“Hey, Sarah,” I say to my sister when she answers her phone. I hear my parents’ neighbors’ voices on the other side of the line, cheering wildly.
“Jake, you were awesome out there. Congrats, that was a hell of a race. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks, I can hardly believe myself that I’m the world champion.” I actually have my father to thank for everything. He was the one who sort of pushed me into this sport. He’s always been a big fan of motorcycling. He bought me my first motorcycle when I was 14, and I haven’t separated from it ever since. I gradually started competing. First in local races, I also tried myself in motocross, but motorcycling is my true passion and calling.
“Everybody says hi and we can’t wait to see you. When are you flying home?”
“I’m not sure yet, probably next week. I have a million things to do before I take a break. I’ll call you again later, okay?” I head down the hall back to the track.
“Great, congrats again. Now, go. I know you’re busy.”
“Okay, I’ll see you,” I reply and put the phone in the pocket of my racing suit. As I glance back up, I spot a girl walking toward me. Damn, one of the groupies again. How the hell did she manage to get inside? A sweet voice interrupts my inner monologue.
“Excuse me, Sir.”
I frown. Who is she calling Sir? “Sir? I’m far from a Sir, babe.” I can see the girl is uncomfortable and she takes a step back. “Are you lost? This area is for employees only,” I say, and quickly check her out. She’s smoking hot. Who wouldn’t want to feast their eyes on her? Scratching my chin in thought, I lock my gaze with hers. It suddenly hits me. It’s the girl from the beach. I’ll never forget her sad, beautiful eyes. And right now, they’re not filled with desire, she’s not smiling seductively like the other girls who want to get me into their bed. No, she’s watching me cautiously, and I suddenly want to know more about her. I wonder if she remembers me from the other day.
“I’m searching for a bathroom. Could you please point me to the right direction?” she asks, and I eye her suspiciously. She seems genuine.
“You’ll have to go back,” I soften my voice. “Up the stairs and left, right by the entrance.” She thanks me, and flashes me one of the most beautiful smiles I’ve ever seen. As I watch her hurry away, I return to the track because there are some VIP visitors out there that I have to greet. I was told we would have to photograph with them and answer a few of their questions.
After a quick interview with the press, I head to the VIP crowd. Everybody is gathered around Mike, who is already handing out his autographs. I suddenly hear some girl talking about wanting me all to herself if she didn’t have a boyfriend. Nothing new. I hear stuff like that on daily basis. I wonder what she looks like, so I briefly turn around. Two girls are staring at me, but I only notice an already familiar pair of eyes—it’s the girl from the hallway. I flash them my I-overheard-you-talking-about-me grin, and fix my baseball cap. I can’t wait to take it off, but for now, it has to remain on my head because of the sponsors. When I see her redheaded friend has left her, I approach the mysterious girl from the hallway. I have to see what is that magnetic force that keeps pulling me to her. I’m not saying she’s not sexy, hell, she’s gorgeous, but there’s also something else that attracts me to her, her curiosity, innocence, vulnerability, and her eyes. I ask her what she thought of the game and her answer surprises me. Girls mostly give me their sugar-coated lines like how they are totally in love with this sport and how they’re impressed by my amazing skills. But she outright tells me she doesn’t like motorcycling, heck, she even apologizes. I like her honesty and her shyness. Right before I can ask her what her name is, Mike approaches, and reminds me we still have a ton of things to do. I swear under my breath, and with a heavy heart, I have to leave the mysterious girl’s side.
At the press conference, around twenty minutes later, we’re waiting for the reporters to start asking questions, so we’re chatting casually in the meantime. When we hear the first question, we turn to the crowd of people and focus on the conference.
“Jake, congratulations on another fine win today. It was an intense race and you deservedly won. Tell us your thoughts on the race, and what your plans are for the future?”
“Thank you,” I respond and fix my baseball cap. “Well, I’m satisfied with the way I raced today. There were a few tiny mistakes, but they didn’t jeopardize my finishing first. The race was quite difficult with Gonzales breathing down my neck the whole time, but I still managed to keep the lead. I’m happy. I still have some training sessions and then I can finally take a well-deserved rest.” I wait for Gonzales and Barta to take some more questions, and then we return to our teams.