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I shook my head. “No way. I’ll never make it. I won’t have enough fuel.”
“You’re losing a bunch of it because of the oversteer anyway, Dyson. It won’t make a huge difference but it might be enough to keep you close to Gunter at the end.”
He had a point.
“Okay, when should I come in?”
“Eleven laps.”
When the time came, I pulled in and glanced in the direction of the observation tower. I saw Ava standing there. I was going to be there for at least a minute so I called her over the radio.
“Did you see Dieter?” I asked.
Ava hesitated for a moment. “Y-Yes, I did. How did you know about that?”
“I know about everything that happens with my team.”
“Oh really,” she replied. “Do I have you to thank for that?”
“No,” I said, glancing up towards her. “You earned that. You’re one of us.”
In my ear piece, I heard the sound of a hard swallow.
“Thank you for saying that, Dyson.”
“Of course. Oh I almost forgot to ask. Did Dieter tell you about your other surprise?”
“Maybe.”
Just then, I felt the reassuring thump of tires striking the ground beneath me. Getting the thumbs-up from my crew, I accelerated out of the pits.
“Good, we’ll have something to celebrate over, after I win.”
Ava giggled, sending vibrations into my ear piece and through my body, straight to my crotch.
“I’m looking forward to it,” she said.
Ten laps later, the adjustments we made helped, but not by a lot. I was still fighting the oversteer, but I felt like if I could just get out of traffic and into some open air, I’d have a shot. There was only one way to do it, though. And no one was going to like it, least of all Darren.
With only five laps to go, I began to take chances that I knew would piss him off. I used ridiculously low lines and did everything I could to minimize the drift coming into the turns, especially turn one off the straightaway, the worst of them all.
The laps ticked off, one by one. I was making steady progress, but still in third. Gunter was almost five car lengths ahead of me. Coming into the home straightaway, I took a chance and passed the car right in front of me on the high side. Luckily, the risk paid off, and as I hit the corner at the end of the straightaway, I stayed clear of him.
Darren went ballistic.
“Dyson!” he screamed. “What the fuck was that! You could have just as easily…”
“Shut up man!” I yelled in return. “One more word, and I swear to Christ I’ll turn this radio off.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Darren fired back, “Don’t threaten me like that. If you don’t…”
I’d had enough.
I turned the radio off before another sound entered my ear. Dead ahead, only a couple of car lengths away, was Gunter. I managed to close the gap, and as we rounded the turn into the home straightaway, I took the low line and passed him.
Ripping by the grandstands, I heard the roar of the crowd over the wailing of the engine. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I took the lead with one lap to go.
However, as the car entered turn one, it got loose.
Nothing about the way it had acted the entire day prepared me for how it behaved. I managed to steer out of trouble and keep my lead ahead of Gunter. As we worked our way around the back side of the course, I wondered what Darren must have been thinking. It was nice to not have him screaming in my ear for a change.
Now, distraction free, I was able to focus on the road ahead. And, as we came into the final third of the course, it became obvious how much concentration I’d need. Just ahead, we were about to hit traffic as we caught up to cars not on the lead lap.
In the distance, I heard a loud groan from the huge crowd. I gripped the steering wheel. Something wasn’t right. There was no reason for that kind of reaction this far out from the grandstands. And then, while coming over a rise, I saw the reason for the sound come into view.
A massive pileup, heading into the last turn before the straightaway, choked the road ahead with dark billows of smoke.
Shit.
Somehow I had to get through it and come out the other side unscathed, in case we finished under caution. Approaching the scene, I noticed debris everywhere. There was no sense in trying to avoid it piecemeal. On pure instinct, I accelerated, and drove into the darkness of the pileup. But as soon as I entered the blackness, I lost traction and started to slide.
Oil.
Gunter followed right behind me, and unless I could somehow straighten my slide, he would likely make it through and win the race. I did everything I could to steer through, and as we emerged into the sunlight once again, I noticed Gunter in my mirror.
