The Balled And The Beautiful: A College Sports Romance Story by Nicole Chance Page A

tires squealed as he forced the vehicle to fly around a tight corner onto a tiny gravel road. They skidded up the steep hill they had been driving parallel to for the last hour. The jeep bounced, its shocks overworked as they careened along the thin road, screaming past tiny homes and the occasional farm animal. Amanda glanced back again and swallowed as the SUV spun into view.
    She glanced at William, but he was already looking with a sober expression into the rearview mirror. His eyes flashed forward again, and when she looked forward she saw a tiny village in the distance. It was tucked into the side of a hill, the streets impossibly steep and twisting. A grim smile twisted on William's lips and he sped up again.
    The SUV was still gaining, but in less than a minute they were careening into the tiny village, sending the few pedestrians scattering as they screamed Greek curses in their wake. Amanda leaned back as they swung around another corner. The jeep lurched forward as they shot down a steep hill. Amanda's eyes widened to the point of pain as she gasped. They were going to crash. They were going too fast and they were going to crash.
    But when they hit the next intersection, William yanked at the emergency break and the car skidded, barely turning in time to keep from sliding into a wooden shack of a store. Before she could catch her breath he had already turned again, accelerating back up the same hill they had come down. Amanda winced as she heard a horrific crash behind them, the crunch of wood and metal audible even over the roar of the overworked engine. Amanda sent a prayer up to anyone who might be listening that there hadn't been anyone in the small building. Another sharp turn and they were rocketing down another impossibly tiny street, but this one led down into another small valley and away from the village.
    She glanced back, but there was no dark SUV behind them yet. The road worsened until each bump sent both of them bouncing out of their seats. William was leaning forward, glancing around as the ground became rocky and impossibly rugged. A sudden, victorious smile lit his face and he yanked the wheel around, sending them off the road and down what looked like an overgrown trail used by farm equipment, or maybe the occasional truck. A tiny, clearly abandoned farmstead appeared to grow organically out of the rocky hills. The barn had been built right against an outcropping, utilizing the natural wall. William slowed, navigating carefully around rusting equipment and into the tiny space walled in on three sides by the rock cliff, the barn and what had probably been a house at one point.
    Amanda's ears rang in the sudden silence as he turned the engine off with a sharp twist of his wrist. They sat, silent and straining to listen for any sound of vehicles. Just as Amanda was beginning to hope they had lost their tail, the roar of another vehicle bubbled up. It was moving slower than they had, but it was definitely heading their way. William swore, his hand resting tentatively on the keys to the jeep. They listened as the vehicle approached, slowing further as it got closer. It stopped, idling a short distance away and they held their breath. Amanda reached out, gripping William's arm in her panic.
    "It's okay," he whispered, but his voice was strained. The other engine roared suddenly and the sound of rocks spraying had William twisting the keys again. They shot from their hiding place; even Amanda knew that it would only trap them when the SUV came around the corner, and they would be impossible to miss from that close. The only way out was the path that the SUV was now rocketing down towards them, and William hesitated.
    "It's going to be okay," he repeated, but she didn't think he was talking to her anymore.
    "William?" she whispered, fear freezing her as she stared at the oncoming car. He didn't answer, but instead slammed his foot on the accelerator. They tore towards the SUV and Amanda leaned back,