Latitude Zero Read Online Free Page A

clasped the chain together. His breath was warm on my neck, and small shivers traveled down my back, all the way down my legs.
    Oh my God.
    “See you soon?” he said, a hopeful smile playing at his full lips when I turned to face him again.
    “See you soon,” I echoed, trying my best not to melt and become one with the asphalt. My eyes flicked down, taking in the top of the jagged pink scar at his neck, then up to his face again. “Good luck out there today!”
    “
Gracias. Suerte, chica
. Have fun with your interviews.
Chao!
” And he ran off to join his team.
    “Chao,”
I whispered, tasting the word. It tasted sweet. I put my hand up to the necklace and squeezed the gold cross. It felt warm and solid against my skin. My family wasn’t religious. I’d never worn something like this. I imagined it protecting me. Not because it represented God or anything, but because it was from Juan Carlos. It had carried him through so many races. Maybe it would carry me through my ride today.
    A new worry stabbed me. I couldn’t let Jake see the necklace. He’d completely freak out.
    I tucked it under my jersey, as I’d seen Juan Carlos do, and I zipped up the jersey as far as it would go. Then I got back on my bike and crossed the road, back toward the staging area.
    I didn’t have far to travel. Jake was pedaling toward me, a sour expression on his face.

4
    JAKE CRUISED across the street, toward the woods. How much had he seen? I couldn’t tell.
    “I saw GBCN cameras,” I told him, following. “I had to get away. So I came here.”
    He just kept riding. Silent treatment. Fantastic.
    About ten feet from where I’d discovered Juan Carlos, Jake’s wheels left the pavement, and he entered the woods. I turned to follow his path. As my wheels churned through dirt and gravel, my mind churned over possible explanations and excuses I could give him, to explain why I’d been talking to Juan Carlos, why I wasn’t where Jake had left me.
    About five minutes into our off-road riding, I couldn’t watch him anymore, or even think. I fought to control my bike. The woods were closing in, choking the trail. There were slick patches of mud, probably oozing in from the great marsh that had earned Great Marsh Road its name. A mountain bike or a hybrid could handle this stuff, but not our skinny road-bike tires. After nearly skidding out, I hefted my bike over one shoulder and jogged after Jake.
    When Jake dismounted a moment later, he didn’t even stop moving. He slung his bike over one shoulder in one graceful movement, a tactic he’d perfected riding cyclocross on the off-season. While I got whacked in the face and scratched on the arms by every tree branch I passed, Jake glided between the trees, angling his bike so it didn’t get scratched. He was careful that way. About his bike.
    “Hey! Wait up!”
    Jake turned and peered at me through the rear wheel of his bike. The spinning tire spokes changed his face, shuffling it through a Wheel of Fortune of expressions.
    When I was about five steps behind him, the wheel stopped, and I saw the face I’d won.
Pissed.
So he’d seen Juan Carlos and me talking. Suddenly that necklace I was wearing felt enormous. Alive. Like the telltale heart ticking under the floor in the Poe story we read for English class.
    “It’s eight forty-five already,” Jake said, his voice flat. “The race starts in fifteen. Better keep up.”
    “I’m
trying
to keep up.”
    “Oh, really? Is that why you took a little scenic detour to say
hola
to your old
amigo
?”
    “There’s nothing between us. You don’t like him because he’s confident. And lucky.”
    “Jesus, Tessa. You have such a blind spot about him. I’ve seen how he looks at you. I notice he’s always popping up the moment I turn my back. And I’m not stupid. I see how you look at him, too. You’re both waiting for me to disappear, so you can finally hook up.”
    “Did you seriously just say that? Because that is completely