“Good night, Jake,” I whisper before I close the door behind him. I sigh deeply, and lean on my front door.
Chapter Seven
Jake
Two days later, I’m lying in my bed, thinking about Ella. Why is she always so distant? So sad? I hardly ever saw her laugh. What hurt her so much? Who hurt her? And what is so special about her that pulls me to her like a moth to the flame? I snort. Everything about her is perfect. Her eyes¸ damn, I could stare into her eyes for days. They are so gentle, so kind. There’s not a trace of evil in them. And her luscious lips—every time she ran her tongue along her lips I wished I could be the tongue. I bet they are as soft and sweet as they look. Her silky brown hair is just long enough for me to wrap them around my hand and...
My phone rings and disrupts my erotic fantasies.
“Hey, mate! What’s up?” I hear Mike’s content voice on the other side of the line.
“I’ll be damned. Look who’s calling. Have you finally come up for air and unglued yourself from Debbie?” I tease him.
“Shut up,” he laughs.
“How’s vacation?”
“Hot, in every sense of the word,” he says and laughs mischievously. He and Debbie are still in Australia, but in a few days they are leaving for Africa.
“Spare me the details.”
“Aww, someone is jealous,” he says in a child’s voice. “What, you haven’t gotten laid lately?”
“Fuck you,” I laugh.
“How’s training? Have you taken any time off already?”
“I don’t have time to rest. You know me, and that’s why I kick your ass every time,” I grin smugly.
“Low blow, mate,” he chuckles. I know he isn’t offended. That’s just how we are with each other.
“Say hi to Debbie for me.” We exchange some more words before I put the phone back on the nightstand and start getting ready for my practice. I only have one more practice session, and then I’m off for the rest of December. Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t be running or cycling if the weather allows it. I also made plans with my buddies to hit the town, grab a beer, and shoot some pool to catch up. I haven’t seen them in a long time, and I can use some company to help me take my mind off a certain gorgeous brunette for a few hours.
I drive out of my garage, and notice two paparazzi outside my fence, lighting the gray foggy morning sky with their camera flashes. I pull my black beanie down lower on my head, and carefully drive past them. At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I park in the spot reserved for me, grab my bag, and head to the gym. I know the track so well already I could ride it with my eyes closed. I sign a few autographs in front of the entrance, and then hurry to the locker room where I put on my workout clothes.
“You’re here early,” Tony Richards, one of the coaches on my team, pats me on the shoulder. I say hello, and finish tying my sneakers.
“So, what do you have planned for me today?” I ask him. I can’t wait to start.
“We’re going to work on your conditioning. Follow me.” Yes, even racers have to work on our conditioning—a lot. Preparations for the race begin much earlier than at the track. They start in the gym. I also do a lot of cardio—I run and cycle a lot. I like to push myself to the limit until I’m practically unable to stand on my feet anymore. That’s when I know the training session was successful. An average race lasts for approximately 45 minutes. My heart beat during the race increases to almost 160 beats per minute. It’s crucial I stay in good shape to handle such exertions. I step into the big gym under the track, and run a few laps to warm up. Then I start with strength training. We work with weights a lot, doing squats, deadlifts and pull-ups. Testing my reaction time is also a very important part of my training-it’s basically how fast I react to visual stimulus. There’s a big board with eleven randomly arranged light buttons mounted on a wall. The lights are lit randomly or in a repetitive fashion, and I have to press them as fast as possible. This helps me during the races because, a lot of times, I have to react in a split second, which can save my life in an actual race. But it’s not just my physical condition that is important. I spend a lot of time preparing mentally. Many times, especially before the race, I like to relax with an upbeat and catchy song. People often tell me how lucky I am to have so many beautiful women around me before the race, but in reality, I don’t even notice them. I usually wear sunglasses, which help me concentrate, and camera flashes don’t bother me so much. Every disturbance on the track can be fatal.