Once the scores were tallied between the newer Renegades, I wasn’t surprised in the least to see who topped the leaderboard.
One by one the guys fell away, and even Zoe shook her head.
Rachel just looked at the list with a shit-eating grin and then blew me a kiss.
Damn, that woman was irresistible.
And mine.
I rolled my neck, stretching the sore muscles as I leaned on my deck railing. This was one of my favorite parts of the ship, and the only place that was only mine. Not that I was against sharing, but in the last four months that we’d been on board, private space was the only luxury the ship didn’t really provide.
There was a knock on my door, and I sighed. No alone time for you.
“Come in,” I said from the deck, turning to lean against the sturdy metal rail.
“Hey,” Bobby said, putting his head inside the door. “I just wanted to tell you that we got some great footage of you today. You were really back on your game.”
Tension filled my muscles. “You were worried?”
“After Nepal? You bet your ass. A lot of guys can’t come back from something like that, and you just bounced right back. Says a lot about your professionalism. How is Gabe?”
“Good,” I answered. “His parents flew him home today, so I’ll check on him in a few weeks when I get home for Christmas.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” His forehead puckered. “Look, we got some other footage today…”
“Don’t use it. What’s going on with Rachel and me isn’t for public consumption.”
“It’s a hell of a story between you guys, from what I hear. You two…well, the history between you three has been the talk since she showed up.” He had that speculative look in his eyes, but I didn’t give a fuck. Rachel wasn’t some trick for ratings.
“No. If she wants to go public, that’s one thing, but you’re not pressuring her into anything for this goddamned movie. That’s where I draw the line, Bobby.” I would do anything for Nick, who was the primary reason we were making the documentary in the first place, and I knew he’d back me on this choice.
Rachel came first.
“Fine, fine,” Bobby said, putting up his hand. “I’ll kill the footage. Just let me know if that changes.”
“I have a feeling Rachel will make her feelings pretty well-known.”
“Fair enough. She looks like she’s always belonged with you guys.”
“She has. She’s always belonged with me.”
“Man, what I wouldn’t give to have footage of some of that drama going down back then. You’re sure you don’t want to include any of that history…”
“No, Bobby.”
He sighed. “Okay. Anyway. Good stunt today.”
“Yeah, the crew really pulled it off.”
“You all did. Later.”
I gave him a nod as way of good-bye, and he shut the door behind him. Could I trust that he wouldn’t put the footage in the documentary? Not entirely. Bobby would do whatever he thought was in the best interest of the film, but I’d be damned if I’d let him ruin my only chance with Rachel.
After the shit run of luck we’d had, it had been a huge relief to have everything go off without a hitch. It was a great stunt, something fun to balance the seriousness, but it didn’t make up for Nepal. Luckily I’d already talked to Nick today—the time difference was a bitch—and he was on it.
A quick glance at the clock told me that I had another half hour before I was supposed to meet up with the crew for dinner. That meant I had an entire thirty minutes alone to—
Knock. Knock.
I sighed in frustration and walked over to the door, yanking it harder than I needed to. “What?” I snapped, then immediately regretted it as Rachel quirked an eyebrow at me. “Hey. Sorry.”
“Would you like me to come back at another time?” she asked.
“No. My room is open to you at any hour of the day. Use it any time you feel like it.” Or use me. I opened the door fully, and she walked in.
She’d showered since the stunt, smelling like that unique combination of peppermint and lavender, her hair hanging in silky locks just past her chin. I swear, my body remembered that scent and was immediately revved from zero to redline. She’d changed clothes, too, and was now choosing to torture me in a pair of blue shorts that landed a few inches beneath her sweet ass and a white halter top.
Her eyes darted around my cabin, no doubt taking in every detail. The thing about Rachel was that she noticed way more than most people realized. She picked up the two-year-old picture of the X Games on my desk and smiled faintly. “How is Nick?” she asked as her thumb stroked over his face.
“He’s good. Keeps mostly behind the scenes now, but we’re trying to change that. He’s actually working on mapping out a time I can get back to Nepal to finish up that ridgeline.”
She shook her head with a sad smile. “I should have known you’d never walk away from that ridge.”
“You’re not going to yell?” I came up behind her, gently taking the picture from her hands and putting it back on the desk. I wanted her hands empty because I needed them on me, even if just for a few moments.
“No point in yelling. You’re always going to push whatever line you can, and I learned a long time ago that trying to change you was futile.”
Ouch.
Her eyes shot up to mine. “That wasn’t a dig or anything, just something I’ve always known about you. I called you Supernova for a reason. Sometimes all I could do was sit back and watch you go.”