Page 5 of Rivals

“Okay, I can do that,” I tell him. My voice comes out sounding much stronger and self-assured than I feel. I walk over to where the mechanic is standing. He helps me adjust the helmet before I slide into the car that kind of reminds me of a spaceship. It almost reminds me of The Jetsons. Damn, it had always been my favorite growing up.

“Sutton, can you hear me?” Tucker asks.

I nod before I realize I probably need to actually speak to him. “Yeah, I can hear you.”

“Great, so just go ahead and leave the pit. Take your time with speed for now. You need to get a feel of the car and the track so go ahead and do a couple of laps before really letting loose.” My heart pounds as I pull out of the pit area. However, the moment I hit the track it all fades away. Despite the look of the car or where the asphalt is, it’s all the same for me. Racing and cars are like my second skin and I instantly feel at home once I hit the blacktop. I smile to myself, but I do take Tucker’s advice and do a couple of slower laps around the track. It’s a much smoother drive than what I’m used to. I mean, when you street race, you don’t have an area that’s just for racing. Then there’s the fact that you have to deal with the condition of the roads, potholes being a big part of it. This is like driving in a dream, only better. As I approach the line, Tucker comes through the speakers. “How are you feeling, Sutton?”

“Great, this is awesome,” I admit. I hate to allow anyone to know how much something like this means to me because if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life it’s that the more you enjoy something the harder it is to let go.

Tucker chuckles. “Great, then why don’t you go ahead and open up on the next lap and see how that feels.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” As I pull away from the line and push down on the accelerator, the car eases up in speed and before I know it, I’m flying around the track, taking the curves like a pro. The curves on a track were my biggest concern, but you wouldn't know that right now. At this moment, I’m free. I have no worries, no past, present or future. It’s just me, this car and track. It’s so much more than I could have ever asked for. That scares me because if this doesn’t last then my heart will be broken but I’m no stranger to that either. My mind drifts to thoughts of my father. I start to ease up on the accelerator because of it.

Tucker must notice because he comes through the speakers once more. “That was great, Sutton, why don’t you go ahead and come on into the pit?” I ease into the pit and come to a stop. The mechanic comes over and helps me out of the car. As I’m pulling the helmet off, I hear Tucker. When I turn around to face him my eyes are instantly drawn to one of the two guys approaching beside him. His hair is so dark it’s almost black as the night sky and thick. I want to run my fingers through it just to see if it’s as thick as it looks. His bone structure makes him look like he should be a model. The dark, trimmed beard gives him a mysterious feeling, but add that with the sunglasses that conceal his eyes and I have no idea what I’m thinking, all I know is that I'm a jumbled mess. My heart slams around inside my chest, beating erratically like the wings of a hummingbird. Tucker looks between us. “Rathe McCall meet Sutton Pierce, hopefully she’ll be the newest member of the Revv-It Racing Team.”

Rathe makes no move towards me. The man standing beside him with strawberry blonde hair steps forward and introduces himself. “I’m Maxton Wilson, Rathe’s head mechanic.” I nod and shake his hand.

I approach Rathe, drawn to him like a moth to a flame, I feel this undeniable pull towards him. My movements feel awkward and out of sync but I’m praying that doesn’t show. I study him up close before giving him my signature smirk. “Well, Rathe it looks like I’m your new rival.” He stands there, intensely staring at me. I can feel it through his sunglasses. That stare heats my skin, but I don’t give it away. I wait for a reply, but he gives me nothing, so I turn to Tucker and smile.

“Well, why don’t you go change and then we can get down to the numbers,” Tucker tells me.

“Sounds great.” I look over my shoulder at Rathe and Maxton. “It was great meeting you boys.” I walk away hoping that I don’t look as silly as I feel right now. Rathe McCall just knocked my world off of its axis and I’m not sure how to fix it.

