Текст книги "Surge "

Автор книги: Sloan Storm

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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 15 страниц)

Exhaling, I sat down on the corner of my bed. Jillian appeared in my doorway, leaning against the frame. I looked up at her, shaking my head for a moment before I returned my attention to the call.

“Why are you calling me, Marco? I’m not with the team anymore. I mean, I like you, and I don’t want to be rude. But what do you want?”

Marco spent the next few minutes explaining to me how he’d talked to Gunter after the fight they had with him at the bar. He’d managed to talk some sense into Dyson’s rival, but now everyone needed my help.

“Marco,” I began, dropping my head into the palm of my hand. “You aren’t making any sense. Dyson told me that he’s done with racing. Even if he wasn’t, there is nothing I can do. If you’ll recall, Gunter is the one who got Dyson suspended in the first place for accusing him of fighting.”

“Yes, I know that,” he replied. “But Gunter can only do so much in the situation. The only one that can get Dyson back on the race track is you, Ava.”

I stood from the bed and immediately began to pace.

“Give me one good reason why I should do that, Marco. Go ahead, just one. I’d like to hear it. Dyson is determined to never race Formula One again. I’ll say it one more time. The person you need to get involved before even talking to me is Gunter. Without him, the suspension doesn’t get lifted, no matter what I say.”

Marco fell silent for a moment. “So, if Gunter agrees to help, will you talk to Dyson?”

I stopped in place, dropping my head backward in frustration.

“Jesus, Marco, I don’t know anymore.”

“Ava, please!” Marco exclaimed. “This is important. If Gunter is willing to help, will you?”

I exhaled, knowing full well that the chances of getting Dyson’s rival to agree to help him were right around zero.

“Okay,” I said, dropping my hand and slapping it against the outside of my thigh in frustration. “Sure, if you can somehow pull off that miracle, I’ll do it.”

Even as I said the words, I closed my eyes and cursed myself.

Why should I agreed to help Dyson? What was I doing? After the way he treated me? Jillian was right—he didn’t deserve anything from me except my anger.

In fact, the longer I thought about it, the less I wanted to do it. Almost before I’d agreed, I cleared my throat and decided against it.

“Marco, wait,” I began. “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t care if Gunter helps or not. I’m not interested.”

“That’s a shame.” A new voice replied.

“Gunter?”

AVA

“Hello, Ava.”

“Hang on a second,” I began, covering the receiver and looking at Jillian. “I’ll be done in just a minute. Can you close the door? I just need some privacy.”

Jillian eased herself away from the door frame. “Sure. If you need me for anything, just let me know.”

With that, I nodded and Jillian left my room, closing the door behind her. Afterward, I moved my hand away from the receiver and turned my attention back to the phone call.

“What do you want, Gunter?”

Gunter cleared his throat. “Obviously you’ve heard the news about what happened to Dyson.”

“Yes, of course. Is that what you want to talk about? His crash? Because if it is, I don’t know anything about it. If you really want to know what happened, you’ll need to…”

He interrupted me. “Ava, I’m not trying to get information from you about the crash. I just wanted to know if you were okay.”

I frowned, glancing at the phone for a moment in confusion before returning it to my ear.

“Gunter, I really don’t have time for this. I’m exhausted, and if you don’t get to the point, I’m going to hang up.”

“Okay, okay,” he began. “I’ll keep it short. Formula One needs Dyson. The races are better when he’s involved. I’m better when he’s involved.”

I walked over to the only window in my room. Looking out over the parking lot in our apartment complex, I replied, “Well, you should’ve thought about that before you got him suspended.”

“No,” Gunter said. “The suspension was needed. Dyson had to be taught a lesson, for his own good. But now, it’s clear to me that not only does the sport need him, but if he doesn’t have the sport, the consequences could be deadly.”

I placed one hand on my hip. Chewing my lip, I considered how to reply.

“Why are you telling me all of this, Gunter? Dyson and I aren’t speaking, and at this point, that’s fine with me.”

“I’m telling you all of this because you’re the only one that can help.”

I looked up towards the ceiling, closing my eyes and shaking my head.

“Why does everyone keep saying that? He doesn’t listen to me. I’ve tried everything I can to get through to him, but it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t want to drive Formula One anymore, Gunter. There’s nothing that you or I or anyone can do about it.”

“I disagree, Ava.” he replied. “Everyone knows what is going on between you. I know you may not believe it, but you are the only one who can talk him into coming back.”

