Chapter 121\u00a0<\/p>\n
He almost pulled it oft. Almost\u00a0<\/p>\n
4.32%\u00a0<\/p>\n
As we entered the turn three\u2013wide, there simply wasn\u2019t enough room for all of to maintain our lines. The third rider, committed to his inside position,\u00a0<\/p>\n
couldn\u2019t slow down enough to make the turn cleanly. His hike slid wide, clipping he rear wheel of my main rival.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I watched in my peripheral vision as both bikes wobbled dangerously, their rider fighting to maintain control. The third rider went down hard, his bike\u00a0<\/p>\n
sliding across the asphalt in a shower of sparks while he rolled to safety. My rivalomanaged to stay upright, but the contact had cost him momentum and\u00a0<\/p>\n
position\u00a0<\/p>\n
Suddenly, it was just me and one other rider heading toward the final turn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was good better than anyone I\u2019d faced so far. Her bike was a work of art, pnted in deep blue with silver accents that caught the high he moved.\u00a0<\/p>\n
More importantly, she rode like someone who\u2019d been doing this for years, with confidence and smoothness that spoke of countles\u00a0<\/p>\n
As we approached the last turn before the finish line, she made her move. She\u2019d been holding something back, saving a burst of sp moment. I watched her pull ahead by half a bike length, her superior experience showing as she took the optimal racing line through th\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a moment, I felt doubt creep in. This was my first race, and here I was going head\u2013to\u2013head with someone who clearly belonged at this level. Maybe\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek had been right to tell me to focus on just finishing rather than trying to win.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But then I remembered why I was here. I was racing to prove something not just to Derek or to the other riders, but to myself. I was here because I refused\u00a0<\/p>\n
to be underestimated anymore, refused to settle for second place in my own life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t lose. Not on my first race. Not when I needed to prove myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shifted Claire into her highest gear and twisted the throttle as far as it would go. The bike responded like a living thing, surging forward with power I hadn\u2019t known she possessed. The engine note changed to a higher, more aggressive pitch as we entered territory I\u2019d never explored before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The finish line was rushing toward us, both bikes side by side, neither giving an inch. I could see the checkered flag waiting, could hear the crowd on their feet, could feel every cell in my body focused on this single moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the end, it came down to inches. As we crossed the line, Claire\u2019s front wheel was just barely ahead of my rival\u2019s. The electronic timing system would probably show a margin of victory measured in hundredths of a second, but it was enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had won.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The crowd erupted in a way I\u2019d never experienced before. The sound washed over me, thousands of people expressing their excitement and appreciation for the race they\u2019d just witnessed. I pulled off my helmet and waved, smiling broadly even though I knew my face was mostly hidden behind the black mask I\u00a0<\/p>\n
wore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek was already pushing through the crowd toward me, his face split by the biggest grin I\u2019d ever seen. The moment he reached me, he swept me up in a hug that lifted my feet off the ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t flinch or pull away like I might have weeks ago. Physical contact was getting easier for me, especially when it came from people who had earned my\u00a0<\/p>\n
trust.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow was 1?\u2018 I asked as soon as he set me down, still breathless from the race and the adrenaline.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018You were amazing. Absolutely amazing. That move through the S\u2013curves? I\u2019ve never seen anything like it from a rookie. His eyes were shining with pride\u00a0<\/p>\n
and excitement. \u201cYou rode like you\u2019ve been doing this for years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
20.33 Thu, Jang 20\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 121\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thank you, I said, unable to stop giggling from the pure joy of victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I think we\u2019ve got ourselves a female Blacky,\u201d came a mature voice from behind\u00a0<\/p>\n
Blacky was Tristan\u2019s racing name.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 121 Chapter 121\u00a0 He almost pulled it oft. Almost\u00a0 4.32%\u00a0 As we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-second-gear-of-love-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26278\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}