Текст книги "Surge "

Автор книги: Sloan Storm

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 15 страниц)

Jillian laughed. “Well, Ava, you know, it’s been a while.”

She may have been right about that, but giving it up for a guy like Dyson was not something I wanted to do. That was doubly true because of Simon. Even so, I would have felt the same way if I didn’t have a child in my life.

But the fact was—I did.

I loved him more than anything. And even though he was an awesome kid, I’d never dated a guy who felt the same way. Sooner or later, everybody I got serious with eventually broke it off because he didn’t want to raise another man’s child. I had no doubt—none—a man like Dyson Vix fit squarely in the same category.

Deciding to move on from her nonsensical questions, I changed the subject.

“Did the mail come?”

She nodded and unwrapped the towel from her head. “Yeah.”

“Well? Did I get the letter?”

“Yes, I think so.” Jillian said as she turned and walked towards her desk. Picking up an envelope from the top of it, she headed towards me, extending it in my direction.

Sure enough, it had arrived.

I took it from her hand and rolled my eyes. “They took long enough to send this to me.”

I flipped the envelope over and tore into it. Within seconds, I’d pulled out its contents and unfolded it. My eyes traced the markings on the page. Before long what began as hope dissolved into heartbreak.

“Shit,” I groaned, plopping down on Jillian’s bed. “This can’t be.”

“Oh no, what does it say?”

Almost too sick to my stomach to read it a second time, I unfolded the letter from the Board of Education and gave Jillian the bad news.

Apparently, due to a series of cutbacks, we were going to lose the scholarship money that kept Simon in private school. It was the exact opposite of what I’d expected to read. Namely, that the school would receive payment for him as usual.

According to the letter, only students coming from the direst of financial situations would continue to receive grant money. Although we weren’t poor, things were far from great. Even so, what we did have was above the minimum threshold for support.

Jillian covered her mouth with her hand. “That’s terrible. Poor Simon.”

I felt a lump gather in the center of my throat. I’d worked so hard to get him out of the public school.

“I know, I know,” I began, fighting back the heat of tears.

She sat down next to me. “What are you going to do? If he has to go back, the bullying…”

I dropped my hands between my legs, crumpling the paper at its edges. I had no words for the feelings inside. My poor nephew. He’d been through so much at such a young age. He was finally happy, and now, it looked as if all of that was about to be ripped away from him. The worst part of it all was there was nothing I could do about it.

Jillian draped her arm around me. “He’s come out of his shell so much over the past year or so.”

I nodded and stared down at the wrinkled page.

“What about you?” she said, as she leaned away. “I mean, you’re never going to get back into school at this point.”

I just shook my head. “I don’t care about that, Jillian. Right now, I’m just worried about Simon. What the hell am I going to do?”

“Aunt Ava?”

I swallowed hard and snapped my head upward. My seven-year-old nephew stood in the doorway. How long had he been there? I only hoped he hadn’t heard.

“Yes, honey?” I replied.

“What are we having for dinner?”

I let out a shallow, uneasy exhale, relieved for the moment that he didn’t know. Dinner was the last thing on my mind. But still I managed a smile for him.

“How about pizza?”

He smiled in return. “Extra pepperoni?”

“Extra pepperoni,” I said. “Now go get cleaned up. Aunt Jillian and I will get it taken care of soon.”

He started to walk away, when I remembered my conversation with Dyson.

“Simon, wait,” I began, gesturing for him to walk in my direction. He drew close and I took his small hands in mine, wrapping them in the warmth of my own. “I wanted to talk to you about something, but I’m not sure if you’re going to think it’s cool.”

I noticed Jillian leaning away from me. I hadn’t mentioned the invitation to her. It would be a surprise for both of them and a much-needed one at that. I proceeded to tell him all about the race and going to watch qualifying as a special guest of one of the drivers. I honestly had no idea if Simon would be excited or not. While he was talkative and engaging with people he knew, he could be far from it with strangers.

“So, what do you think?” I said, leaning towards him and smiling. “Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

To my surprise, he wasted no time in replying. He nodded his head and smiled right back at me. “Yeah!”

Later that evening, after we’d ordered pizza and eaten, I got Simon ready for bed and began to do the same. In less than a day, our entire lives were turned upside down, and to top it off, I was apparently going to have to deal with Dyson Vix at least one more time.

DYSON

Gearing up for my runs, I was talking to my head mechanic when I noticed her.

I gotta be honest. I didn’t think she’d show. Things had gotten off to a bit of a rocky start between us. That didn’t bother me so much. Just because a woman’s angry doesn’t mean she’s not interested.

