Page 171 of The Champion
Heading back to my motor coach, Nadia caught me again.Nadia had caused just about every wreck this season and wasn’t exactly on anydriver’s good side. I’d been tangled with her a handful of times and usuallygot it turned around before the race ended aside from Michigan when she took usboth out just five laps into the race. Did I confront her?
No. I kept my distance.
“Not right now.” I told her when she asked if we couldhave a drink.
I knew where that was heading and I wasn’t in the moodfor her shit again. In a season where she was barely hanging on outside the toptwenty in points, she felt the need to get attention from the driversconfirming Spencer’s theories about her sleeping her way to the top.
“You know Jameson,” this was the point of theconversation that I actually acknowledged her and looked up. “Sometimes it’snice to have a friend. That’s all I was wanting. Everyone hates me.”
I couldn’t tell whether she was serious or not but givingmy shitty attitude for the night, I replied as I always would.
“Your temper is the reason you have every other driver onthis series hating you.”
“Something you know all about.” It was meant to besarcastic and I knew that.
“I do.” I told her with the same amount of sarcasm. “Youneed to relax out there before you kill someone.”
“Also like you?”
That’s when I lost it.
“All right,” I turned to her stepping closer and had herbacked against the side of her motor coach. “I’ve tried to be nice to you butyou don’t seem to get it. No one in this series will ever take you seriouslyand no one will take it easy on you. If you wreck someone, you better be readyto defend that action, something I knowverywell.”
I then walked away. I could have said more but I thoughtI got my point across.
Darlington Strip – Sway
When he came in and slammed the door behind him, I had afeeling something happened but with Jameson, it was best to give him room. Ifyou pushed, he blew. Just like the coals in a fire when the wind blew, theyignited. The more anyone tried to control Jameson, the more he defied them.
I knew this had to do with Paul as it had been all overESPN and SPEED the last few weeks.
For about an hour, I left him alone until he tossed hisphone on the table and stormed back into the bedroom of the motor coach.
“Fucking bullshit news reporters,” He grumbled as hepushed passed me and his knuckles met the closet door. “Goddamn it!”
Casten smiled. “He’s had a bad day.”
Nodding, I followed Jameson but before I did, I looked backat Casten and Axel playing video games. “I’d go find something to do outside ofthe motor coach if I was you.”
They knew Jameson just as well as I did. They knew heneeded space.
Both of them were outside before I got the door bedroomopen.
Jameson was lying on the bed with a pillow over his head.
“Don’t bother me.” His voice was muffled from the pillow.
“Don’t bother you, huh?” Straddling his legs, my handsreached out to his.
“Yes, don’t bother me.” His tone was now clipped andslightly edged the way he used with reporters. Not me.
And despite his shitty mood, his fingers wrapped aroundmine.
“I think I could improve your mood.”
He let go of one of my hands to rip the pillow from hisface. “What did you have in mind?”
“Oh you know...it’sbeen a while since I did any micro polishing.” My finger traced the line of hisready camshaft through his jeans. For being damn near forty now, the DirtyHeathen and his Mama Wizard had no problems with dyno testing.
