focus Ari.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts, refusing to let them stray any further off path. "I need to know where you learned to race like that," I say.

He smirks. "Now that, green eyes, is a secret."

~*~*~

We hung around for a couple more hours before deciding it was time to go. However, we couldn't find Eli anywhere and he was supposed to be giving us a lift home because T had taken Wyatt's motorcycle in for servicing.

After about ten minutes of searching I could tell Wyatt just wanted to hijack Eli's car — I bet he knows how to do that — and leave him stranded and go home himself. He didn't though which made me smile a little on the inside, he must care for Eli a lot more than he lets on.

"I swear to god if he's disappeared because he's hooking up with someone..." Wyatt trails off, irritation laced in his tone.

I stifle a laugh at his clear aggravation, causing Wyatt to send me an unamused eye-roll which just makes me laugh harder.

If I'm honest I'm in no rush to go home. I'm enjoying the thrill of being at the track and all the danger that comes with it. You get this sort of rush from doing something you're not supposed to and I'm living for it. This sudden spell that has taken over my mind and body is exhilarating; I hope it doesn't end because I haven't felt this way in a while.

After a few more minutes of useless searching, Wyatt gets a text. As he reads it I can see his face contort into one of annoyance and he then groans. "It's Eli," he tells me. "He says he's going to need another half hour or so. So I guess that means we're stuck here."

"Do you know what is taking him so long?"

He sends me a knowing look and the lightbulb goes off in my mind. He's with a girl just like Wyatt said would happen, guess I shouldn't have expected any less from him.

We decide to just go on a walk because we haven't really got anything better to do and I do want to see the rest of the track. I guess you could say Wyatt is acting as my unpaid tour guide.

About five minutes into our walk I hear someone call out my name and the voice sounds vaguely familiar so, naturally, I turn around but I'm shocked to see none other than River, the guy I met not too long ago at that ice cream shop.

He walks up to us with confidence, a smirk on his face — in that way I suppose he's similar to Wyatt. "Hey Aurora," he beams at me. "Wyatt," his voice is a bit more strained now but at least he's being polite.

"River," Wyatt returns in a hostile manner.

"Hey River," I grin, trying to diffuse the tension between the pair but to no avail.

"Wyatt would you mind if I spoke to Aurora alone for a few minutes? It won't take long."

Wyatt noticeably tenses beside me and puts a protective arm over my shoulder. "I would mind," he grits out.

River lets out an exasperated sigh. "I get that you don't like me but you act like I'm going to hurt the girl which we both know won't happen."

Wyatt scoffs. "Not physically but who knows what kind of convoluted ideas you'll try and put in her mind," he spits, venom lacing each syllable.

"For fucks sake Wyatt I just want to talk to her. You don't own Aurora so stop with the tight leash."

Wyatt was about to step forward and lunge for River but luckily I managed to grab him in time and stop his advance.

"Calm down," I mutter to him softly, my hand holding his tightly. "It'll only be a few minutes. I'll be fine, I promise."

Wyatt is about to argue but I send him a look that tells him not to bother and that I want to talk to River so reluctantly he sighs. "Fine, I'll be over there," he whispers to me and walks off after giving my hand a quick tight squeeze.

I let out a sigh. I don't understand why Wyatt flipped so quickly. I get that him and River don't get along and I know that I don't know the full backstory but River managed to keep the conversation civil. I wish Wyatt did the same.

"What's up?" I ask him.

"Well you never called me about that date so I was wondering if you still wanted to go on one."

Shit. I forgot about that.

"Um... I don't know River. You seem like a nice guy but Wyatt really doesn't like you and there must be a reason for that." I know I'm being blunt but it's always better to be honest.

I know Wyatt has a reason for disliking River and if he feels this strongly about me staying away from him maybe I should listen.

He looks at me for a moment before scratching the back of his neck and sighing. "Yes, Wyatt and myself don't get along but that's between me and him. Is it really fair of you to judge me based on other people's opinions when you haven't gotten to know me yourself?"

I go to to retort but I can't think of what to say. In a way he's right but at the same time I trust Wyatt and his opinion. Friends give you advice for a reason and I know Wyatt is only saying what he is because he cares for me. Or maybe it could also be his way of getting back at River? No, I shouldn't think lowly of Wyatt and his reasons but River seems so nice.

Argh. I don't know. Don't think too hard about this, Ari.

"All I'm asking for is one date. If you don't want to go out again after that I understand but I think you should at least give us a chance. You never know what could happen."

When I don't say anything he lets out one final sigh. "Okay if you don't want to that's fine but I like you Aurora, there's this fire about you that I can't explain. And I do love a bit of a bad girl — you definitely seem like the type, especially after punching that blonde girl earlier. That was badass."

"Anyway, Wyatt's giving me a death glare so I'll leave you two alone but at least think about it. You've got my number so call me. I know we'd have a lot of fun together," he says with a wink before walking away with just as much confidence as he came with.

I mean he is a good looking guy and he seems really nice so maybe I should give it a go. Maybe he's exactly who I need to get over James with and maybe he's something even more — who knows.

I'm not going to think about this right now. I promised myself I wouldn't overthink things so I'll see how I feel later.

I walk over to Wyatt just as he gets a message. "It's Eli," he tells me as I make the last step to where he stands. "The git is finally ready to go home. He said to meet him by his car."

As we're walking things don't feel like they normally do. There's a tense silence between us, not our usual comfortable one. It's obvious why and I know that if I tell Wyatt what River said that he'll get even more mad. I should tell him though, he'll find out one way or another anyway.

When we make it to Eli the idiot has a stupid smirk on his face and is wearing his t-shirt inside out.

"Had fun?" I ask sarcastically as we near him.

He blows a wisp of blonde hair from his eyes and sends me a knowing look. "Y' know it."

"You might want to wash your trousers mate. There's a few stains on them," Wyatt says with a look of annoyance and disgust.

Eli just rolls his eyes. "And here I thought I'd be greeted with open arms and a congratulations," he mutters sarcastically.

"Not when you keep us waiting for so long that we end up bumping into a shit bag," he says in distaste which makes me roll my eyes as I get into the car.

Eli frowns as he and Wyatt both get in the car too. "Wait did y' step in dog shit or something?"

Wyatt and I both send him incredulous looks. "It's a good thing you're good looking," I mutter.

"Wow, I expect that from Wyatt but not you, Ari, I thought we were friends," Eli whines in mock hurt. "But y' know what, I'm taking that as a compliment," he says with a satisfied smile. Idiot.

I scoff. "Well Einstein, we bumped into River."

It looks light a lightbulb goes off in his mind. "Shit. Wyatt y' didn't kill him did you? I mean I guess I'll help you hide the body, it's what best friends are for. But you're the one who's going to have to do all the dirty work cause I'm not getting my fingerprints on everything. I guess operation #265 is ago. We'll need bin liners, ha—"

"Eli," Wyatt cuts him off. And he says I talk too much. "Relax I didn't kill him. Just drive you moron."

Eli lets out a sigh of relief as he starts the engine and there's a ghost of a smile on Wyatt's face despite that fact that he's clearly still mad.

"So what did he want?" Eli asks as we leave the track.

Wyatt tenses up but keeps his cool as he replies. "You have to ask green eyes about that one."

I gulp but start to talk nonetheless.

I mean there's nothing wrong with what happened but then again there's a small chance Wyatt might actually kill River and now I know Eli would help hide the body. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Calm down. I'm obviously being over dramatic.