On the other hand, since we hadn’t really talked, I didn’t know much about her. And, I didn’t suspect she had a kid. I watched as she, a boy and another woman walked around the pits looking at the cars. I guessed that could be her friend’s boy, but if it wasn’t, then she made my decision to come on to her a no-go.

The last thing I needed right now was to raise someone else’s son.

My mechanic, Jesse, distracted me for a second with a question.

“You said the oversteer was the worst in turn three? Right Dyson?”

I looked down at him and nodded. “Yep.”

I immediately looked up towards her again. Before long, Ava noticed me noticing her. Unbelievably, she gave me what appeared to be a smile, followed by a wave of her hand. Surprised, I nodded in return and gestured for them to come over.

Just then, Jesse, fired up the engine. I reached down and patted him on the shoulder.

“Be right back!” I yelled.

He nodded and returned to what he was doing. All around, teams were doing the same as us – getting the cars set up and ready for qualifying. I loved the buildup, the tension that came along with getting ready.

So many things have to go your way if you want to have a chance to win out here. The way we’d been running the past month or so, I felt fucking awesome about our chances. Everyone else knew how close we were. It was a matter of time before we got things dialed in. What we needed right now, more than anything, was consistency.

We’d get there.

Or I would die trying.

Approaching the three of them, I nodded my chin in Ava’s direction.

“Glad you could make it.” I began, gesturing towards their badges. “Any problems picking everything up at will call?”

“Thank you for having us. And no, no problems at all.” She paused and looked around for a second. “Wow, things have sure gotten busy since the last time I was here.”

“Yep, that’s the way it works.” I pointed in the direction of the woman and the boy. “Who’s this with you?”

“Oh,” Ava began, rolling her eyes. “Sorry about that.”

She finished talking and looked in the direction of the woman first.

“This is my roommate, Jillian.” Next, she tilted forward at the waist and put her hand on the kids shoulder before looking back towards me. “And this, is my nephew, Simon.”

Nephew? Much better.

I extended my hand towards Jillian. “Pleasure.”

She reached up and just before she shook my hand, she slid a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Smiling, she replied, “Nice to meet you, Dyson.”

Dyson? Cool. Someone’s been talking about me.

I let go of her hand and looked down at Simon. “Is this your first time at a car race, little man?”

He looked away from me and nodded his head.

“He can be a little shy around strangers,” Ava said.

“Not a problem. Before I leave town, we’ll all be good friends.” I winked at her and then looked down at the kid one more time. “You wanna see my car?”

Once again, he didn’t say anything, but, unlike the last time, a huge smile came to his face. I stepped to one side and gestured for the three of them to pass.

“Well, come on then.”

Jillian walked in front of me first, followed by the boy, and finally Ava. Just as she passed in front of me, I caught a whiff of her perfume. She hadn’t worn any the first time, when I met her at Dr. Wilcox’s office. I liked it. She wore just the right amount. A nice change of pace from Anastasia and Svetlana, that’s for sure.

“Hey,” I said, as she walked in front of me.

She stopped for a second and looked at me as Simon and Jillian continued to walk away.

“Yes?”

“Good to see you.”

She pursed her lips.

“You know, I’m only here because of my nephew. Don’t read anything into it.”

Once she finished, she looked away from me and followed behind them as they headed in the direction of my car. I chuckled and shook my head. A few minutes later, I’d given all of them the grand tour of the team garage, and while I finished, my teammate, Marco Rhys, approached.

“Hey man,” I began, as I pointed towards his car. “How’d it go out there?”

Marco slipped his hands into the pockets of his fire suit. “Um, all right. There’s still a lot of work to do and not much time to do it. Anyway, I’m not too concerned just yet. Talk to me in a few hours.”

I chuckled while he finished talking and looked past me towards the Ava, Jillian and Simon.

“Friends of yours?”

I nodded and introduced them all to each other. Afterward, Marco looked at Simon and said, “Hey, how’d you like to sit in my car?”

The kid turned and looked up at Ava. “Can I?”

Her eyes darted towards mine. “Is it okay?”

“Yeah, of course.” I looked down at the kid. “Whatever you do, don’t hit the brakes coming out of the straightaway heading into turn one.”

Marco chuckled and gestured for Jillian and Simon to follow him. After they walked away, I turned towards Ava.

“Seems like a good kid.”

She kept her eyes trained on him for another second or two before she looked at me.

“Yeah, he really is.”

