Page 42 of Jump Start

“Thomas?”

“Yeah, Harps?” His voice was low and deep in my ear, his body pressed up against mine as we snuggled in bed.

“I’m supposed to go back to work tomorrow, but I don’t want to. Harry really pissed me off trying to get me to dish on you.”

Thomas cut me off. “Fucking asshole. I should have gone in there and tore him a new one.” I smiled against his chest but didn’t respond.

“This week is the Tasmania Sprint. Why don’t you take a bit more time off and come with me?” He separated us and looked down at me with a smile. I chewed on my lip. It was a nice offer, and I wasn’t ready to go back to work just yet. I certainly wasn’t ready to face Harry. Was I running from my problems? Yeah, probably.

“Okay, I think I will. Is there room for me?”

“There’s always room for you, Harps. I’ll get it sorted with Chris. You just handle your cockhead of a boss.”

I crafted a perfectly worded email to Harry explaining that the stressful situation with my family had taken a toll on me and that I would require another week’s leave. It wasn’t a lie.I had been stressed. While in Tasmania, I wanted to take the opportunity to consider if I was actually happy at theSydney Daily. After Harry’s behaviour, I wasn’t entirely sure anymore. This wasn’t the time to make any hasty decisions, but it certainly was the time to have an open mind.

***

I rested my head on Thomas’s shoulder as we waited in the lounge for our flight to be called. He was reading an email on his phone and had his arm around my waist.

“Thanks for suggesting I come with you. I’ve never been to Tassie.”

Putting his phone down, he looked at me and smiled. “Of course. I’m just sorry it’s not going to be a proper trip. We’ll have to come back sometime.” Thomas and I curled up by a fireplace in Tasmania? Sounded perfect to me. I would hold him to that.

We arrived in cloudy Hobart after a fairly short flight from Sydney. We would be heading straight to the hotel for the night and then Thomas would go to the racetrack for driver briefings, practice, and qualifying the next day. The entire Echidna team were staying at the hotel this time, which wasn’t always the case. Sometimes they would stay in the buses, trailers, or on the race tracks themselves. Usually, when everyone was together, Chris would organise a large dinner before race weekend, for everyone to catch up before the stress of the racing rendered everyone occupied.

I made a beeline for the bed as we entered our hotel room. “Ahh, another hotel, another soft bed,” I moaned as I starfishedacross the king-size bed.

Thomas set our bags down in the corner and opened the curtains. “This one’s pretty good, actually,” he said while looking out the window to the view below.

“I’m glad it meets your standards; however, I have seen you sleep in the back of your ute.” He let out a brief chuckle and came to sit down beside me.

“How are you doing, Harps?” His face was full of concern, with his eyebrows furrowing together. His compassion was touching. I considered his question for a moment before answering.

“I’m okay. I know my dad will be alright. To be honest, I’m not sure I want to continue working for theDaily. I have some thinking to do.”

Thomas smiled. “You’re in the perfect place. Lots of time for quiet contemplation,” he said, his signature sarcasm making an appearance. I pinched his cheeks and kissed him briefly before going into the bathroom with my toiletries. It was time for some pampering, as good a time as any.

Twenty-one

Thomas

Hearing the bath run, I thought it might have been the perfect opportunity to go and speak to Chris about something I’d had in my mind for a while.

“Harps?”

“Yeah?” she answered. I saw her undress through the crack in the door, and paused for a moment, just as her bra and panties fell to the floor.

“Are you right, pervert?” Her eyes caught me through the door. I laughed out loud. Oops.

“Just going to chat to Chris for a bit. I’ll come back and grab you before dinner.”

I stepped in to kiss her briefly, resisting the urge to get in the bath with her. Striding out of the room, I had one thing on my mind. Making her happy.

As I arrived at Chris’s hotel room, I realised I was potentially about to ambush him with a proposal with no backup, and not much of a justification. I figured he was a good enough bloke to go along with the notion, to some degree. I took a breath in and knocked on the door. “Chris, it’s Jacko.”

The door opened moments later with Chris on the other side, half-dressed, with a beer in his hand. I raised my eyebrow. “Hard at work, I see.”

“Give me a break, I wasn’t expecting company.” He motioned for me to walk in.

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