“Lately, you’ve been seen in the company of a young woman. Are you a couple? What’s her name?” some other reporter asks. His question has nothing to do with racing, so I thank them for their questions, and tell them I have some other business to attend to. “Jake, come on. Just tell us her name, you know everybody wants to know.” I fume, trying to hold myself back from punching him. Inhaling deeply, I head to the locker room to wait for Mike. No way I’m giving them Ella’s name. That would be like throwing her to the sharks. They would follow her every step, and I don’t want that for her.
* ~ *
“Where are you taking me?” Ella asks as we sit in my car. Today is her birthday, and I want to make it perfect for her. We have spent two wonderful weeks together, and I’m surprised that I want her more every day. I grin at her.
“You’ll see.” As soon as we park in front of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, her jaw drops.
“What are we doing here?”
I turn in my seat to her, and reach for her hand. “I know you hate racing and everything connected to it,” I point behind me, “but I want you to see firsthand how it looks like when I practice or race. I want to show you it’s not as dangerous as you think.” I don’t let her say anything, just step out of the car, walk to the other side, open her door and extend my hand to her. She looks up at me, and then puts her small hand into my big one. I pull her out, and give her a tender kiss because every minute I don’t spend with my lips on hers is lost. I smile, and we head into the main building where we take a look around. I show her the room I’m waiting for the race to begin in when we race here. She sits down in a turning chair where I usually sit, and watches me. Usually, my whole team is here, portable radios are buzzing, and reporters are bugging me with their questions. Now, it’s quiet because we are the only ones here. I show her the gadgets we use, and explain to her some motorcycling expressions. I love that she’s asking me questions even though she doesn’t like this sport, but she’s making an effort for me. I take her to the circuit, and she’s looking around excitedly.
“Show me the winning podium,” she says. We climb the steps to the podium, and she steps on the highest step, while I admire her from the ground. She waves for me to join her. When we’re sitting on the highest step, I take a velvet jewelry box out of my pocket, and give it to her.
“Happy birthday, babe,” I say. She stares at me in astonishment, then looks at the jewelry box, and back up at me.
“What is this?”
“Open it,” I tell her. When she does, her hand rises to her mouth.
“Jake, it’s beautiful,” she whispers. She presses her sexy lips against mine. She kisses me passionately, which makes me crave her touches even more. I take the bracelet out of the box, and wrap it around her wrist. “You shouldn’t have.” Next, I take a VIP pass on a lanyard out of my pocket.
“I want you to come to my races. This pass allows you to access everywhere. My team will take care of you while I’m on the track. I want you to come to these things with me.”
“Jake, I don’t know what to say…” she exclaims in surprise.
“Just say yes, simple as that.”
“Even though I want to, I can’t do this. Jake, I have my life, my job, expenses that need to get paid. I can’t just pack my bags, and follow you around the world for a few months. Besides, we’ve only been together for a couple of weeks. Don’t you think this is going a little too fast?”
“No,” I say honestly. I really don’t think it is. “If you are worried about your job, I’ll tell Meredith I want to hire you as my personal masseuse. She won’t turn down my offer when I tell her how much I’m willing to pay. Then you’ll have a job and she’ll make an even bigger profit. Win-win.”
Ella
“Jake…” I take a deep breath. “Thank you for your offer, but I’m going to have to refuse. I barely got my life back together. I know it’ll be difficult not seeing you for longer periods of time, but that’s life, and I’ll have to get used to it. It won’t be easy to watch you race. There’ll be so many beautiful girls around you all the time, but there is nothing else to be done except to trust you. And you have to trust me.”
“I’ve never felt like this for any other girl than you. You can trust me. And if this is what you want, I’ll respect your wishes.” I nod, and we kiss gently.
“Did you pick the bracelet yourself?” I change the subject to raise the mood. He grins at me.