I let out a deep exhale. I didn’t know what else to say to him. None of this made any sense to me.

“Even if you are right, Gunter, Dyson is still suspended. And now, after this latest crash on his motorcycle, I don’t see that changing.”

“That’s the news I was just about to tell you.”

I turned away from the window and started to walk to the other side of my room.

“What news? What are you talking about now, Gunter?”

“I’ve already talked to Dieter. I’ve withdrawn my complaint against Dyson. If you are able to convince him to come back, they will allow him to race. The simple truth is that the team needs him.”

I stopped in place, shaking my head, more confused about things than ever.

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Gunter.”

Gunter remained quiet for a moment. “Just say that you are going to talk to him. Just say that you are going to try.”

“I can’t promise anything. I need time to clear my head. Not that it’s any of your business, but Dyson really hurt me.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Ava. We haven’t spoken much, but you strike me as a goodhearted person, not to mention beautiful. Dyson can be an asshole, but I don’t think he is a bad person. If I did, I wouldn’t be going to these lengths.”

I sighed. “Gunter, I-I’ve got to go.”

With that, he thanked me for my time and wished me luck if I talked to Dyson again. After I hung up, I stood there for a moment. I really didn’t know what to do. The only person I could rely on right now was Jillian. I exited my bedroom and walked into Jillian’s a few seconds later, closing the door behind me.

“I really need to talk. Do you have a few minutes?”

Sitting at her desk, she turned and looked at me. “Of course. What was that call about?”

Over the next couple of minutes, I told her what Gunter had asked me to do. I explained that he’d managed to get Dyson’s suspension lifted. The only thing that remained now was to convince Dyson to return to Formula One.

After I finished speaking, Jillian looked at me in silence for a few moments. “Well, I’ve already told you how I feel, what I think. I don’t like the way Dyson has been treating you, Ava. Just because he’s upset with racing, it doesn’t give him the right to treat you the way he has. Don’t you see where I’m coming from?”

I nodded. “I do, yes. I’ve told myself the same thing. Believe me. But until he had his first crash, things were good between us—great. In my heart, I think he’s just hurting.”

Jillian waved me off. “Ava, sweetie, you can tell yourself whatever you want to justify it. I understand you want to help him. It also says something about what a good person you are that Dyson’s main rival called you to help him.”

By now, I’d sat down at the foot of Jillian’s bed. She stood from her chair and walked over towards me.

“And I guess that I have to take your word about how he’s been behaving since he wrecked. The thing that bothers me is how he’s taken out his emotions on you.”

I looked up at her. “I know. It bothers me too. So much so that I almost told Gunter that I didn’t want to help anymore.”

“Mmm hmm,” she began, staring down at me. “Does that mean that you decided to help after all?”

I shrugged, dropping my hands in my lap and looking down at them. “I still don’t know. I have to decide soon though. Time is running out before the next race in New York.”

AVA

I spent the next day or two disconnected from everything related to Formula One. I hadn’t made any promises to anyone, and the more I thought about Jillian’s point of view, the more I began to feel like she was right.

I had enough to deal with in my own life. Now that Simon’s school situation looked to be set in stone, I had to do what I could to get him in the best public school possible.

In addition, I went in and spoke to Dr. Wilcox about getting my old position back. He’d hired some temporary help and was still under contract with them.

Originally, he hadn’t planned on my return until after the conclusion of the race in New York. He offered to break the contract and bring me back early, but to do so would’ve been very expensive for him. I didn’t feel right about it.  I’d manage to get by until then, so I told him not to worry.

The downside to having this unexpected bit of free time on my hands was that I found it difficult to put Dyson out of my thoughts for long.

Making matters worse, Marco called and messaged me multiple times a day. The team was already in New York, testing and getting the cars ready for the final race.

It was about midmorning when I left home, heading out to run a couple of errands before picking Simon up at school later that day. Exiting my apartment, I walked in the direction of my car, squinting and fumbling around in my purse looking for my sunglasses.

“Oh,” I groaned, looking down inside my bag. “Come on, where the hell are they?”

I stopped in place, searching for another second or so, until at last, I found them. I pulled them out, looked both ways and then took a single step towards my car before freezing in my tracks.

Less than twenty feet away, leaning against the side of my vehicle, stood Dyson. Even from a distance, he looked like hell. Bruises and cuts covered his arms and face.

