Chameleon Soul (Chequered Flag #1) by Mia Hoddell Read Free Book Online Page B

He knew exactly what he was doing.
    “Why do you even think she still likes me? That’s not the conclusion I’ve drawn from her reactions today.”
    “She doesn’t like you, Teo. She’s still in love with you. She never stopped loving you. Even if she wants to hate you, her heart won’t let her.”
    I snorted indignantly. “Yeah, sure. Because the way you show you love someone is to leave them.”
    “She had her reasons, Teo. I know she still loves you.”
    “Then why the dramatic reactions?”
    “You know she’s followed your whole career, right? Never missed a race.”
    “What do you want me to say, Dust?”
    “That you won’t give up on her. She needs you back, and I think you need her. I’ve seen you both miserable for too long and I’m done standing on the sidelines watching.”
    The only response I gave him was a curt nod as I slipped into the car. He’d dumped a lot of information on me and my mind was on overload. The only thing I was certain of was that if something was wrong with Raine, I wanted to know what it was. I hadn’t come home looking for answers, but things were obviously bigger than I once thought, and Dustin was right—last time I hadn’t fought for her.
     
    * * *
     
    “Come on, Coates. I’ll even let you have first pick.” Zeke clapped me on the back, throwing his eyes towards the end of the bar. Two blondes were leaning on the top, deliberately showing their impressive racks to anyone interested. Every now and then they’d glance over at us invitingly. One even gave me a wave and a flirty smile.
    Usually it would be an offer I couldn’t refuse. However, tonight my head was a fucked-up mess. Picking up my beer bottle, I took a final swig and slammed it back down on the bar, empty. “Not tonight, Zeke.”
    “Come on. They’re desperate and easy, exactly the way you like them.”
    My insides cringed at that, at what I’d become. It had been mutual satisfaction: they got to say they slept with me, and I got the distraction I was after. Now, all I could picture was Raine. There wasn’t one person in the bar who outshone her or could banish her image from my mind.
    “If you don’t, I will.”
    I gestured towards them. “Go right ahead. I’ve got to make sure dipshit here doesn’t end up in a cell for the second night running.”
    “I heard that. I’m not going to do anything stupid,” Dustin grumbled from beside me, momentarily looking up from the deck of cards he’d been shuffling for the last hour or so. Why he had to bring them was beyond me.
    “You were meant to. And you’re cut off, by the way,” I said when he lifted a hand to signal the bartender over.
    “What? Why? That’s my first.”
    “Because you’re driving home. If that’s not enough of a reason, you have a race this weekend and you’re not going into free practice with a hangover.”
    I ignored Dustin’s unintelligible response and watched as Zeke approached the girls. Within a minute he had one under his arm and was pointing at me. Quickly, I calculated how far I’d get if I made a run for it, since the girl was already sashaying towards me. She added a deliberate sway to her hips and wore a sultry smile, obviously trying to entice me. All it did was turn me off her even more.
    She had her arms around my neck and her body pressed against mine before I even had time to react. Her nails scraped against the back of my neck, running over the short hair there as she looked at me with hooded eyes.
    Someone wasn’t short on confidence.
    “Your friend said you could do with having a good time.” She pressed her hips further into me as if it wasn’t obvious enough what she wanted to begin with.
    I was going to kill Zeke.
    “Sorry, I’m not looking for that tonight.”
    “You’re always looking for it. You’re Teo Coates, infamous for his one-night stands. You’re always up for it. I can feel it.”
    What she could feel was my mobile in my front pocket. Not one thing about her was remotely