Page 25 of Dirt Driven

I had no idea what to say or think about any of it.

He slapped his hand onto my shoulder. “Think about it. Talk to Arie and see what you guys think. If you’re interested, we’ll do up the contracts.”

And then he walked away and left me with the decision.

He wanted me to be partial owner of JAR Racing.

Crash Pad – Works like a shock absorber on the racing seat to protect your spine.

SILVER DOLLAR SPEEDWAY

CHICO, CALIFORNIA

“I told him all I wanted for Valentine’s Day was a ride in a two-seater sprint car.”

Arie looked up from her phone to Hayden. “Did he do it?”

“Not yet.”

“That’s okay.” Arie shoved her phone in the back pocket of her shorts. Her eyes slid to mine. “That’s okay. My husband didn’t get me anything for Valentine’s Day,” Arie grumbled. “Not even a card.”

“Valentine’s day is a stupid holiday. I don’t see why anyone celebrates it.” I probably shouldn’t have said that to my wife, but Arie wasn’t like every other wife. She’s a dirt track wife. Our lives are lived out between tracks, and she was far more understanding than most. And I say most because judging by the way she was looking at me, something told me my assessment could be off. By the way, it wasn’t Valentine’s Day so I couldn’t understand why this was brought up in the first place. If you knew Hayden, who started this, you’d understand she loved to create arguments. Her and Casten were a perfect match.

Beside me, Hayden smirked and lifted her sunglasses. “Only husbands who didn’t get their wives anything say shit like that.”

My point exactly.

I didn’t believe in buying gifts for every holiday. I saved them for the ones that mattered. Birthdays, Mother’s Day, and our anniversary. Those three days should be celebrated the fuck out of. Everything else was stupid. If you asked me, and again, judging by the look on my wife’s face, she would not ask my opinion on this one.

Arie kissed my cheek, regardless of her mood. “I’m heading to work the merchandise trailer.”

I slapped my hand to her ass. “I’ll work you, later.”

“Uh-huh,” she mumbled, pulling away.

Willie walked inside the hauler, pink-cheeked and frowning. Normally, I wouldn’t have asked, because obviously, I didn’t care why Willie would be frowning. But today, I asked, and quickly wished I hadn’t. “What’s with you?”

Willie snapped his eyes to mine, like he’d been caught stealing something. He really was acting like a weirdo today. “Your fucking wife is what’s up with me.”

I had to laugh because lately it seemed Arie had been pissing everyone off. “What’d she do?”

He swallowed, almost like he was nervous and shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he tugged at the front of his shorts. “Dropped one of those vibrating back massagers in my lap.”

I wasn’t understanding where this was going, nor did I like that he was tugging at his shorts in front of me. This screamed inappropriate. He still wore a look of embarrassment and maybe confusion? “So? You said you threw your back out in Vegas.”

“Well, I kinda liked it.” He dropped his eyes, almost ashamed. “To be honest, it gave me a chub. Does that make me gay?”

Suddenly, the hauler felt incredibly small and I wanted nowhere near Willie and his chub. “No, hanging out with Dave makes you gay...enjoying vibration... well, okay, maybe a little. I don’t fucking know. Don’t talk to me about this.”

Zac, one of the mechanics on Caden’s team, walked in with Tommy, deep in conversation on shock setups for the night. I wasn’t sure what to think of Zac. To be honest, I was worried about him hanging out with the wrong crowd. But I guessed that was to be expected around a dirt track. He seemed like a nice kid, raised around dirt racing, but the fact that he looked up to Tommy and Willie shouldn’t have been a good thing.

My theory was confirmed when I caught the last half of the conversation. “And then she said, put your banana in my coconuts.”

Tommy dropped the shock in his hand on the counter. The sound rang through the metal hauler with a thud and he leveled the kid a serious look. “Really? Was it that chick in Vegas?”

Zac sighed and nodded. “Pretty sure she was a stripper, but that’s weird to say, huh?”

“Uh, yeah.” Tommy laughed and picked the shock back up. “Sounds like a gay porno I watched once and the dude shoved his coconuts up his ass.”

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