Page 21 of The Player Penalty
Julian: Describe your surroundings.
Lily: There are cars everywhere. Also, men in funny-looking suits.
Julian: Could you be a little more vague? Like, tell me the color of the sky.
Lily: It was a long day. I’m doing the best I can.
Julian: Stay still. I’ll find you. Don’t move.
This might take a while. Between the garage and pit road, there was already a lot of territory to search. Daytona also had its own damn lake, too, which only added to the track’s size. She won’t move; I could trust Lily with that. All the activity might trigger her anxiety. She’ll wait for me.
I dial her number and head outside. “Stay on the line with me. Do you see any RVs close by?”
“I’m surrounded by them,” she says, except her voice doesn’t come from my phone.
I find her leaning against my RV, an overnight bag on the ground next to her. “How did you find me?”
“Sarah led me here. I didn’t think you would mind since Dad is in a meeting. I can’t get into his RV right now.”
“Tell her thank you for us both.” I grab her and twirl. “We have plans tonight,” I say after setting her back down. “It will be a late night.” With her here, it will be a great one.
Lily’s eyes bulge at my statement. She undoubtedly pictured some video games and an early evening with me racing tomorrow. It’s the first time someone has come to cheer me on in three years. A guest for me, and I’m not squandering it.
“There’s a race tonight, and we have two tickets. You’ll enjoy it.” I grab Lily’s bag before leading her back inside. “There’s plenty of time to track down your dad.”
I’m tempted to invite her to stay with me instead, but Pete Webb wouldn’t appreciate my offer. He would assume it’s someelaborate seduction technique rather than what it actually is - a chance to spend time with my closest friend. Lily denies it, but he still harbors suspicion towards me. Plus, asking her would cross a boundary I don’t wholly understand. Lily trusts me to the point our friendship keeps growing deeper and more intimate. An overnight stay would muddy all of that.
“Are you hungry?” I ask her instead.
“Isn’t it a tradition to eat hot dogs during races? We should do that.”
No idea. “It is now.”
∞∞∞
“We really are going to a race the old-fashioned way,” Lily says with faint amusement. She sucks on her straw before sitting in one of the empty chairs.
She rubs her arms, perhaps conscious of the evening breeze for the first time. We may be in Florida, but it gets cold even in February. I drape a jacket over her shoulders and accept her thanks. Lily almost always wears a top that bares some of her stomach and a short skirt; this evening is no exception. Experience tells me she doesn’t consider herself particularly attractive, but her clothing choices tell me she’s at least partly aware of her body. Great legs and a better body, all wrapped in an incredibly sexy package. All Lily lacks is confidence.
“I wanted you to have the real experience. You’ll be at my box tomorrow, which is great, trust me. It also isn’t quite the same thing.”
“I’m going to spy on your radio the entire time.”
“Don’t report on my foul mouth.”
“Oh, that’s the first thing I’ll do.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” I drape an arm across her shoulder and stretch out. The Saturday night race isn’t as busy, giving us room to form our own little bubble. “I used to race in Xfinity once; did you know that? Full-time for three years.”
Lily looks at me across her soda cup. “You sound like you still want to.”
“Not full-time; that would be an incredibly dumb move. Part-time or even quarter-time would be a blast. Trucks, too. Other series.”
“Does our boss know that?”
“Boone? Never spoken to him about it.”
“You should. He’s ambitious, and if he thinks your ambition will help him, he’ll agree,” she says. I study her, and she shrugs. “Well, it’s true. People don’t notice me, so I listen. Maddie talks in front of me all the time without realizing it. He wants to push the company into another series this year.”
