Page 199 of The Champion
Is this appropriate?I thought to myself.
Shit, where’s Sway when I need her?Or Spencer,I know he’s had to have had this conversation with Lane by now.
“Well,” I began still glancing around the room as thoughsomeone was going to rescue me at any moment. “With practice it gets easier tohold back. Listen,” I sighed. “I feel weird giving you advice about this sortof thing but I’d rather you get it from me than someone else, especially yourmoron uncles. How does Lily feel about this? Did you pressure her into this?”
“No,” he answered immediately. “Not at all...” His eyes once again sunk to the spring hewas holding. “We were at Williams Grove a couple weeks ago when you guys werein Darlington...after the race Justinlet us go out to get some dinner. When we got back, he had left us a note sayinghe’d be back later. I was ready to go to bed but Lily; she wanted to try havingsex. She’s been wanting to for a while, she wanted me to be her first. We’vedone everything else so I thought it was time to do it.” He shrugged. “It wasover in like a minute and I was embarrassed,reallyembarrassed. Wetried it again a couple weeks later and the same thing. I know it’s supposed tobe pleasurable for her but I can’t last long enough. Is that bad?”
Noticeably, I was not prepared for this. I was sweating worsethan him now.
“Like I said, it gets easier to control yourself.” Ichoked out. “Axel, buddy you need to be careful, okay?” he only nodded. “Youdon’t want to be a dad this soon...everythingyou’ve worked for would be put on hold, you know that right?”
“I do, she’s on birth control and I used a condom.”
“Okay, well good,”
“Did you have sex with a lot of woman before you metmom?”
“What?” It was my turn for the color to drain from myface. “Axel, have you had sex before Lily?” I asked alarmed and feeling like ahorrible parent for not knowing my son was sexually active.
His face turned a shade darker than his red sprint car.“I uh...shit.” He sighed.
“Damn kid,” I laughed. “I’m really late at this huh?”
“I wanted to tell you...but I thought you guys would be mad at me.”
“Why would we be mad at you?”
“I don’t know...Ijust thought you would be.”
“How many?”
I was almost afraid to know the answer now judging by myown background and I knew the way woman acted around race car drivers, letalone the kid and grandson of two well-known racers.
“Just one...youremember Shaylee, right?” I nodded remembering the girl in Ohio we met at theChili Bowl earlier in the year. She reminded me of Chelsea and I distinctlyremember warning Axel about her. “It was awful and she told everyone about it,including Lily.
“How’d Lily deal with that?”
“She cried...that’sthe night we had sex for the first time.”
This was worse than I thought.
“Okay, so you slept with another chick and then told yourgirlfriend about it and took her virginity the same night you told her?” Islapped the back of his head. “What the fuck is the matter with you, takinglessons from me?”
“I hurt her...Ifelt awful. I don’t even know why I did it...Iwanted it to be with Lily but she didn’t want to at the time, Shaylee did.”
“Think with your head kid, not your dick.”
He chuckled sarcastically. “Thanks for thelateadvice.”
“Hey,” I said defensively. “I had no idea you weresexually active, or wanting to be.”
“Really?” his eyebrow arched in question. “Are youretarded? Do you not even realize how much time I spend in the bathroom ortouching Lily? I’m all over the poor girl. I think I remember you actuallywalking in on us.”
“Oh I saw...but Ididn’t think you wereactingon it. If I remember, your clothes were atleast on.”
“It’s a little hard not to think about sex when girlsthrow themselves into your lap after races and Lily, well she’s innocent.” Hegroaned. “I can’t believe how bad I messed this up with her.”
“What do you mean? I saw you guys when I came inside.”
