Oh, it’s fucking real, Steve.
We both hear Mack coming and I move to take my hand back, as much as I want to leave it there.
“Tell me,” Steve demands, and I nod feverishly.
“Later,” is all I can manage. “Just later.”
He’s already pulling back but I can’t let him go. Mack is within earshot when his low, growling voice, filled with passion floods my ear as he leans right in, actually touching my earlobe with his lips.
“I can’t stay. Because if I do I won’t be able to stop,” he says, his voice shaking with emotion.
“I don’t want you to stop, Steve… just promise me? Another time… soon?”
He pulls away as Mack pushes his way into the hallway, an armful of tool cases and a box of paperwork.
“Pinky? Give us a hand, will ya? Thanks.”
Before I can look twice, Steve’s gone again, and I feel a dry croak forming at the back of my throat.
Hoping like hell he caught my meaning, wishing with all my heart he felt how much I love him through my hand.
“What’s eating him?” Mack asks as we both hear Steve’s truck peeling off into the distance.
“Seen it before though,” he adds casually. “Night before a new gig, it tests a man, no right or wrong way to go about it, I guess.”
I pull a small smile, and relieving myself of a box by setting it on the kitchen table, Mack reminds me how his arrival really has ruined things for me.
“I spoke to your dad just now, slight change of plan, he’s getting some take out. We’ll go over a few things tonight and you guys will be off in the morning,” he says cheerfully.
Stifling a groan, I silently excuse myself and go to my room, bolting my door for probably the first time ever, and throwing myself face down on my pillows to cry.
Just don’t forget me, Steve.
CHAPTER SIX
Steve
It’s not Mack’s fault. Not really, he’s just doin’ his job. I’ve seen him quite a few times over the years at Mike’s auto shop. Always has his head down.
Not to be rude, he’s just doing his job.
And not even a hard word about not offering him a position with the team either. Mike couldn’t have anyone better to cover him while he’s away.
He’s maybe just got a longer fuse than me, but when I saw him at the door as soon as I got around the corner, all my instincts for Penny took over.
He’s lucky I didn’t nail him to the wall, even though he’s probably old enough to be her grandpa.
And you’re old enough to be her what?
I can’t shake the feeling or the memory after the fact, and I do what I’ve always done when I’m stressed out or just don’t know what to do.
I drive.
Even though in this case, I know exactly what I want and I really do think Penny does too. I just need to get to the race meet, the new job, and then I’ll get Mike, Penny’s dad sorted.
Then… I tell myself, the gloves are off. I’m a man who knows what he wants, and I’ve always wanted to be a Pro driver for a national team.
And now I’ve got that in the bag.
I also realize now that I want Penny, more than anything else. And I’ll be damned if I waste another minute holding back.
And I’ll never walk away without her on my arm again.
Never again.
I swear that to myself, opening up the throttle on the open highway that stretches out for miles in a straight line.
Not crazy fast, reckless driving. Just cruising at the maximum speed the law allows with a window down on a warm evening. It’s nowhere what I really need right now, but it’ll help me focus and blow away some cobwebs before the meet tomorrow.
After a couple of hours, and nothing but Penny on my mind still, I turn around and despite needing to go home to sleep, I find my car making its way quietly back to the same street next to Penny's side of the house.
I can’t even tell myself I shouldn’t be doing this anymore. Until she’s home with me, I’m keeping my eyes on her 24/7, every chance I get. That’s just how I feel.
I check my phone, no messages from anyone. Most people know to leave a driver to himself before race day. But I don’t want to be anywhere else, and just as I have the thought of calling her, I see the garage lights go on.
Without even having to get out and look, I know it’s Mike. He’s loading up his truck for tomorrow. Like Santa, making his list and checking it twice.
It makes him the best mechanic a driver could want. Too bad I’m gonna have to be the one who’s naughty, not nice. Even though I really hope we can still be friends, I’ve known Mike for a long time.
Hell, I was there the day he first saw Penny, called her Pinky from then on. He sure does love her, and is protective to boot but she’s a young woman now. Old enough to make her own way in the world.
It’s my time to be with her.
Our time.
Our own family too.
Mack’s car disappears after not too long and not long after that, the light in Penny’s room goes dark.
Mike’s up late, tinkering.
I want to talk to him, to tell him how I feel, but it’s not the right time for that. He’s got his mind set on his job, like mine should be on the race, but since Penny touched me, since the moment she let me know she wants me, I don’t know if I’ll ever sleep again.
The fence isn’t too high for me not to see over, but I’m not gonna break and enter just to look at her. I decide to keep silent vigil through the night, with a few
