This was something I’d never experienced before. Having a partner flirt with anyone besides myself had always been a threat, not something to be joyful over. But this was different. It genuinely did make me feel happy to see their closeness to each other, or to see how absolutely hyped Vincent was as Jason prepared for the next phase of the competition to start.

“You’ve got this, babe. Easy shit,” he said, hugging Jason close. Jason zipped back up his suit and pulled on his gloves, flexing his fingers. But before he put his helmet on, he came over to me again and cupped my face, leaving me with a long, slow kiss that made my knees weak.

“Good luck,” I said.

“I told you I’d win for you,” he said. “I still plan on doing that.”

The drivers lined up for the next phase of competition, but this time, they were paired together. Two drivers came up simultaneously to the line, and I frowned in confusion.

“Are they racing?” I said, and Lucas shook his head. “Then what —”

The lights blinked and the cars flew forward, one pulling ahead of the other as they came up on the first turn. To my complete shock, the two cars drifted through the curve side by side. Tires squealing, engines rumbling, the two vehicles skidded within inches of each other before switching up their angle and flying into the next turn.

“No fucking way…” I said, eyes wide as I leaned forward on the hood, staring in disbelief. “Are they on a team together? How the hell aren’t they crashing into each other?”

“Same way they aren’t crashing into the walls,” Lucas said. “They’ll switch off for the next run, and the other car will lead instead.”

“You’re telling me they haven’t practiced with each other? Like those two drivers haven’t worked together before?” It was hard to believe something so flawlessly, terrifyingly smooth could possibly have been done without hours of practicing together to get it right.

“They may have competed against each other before,” Lucas said. “But drivers are paired up according to their scores in the qualifying runs, so they couldn’t know ahead of time who they’d be paired with.” He glanced back at me, his cigarette dangling from his lips. “They’re just that good. You may see a few drivers tap each other, or even crash, but they’re here for a reason. They’re really damn skilled, and Jason’s one of the best.”

He sounded proud, the words not leaving even a shadow of a doubt that Jason was going to win. But my heart still hammered as the white Z pulled up to the starting line. I stood up on the bumper again to try to get a better view, but this time, Vincent noticed and came over to me, squatting down in front of me.