Pit Lane Persephone

Chapter 29: Lauren (Part 2 of 2)

I take my time with the cool down lap to enjoy every last second of this amazing race and let the bike coast along the asphalt in third gear. Holy hell. Those last couple of laps around the Laguna Seca circuit were some of the hardest, most challenging and most satisfying I've ever had on two wheels. The cheers from the crowd probably aren't all for me, but I wave back and imagine they are. My heart is still pounding out of my chest and I'm soaked in sweat as I take the final turn before exiting the track. Losing all of my chill now at the thought of reaching the garage, I roll down pit lane the fastest I'm allowed without getting a penalty and brake hard at the Cadmium box. There's already a crowd, but after I jump off the bike I go straight to Dad. He's pretty hard to miss even among the techs and press. He's the one with his hands in the air and whooping in excitement.

"Another one for the history books, kid," he says, picking me up in a huge bear hug.

I wrap my arms around his neck as my feet leave the ground. Squeezing my eyes shut, I sniffle. Good thing I'm still wearing my helmet. The last thing I need is for the cameras to catch me bawling and have tomorrow's headlines be all about the emotionally fragile chick who also happens to be the first woman to score points in a World Road Racing Federation event. And not just one point, which was my goal with getting at least fifteenth place. If I saw the results board correctly, I smashed that by coming in nine spots higher.

"I'm so proud of you," Dad says, putting me down and stepping back. He grins as he wipes the corner of his eyes with the back of his hand, and my vision also suddenly becomes blurry.

Nigel saves me from a complete breakdown when he grips my glove with one hand while patting me on the shoulder with the other. "Bonzer performance! Half your luck, mate," he says with a huge smile. The Aussie slang usually gets stronger when he's either really angry or excited, and thankfully, today it's the latter.

I nod while pushing my visor up. "So it's official? I really did it?" The words come out ragged as I struggle to steady my breathing. I don't want to celebrate without confirmation.

"You sure did," Nigel says as cameras push into our faces. "Sixth place. Incredible. Just incredible."

"Lauren, can you—"

"Give me a minute, okay?" I cut off the reporter who'd stuck a mic out for a soundbite. The vultures can wait even if Nicola—standing behind Nigel and glaring at me with her patented 'what are you doing' stare—doesn't approve.

I've been waiting for this day for a long time, and there's no way I'm not sharing this with those who mean the most to me. Various members of the crew tap my helmet and pat me on the back as I inch toward the garage, and I return smiles, hugs, and high-fives. Between their heads, I catch a glimpse of Cam jumping up and down.

"Yasss queen!" she exclaims when I reach her. "You slayed out there."

I smile before we hug. "Living my best life, right?" I ask above all the noise.

"Hell yeah!" she yells, letting me go.

An arm wraps around me from behind. "You did good, babe," Tanner says, but I slip out of his hold. Having my friends around this weekend has been great, but not everyone knows he's a natural flirt, and I don't need any more misunderstandings, fake news, or tabloid fodder.

"Take these, will you?" I pull off my gloves and press them into his good hand. After undoing my chinstrap, I remove my helmet and ask Cam, "Is Seb—"

"He's in there." She doesn't wait for me to finish, nodding toward the garage. I was so focused on my own race I didn't pay attention to any of the other rankings. If Seb's here, that means he didn't place in the top three, but he only needed to come in at least twelfth and not trail Tobei by more than four, Dai by five, and Diego by six points to win the championship. I have no doubt he pulled it off, so he must just be taking a quick breather before facing the press.