We stood there in silence, just looking at one another. I felt torn between wanting to hug him, thrilled to see him alive, and wanting to kick him in the balls for treating me like he did the last time we were together. After another moment or so, I swallowed hard, whipped my purse strap across my shoulder and marched in his direction.

He eased himself away from the side of my car, wincing at the same time. At that point, I really wasn’t interested in hearing about his pain or injuries, only telling him what was on my mind, once and for all.

“What are you doing here, Dyson?” I began, pointing my index finger in his direction. “Do you have any idea, any, how mad I am with you? Because if you don’t, you need to. You owe me an apology, and it better be a damn good one, or otherwise you can just get the hell out of here. Do I make myself clear?”

Dyson never took his eyes off me. He slid his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.

“You’re right, Ava,” he began, shaking his head and looking down at the ground. He kicked at a piece of loose gravel on the pavement. “Everything you said, you’re right. I was a piece of shit. I didn’t mean what I said. I’ve missed you, and I was a fucking idiot. I don’t expect you to accept that from me, but it’s true.”

He paused for a moment, looking up at me once again.

“But I did mean what I said about racing. I’m done with Formula One for good.”

I’d crossed my arms at my chest while I listened to him.

“Are you finished, Dyson?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

Without hesitating, I uncrossed my arms and slapped him as hard as I could, once on each cheek. Stunned, Dyson reached up and touched the side of his face.

“Okay,” he said, nodding. “I deserved that and…”

“Shut up, Dyson,” I replied, cutting him off mid-sentence. “Just shut up and listen to me.”

He raised his hands in front of his body in a gesture of mock surrender.

“I slapped you twice for a reason. The first one is for treating me like you did, and the second one is for giving up on yourself.”

He slid his hands back in his pockets once more. I continued.

“You know how I feel about you. I’ve made that clear. Do you want to be with me? Just tell me right now. I don’t have time for any more games.”

He nodded at me. “Yeah, of course I do.”

Once he’d finished, I took another step towards him, poking him in the chest.

“Okay then,” I began, licking my lips for an instant. “You need to get back on that racetrack. Because I’ll tell you right now, the last thing I’m going to do is come and pick your body up from the morgue because you pull another ridiculous stunt like that motorcycle crash the other day.”

I paused for a fraction of a second. Dyson tried to say something, but I put my hand up in front of his face.

“I’m not finished.” I began, increasing the volume of my voice. “This is how it’s going to be. You either go back to racing, or don’t bother coming back here for me because I’m not interested.”

Done with what I wanted to say, I stepped back and crossed my arms, feeling liberated. Dyson just stood there, his mouth hanging open a fraction, with a look of disbelief on his face.

“Well, don’t you have anything you want to say to me?” I asked.

“No,” he began, reaching up towards his mouth and sliding the back of his palm across his lips. The muscles in his forearm and bicep flexed.

“But there is something I want to do.”

Just then, he reached for me, thrusting his hands around the back of my head, sliding his fingers into my hair. Dyson curled his fingers under and pulled my mouth towards his, crushing our lips together. I resisted at first, caught off guard by his sudden movement. But soon, my hesitation melted away in the heat of his embrace.

Dyson inhaled, groaning as he thrust his tongue inside of my mouth. I consumed him, overcome with the need to be with him again. For what seemed like several minutes, we continued to embrace under the warmth of the late morning sun. I’d almost slipped away entirely under his spell, were it not for a familiar voice calling out from across the parking lot.

“Get a room!”

We separated from each other and I snapped my head in the direction of the voice. Jillian had just come home and was walking towards the apartment. She gave us a casual wave and a smile and then continued inside. If she was displeased, I’d hear about it later. For now though, I laughed a little and turned to look at Dyson.

His full lips, still wet from our kiss, curled upwards in a wry smile.

“Well, at least that wasn’t embarrassing,” he said, winking at me.

I shook my head and smiled in return.

“So,” he began. “Am I forgiven?”

I shrugged. “That all depends on you. Are you going to race again?”

He glanced at me for a moment before reaching up and running his hand through his hair. “I wish it was that simple, Ava. I’m still suspended, remember?”

“So you never heard from Marco or Dieter?”

Dyson shook his head. “I, um, broke my phone before I wrecked. I told my family I didn’t want to talk to anyone right now, so I haven’t been answering calls coming to the house. Is there something I need to know?”