“Take a walk?” I asked.

She looked at me for a moment and then glanced towards Marco’s car.

“He’s in good hands.” I began, waving with a causal gesture towards Marco. “I can’t go far anyway. Come on. I promise I won’t bite. I mean, unless that’s your thing.”

Ava shook her head at me. “No, it isn’t. But, okay, just for a few minutes.”

We walked in silence for a bit, eventually making our way out of the garage and along pit road. It was a perfect day for driving. Not a cloud in the sky.

“So you’re Simon’s aunt?”

Ava nodded.

“Too bad his folks couldn’t make it out,” I began, stopping and turning to face her. “Seems to me they’ve done a good job of raising him.”

Just then, a small gust of wind passed between us, sending Ava’s hair in front of her eyes. She moved it out of the way.

“Simon. He…”

Ava paused and turned her head away from me.

“Yeah?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her. “What about him?”

“He, um, he doesn’t have any parents.”

“Oh… Damn. Sorry to hear that. Do you mind if I ask what happened?”

I studied her and noticed a difficult swallow make its way down her throat while she considered my question.

“You know what, don’t worry about it,” I said, shrugging. “It’s none of my business.”

Ava continued to battle with wayward strands of her hair. During a few seconds of still air, she looked into my eyes. It was almost like she was deciding whether or not she could trust me.

“Maybe some other time,” I said, deciding to take the pressure off.

She smiled and nodded at me. “Maybe.”

DYSON

Just then, I noticed the expression on Ava’s face change. Something behind me caught her attention.

“It looks like you have company, Dyson.”

Doing a half turn, I glanced in the direction of her line of sight and noticed Anastasia bearing down on me.

Ava immediately appeared tense. “I’ll leave you and see you back inside the garage.”

I shook my head and gestured for her to stay put. “Don’t worry about it. It’s totally fine. You don’t have to go anywhere.”

By that time Anastasia was close enough I heard her footsteps.

“Dyson,” she began, walking right up to me. “What she doing here?”

“What do you want Anastasia?” I said, ignoring her question. “Can’t you see I’m busy right now?”

She crossed her arms and scowled at Ava before looking at me once again. “You promise me we going to leave racetrack today and go out. Do you remember?”

I nodded. “Something came up. What can I tell you, Anastasia? It’s race week, and schedules get fucked up.”

“Mmm hmm,” she grumbled. “How you have time then to spend talking to… her?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but Ava is an important medical professional on the team while we’re here in Austin.”

She shook her head and pointed at me. “She is not team doctor. That is Dr. Luca. Do not lie, Dyson.”

I shrugged. “It’s not a lie. Dr. Luca had passport problems and can’t get into the country. And so Ava here is helping out in his place.”

Anastasia thinned her lips. “I do not like her.”

“Whoa, whoa, hold it right there, Anastasia,” I said, pointing in Ava’s direction. “She’s never said a single rude word to you. You need to go right now, Anastasia. We’ll talk later.”

“No!”

I glared at her in silence for a couple of moments. “Go right now and quit complaining, or you can forget about ever going anywhere. Got me?”

Anastasia shook her head, returning my stare with an icy look of her own. At last, she turned and stormed off.

I shook my head and looked at Ava once again.

“Where were we?”

Ava chuckled. “Your little girlfriend seems pretty upset right now. Don’t you think you should go after her?”

I reached up and raked my fingers through my hair. “Who said she was my girlfriend?”

“She isn’t?” Ava asked. “So you just have sex with random girls in doctor’s offices whenever you feel like it?”

I had a hunch she’d been pretending all along, but now she’d confirmed it. I didn’t really see the point in dragging this out any longer. She wouldn’t be complaining about my behavior if she secretly didn’t like it.

Looking down at her, I smiled.

“So whatd’ya say? After I’m done here today, how about we go out and grab something to eat tonight?”

Ava’s expression froze for a couple seconds before she reached up towards her mouth and tried to stifle a laugh.

“You are really unbelievable, Dyson. Do you know that?”

I nodded and smiled at her once again. “So is that a yes?”

“No,” she began, exhaling and crossing her arms like Anastasia had. “It absolutely is not. What makes you think I would all of a sudden change my mind about you?”

“What can I say?” I shrugged. “To know me is to love me.”

Ava continued to shake her head. “I’m sure that there is no shortage of women around here who are more than willing to throw themselves at you. However, I’m not one of them.”

“And here I thought you were special,” I said, pausing to lick my lips for a second.

She narrowed her eyes at me. A frown spread across her forehead. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Hmm?” I said, shrugging. “Oh nothing.”

