Free Supercross Me (Motocross Me #2) by Cheyanne Young

when you’re gone,” she says, her words are clearly chosen as she says them. “We all miss you.”
    Flames rise up my neck and into my cheeks, and it’s all I can do to avoid shouting, “Except for me! I don’t miss you because I’m the ex!”
    “Look who’s back in town!” I look up in time to see Eric Morgan slap Ash on the shoulder. He’s wearing cargo shorts and a walking cast on his left foot, thanks to a fracture he earned at my dad’s track a couple of weeks ago. “So how’s the good life?” he asks Ash.
    I reach for a pickle and notice Eric’s friends sitting a few picnic tables away. They’re all looking in our direction, but I guess Eric is the only guy even remotely fast enough on a dirt bike to feel like he can come say hi to Ash. It’s weird how Ash is a local celebrity now. I gaze off absentmindedly, eating pickles even though my stomach is still turning from being in such close proximity to him.
    Someone waves at me from Eric’s table, and I snap out of my daydream haze. Lincoln is standing near an empty seat, a milkshake in his hand. He gives me a lopsided smile, and I smile back on instinct. I guess that’s all the invitation he needs because now he’s walking over here. I glance at Ash, but he’s talking to Eric and also looking at his stupid cell phone again. I bet he does have another girlfriend already.
    I am so pathetic.
    “Hey there.” Lincoln casts a tall shadow over me. “Mind if I sit?”
    I slide closer to Shelby even though there’s plenty of room on this bench. “Be my guest.”
    Ash has to have noticed Lincoln’s presence by now, but I’m too scared to look over and find out. Shelby, however, is practically staring a hole into my back. “Hey, Lincoln,” she says, leaning around me. She smiles. “What are you up to? Have you met my brother, Ash? I’m sure Hana has told you all about him.”
    “I don’t think I have,” Lincoln says, flashing a smile that looks as innocent as his denial sounded. Damn, he’s good. “Hey man, I’m Lincoln.”
    Ash gives him a quick head nod. “Ash.”
    Luckily Eric keeps rambling on about whatever and all of the tension in the air calls a temporary truce.
    “Pickles?” Shelby says, offering the basket toward Lincoln.
    “Sure,” he says, taking one.
    I can’t help myself. I glance at Ash. He’s looking right at me, though he’s still holding a conversation with Eric. I look back at Lincoln. “So what’s been up?”
    “You mean since I saw you like, a few hours ago?” he says, popping the fried pickle in his mouth. Oh man, this is perfect. Ash actually stops talking mid-sentence. He swallows and I see his Adam’s apple bob in the corner of my vision before he stammers out a reply to Eric about Team Yamaha’s suspension work.
    “Yeah, I guess,” I say, punching him in the arm. “I’m just trying to be nice, you hater.”
    I’m not trying to be the kind of ex-girlfriend who tries to make her ex jealous. But with Shelby’s words hanging in the back of my mind, I have to do something to see if Ash still has any feelings at all for me.
    Lincoln laughs and rubs his arm. “You’re always nice. You can afford to be mean every now and then.”
    Our waitress returns with our food. She sets Lincoln’s food down in front of him as well. “Figured you’d want this here instead of over there getting cold,” she says, and he thanks her.
    “Oh come on, man,” Eric says, shaking his head. “You ditched us for the girls? I see how it is.”
    Lincoln grabs his burger in one hand and nods. “Sorry, man. They’re better company.”
    I can practically feel the waves of anger pour off Ash, raising the temperature by ten degrees. His hands bend into fists on either side of his untouched food. He focuses on the sesame seeds on his bun. Shelby kicks me under the table. I look over at her and her eyes flick to Ash and then back, a sneaky smile spreading across her face. “Told you,” she mouths.
    Behind us, the band begins to