I told him about the conversation I’d had with Gunter. It probably goes without saying that Dyson was shocked by the turn of events. If he was ready, nothing stood between him and getting back in the car. The suspension was lifted and he was free to return to the team.

“Wow,” he said, leaning against my car once more. “So they came to you to try and convince me to come back?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“Hmm, well, I gotta say I’m more than a little surprised.”

“So does that mean that you’re going to race?”

Without speaking, Dyson raised his hand and motioned for me to approach with his index finger. I narrowed my eyes at him for a moment.

“Come on,” he said. “Come here.”

I stepped towards him, stopping between his feet. “I’m here.”

He reached for my hands, wrapping his fingers around mine. “I’ll go back out there on one condition.”

I leaned away from him a bit, arching an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“That you go with me. I won’t do it without you.”

DYSON

When I rejoined the team in New York, the first thing I did was sit down with Dieter, Darren and Marco. Things weren’t ever going to be perfect between us, but we still had a shot to take the championship from Gunter.

More than anything, I wanted to put aside our differences for the time being. After the season ended, there’d be plenty of time to talk. The thing about winning though, it cuts through a lot of the bullshit. And now that I was back, winning was the only thing on my mind.

I won’t lie. The first couple of runs on the track weren’t my best. Soon however, the feel started to come back and it wasn’t long before I was running about as well as I ever had. My speed didn’t go unnoticed, and between runs one day, Gunter approached me in the pits.

“Dyson.”

I looked at him, raising my eyebrows. “Gunter?”

If there was one thing you could be certain of where Gunter was concerned, it’s that he loved trying to get under the skin of other drivers. I always thought those kinds of tactics were unnecessary.

My driving spoke for itself.

I guess it was just another one of those things that ticked me off about the guy. I still didn’t like him. But, after Ava told me what he did and I figured he’d approach me sooner or later. I guess today was sooner.

“Walk with me for a few minutes?” he asked, gesturing away from pit row with his chin.

“Yeah, okay.”

We turned and began to walk off. Pretty much all activity with my team came to a stop. Out of my peripheral vision, I noticed the same thing happen with Gunter’s guys. I didn’t know if they expected us to brawl, or what. We ignored them, kept moving, and before long they went back to work.

“You look to be running well out there, Dyson. How does it feel to be back?”

“Yeah,” I began, “It’s going well, no complaints. Feels good to be back.”

We continued walking for a few more steps.

“It’s good to have you back on the track, Dyson,” Gunter began. “It’s not the same without you.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. I think that was the first time he’d opened his mouth without an insult coming out of it. I wasn’t entirely sure that one wasn’t going to follow, so I didn’t say anything right away, but instead kept walking.

“Of course you realize I have every intention of beating you and winning the championship,” he said.

I nodded. “I’m sure that’s what you think is gonna happen.”

Gunter chuckled. “You Americans. All the same.”

“What do you mean? Winners?” I said, reaching up and running my hand through my hair. “Well, that’s what we do best.”

We walked on for a few more steps until Gunter stopped. He turned to face me fully. Bright sunlight overhead had him squinting in my direction.

“You left me with no choice but to get you suspended. You realize that, don’t you?”

I shook my head and leaned away from him a bit.

“Gunter, I don’t see how what I think matters. It’s ancient history as far as I’m concerned.”

He nodded.

“It was for your own good, Dyson. What you were doing out there, you put all of us at risk. This job is dangerous enough as it is. We all want to win and drive as fast as possible, but we have a responsibility to each other as well. You needed to learn that lesson.”

I looked away from him, biting my lip.

“You aren’t my fucking Dad, Gunter.” I replied, glaring at him. “I don’t need you or anyone else trying to teach me a ‘lesson’.”

“I can’t say I expected you to react any other way,” he said. “You might not like it, and it might piss you off. But I respect you as a competitor. You bring out my best driving and I want you here for years to come, pushing me to my limit each race.”

I crossed my arms but didn’t speak. Instead I stayed quiet and allowed him to continue.

“I want you to know that I wouldn’t have considered my championship victory this year complete without you here.”

I gestured in the direction of the racetrack.

“As far as I know, you haven’t won anything yet. And if I have anything to do about it, you won’t.”

“Fair enough. I suppose we have that in common, don’t we?”

I frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

“Just a natural born instinct to win.”