I turned and started to walk in the direction of the garage once again. Ava jumped in front of me and touched her finger against my chest. Now I had her right where I wanted her. Pausing, I looked down at her finger and then drew my eyes back up to meet hers.

“Don’t try that with me,” she said. For a couple of seconds she managed to keep a straight face before a tiny smile curled at the edge of her lips. “What did you mean?”

I reached up and wrapped my fingers around her hand, gently prying it away from me.

“First of all, don’t touch me,” I said, following it with a quick wink.

As before, Ava folded her arms at her chest. I took a moment to savor her figure. The way she angled her body at me in displeasure accented the curve of her hips and the fullness of her tits. She didn’t let me linger for long, though.

“Are you going to tell me or not?”

“Fine,” I began. “I can see that you’re not going to leave me alone until I do.”

“No.”

“See, the thing is, I don’t usually date women with kids. Hell, I don’t even date women with nephews. However, in your case I’m willing to make a special exception.”

Just then, Ava’s expression changed again. The smile vanished from her lips and she looked away from me. After only another second or so, she turned.

“I should be getting back.”

I frowned. “What’s the rush?”

I had no idea why she closed herself off from me all of a sudden. It must’ve had something to do with the kid, but I really didn’t know. What was clear was that I was losing the little connection we did have. If I didn’t do something, and do it quick, I could forget all about getting together with her.

“Tell you what,” I said, stepping in her direction. “You can bring Simon with you if you want.”

She shook her head. “No, I… This is really not something that I’m interested in, Dyson. You’re probably not as awful as I’ve been imagining, but…”

“Oh thanks. That’s nice of you.”

Ava uncrossed her arms and held them up in front of her body, pleading with me a bit. “No, that’s not what I meant. It’s just that… Oh, never mind.”

I’d hit on a sensitive spot where the kid was concerned. There was obviously more to the story. She seemed like someone I wanted to get to know better, so I gave it one last shot.

“I’m only gonna be here for a few days,” I said. “There’s no pressure. I mean, for Christ’s sake, I just said you could bring your nephew. How much less threatening could I possibly be?”

Ava reached up and gathered a handful of hair in her hand to keep it from blowing in her face once more. Chewing on her lip, she looked at me.

“I know I’m going to regret this.”

I nodded and smiled. “How does eight o’clock sound?”

She grimaced. “It sounds like something I need to think about.”

AVA

I glanced in the rearview mirror at my nephew’s semi-slumped position in the back seat.

“Is he sleeping?” I whispered.

Jillian turned in her seat and peeked into the rear of the car.

Nodding, she glanced in my direction. “Yeah.”

Dyson qualified to start in fifth place on race day. He seemed less than thrilled about it, but the excitement took its toll on my nephew. The afternoon at the racetrack exhausted poor Simon. Amid the hustle and bustle, Dyson and Marco went above and beyond to show him a good time. Fortunately for Jillian and me, once he fell asleep, Simon was all but impossible to wake up.

I turned my attention to the road ahead. “It looks like you and Marco got along well today.”

Jillian turned her head in my direction a bit. “Yeah.”

Frankly, I’d hoped for a little bit more of an enthusiastic response from her. Not that it was practical or realistic for her to hook up with him, but I preferred anything over her good-for-nothing boyfriend, Dan.

“That’s it?” I replied. “Yeah?”

“What? He didn’t talk about himself very much. Most of the time he kept the conversation focused on me and Simon.”

I frowned. “Hmm, okay.”

Jillian turned her upper body towards me. “And, anyway, who cares about what happened with me? You still haven’t told me anything about your conversation with Dyson.”

“Well, I really didn’t have an opportunity. You know, since we were all together the entire time.”

Double checking, Jillian looked in the backseat one more time to see if Simon stirred at all.

“Okay, it’s just me and you now. Spill it.”

I shrugged. “There’s really nothing to say. He asked me out, and I told him I’d think about it.”

“I don’t understand you sometimes, Ava,” she said, exhaling and dropping her hands in her lap. “Why don’t you just go out and have some fun? You deserve it.”

We eased up to a traffic light. I applied gentle pressure to the brake. The car came to a stop and I looked at her.

“You know it’s not that simple.”

“What do you mean? Because of Simon?”

I nodded. “I can’t just bring anyone around, and I certainly can’t go out with every man who wants me to. You know that, Jillian.”

“Well, okay, but when is the last time you actually went on a date, Ava? How long has it been?”

