However, I highly doubted the half-pipe that rested at the bottom of the iconic steps in the courtyard before us was part of Gaudi’s plan. Or the mini ramps situated around the park leading up to it.
Most of the camera crew was locally hired for this one; there were too many places they needed to catch shots, and I watched them scurry into position.
“Here they come,” I said, watching the first riders—these ones on BMX bikes—make the park their personal playground.
“Are you ready for an adventure?” Brooke asked, laying on her best Paxton impression.
“That was scary close.” I laughed.
“There’s Penna!” she said, leaning farther to see her sister pull a 360 off one of the rails. It was hard to believe that the girl with the supermodel looks rode like one of the guys.
“I can’t believe they let them shut down the park for this,” I said, watching another wave of riders, this one with Paxton in the lead and Landon on his heels.
“They had to agree to extreme protective measures of the art, hire locally, and you know Paxton’s father throwing money at it didn’t hurt.”
“It never does, right? Are they all like that? The Originals?”
She shook her head. “No. Paxton and Landon come from money. Big money. Penna and I, well, our parents aren’t hurting, that’s for sure, but Nick—” She rubbed her forehead and forced a fake smile. “Sorry.”
“No, don’t be,” I said. “I shouldn’t have asked.”
The park was quiet for a moment, resetting the course for the real shots now that the riders had navigated it once.
“You have as much right to know as anyone, seeing as you’re a part of this now.”
I scoffed. “Falling off a half-pipe does not a Renegade make.”
She tilted her head, watching the cameramen adjust their angles. “No, but carrying Paxton does. Where he goes, they follow. What he does, they emulate. If he fails, they all do, and you’re more a part of that than you know.”
“Why do you follow?” Holy shit, foot in mouth much? “Crap, that wasn’t how I meant that to sound. I mean if you don’t get into all of this”—I gestured to the scrambling crew and Renegades hauling their bikes back up to the top of the park—“why would you spend your life around it?”
“You haven’t researched their little Renegade troop much, have you?” she asked with a wry smile.
I shook my head. “No. Once I knew who he was, what he did, I decided it was best to let him show me who he was as opposed to judging him based off what everyone else assumed. I’m kind of stuck with the guy for the next nine months.”
“You’re good for him,” she said quietly.
“I’m nothing to him,” I replied. “Just his tutor.”
“If you believe that, maybe you’re the one who needs the tutoring. I’d give you the cliché of ‘he’s different around you,’ but you don’t know what he’s like normally.”
Before I could ask her what she meant, the second wave started. We watched, entranced by the different tricks they pulled on the pipe, cringing when they didn’t quite make it, and cheering for the ones who did.
“I didn’t realize how many there were,” I said.
“There’s probably close to twenty CTDs on board, all with different ways they’re willing to put their bodies on the line to worship at Paxton’s altar.”
The tone in her voice brought me up short. “Have you ever…worshipped at his altar?” Why the hell does it matter? Why would you care?
She laughed. “Hell, no. Paxton’s pretty much a brother to Penna and me. And even if I could manage some level of attraction to him, I have personally witnessed the revolving door that doubles as his bed. He’s not as bad as Landon, but at least Landon has his reasons.”
Something precious inside—that I hadn’t even realized had been growing until this moment—withered and died. “Right. He does enjoy the chase.”
She gently covered my hand with hers. “I wasn’t talking about you, Leah. He’s careful with you—around you.”
“It doesn’t matter.” I waved her off, slipping my hand free and trying to find my composure when I had no freaking reason to lose it in the first place. Paxton wasn’t mine. He was free to sleep with whomever he wanted, whenever he wanted.
Oh, speaking of whomever, that was Zoe on rollerblades.
Brooke followed my line of sight. “He hasn’t slept with anyone since we left Miami.”
Damn it, that pesky feeling was back. “I don’t—”
“Care, I know. But you should know that, just in case you do. I’ve never seen him as scared as he was when you fell from the pipe. The way he held you after…”
My attention snapped to her, despite Landon’s turn on the pipe. “He held me after?” Oh God, was that my voice sounding so lovesick?
She nodded, her eyes slightly watering as she looked back to the park. “I wish someone held me like that.”
This time I covered her hand as Paxton took to the pipe on his BMX. He glided like he was part of the bike, his speed, agility, and acrobatics simply…beautiful, there was no other word for it. The way he moved his body, the confidence in his abilities, it all drew me in when I knew I should be backing away.
Then he flew higher than I’d ever seen, twisting in the air in a move that left me breathless. “Whoa.”