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

Molly’s sure-to-be-delicious Thanksgiving meal, and a week away from my college classes, I wasn’t really feeling the warm Thanksgiving vibe around here. I was too lonely. Even in my crackerjack box of a dorm room, I had my roommate, Zooey, to hang out with, even when she annoyed the hell out of me. Her loud music and endless trail of midnight lovers were a form of company, right?
    It was seven in the evening in Texas, and I was tired of doing the math to find out what time it was in whatever state was holding Ash captive from me at the moment. The fall supercross circuit took place all over the nation, usually in football stadiums, and there was a new race every Saturday night. The professional racer with the most wins at the end of the season became the champion, a coveted title that Ash was on his way to achieving.
    The first couple of months of the season were exciting for me. I’d stay up and watch the race on ESPN, cheering alongside Teig, Molly, and Dad as we watched Ash race like hell in an effort to win. Although only a rookie, he’d managed to get first place three times and second or third place even more than that. It was impressive, according to the race announcers. And the magazines. And the online message boards.
    Everyone was talking about Ash. I should have been proud of him, but mostly I was worried. It was selfish and embarrassing, and I couldn’t admit this traitorous feeling to a single soul, especially not Dad and Molly who were so excited to gush to all of the track visitors that their daughter was dating supercross superstar Ash Carter. But with every inch of fame my boyfriend garnered, I was becoming more and more worried. We were still a new couple after all—we’d only been dating for three months. Ash had flown away to another state, leaving me as the long distance girlfriend back home.
    At first he’d fly back every Sunday and stay until Tuesday or Wednesday if we were lucky. But then his team started bitching about Ash missing training days, and Ash let it slip a few times that weekly flights were expensive, and now I hadn’t seen him in three weeks. So much for having a fairy tale first real relationship.
    I sunk onto my mattress and stared at my phone. The last text I received from him was at noon, my time.
    How’s your day going? I miss you <3
    Shelby had hailed that text a freaking miracle. I’d been the one to bring Ash over to the dark side—the side that uses emojis. Until we started dating, he apparently refused to use them, calling them childish and weird. “Why would I ever need to send someone a tiny picture of a paperclip or the Eiffel tower?” he had said. And then, somehow, just a few days after we started dating, Ash got a new cell phone, and suddenly he was sending me a little heart at the end of some of his texts. That’s the only emoji he used, and he only sent it to me.
    The feeling warmed my real heart as I stared at the cartoon image on my screen. My lips twisted upward as I laid back on my bed, holding my phone close to my chest. It was my only connection to the guy I cared about. I tried not to think about how after I’d replied to his text, telling him about my day, he’d never said anything else. Ash Carter was a busy guy, I guess.
    I bit my lip and started typing another reply, knowing full well that I was breaking the cardinal rule of dating: texting twice. My stomach tightened as thoughts flew into my mind and grabbed onto my heart, refusing to get go. Did Ash just not care about me anymore? Was there some girl on tour with them that had his attention more than me?
    When I tasted blood, I stopped gnawing on my lip and erased the text message before sending it. I called him, and while the phone rang, I tried to think of a reason why I was calling him besides the truth. I’m scared you’re over me, Ash.
    Ash answered on the first ring. “Hey, there.”
    As if by some kind of vocal magic, all of the worry and fear slipped right out of my heart. I felt