Junkie(28)
I laughed the entire time, and she stomped on my foot, which hurt like hell, but when I looked in the mirror when she was done, I liked the way it looked. It definitely was a lot less rumpled than the way I usually did it.
So I compromised. I wore it like this half the time, and the other half, I just sort of let it do its thing.
Some hair can’t be contained. Like Rimmel’s. Ivy tried to give her classes, too.
Once I was sure my hair would pass the sister test, I left the bathroom for my duffle. I was dressed in a pair of low-rise jeans that looked more grey than blue and a plain white T-shirt. Trent was on the couch with his phone to his ear, listening to whoever was on the other end.
My hand closed over a baseball-style T-shirt with dark-yellow sleeves and a white torso. I pulled it on and tucked just the front behind the buckle on my black belt. My black leather jacket was by the door, and I’d throw that on before we left.
Beneath my two shirts, I was wearing my lucky necklace. I wore it all the time. It was a long silver chain with a speedometer pendant. Ivy gave it to me years ago before I’d driven in a race. I’d won that day, thus making it lucky.
No, I wasn’t dressed up for the meeting. Going to see Gamble dressed in a suit would be a lie. He needed to see exactly who he was getting as a driver, because a sponsor put down a lot of money and they needed to know where and who it was going into.
Besides, I drove better when I dressed like myself.
Trent tossed the phone on the couch, and I looked over. “Something wrong?”
“Nah, just checking in with the frat, making sure no one did anything stupid last night.”
I made a sound. “Jack still kissing your ass?”
He laughed. “Not too bad. Apparently, Con’s not too happy about my decision, though.”
“Shocker.” I dropped down on the couch and picked up my coffee, which was almost gone.
“Your phone’s been going off.” Trent gestured to my cell lying on the table.
I grabbed it and lit up the screen. I had a bunch of texts.
I smiled. “Rome told everyone about the meeting.”
I thumbed through the messages. One from each of our family members.
Romeo: Own the road today.
Ivy: I love you! Be safe!
Rimmel: Should I tell you to break a leg? That’s not very nice. Drive fast!
Braeden: Don’t come home without a deal.
I laughed when I read B’s. My brother-in-law was a piece of work.
Trent leaned toward me, and I held the phone between us and scrolled through again so he could read them. He laughed, too.
My phone beeped again. I called up the newest text. It was a picture of my almost six-month-old niece, Nova, dressed in a T-shirt with a hot-pink racecar on the front.
Ivy: Nova loves you, too!
It meant a lot to have the support of everyone for this. I’d always had a big family. I grew up in one. But family seemed to take on a new meaning when I moved here to be closer to my sister. There was something special about family by choice.
It wasn’t blood that held us all together.
It was loyalty.
Love.
I typed out a quick text to my sister. Thanks for all the messages. Give Nova a kiss for me. I’ll call you later.
Trent jumped up from the couch, stretched his long arms out at his sides, and tucked his phone in the back pocket of his jeans. “You ready for this?”
“I was born ready.”
Holy hot damn!
That was my thought when we pulled up to the Gamble Motor Speedway. The place was a bona fide track that made what I was doing here today even more surreal and exciting.
It wasn’t the biggest raceway I’d ever seen, but it wasn’t the smallest. Clearly, Gamble put money into this place, and he also paid to keep it up to date. Everything was pretty industrial looking. All concrete, steel, and grey. The area around the building was clear of trees and flat, and a large parking lot stretched out around us.
There was a man standing at the entrance that would allow us through and into the track area. When I slid up beside him and rolled the window down, he handed over two lanyards with a pass clipped to the front and had me sign in. Once that was done, we were given a thumbs-up, and he waved us through.
I drove slowly, taking in the moment. When we cleared the tunnel and rolled out onto the inside of the track, I wanted to cry.
It was a damn beautiful sight.
The track itself was oval shaped, and I estimated it to be about a mile and a half. There was a lot of seating capacity around it—more than enough for NASCAR races if one were ever hosted here. From what I read, only a few NASCAR races had taken place here, and that was years ago. Mostly, this track was used for local and statewide events. It also served as a headquarters for Gamble’s racing “team.”