Page 79 of Well Played

I just wonder how long she’ll be here before the factory pulls her and puts her in another series.

After a two-week break,we’re pulling into Eldora with some new ideas and a fresh outlook on where the rest of our season could go. Instead of packing our calendar with some of the local tracks, Eddie stayed close, and the team worked to make improvements to the car. Hopefully, it’ll give us the competitive edge we need right now.

My optimistic mood sinks when I see where we’re parked. Right next to Charlotte Dane’s rig. I wince and glance at Eddie, who’s already hiding toward the back of our trailer. Charly crowd is already swelling, so we probably won’t see Eddie until race time.

When we unload, I’m surprised to see Charly out helping her guys get set up and tinkering with the motor.

Everything on her social media would make you think she’s never gotten her hands dirty in her life, but there she is helping with the engine in her car.

I must have been staring longer than I realize because she glances up, offering her megawatt smile and a quick wave. Flustered, I whirl around and dive back into the hauler with Eddie.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” He says, tipping the computer screen towards me. He’s got old footage of our previous Eldora races pulled up, studying each lap to squeeze out any advantage he can get.

“Have you ever seen Charly working on her car before?” I ask, half watching the video.

Eddie glances at me. “Yeah. All the time. You haven’t?”

I try not to watch her in person because she’s incredibly distracting. “Just doesn’t seem like that type of person.” Her social media is another story. It’s embarrassing to admit how many times I check her feed.

Eddie harrumphs next to me. “Used to do all the work on her karts with her dad. You’ve seriously never seen her working?”

I shake my head.

“Didn’t have a ton of money coming up, so she said she learned to work on stuff to help.” He shrugs. “Kinda reminds me of me. Except, you know, the painfully awkward part.”

“To each their own, Eddie.” I clap him on the back and get ready to go back to work. Until I turn around and see Charly outside, talking to two of my crew guys. One of them points inside and she smiles at him, striding up the ramp and toward me.

Oh shit.

I get a hint of what Eddie feels like as I try to find a place to hide. Before I can duck into the bathroom, she’s there, smiling and holding out her hand for me to shake.

“Hi. I’m Charly. I don’t think we’ve met before.”

You smell good.

My brain latches onto that fact. A particular combination of fruity sweetness and grease that makes my knees buckle.

Shit, I hope I didn’t say any of that out loud.

I reach out and take her hand. “Roddie.”

A prolonged silence stretches between us and she blinks once, then twice, and I’m certain my face has gone bright red from embarrassment. Finally, I retract my hand and subtly wipe the sweat off against my pants leg.

“Pleasure to meet you.” I spit out, my head bobbing up and down to make sure she knows I’m not lying.

Shaking off her obvious confusion at my inability to act like a normal human, Charly smiles. “I’ve learned so much watching your videos and going back through your dad’s articles and tapes.”

“You’ve been putting it to good use.” Racing is a safe topic and I fall into shop talk more easily than other subjects.

“I’ve just gotten lucky.” She blushes and I’m fascinated by the rosy glow it adds to her tanned skin. “My guys are all going to tease me for coming over here, but I just had to meet you.”

“You came over to meet me? Specifically?” I’m taken aback, but not in a bad way. Few people seek me out. They’re always looking for Eddie or my dad when he comes to a race.

“Yeah. You’re so talented. One of the best mechanics on the circuit in a long time.”

It’s my turn to blink in confusion. “Well - I - guess — Thank you.” I splutter.

She smiles again, but just as quickly as she appeared, she’s getting called over to her hauler.

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