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

play their set. They’re a group of middle-aged country guys with big cowboy hats and tight dark jeans. The sudden smell of cigarettes fills the air as a few of their groupies shuffle up to watch from in front of the stage. Ash takes a bite of a fry and looks at his sister. “Have you changed your mind about letting me pay for college yet?”
    She shakes her head. “No, Ash. I can’t let you do that.”
    “Why not?” He takes another bite. “I can afford it.”
    “Because, it’s your money. Mom and Dad are helping me pay for it and I have a few small scholarships plus some student aid, so I’ll be fine.”
    He looks like he’s about to argue again, and I cut him off. “Student aid helps a lot,” I say, knowing that Shelby is completely opposed to taking his money for college. “But if you want to give her a college present, you can trick out our dorm room since we’ll be roommates next year.”
    “I could do that,” he says, peering at me through his dreadlocked bangs. “But ya’ll better invite me to your wild dorm parties.”
    Shelby snorts. “I’m sure we’ll be studying too much to party.”
    “There’s always time to party,” Lincoln says. “College is like, ninety percent partying, five percent studying and ten percent sitting through boring ass classes.”
    “That’s a hundred and five percent,” I say, raising an eyebrow.
    He smirks. “What can I say? I’m not a math major.”
    “Have you settled on a major yet, Shell?” Ash asks.
    She shakes her head. “No. I’m just doing core classes for now. I’ll figure it out eventually, I’m sure.”
    “What about you?”
    It takes me a second to realize he’s talking to me. “What about me?”
    “Did you finalize your major yet?” Ash pulls the top bun off his burger and peels off the two pickles, then puts them on my plate. The simple gesture is like muscle memory—Ash always gives me his pickles.
    “I’m sticking with business administration for now,” I say, ignoring the pang that rises in my chest as I stare at the pickles on my plate. “I keep thinking about accounting, but I don’t know if I’d be any good at it. It’s a lot of math and stuff.”
    “You can’t think like that,” Ash says, his eyes sparkling under the bright patio lights. On stage, the guitarist strums a country melody that sounds achingly familiar. “You’ll be good at anything you do.”
    Sure I will , I think as I stare at my food. I’m good at anything except dating you.

Chapter 11
     
    Seven months ago – November
     
    Over the summer, I realized that Ash’s twin sister, Shelby, was the friend version of my soul mate.  It was so awesome (and so necessary) to meet a new friend when I moved to Mixon to live with Dad, but I had no idea what an amazing connection we would make.
    And though I loved Shelby more than any friend I’d ever had—more than my childhood best friend, Felicia—now that she had a boyfriend, she was always gone. Gone on dates, or gone at Jake’s house, or just gone. I don’t know. Whatever girls with boyfriends who lived in the same down did, that’s what Shelby was always doing.
    After years of being the homebody homeschool girl, I’d kind of grown used to being out of the house this past summer. But everything changed in August. Ash went off to race for Team Yamaha, Shelby and Jake finally became official and started doing their own thing. (Of course, that didn’t stop her from promising to never ditch me for a guy; I guess her heart was in the right place.) Now three months had passed and the once vibrant Texas landscape had grown dirty and brown. The warm summer air was pushed out in favor of a chilly breeze. Skimpy bikinis were shed in favor of skinny jeans and knee-high boots. I used to love this time of year because Thanksgiving meant a massive meal at Grandma’s house. Even after she died, I still liked the holiday because it meant a week off from homeschooling work.
    But now, even with the promise of