Page 78 of The Player Penalty
“It was one night.” To be fair, I missed him, too. Dad left Friday morning with Julian and much of the technical crew. We’re all scheduled for a late-night flight home tomorrow.
“It hits differently now. I’m used to us together so much that I miss you when you’re gone. It’s lonely without you.” Julian clears his throat. “Tell me about yesterday.”
I work during the day, and he spots for Matteo Diaz at night. This combination means we communicated very little during that time, apart from the occasional text. “I’m officially a part-time summer camp employee. It has an overnight trip for the older kids, which I’ll be a part of.”
“When is that?”
My application packet included a tentative schedule. The dates are also in my planner, which is in my dad’s trailer. “This summer sometime. It’s a weekend.”
Julian doesn’t blink. “You’ll enjoy it. What else?”
“Oh, Ms. Terry’s husband knows who you are. Could you autograph a picture for them? She’s so sweet to me, so I’m using a connection here.”
He smiles, and an eyebrow arches. “Let’s do one better. How about tickets? Charlotte is at the end of the month, so it’s close to home.”
That’s better than I hoped for. “Can we do that? It feels like cheating.”
“We do it all the time as part of our outreach or charity raffles, that sort of thing. We also do tours. I get roped into those.”
Julian cuts up his chicken and takes a bite. It’s a lemon marinade today, and surprisingly good, considering the limitation a trailer kitchenette provides. Dad will eat later, with the pit crews like usual. The rig drivers puts out a fantastic spread which gets sucked up by the men as if they come with vacuum parts. There’ll be nothing left by the time we all go home tomorrow.
“There are tours? It makes sense, considering the museum.” The museum will bore the kids, especially the younger ones. “Can they see everything up close?”
“That’s why it’s a tour. Some parts of the garage are off-limits if we’re building a car, but the rest is available. Why?
Ms. Terry said she wants more unique field trips planned. The loud car engines could be a problem, but the rest wouldn’t. The sim room puts anything they have at home to shame. “Would I be allowed to have a field trip at headquarters?”
Julian blinks in surprise before a grin breaks out. “You want to inflict an army of children on us?”
“They’re well-behaved,” I say.
“God, I hope not. Can you imagine Boone trying to shoo away kids and their sticky fingers? It’s an awesome idea; I love it.”
“So, it’s allowed?”
“All you’d need to do is ask.” He senses my reticence and offers a hand, which I accept. “I can do it for you.”
“No,” I blurt out. “It’s for me. I’ll ask Maddie tomorrow.”
“That’s my girl.”
Warmth floods me at his word choice. I’m falling hard for Julian Murphy, and I still think my dream will end at any moment. We’re committed and spend every spare moment together, but it feels temporary. I keep expecting Julian to change his mind or remember how weird he once found me.
Dr. Lambert wants me to share all my worries with him, and I will, but not yet. It can’t happen the night before a race, far from home in Kansas. If everything falls apart, there is nowhere for me to go, and Dad’s trailer doesn’t count.
“I’m still hungry,” Julian says as he goes back for a second helping. It’s such a mundane statement while I’m navigating our future.
“Dad says you might win the championship this year,” I say, wanting to switch the conversation.
His smile changes from pleasant to enigmatic. “We’re having a good season. Fast car, and the pit crew are working their asses off. Mostly, I’m not letting myself think about it. There’s tomorrow and then next Sunday, and that’s it.”
“Yes, but I was talking about my dad. His opinion of you has changed.”
Julian bites his lip and leans back. His eyebrow arches and his jaw tightens. Pleasure radiates off him. “That’s your influence.”
Something prickles between my shoulder blades. “No, I don’t think so. He’s been easy lately.” He’s probably glad I have a boyfriend.
Julian’s voice lowers, growing intimate as he leans close so his lips nearly touch my ear. “It’s your influence, Lily. You’re the one changing us all. It’s all you.”