I nodded. As much as I didn’t like the guy and how he operated most of the time, he had a point. He and I weren’t alike in many ways, but in the ones that we were, we were almost identical.

“Yeah,” I said, looking him in the eye. “I guess I’d agree with you on that.”

And then, he did something that caught me completely by surprise.

“Good luck to you, Dyson,” he said, extending his hand towards me.

I looked down at his fingers, ramrod straight and pointed directly at me. I reached out and shook his hand.

“Yeah, good luck to you too, man.”

With that, he turned and started to walk away. Around that time, I noticed Ava headed towards me. She smiled and nodded at Gunter when they passed by each other. Seconds later, she approached me and turned, looking at Gunter again.

“What was that all about?”

I shrugged. “To tell you the truth, I’m not really sure.”

Ava turned her head towards me. “What do you mean? What did he say?”

“He wished me good luck.”

“Hmm,” she replied, glancing towards him once more. “Well, you know, I think he respects you, Dyson. After all, that’s what he told me when we talked, remember?”

“Yeah,” I began, recalling what she’d mentioned about their conversation. “I guess it’s one thing to hear it from you and something else entirely to hear it from him.”

Ava looked at me but didn’t say anything. Instead, she just smiled.

“What?” I asked. “Why are you smiling at me like that?”

“Because I know you’re happy.”

I shook my head. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’m not happy. Not yet. Not until that checkered flag comes down.”

Just then, the smile she had on her face widened even further, causing a mouth full of white teeth to gleam at me.

“Well,” she said. “Before you can win, you’ve got to qualify.”

“I do indeed.” I began, reaching up and draping my arm across her shoulder. “Come on, I’m ready if you are.”

AVA

At last, the day of the race arrived.

Dyson and Marco both drove well during qualifying, but neither of them were good enough to overtake Gunter.

Still, Dyson started close enough to him on the grid and with a victory would still have a chance to overtake Gunter for the championship at the end of the season.

Dieter insisted that I join him in the owner’s suite to watch the race. I accepted, though telling him I intended to head down to the pits as the race unfolded.

About a half an hour before the race got underway, I entered, and Dieter noticed me. Almost before I’d come inside, he walked in my direction with his arms open.

“Ah, Ava!” he began, smiling at me. “So good to see you again.”

I leaned in towards him, returning his embrace. Afterward, we separated and looked at one another.

“Yes, I didn’t expect I’d ever see you again after Los Angeles.”

Dieter frowned. “I was sorry about the way we had to part company with you so suddenly, Ava. We all enjoyed having you working with the team. I hope you believe me.”

I smiled at him. “Yes, of course. I’m not upset with you. It was always going to be a temporary position.”

He nodded and a moment later snapped his fingers together.

“Oh, which reminds me,” he said, gesturing towards the far side of the room. “There’s someone here I’d like you to meet.”

Following behind him, we weaved through groups of invited guests until a middle-aged, olive skinned man appeared before me. Dieter stopped and turned around to look at me.

“Ava, I’d like for you to meet Dr. Luca.”

Before I could say a word, the man extended his hand towards me.

“Ava, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard nothing but great things.”

“Oh, thank you, Dr. Luca. Have you gotten get all of your passport problems finally straightened out?”

“Yes,” he replied, nodding at me. “It was a terrible inconvenience, but thanks to you, a manageable one.”

“That’s very kind of you to say. But really, it was nothing.”

Dieter glanced at Dr. Luca. “Do you see what I mean?”

I looked at both of them, narrowing my eyes. Before I could ask Dieter what he meant, he reached out and placed his palm in the middle of my back.

“Ava, may I have a word with you in private?”

“Yes, of course.”

Dr. Luca and I said goodbye to one another and I turned to walk with Dieter. I followed him to the windows in the suite which looked out over the racetrack. We stood there in silence for a few moments until Dieter pointed down towards pit row.

“I have you to thank for getting Dyson to return to the team.”

Without turning my head, I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye.

“I can’t take credit for that, Dieter. There were a lot of people involved, yourself included.”

He shook his head and continued to stare down at the rows of cars far below.

“Not where Dyson is concerned. The truth is that no one has ever held much sway with him. He’s exceptional at what he does, but far too headstrong and stubborn for his own good.”

I continued to listen but didn’t respond. Dieter and I had never had a conversation like this before. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Just then, he turned towards me.

“Ava,” he began, reaching inside of the pocket of his suit jacket. “I think it’s important in life to take care of people who take care of you.”