The lingering smell of fire and fuel burned my nose and eyes, causing them to water. The last turn leading into the home straightaway was dead ahead. With oil-slick tires and battling oversteer, I downshifted as aggressively as possible, avoiding the brakes at all costs.
I hit the turn, and as I did, I lost the back end. It kissed the wall.
Gunter appeared in my peripheral vision to my left. At the last instant, I accelerated out of the turn, straightening it and pulling even with him.
Together, side-by-side, we roared down the home straightaway.
In the distance, I could see the checkered flag waving, the officials apparently deciding to forgo the caution.
I had nothing left—the car was at its limit.
If Gunter edged past me now, there would’ve been nothing I could do about it. The grandstands went by in my peripheral vision, a blur of color and chaos.
Just ahead, the finish line…
AVA
I made my way through the crush of people in the aftermath of the race. I didn’t think it was possible to put this many people in such a small space at once. Chest to chest, toe to toe, we inched along like a horde of insects.
Even though I’d been around the racing circuit for a couple of months now, I didn’t see a single face I recognized for at least ten minutes. In fact, it wasn’t until I felt someone grab me from behind that the first people I recognized appeared in front of me.
Anastasia and Svetlana. Really?
While people streamed past us in every direction, Anastasia stepped towards me.
“You think you win?” she began, glaring at me. “You fool.”
Before she could say another word, Svetlana spoke.
“Dyson, he love many women. Soon you will be gone.”
In all honesty, I’d forgotten about the Grid Girls.
Although I’d been surprised by their appearance in Dyson’s motor coach in Los Angeles, he hadn’t given me any reason to doubt him afterward. Even so, there was a small part of me, like a tiny ember in a fire not fully extinguished, which forced me to listen to them in spite of their ridiculous behavior.
“So what?” I began, stepping towards them and invading their personal space for the first time ever. “Am I just supposed to take your word for it? What do you think? Because you’re beautiful and men fall all over themselves to be around you—that every man is the same?”
Passersby took notice of my aggressiveness. While they didn’t stop, people in the immediate vicinity slowed down and watched with interest. The two girls glanced at one another in the first display of doubt I’d ever seen from them.
“I don’t care whether you happen to be right or not,” I began, edging closer to them. “If you don’t stop harassing me, I can promise you will regret it.”
Just then, a man’s voice I didn’t recognize offered his opinion from the throng of passersby, “Catfight!”
I straightened my spine and stared at them. If they wanted to fight, then I was ready.
“Well?” I said, daring them to say or do anything.
As before, they remained silent but glanced at each other for a split second. The next thing I knew, they began to back away from me. Something inside just told me to let them go, not pursue.
Nevertheless, I watched them.
Svetlana pointed at me. “Dyson never love you. Ever.”
Seconds later, they vanished into the crowd. I shook my head and turned, continuing in the direction I’d been on before they interrupted me. Following the signs and the excitement, I eventually wound up at my destination - the winner’s circle.
Pushing through the sea of bodies, I emerged, and after briefly being stopped by security, I continued on to join the celebration with the team. With his victory, Dyson had a real shot at winning the overall championship from Gunter. At the center of the celebration, I noticed Dyson, trading high-fives and hugs with everyone, even Darren.
I stood there for a few minutes just admiring the camaraderie, glad to be included in such a happy event. It wasn’t long before Dyson’s eyes met mine. He froze in place, raising his arms above his head. Over the next few seconds, he silenced everyone in the immediate area and gestured for me to approach.
Not exactly thrilled about being the center of attention, I walked with my head down, only glancing up on occasion to smile at faces I recognized along the way. Soon enough, nothing stood between Dyson and me. He straightened his arm, extending his hand in my direction.
I took it, moving closer to him amid a smattering of applause.
Before I could say anything, Dyson pulled me towards him. His scent was something I’d come to love, just like him. It was an indescribable mix of fuel and sweat and danger. I barely had a chance to slide my tongue across my lips before he pressed his mouth against mine. He held me close, squeezing me in a hard embrace, consuming me the entire time.
