High Adrenaline [A NASCAR Story] Chapter Two

When I found DeLana, she was in the garage, overseeing the work being done on Kevin's 29 Chevrolet, but Kevin was nowhere to be seen.

She smiled when she saw me and held up a finger, made a comment to one of the mechanics, and then stepped out into the sun.

"How are you?" she asked as I gave her a hug.

"I'm good. What about you?"

"I'm good. Busy though."

"You always are."

She laughed.

"How's Kevin?"

"He's good; excited for another season to start."

"Tony too."

She smiled. "You're here quite early."

"I quit my job."

"What?!" she looked shocked.

"Shh! I haven't told anyone yet. Not even Tony." I had quit two days before I flew out to Daytona.

"Why?" she asked.

"Too unstable. Harder to see my favorite boys when I want. I spent the last of my final paycheck to come out here and surprise Tony."

"I thought you loved that job; you're such a great photographer."

"I did. But I know I can find something better."

"When are you going to tell your brother?"

I shrugged. "After practice?"

"It'll screw up his mindset. What about before you leave?"

"On the plane, maybe? I'm going back to California with him, if we don't get pissed at each other between now and then."

"What are you going to do then?"

"Look for a new job when I get home."

"You know, there's always a seat for you on our plane if you need it."

"Thanks."

Kevin showed up then.

"Hey Mikaela," he said and kissed DeLana on the cheek.

"Hi Kevin."

"I just came back from talking with Tony, he didn't seem too happy when I mentioned seeing you earlier."

"He and I kind of got into a fight when I first got here."

DeLana rolled her eyes. "You two will never learn."

"You have no room to talk," Kevin smiled. "You're an only child."

"Be glad too," I said. "Brothers are a pain in the ass. We'll get over it though, I'm sure."

"What was it over?" DeLana asked.

"I'd rather just let it go," I sighed.

"All right. Well, Kevin, honey, we should go. Nice seeing you, Mikaela."

I noticed the mechanics were finally done for now. I said goodbye and walked back down to Kyle's pitbox.

I smiled up at Alan as I climbed up and took the seat next to him. He gave me a distracted smile in return and turned his attention back to the track, asking Kyle how his car felt.

For most of practice that day, Kyle was putting down lap times that scored him somewhere towards the back of the pack, no matter how much the crew worked on the car. He wouldn't be in greatest mood when it was over, that much I knew. With about a half hour left, Kyle pulled the car back onto pit road and climbed out, not even bothering to take it back to garage. His pit crew began pushing the car back towards their stall.

Alan asked if he wanted to go back out later. Kyle said there was no point since practice was almost over. The crew could work on it but he wouldn't be able to try it out until tomorrow's afternoon practice. He grabbed my hand as he passed by me and we made our way to his motor coach in the driver's compound.

As he held the door open for me, I hugged him tightly.

"The car will be better tomorrow," I told him.

Pulling away, he smiled at me, knowing that I had only said it to make him feel better, not that I really knew if it would be or not.

"Have a seat, maybe watch some tv, I'm going to go take a shower," he said, making his way to the bedroom.

Not even bothering to turn the tv on, I laid down on the leather couch and fell asleep.

Not too long after I began to drift off to sleep, I felt someone brush their hand against my cheek. Then, they picked me up. My hand grazed a doorway and the person cursed under their breath. Kyle.

Not bothering to open my eyes, I felt my body sink into, what I assumed, was his bed. The smell of his cologne and blankets being thrown over me confirmed my assumption.

I heard his footsteps move away from me, so I finally spoke up, "You could have left me on the couch, you know." I felt the bed shift.

"I know, but you didn't look all that comfortable."

I opened my eyes a little. He was sitting on the end of the bed.

"How about we take a nap?" I asked.

He laughed, crawled up the bed to the pillows, and laid down next to me. I scooted closer to him, lying my head on his chest and he ran his fingers through my hair.

"Some of the guys and I are having a bonfire on the beach tomorrow night. You should come."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. It's not like you'll be the only girl there. The other guys' wives and girlfriends will be there too."

I laughed. "Awe. But I wanted to feel special."

"You are special, hon, but sadly, no one can do anything about it; even the professionals are clueless."

I picked my head up and smacked his chest. "You're mean."

"I didn't mean it," he laughed, rubbing his chest. "But that really hurt."

I rolled away from him and almost right off the edge of the bed. "Go away, I don't want to be your friend anymore."

He grabbed me by my waist and pulled me back to him.

"You don't mean that," he smiled, laughing a little.

"Yes, I do," I pouted, sticking out my bottom lip and giving him the saddest look I could muster.

He rolled over, so he was lying on top of me and smirked at me.

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do." I tried to push him off me and he pinned my hand to the pillow above my head.

He smiled a little as his face neared mine. "No, you don't."

"Yes, yes, I do," I said as I tried to push him away again with my other hand. He pinned it down and suddenly kissed me.

A little shocked at first, my eyes began to close as he deepened the kiss, running his tongue along my bottom lip. Then, I wiggled my hands free from his grip and pushed him away.

"I should go." I squirmed out of his reach and made towards the doorway.

"Mikaela, I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?" And with that, I left.

Making my way back to the garage area, I was still unsure what had just happened.

Kyle kissed me. My best friend for almost two years kissed me. I just couldn't seem to let it sink in. If he liked me, I would have noticed it, wouldn't I? Guess not, otherwise I would have seen that coming. Now, he's going to think I hate him or something because I pushed him away. But I don't, I was just... surprised.

I found Tony in the garage, talking with Greg Zippadelli about the car. Practice must have just ended.

"Tony?"

"Mikaela, you feeling okay?" Zippy asked. "You look a little pale."

"I'm just a little out of it, that's all."

"RV's on the second row, fifth one down," Tony said, without looking up from the papers he was holding.

He's still mad.

"Thanks."

My brother and I were like that sometimes. We could tell what the other was going to ask before the words had even left our mouths.

As soon as I found the motor coach, I walked in and passed out on the couch for the night.