I followed the movement of his hand with my eyes. It vanished for a split second and then reappeared. In his grasp, Dieter held a folded piece of paper, which he passed to me a second later. I took it from him, but before unfolding it, I drew my eyes up to meet his.

“What is this?”

“It’s something that you deserve.”

Frowning, I looked down and unfolded the paper. It was a check made out to me for one hundred thousand dollars. My breath caught in my throat nearly choking me on the spot.

“I-I, uhh, D-Dieter what is…?”

I snapped my eyes back up to meet his once again. He smiled at me with them. Sunlight passing through the window warmed his cinnamon brown irises.

Still hardly able to speak, I continued, “I don’t understand. What is this for?”

He pointed down towards the racetrack. “For doing something that no one else could. Keeping the team together.”

I shook my head, immediately trying to pass the check back to him but Dieter refused to take it.

“Ava, I insist,” he began, waving off my attempts. “I’m not going to take ‘no’ for an answer. It’s my pleasure and you deserve it.”

Combined with the money I’d already earned, this was more than enough to pay for Simon’s school for years, if I could somehow manage to get it worked out. There might even be enough left over for me to pick up my studies again.

For now though, I was grateful beyond words.

“Dieter, I don’t know what to say except ‘thank you’.”

I reached towards him for a hug and he wrapped his arms around me. After we separated, he gestured with his head towards the racetrack.

“You better get going. Darren is expecting you. And, if I’m not mistaken, Dyson might have a surprise in store for you as well.”

A surprise from Dyson?

After thanking him again, I left the suite and hurried down to the track as fast as I could. They’d been racing for a few minutes by now. Along the way, I glanced at television monitors, keeping tabs on Dyson’s position.

Not long after, I arrived at the pits. As always on race day, pit row was the epitome of controlled chaos. Superpowered engines screamed as the cars ripped down the straightaway at more than two hundred miles an hour. The crowd buzzed with excitement and the occasional cheer when someone passed. In the midst of it all, the teams executed complete tire changes and fuel stops with all the synchronicity of a military unit.

As for the race itself, Gunter once again held the lead.

During a pit stop for Marco, Darren turned and noticed me standing nearby. He motioned for me to approach the observation tower. After I had, he passed a pair of race radio headphones to me, enabling me to hear his conversation with Dyson as the race unfolded.

DYSON

“Jesus fucking Christ!” I exclaimed. “What the hell happened to this car? It was perfect in qualifying. The oversteer is ridiculous, Darren! I’m practically drifting, heading into turn three. At this rate, I’ll never run Gunter down. Who set this car up? A bunch of chimps?”

Darren interrupted my cussing fest.

“If anyone can drive through it, Dyson, it’s you. We’ve already tried to fix the oversteer twice. But unless you abandon, there’s nothing I can do.”

By this time, the race was nearing the halfway point.

I managed to hold my position between second-place and fifth-place the entire day, but the car was getting away from me. I bit my lip and tried to come up with a new game plan on the fly. The one we had going into the start was out the window now. We had one more pit stop coming up, but if they couldn’t get it dialed in, I was going to have to make it happen on my own.

Just then, the radio crackled to life again in my ear piece.

“Dyson,” Darren said. “I know we’re not running like you want to, but I think I might have something that will help.”

The steering wheel vibrated in my hand as I came out of turn four.

“Well unless you’re gonna strap a leprechaun to the front of this car, it better be good.”

Darren’s voice went silent. A few seconds later another one took its place.

“Sounds like you’re having trouble out there,” Ava’s voice echoed in my ear. “You need me to take over?”

I smiled, downshifting hard coming into turn five.

“If only it were that easy.” I said, coming out of it and heading down the back straightaway. Redlining the engine, I fought for fourth position. My struggles must have been plain for everyone to see.

Ava remained quiet for a few seconds.

“Okay, well I don’t want to distract you. I know you can do it.”

I smiled, shaking my head and downshifting hard once more.

“Honey, the only thing that would distract me right now would be you running across the track naked. I feel pretty safe that’s not gonna happen.”

In the background, I heard the sound of Darren laughing.

“Dyson,” Ava groaned. “Can you be serious? Just once?”

Passing and moving into third place, I replied, “Why? Winning is more fun this way.”

“Uh huh,” Ava deadpanned. “Well, from where I sit, it doesn’t look like you’re winning right now.”