Page 70 of Trading Paint
She left with Justin, which made me feel better. I nearly had a heart attack thinking she’d left with one of the douche bags that had been eyeing her.
“No problem,” she mumbled curling up with her head in my lap.
We slept this way a lot. All our money either went to food or racing parts. We didn’t have money to stay in hotels every night so we made do with sleeping in my truck most nights.
Recently we had purchased a few tents and sleeping bags, which helped so we weren’t all sleeping in the truck. Tonight Sway, Tommy and I were in the truck, Emma was in the back of the truck and Alley and Spencer were sleeping in the tent.
Sway didn’t mean anything by it, I’m sure, but her hand rested against my upper thigh as she curled her arm under her head for a more comfortable position. Inadvertently she had just caused a rather intense reaction between my legs which was starting to throb painfully. I’d just had sex not more than a few hours ago but with Sway, all she had to do was touch me innocently and I was hard.
She must have noticed, she had to of noticed, because she sat up, pulled her jacket from the floorboard, curled it up in a ball and placed it on my lap.
I couldn’t take it.
“I need to get up Sway. I’m not feeling good.” I lied pushing her away gently.
She sighed and curled up on the seat.
I got out and walked it off. I couldn’t believe the reaction she had on me. One simple touch and I was aching with need for her. Knowing exactly how men think, I just chalked this up to wanting her because I knew I couldn’t, right?
Isn’t that how it worked? The problem with that was letting go, I couldn’t. I couldn’t let go because of the possibility that it might not work. I needed my support system now more than ever. What’s the most important part of your car? The chassis...without it, you’d be dead. It supports you when pressure is put upon the car when you wreck. That was Sway. She was the steel cage protecting me from the blunt force of myself.
Chassis – Sway
By the time the Triple Crown Nationals rolled around, we’d all been on the road for fifteen weeks. I wouldn’t say I was tired because I’d had a lot of fun on this trip so far but I was confused. In those fifteen weeks, everything I thought I knew about Jameson and myself had changed on me, over the course of 107 days, that night in Eldora changed things for me.
I saw the warning signs.
I got jealous when the pit lizards lingered too long. I got jealous when he glanced at women. I got jealous when he left discreetly with some and downright angry when anyone said anything derogatory about him. I had no idea what all that jealously meant until the last night of the Triple Crown Nationals.
Sitting in the stands, much like the night I met him for the first time, I watched as the announced his name over the loud speaker. Doing their salute to the fans he messed around, revving his engine and throwing the car sideways in the turns to rouse the fans. He knew how to put on a show. He had recently gotten the name Mr. Excitement in the USAC divisions by the fans because he’d wait until the last few laps and either let another car catch him or make his move on another to kick up the crowd.
Watching closely as he waved to the crowd, my thoughts swirled around wanting those very same hands touching me. Just the same as any other night, the same thrill shot through me when he revved his engine and the same erratic beating of my heart was there when he took the green flag.
One would think someone who was only eighteen years old would show some sort of rookie mistake but he didn’t. He rocked the house that night. His agile movements, his alertness, his adroitness shined.
Even Tyler and Justin, the only two that could stop him this season couldn’t touch him that night. He was in a league of his own.
I stayed in the stands until he took the checkered flag. Even when he did, I stayed back and simply just watched his unpretentious but confident side emerge in victory lane.
He glanced around when Tommy and Spencer darted down to the track. I thought maybe he was looking for me but I couldn’t be sure. He took his picture with the trophy girls and received his check for winning before making his way into the pits. I decided to catch him at the trailer to congratulate him when the trophy girl made her way there as well.
Lately this would have infuriated me but seeing Jameson smile the way he did when he saw me, I realized at the moment, what I felt for my best friend was way more than friends now.
When he kissed me, it shook me to my core. I was weak and I’d never been weak. I was independent but when he kissed me, I was reliant and helpless.
Pit lizards surrounded us when Jameson hoisted himself from the car, his face flushed and his eyes glowing.
“Come here.” He mouthed.
Naturally, I pushed forward and approached his car.
I smiled, probably a sappy puppy smile but I tried to fight any emotion that would give away that I was most likely in love with my best friend.
“Good job.” I reached up to wipe some dirt from his cheek.
He leaned into my hand covering it with his own. He didn’t say anything but he stared into my eyes for a long moment before chuckling. “I can’t believe I won Nationals.”
“I can.”
