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WILD RIDE

CARRIE VAUGHN

Just once, he wouldn’t use a condom What could happen? But it hadn’t been just once It could have been any one of the half-dozen men he’d drifted between over the last two years His wild years, he thought of them now He’d been so stupid They all had said, just once, trust er, had wanted so very much to please them

“I’ TJ soes “You have options It’s not a death sentence like in the old days But you’ll have to watch yourself Your health is more important than ever now And you have to be careful—”

“Yeah, thanks,” TJ said, standing before the counselor had finished his spiel

“Remember, there’s always help—”

TJ walked out, crues in his hand

Engines purred, sputtered, grurowled like bears Motorbikes raced up the course, catching air over hills, leaning into curves, biting into the earth with treaded tires, kicking up clods, giving the air a sasoline Hundreds more idled, revved, tested, waited Thousands of people milled, riders in fitted jackets of every color,out of too-small tank tops, and most people in T-shirts and jeans TJ loved it here Bikes made sense Machines could be fixed, their problee

He supposed he ought to get in touch with his partners Figure out which one had passed the disease onto hiht have passed it on to Easier said than done They’d been flings; he didn’t have phone numbers

“Look it, here he coood-natured assistant, shook TJ’s arm in excitement

Gary’s heat was starting TJ looked for Gary’s colors, the red-and-blue jacket and dark blue helrowl over all the others TJ had spent the ine, which had never sounded better

They’d co the track to watch the race TJ wanted to lose himself in this world, just for another day He wanted to put off thinking about anything else for as long as possible

The starting gate sla line, engines running high and smooth Gary pulled out in front early, like he usually did Get in front, stay in front, don’t let anyone elsewith the rest of the field, playingtrouble Gary just wanted to win, and TJ admired that

Mitch ju the riders on TJ just watched Another rider’s bike, toward the back, was spitting puffs of black s steady Garyan inch above the dirt That was exactly hoas supposed to be— it look easy

“Ho-leee!” Mitch let out a cry and the crowd let out a gasp as they all saw one of the riders go down

TJ could tell it was going to happen right before it did, the way the rider—in the middle of the pack to the outside—took the turn a little too sharply to unned hisout to brace—a dangerous ht have ended there A dozen guys dropped their bikes one way or another every day out here But everything was set up just wrong for this guy Mo the track—then over, and down the steep slope on the other side Bike and rider finally parted ways, the bike spinning in one direction, trailing parts The rider flopped and tu to rest face up on a bank of dirt The few observers who’d hiked up the steep vantage scattered in its path

For a moment, everyone stood numb and breathless Then the ambulance siren started up

Yellow flags stopped the race Mitch and TJ stuet to the rider

“You knoho he is?”

“Alex Price,” Mitch said, huffing

“New on the circuit?”

“No, local boy Big fish little pond kind of guy”

The rider hadn’t s shouldn’t bend the way his were bent Blood and ripsTJ and Mitch reached hi to touch hi for the rise and fall of breath, and saw nothing The guy had to have been pulverized

Then his hand twitched

“Hey, buddy, don’tforward to his knees to hold the rider back

TJ thought he heard bones creaking, rubbing against each other as the rider shuddered, pawing the ground to find bearings Next to Mitch, he tried to keep the rider still with a hand on his shoulder Price flinched, as if shrugging hi, even now Maybe it was adrenaline

The aot out of the way By then, the rider had taken off his own hel, a lean tanned face covered with sweat He gasped for breath and winced with pain When heand cramped his muscles, not just tumbled over fifty yards at forty miles an hour