Taming the Street Racer ✔️

07 | bloody champion

The crowd parts for him as he stalks toward me, immediately quieting at the sight of him fuming. All eyes follow his gaze and eventually land on me. I feel my face reddening as I sense them watching me, all probably wondering what a guy like Grayson wants with a girl like me.

I want to curl up and die.

When he reaches me, he firmly places his hand on the small of my back and pulls me toward him, guiding me away from the crowd. As we walk away from the gaping swarms of people, he leans down and presses his mouth millimeters from my ear. I can feel his breath on that sensitive area and suddenly find it hard to walk straight.

But the words he spits out are far from sensual. "What the fuck are you doing here, River?"

We stop under a large tree and he whips around to face me, eyes blazing darkly. He looks wilder now and I want his hands back on my bare skin. He looms over me, almost pressing me against him totally.

"Are you fucking stalking me? Are you out of your goddamn mind? You could've gotten yourself killed here." He breathes out, taking his eyes off me to collect his thoughts and calm down. "Do you know the kinds of people here? What the guys here want to do to a girl like you. Dressed like that?"

I step back, insulted and angered by his tone and the implication of what he's saying. A girl like me?  What does that mean? I straighten and stand on my tiptoes, trying to look him in the eyes. "The last thing I need is a fucking lecture from you, Grayson. You don't know me, and you sure as hell don't have a right to talk to me like this."

"Well when you follow me to an illegal street race, blissfully unaware of the danger you're putting yourself in. Do you know what it would fucking do to me knowing you got hurt because of me?" He says, passionately raising his voice. I don't let myself think about his last comment about him caring about me. I need to get this out.

"No, Grayson. You don't get to do this again. We've known each other for, what, a month?" I can't believe I'm saying this. "Who the fuck do you think you are, acting like this? One minute, acting like an asshole that doesn't give two shits about me, then turning around pretending like you're my fucking dad?"

He opens his mouth but no words come out. His eyes gain a far-off look and I know I may have gone too far. But I'm not going back. I barely know him but the emotions he makes me feel are unnecessarily intense.

Suddenly, his grey eyes harden. He scans over the curious crowd before focusing back on me. His cold gaze is trained on me in a terrifyingly detached way and I know his next few words are going to hurt.

"Well maybe it's your own fucking fault for misreading this situation." He laughs cruelly, too far gone to consider his next words. "You really think I care about you? Some stuck-up bitch who's probably only good for a single fuck? I'm only talking to you because I'm embarrassed for you - the way you're following and throwing yourself at me."

I harden my own gaze, zeroing in on his stoney expression. I don't remember the last time I felt this infuriated.

He turns around, already walking away. He doesn't even look at me this time to hurt me. "You don't know me either so stop trying. It's fucking pathetic."

The crowd is silent, clearly uncomfortable listening in on the whole situation.

In a matter of seconds, they revert back to celebrating his huge win. They've forgotten about me and the shit show they just witnessed. Grayson is their righteous king again and I'm nothing but a delusional nobody with no self-respect.