Page 118 of Reserved
“Thank you,” I say, inhaling her sweet scent. My tensed-up muscles relax a little as she runs her hands down my back.
“Anytime,” she replies. “Breathe, race, and win, as long as it doesn’t cost you a limb.”
I give her one last kiss, falling more in love with Nevaeh Fuchs every second I spend in her presence.
Chapter 54
Nevaeh
Adrianneedstowintoday.
If he doesn’t, I have a feeling he’s going to struggle the rest of the season because of what Lincoln said. The urge to go to my ex-best friend and hit him over the head with my laptop becomes more appealing the longer I smack my fingers across my keyboard to write Leonard’s article. I’m so angry, I don’t know what to do with myself anymore.
All this pent-up energy eventually leads to me standing up and pacing around the room. The drivers are about to take their formation lap, and my anxiety skyrockets as I watch Adrian lead the rest of the pack around the track, warming up his tires and charging his battery. I find myself walking out of the private room I was in and toward where Quinn, Leonard’s performance coach, is standing. She hands me a pair of headphones, and I slip them on, my eyes finding the same screen she’s watching like a hawk.
“This never gets easier for me either,” she says and squeezes my arm. I doubt this isn’t nerve-racking for any fan of the sport. Add one of the drivers being my boyfriend to the mix and my anxiety, and I’m standing there with shaky legs and shallow breathing.
I rub the blue heart charm on my bracelet, taking several deep breaths right as Adrian moves back into the first place position behind the starting line.
The lights turn on one by one.
I hold my breath.
Engines roar.
Leonard’s garage goes silent.
Everyone and everything seems to stop moving.
Anticipation tenses my muscles.
As soon as the lights go out, all the cars start rolling. Adrian gets away well, but Lincoln has a better start and overtakes him in the first corner. My heart sinks at the sight and shoots back into my chest when Adrian slips beside him in the next corner, overtaking Lincoln to get back into first place. Their tires almost touch. Lincoln’s front wing grazes Adrian’s.
My hand covers my mouth as I watch Adrian push ahead, reclaiming first place. His team radio blasts through my headphones a second later.
“Fuck! Do I have damage?” Adrian asks, breathless and frustrated.
I hold my breath as I wait for an answer.
It seems like the whole world does, too.
“No damage. Keep going, you’re good,” Chloe says, causing the breath to release out of me in a silentwhoosh. “Lincoln’s got damage though,” she adds the same moment Lincoln slows down, Gabriel shooting past him, Val right behind her fiancé.
Chaos follows moments later.
The Carousel drivers crash into each other, almost taking out Cameron in the process, so the safety car comes out for the fourth time this season. Lincoln changes his front wing, ending up in twelfth, which is only thanks to the other drivers having to decrease their speed.
Adrian stays in first, Gabriel and Val behind him. James is in fourth now, with Leonard and Cameron following. Both drivers involved in the crash make it out and seem okay, but it takes the marshals a long time to clean up the debris. So long, the FIA decides to call for a red flag and pause the race.
All eighteen remaining cars return to the pitlane. I watch Adrian get out of his car, anger tensing his shoulders. He might be wearing a helmet, but I’ve studied this man enough to know when he’s standing relaxed and when he’s close to bursting from anger. Right now, I think he wants to rip Lincoln’s head off for the second time this season.
Adrian attempts to step toward where Lincoln is getting out of his car, but Val cuts him off, grabbing her brother’s shoulder and stopping his approach. Gabriel’s behind Valentina then too, taking off his helmet and balaclava, probably to hear their conversation better. Adrian attempts to step past Val to get back to approaching Lincoln, but Gabriel slips in front of his teammate, shaking his head.
James, on the other hand, is determined to defend his best friend and approaches Lincoln. He points at Adrian, gestures wildly with his hands, then pokes Lincoln’s chest in warning.
I wish I knew what they’re saying.
“Uh oh,” Quinn says right as Leonard approaches Lincoln and James, stepping between them to break up their fighting.
