Willow ran all smiles to Trina and wrapped her arms around her mom’s legs. The little girl yawned a huge oversized yawn for a kid of her size.
“Guys, this has been fun, but I think Willow has had her fill. Time for this little munchkin to get home and to bed,” Trina said, as she patted the little girl’s head.
Sam picked her up, and Willow laid her head on his shoulder with a shy smile. “Sunshine, tell Uncle Luc goodbye, and we’ll see him soon.” Willow waved and reached to Luc for a hug.
“See ya, kiddo.” He smiled as he hugged the little blonde cutie.
“Hey, you two gonna ride?” The young worker called to Luc and Kassie.
“On our way.” Luc held his index finger up at the guy. He quickly hugged Trina and fist bumped Sam. “See you guys later.”
He was so preoccupied as he picked out a car to race, it didn’t dawn on him until Kassie and he were both in their cars, that they were the only two racing. The racing light turned from red to yellow to green, and the automated black-and-white-checkered flag waved on the screen high above the track.
At first it seemed kind of silly that they were only racing each other, but as soon as Kassie flashed him a competitive grin and gunned her car to speed past him, he knew this race was on. Putting his pedal to the floor, he zoomed past her in an effort to prove his skill, or something like that.
Her laugh came from behind him, and then her purple go-cart zoomed around him, cutting him off as she took the lead. Two laps later, Luc caught up to Kassie, but when he tried to pass her, she sped away. She was obviously enjoying this, but Luc was taking it as a knock to his manhood. No way was he letting a girl beat him. But every time he caught up to her, she continued to pass him, over and over.
There was no easy way to flirt while driving these little cars, so he did the next best thing. He annoyed her. In the same way that little boys pull little girls’ pigtails in kindergarten, he drove up behind her and nudged her purple go-cart with his red one.
“Hey!” She glanced back at him, eyes squinted, yet still laughing. She sped away.
Catching up to her again, he nudged her car, jolting her a bit more this time.
“You’re going down, Marcella!” Kassie growled.
But as hard as she tried, she couldn’t manage to get her car behind his, and he hit into her again. This time he laughed deviously out loud.
A voice came over the PA system. “You in the red car. No hitting into other cars.”
“Ha-ha!” Kassie laughed at him and sped off around the track.
Luc raced after her, finally taking her spot in the lead of the race. Just as he was ready to respond with a “Woo-hoo!” Kassie bumped into the back of him. His hands weren’t tight to the steering wheel while he was showboating for the cute O’Conner, and his car swerved and bounced off the wall in the middle of the track. “Hey!’
“Ha-ha!” Kassie called.
“No crashing into other cars!” The loud voice bellowed over the speakers. “That’s it. You two are done. Get out.”
The cars shut off in the middle of the race. Luc looked around and questioned, “What?”
The young worker frowned. “You two can’t follow rules, so you’re done.”
“Are we being kicked off?” Kassie asked.
“Duh.” The young worker said, wide eyed and annoyed. He showed them the exit gate and moved his attention to the next in line. “New race. Let’s go, folks.”
Luc bumped Kassie’s shoulder. “Smooth move, ex-lax. Got us kicked off the go-carts.”
“You started it! I blame you.” Kassie put on a faux pout.
“You two playing nice?” Dom’s voice came from behind them.
“Trying,” Kassie answered.
“Just wanted to let you know that Kat and Kris took off. It was past Ian’s bedtime. We’re heading out now. I think we’ve had enough PG-rated fun for one day.” Dom fist bumped Luc. “Peace out, bro. G’night, Kassie.”
Luc stayed quiet, watching a new go-cart race.
“So…” Kassie finally spoke up.
“Yeah, so. I mean, do you want something else to eat, or to play some video games? We could try our hand at Dance Revolution?”
“Um…” Kassie smiled as she looked over Luc, her eyes stopping on his knit toque. “No. I think I’m ready to head home. Maybe we can Dance Revolution some other time.”
“Sure.” Luc put his arm out for her to take it. But she just looked at it. “No? Okay. Just trying to be a gentleman. My car is this way.” He put his hand out in front of him, encouraging her to go first. Because, he was still a gentleman.
“Porsche, huh?” Kassie said, with an unimpressed look.
“Did you expect anything less? It’s like a muscle car and a fancy sports car had an affair, and this was the offspring. Best of both worlds, and my baby.” He patted the steering wheel.
Kassie rolled her eyes at his outpouring of love for the car and turned up the radio volume.
Kassie typed her address into the GPS on his phone, and he followed the directions. The drive home was silent, except for the booming beats of good ol’ rock ’n’ roll blaring from the speakers.
She spoke up. “There I am, to the right.”
Luc pulled over into the parking lot and up to the front door. “Want me to walk you up?”
“No. Contrary to popular belief, I can take care of myself. I know karate, remember?” She did a little chop to the air with her hand.
“Yeah, right. Karate.” Luc smirked. “I had a fun time tonight. Even if you did get us kicked off the go-carts.”
“Me?” Kassie exclaimed, offended but amused. “That was all your doing.”
“But it was fun. Right?”
“Yeah, it was fun.” A small smile slid across her lips.
And at that moment, her plump lips were all that he could focus on. A soft rock ballad played on the radio. The light from her apartment shone through her window, illuminating her beautiful face, and heavy, dark eyes. Taking a quick breath, and letting the moment rule his actions, he cupped her cheek and attempted to brush his lips against hers.
Instead of tasting how sweet he assumed her lips were, all he caught was air when she quickly pulled away.
“Wha-what are you doing?” Kassie backed her head into the closed car window with a soft gasp.
“Uh, I thought it was pretty obvious.” Confused, Luc ran his tongue over his bottom lip.
Her breathing was heavy, but it didn’t look as though she was scared. It was more like she was turned on. But the unsure look on her face made him settle back into his seat.
“Sorry. I mean, I’m Kaden’s little sister, remember? I think kissing is off-limits. Okay?”
No, it wasn’t okay. “I get it. Sure.” He would take his time convincing her that this was meant to be. It was true, she was Kaden’s little sister. And as wrong as it was, he liked a challenge. This was one challenge he wasn’t giving up on.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Kassie
Kaleb’s little smile made Kassie forget anything was sitting on her mind and eating away at her gut. His watery, slobbery grin was goofy and adorable all at the same time. Kaleb squealed and cooed as Trina and Ali cheered in front of the television.