“Eight months,” I replied, shaking my head in disbelief at the amount of time.

“Okay, eight months, Ava. That is completely ridiculous.”

The light turned green, and I put my foot on the accelerator, pressing it down steadily.

“I’m not disagreeing with you, but the last man I need to break that streak with is Dyson Vix.”

“Why?” Jillian replied, slapping her palms down on top of her knees. “What’s wrong with him? He seems to have a thing for you. He was very sweet to Simon. I don’t get what the problem is.”

I exhaled. “The guy is a player, Jillian. We’ve already had this discussion. I don’t think it’s a good idea to put myself in a situation with someone like that.”

“Oh, come on. What are you trying to say? That you can’t go out and have fun with him for one night? Are you worried you won’t be able to control yourself? Is that it?”

I snapped my head in her direction for an instant before looking down the road again. I chewed the inside of my mouth. A sudden dryness came to the inside of it.

“What? No. That’s not what I’m saying, Jillian. He’s just not the kind of guy I want around Simon.”

Jillian moaned. “Oh, give me a break, Ava. What—are you gonna marry the guy now?”

I shook my head at her little insult.

“I think you’re taking this whole thing way too seriously, Ava.”

“Well,” I began, gesturing towards the backseat with a nod of my chin. “What choice do I have? He comes first. End of story.”

Jillian folded her arms across her chest. “Well I’m sure that you’ll be in the front row on his wedding day. Old, single Aunt Ava.”

I grimaced at her for a moment before I spoke once more.

“Something kind of funny did happen. When we went for a walk.”

Jillian looked at me. “What?”

“Do you remember when I told you he slept with those women after his exam at Dr. Wilcox’s office? The Russian girls?”

Jillian chuckled and shook her head. “How could I forget?”

“Well, one of them came up to us while we were talking outside of the garage.”

“Really? What happened?”

I spent the next several minutes telling her about the encounter between Dyson and Anastasia. I told her how he more or less brushed her off, demanding that she not bother him while we were talking to each other.

“Oh my God,” she said. Jillian glanced towards me again. “What happened?”

“She stomped off.”

“What did Dyson do? Did he go after her?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Ohhh, see? I told you he’s into you, Ava,” she replied, barely able to contain her excitement. “I don’t get why you’re being so difficult about this whole thing.”

I had to admit his attempts at being charming were beginning to soften me towards him, but not enough to even think about letting my guard down. I was under no illusion—he was only after one thing from me. And so, while Jillian might have a point that it would be fun, the downside was too great.

I waved her off. “It doesn’t matter whether he’s into me or not. I can’t just look past that kind of behavior. I’m sorry. I can’t.”

Jillian shook her head. “Ava… He’s a single guy. He’s a race car driver. Why are you holding all of that against him?”

“Now you’re beginning to sound just like Dyson,” I began, shaking my head. “I’m not, by the way. He can be a playboy all he wants. It doesn’t affect me in the least.”

“Well, I don’t know.” Jillian said. “I guess I can kinda see his point of view.”

Just then, we turned onto the street leading towards our apartment complex.

“So, what are you suggesting? That I go out with him?”

“It’s just dinner, Ava.” Jillian groaned. “A meal.”

I let out a deep exhale.

“Okay,” I grumbled, pulling my car into the parking space. “I’ll do it, if for no other reason than to shut you up. Are you happy now? You win.”

“No,” she replied immediately. “You do.”

AVA

After Jillian’s tongue lashing, I took Simon into the apartment and put him in bed before I went to get ready. Jillian promised me if he woke she’d be sure and give him something to eat.

Before I left the racetrack, Dyson and I had exchanged numbers. If I decided to come, we’d agreed to meet at his hotel in the lobby. After one last moment of doubt, I texted him and confirmed I’d be there.

Left with no excuse, I searched my closet for the most flattering dress I owned. After a quick shower and a bit of last minute teasing from Jillian, I headed downtown to meet him.

Once in the hotel parking lot, I made my way towards the entrance. Approaching it, I noticed a sizable crowd of people in the lobby. It was large enough I couldn’t use the revolving door to get in, but instead, I had to use a side entrance.

Entering to a noise-filled room, I scanned the surrounding area for Dyson. Not seeing him right away, I continued around the periphery of the group, until, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed his unmistakable presence. It seemed the crowd was gathered for him, circling around and attempting to take pictures, get autographs, and the kinds of things that fans do. Once I saw him standing there, I backed away and decided to watch for a few moments.

