Unexpected Love #2 (preview)

THIS BOOK IS PART OF A SERIES BUT CAN BE READ AS A STANDALONE

IK this is annoying, but I added onto the last chapter of Fighter and His Tiger saying that they were now officially on Winter Break, this pretty much picks up from there. I am going to start including dates cause there are loads of important hols coming up.

1. Sunday Week One

22nd December

Taking a long drag, I allowed the smoke to saturate into my lungs before expelling my breath and letting the air around me turn hazy.

“What the fuck have you done to this thing, man?” Ryker grunted

My eyes flickered over to his frame behind me which was hunched over my car, “I raced it,” I sent his back a cocky smirk, “and I won.”

Another deep puff of smoke and I tilted my neck back as my eyes drooped closed — I fucking loved weed.

But my reverie was short-lived as someone snatched my blunt out of my hand and dropped it on the floor, stomping it out. My eyes snapped open viciously and my teeth flared as I prepared to rain hell but my snarl softened into a sheepish grin and my glare diminished into brotherly love as I caught sight of murky green eyes.

She lifted a finger and waved it in my face accusingly, “don’t smoke that shit before a race, Cayden, I’ve told you several times.”

I rolled my eyes but I secretly loved the way she looked after me, it reminded me of how we had all gone from fairly messed up individuals to a loving family.

Her eyes narrowed at my response until she caught sight of her boyfriend bent over my car, working away on the shifty mechanics. Instantly, a smile lit up her face and she side-stepped my lean frame to saunter over to Ryker.

Craning my neck, I followed her movements and ignored the pang of jealousy I felt when she wrapped her arms around him from behind. His low grumbles sounded followed by her tinkling laugh and I recognised envy as I span back around declaring that I was going to get a drink.

Sun blared into my eyes as I stepped out of the makeshift garage onto the brown sand of the dried-up fields. The roar of music and the hum of car engines grew louder as I approached the track and the bar right by it.

People were hoarded everywhere, drinking, yelling, smoking. But that’s what this place was, ‘The Track,’ infamous for being the place where I kicked peoples asses in dirt track races.

Approaching the bar, I tapped the back of a scrawny kid in a navy hoody sat on one of the stools. He had brown eyes which widened considerably when they landed on me, his mouth opened and closed like a fish and I raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him.

“Move,” I demanded and he did, scrambling to his feet and stuttering over his tongue. Ignoring him, I slipped onto the stool and motioned over to Al, “the usual, man,” he nodded before passing me a cool beer which slid down my throat with perfect ease.

My eyes casually drifted over the crowded mass of people but they stopped abruptly when I noticed a redhead girl swaying to the music with her back to me.

Tension in my shoulders melted away as she turned around and I ignored the disappointment that flared when I realised that she was just another random stranger who I would probably end up going home with.

Downing the remainder of my beer, I rose from my seat and strolled over to the curvy redhead. Placing my ringed hands on her hips, I began swaying to the music with her.

Briefly, her eyes flickered backwards and she grinned when she got a glimpse of my face making me smirk in arrogance — perfect, at least now we both knew how gorgeous I was.

As her hips swayed provocatively against mine, I couldn’t help but think of Tori’s petite frame and how adorable it was to me in comparison to the tall, yet sexy, girl dancing in front of me.

Pissed that she had somehow managed to invade my thoughts again, I span the girl around abruptly, hoping that seeing her unfamiliar face would push out the images of the redhead that I actually wanted.

But then the girl who was happily grinding against me started biting her lip in an attempt to look sexy. I mean, sure, it was hot and normally I’d be thinking of how I wanted to be the one biting her lip. But, of course, my mind went to the day that I first saw Tori leaning against her car, reading a book intently and how sexy I thought she looked than when she wasn’t even trying.

“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath before pushing the tall redhead away and storming back into the garage to see where the hell my car was.

“Is it done yet?” I asked Ryker rudely as I stepped into the dark mechanical warehouse which had been converted into a garage.

Ryker glared at me over his shoulder, “calm the fuck down, don’t you have some girl to screw whilst I work.”

Rei’s nose scrunched up at Ryker’s words but she didn’t say anything because she knew that I slept around and that no amount of lectures about my future love life from her or Raven would change that.

Ryker’s words only served to put me in an even fouler mood and I scowled as I realised how much one girl had twisted me up.

“Just hurry up, man,” I grumbled, “I’d like to actually race the car again before I’m forty.”

Ryker slammed his tool against the car before turning to face me, “the fuck is your problem now, Cayd? I’m the one doing you a favour here, we should be at home right now you ungrateful little shit.”

“Calm down, Eli,” Rei muttered from beside him but I could tell on her face that even she was curious about what had me so grumpy. In all fairness, it was a rarity, I was normally quite jovial around them and had taken to teasing Rei pretty much all the time.

I sighed heavily, “I’m sorry, man, I’m just in a shitty mood.”

“That’s fine, just don’t take it out on me,” Ryker mumbled, “I know you’re going through a hard time right now, man, and we can talk if you want but just don’t be a dick.”

Nodding I asked Rei to chuck me Ryker’s cigarette pack, I needed something to calm men down. She had been trying to get us both to quit but she was fighting an uphill battle.

Two smokes later and Ryker was tossing me my keys and telling me it was all good to drive, mumbling about how I had wasted his time when I could’ve got someone else to fix it. But I didn’t trust anyone else with my baby.

My all-black Chevrolet Camaro had taken me years of racing to be able to afford. But it was mine, not Mikael’s or my fathers; it was the only thing that belonged completely to me.

Rei smiled at me before offering cheekily, “you sure you don’t want us to stay and watch you race? I’ll cheer you on from the sidelines.”

My first genuine smile of the day appeared as I shook my head at her, “I’m all good, you guys go home.”

“Thank fuck,” Ryker mumbled, tugging his girlfriend to him and kissing her neck affectionately, “we have been out way too long, tigru.”

With her back to Ryker, she rolled her eyes before mouthing, ’are you okay?”

Smiling sincerely again, I nodded at her, “I’ll see you guys later.”

The two of them left shortly after, in a bundle of hugs and laughs, it amazed me how much my miserable fucker of a best friend had changed since he met Reillyn, but he really was a completely better version of himself now. Granted, the better version was still an asshole, but nonetheless, he was improved.

Tossing my keys up and down in the air, I sauntered over to my beast of a car before folding into the driving seat and revving the engine. My mouth stretched into a smirk when it purred to life, growling deeply beneath me — I was about to win some serious cash.

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“How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you.” - Rupi Kaur

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It was honestly so weird typing Ryker, not Eli, I had to correct myself so many times!!

Anyway, welcome to book two!! I can’t believe that we are here but I am honestly so excited to write about these two, I have so many ideas and so much exploration I want to do with their characters.

Cayd is my literal favourite and I connected with him a lot more so I’ve decided to write this book from his POV, there might be a few from Tori’s POV but it will mainly be Cayd.

What do you guys think of the first chapter?!!!

Thank you for reading, amazing people!

Please VOTE and comment! And if you’re enjoying it, I’d love to know what you think in a review!! XX