Five

Sutton

I spend some extra time in the trailer because my heart still hasn’t returned to normal. It’s ridiculous that I can feel...whatever the hell this is for some guy that didn’t even speak to me. I mean sure he was good looking but I’m around good-looking people a lot. I should not have been so bothered by him. I shake my head in an attempt to clear it. It must have been the run in with Jakob the other night that has me so wound up. When I open the door, I easily spot Tucker with Rathe, Maxton and the other mechanic whose name I still can’t seem to remember. As I make my way to them, I take in the beautiful morning and allow myself to accept this for what it is...a possibility. A hopeful possibility, despite how scary that is I know it’s going to be so hard to pass up. Tucker smiles and as I approach, and he steps away from the guys. “Do you want to take a walk?” he asks, motioning back to the track. I just nod my head in reply because I’m not sure what to say right now. We’ve been walking in silence for a few moments before Tucker asks, “What got you interested in cars and racing?”

I shrug as I dig my hands into the back pockets of my jeans. “My dad. He was always into cars. It’s the main thing I remember about him. It used to be us against the world.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize he had passed.” Tucker gives me a sympathetic smile.

The truth and lies wage a war on my tongue. Taking a deep breath, I let the truth spill out. “I don’t know if he has. To be honest, I don’t know much about him now. My dad did whatever he could to provide for me, but it led him to some questionable situations and in the long run he got busted and last I knew he was being carted off to jail.”

Tucker studies me but I keep my eyes trained directly ahead. I know what I’ll see if I look into his eyes. It’ll be sympathy and pity; those are two things I don’t need right now. I’ve learned over the years to avoid eye contact with most people because they really are doorways into our souls. I feel like my secrets will all be laid out in the open if I look him in the eye now. “What about your mom?” he finally asks. He probably doesn’t even notice it, but his voice is slightly lower with an edge of softness to it now that he knows a piece about my past.

I scoff. “I don’t know. She was never around. My dad didn’t talk about her, so I don’t know if she just left or if she died. I always meant to ask him, but I was so young and still trying to process what I could...and, I don’t know, the next thing I knew CPS was rushing in and tearing my world apart. I was shoved into foster care, met Evanna and the rest is history.”

“Was she in foster care, too?”

I shake my head. “No, she was my next-door neighbor. Her mom was a single mother and working as a stripper to feed the five mouths she had. Evanna was the youngest and also the quietest. We ended up in the same class and some damn ogre was picking on her.” I stop because Tucker bursts out laughing. I give him a questioning look.

He waves his hands in apology. “I’m sorry. It’s just when you said ogre, I immediately pictured Shrek.”

I laugh. “Well, then you got the picture only she wasn’t nice at all. Anyways, Evanna wouldn’t stand up for herself so I stood up for her. We became best friends after that.”

Tucker and I continue to walk, the silence between us thick with tension. I can tell he has more questions but I’m not sure how many more answers I have for him. I’ve already told him more than I ever tell anyone. I mean even Jakob doesn’t know everything I just told Tucker. This is uncharted territory for me and I’m not liking it much at the moment. “Sutton, what you did on the track today was really good. You have huge potential and I think that you should give this a shot. You’d make some great money even being a rookie and the crowd will love you.”

“I don’t race for the crowd.”

“Okay, then forget that they’re there. Is this something you want to do?” he asks. I stop and turn to face him, crossing my arms over my chest. The sun is nearly blinding where it sits behind him but then it almost gives him a heavenly glow. It makes it hard to decide if he’s my saving grace, guardian angel or a devil in disguise. I finally shrug because I don’t know how to answer that question. “Why do you race, Sutton?”

I sigh and look away. That’s been a question I’ve been asked so many times since I first started driving. “I don’t know. It’s the one thing I know I’m good at. It also reminds me of my dad, but I also know that Indy racing is not something he’d be into. He was all about American muscle and foreign imports, modifications and NOS. This wouldn’t have been something he’d support.”

“Does that matter?” Tucker raises his eyebrows along with the verbal question.

I wish I could say that it doesn’t matter, but at the end of the day, I think every child just wants approval from their parents. I’m no different in that aspect despite the years that I’ve fended for myself. I stare at the track, lost in thought. My skin burns from the unforgiving sun, but still, I don’t move.

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