I’d never actually been around someone famous before. Up until that instant, the only Dyson Vix I knew was the smooth talking playboy. However, with a crowd full of adoring admirers of all ages, and both sexes, gathered around, he seemed quite different all of a sudden.

I watched him interact with men, women and children. He posed for pictures, signed autographs, and smiled the entire time. Surely that took some getting used to – sharing your private time with complete strangers whenever they recognized you. It wasn’t something that interested me in the slightest, but he appeared to revel in it.

Just then, he happened to glance in my direction and our eyes met. After a couple more handshakes and pictures, he excused himself and began to make his way towards me. While he approached, I became aware most of the crowd turned and looked in my direction.

I felt my pulse quicken a bit and my hand tighten around the strap of my purse. Just as I was about to turn away from the crowd of prying eyes, Dyson smiled and called out to me.

“Hey! Ava!”

I waved at him with a small waggle of my fingertips. Seconds later he closed on me.

“Glad you could get out,” he said, now standing about a foot away. “I’m starving. How about you?”

I nodded, relieved he’d rescued me from the stare of strangers.

Fifteen minutes later, Dyson and I sat in the hotel restaurant. Even though we’d ditched the crowd, it seemed as if there were always eyes on me. Or maybe I was just being paranoid. I wasn’t really sure. In any case, my discomfort didn’t go unnoticed. While we waited for our server to return with the wine, Dyson spoke.

“Everything all right, Ava?”

I reached for my ice water at the center of the table. Wrapping my fingers around the cold glass, I smiled and nodded at him.

“Mmm hmm. Fine.”

Dyson leaned back and narrowed his eyes at me. “Funny, cuz you don’t seem fine.”

While he spoke, I took a sip of my water. “Why do you say that?”

“It’s totally normal, Ava, you know… To be a little bit uncomfortable.”

I shrugged and placed my glass back down on top of the table. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied.

Dyson nodded. “Uh huh. Well, it’s not always this bad. Only when I’m racing. It’s way worse in Europe where Formula One is bigger. But here, in the States, I can get around without too many people bothering me.”

I smiled and looked away from him for a moment.

“So it did bother you?” he said, confident he’d figured me out.

I shook my head. “It didn’t bother me. I suppose I wasn’t prepared for it.”

“Yeah, you get used to it.”

“You might. It seems to suit you.” I replied.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, I just mean that you seem like the kind of man that would constantly love to be the center of attention.”

Dyson remained motionless for a couple of seconds. Eventually, he leaned in towards me, bracing himself against the edge of the table with his elbows.

“Well, I suppose if you were the one dispensing the attention, I’d like that quite a bit.”

He lingered there, looking at me.

I sensed a rush of heat flash across my face and neck, thankful it stopped there before going any lower. I hoped he hadn’t noticed. With any luck, the restaurant was just dark enough. A few seconds later, he eased back into his chair without comment. If he did see it, he seemed content not to mention it.

As for me, I realized a part of me was… interested.

Oh no.

Just then, the waiter returned to the table and uncorked the wine. I used the opportunity to compose myself. The server paused, offering Dyson a chance to taste.

Dyson waved him off.

“You can just go ahead and pour it, man.”

The waiter nodded, and a few seconds later, he’d filled both of our glasses halfway. Dyson wrapped his fingers around the stem of the glass and nodded for me to pick mine up as well. He lifted his and moved it towards me. I touched the thin glass against his, clinking them against each other.

He smiled, pausing before he drank. “To new friendships.”

I smiled in return and lifted the glass to my mouth. Seconds later, the heady aroma of oak and fruit filled my senses. I swallowed the thick liquid down, allowing it to linger on my tongue for a few moments.

“Delicious,” I said, placing the glass down on the table.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding and returning his to the table also. “A lot better than the cheap shit I grew up on.”

Just then, I realized I hadn’t considered much of anything about Dyson’s background. In the time since I’d met him I’d been so focused on fending him off, I hadn’t spent any time thinking about him in that way. But now, with a bit of wine settling in on my brain, I eased back into my chair and allowed the idea into my mind for the first time.

“Where did you grow up, Dyson?”

“Pomona,” he replied, picking up his wine glass once again. “You know where it is?”

I shook my head. “No, I’ve hardly ever been out of Texas.”

Dyson took a big gulp of his wine. “It’s in California… East of Los Angeles.”

“Does your whole family still live there?”

“Yep,” he began. After placing his glass back down on the table, Dyson continued, “They’ve been there for three generations now. It’s a great place to grow up, especially if you are a racer. I’m looking forward to getting back there.”