Page 33 of All That Glitters
“I know there’s been a lot more attention paid to our little series over the last several months, some of it good, some of it not, but as we go into a new season, I hope that we’re able to put those things behind us, have some fun, and enjoy some great racing.”
She lifted her glass, looked down the length of the table, then back to where Ashton sat. Her eyes filled with something I couldn’t decipher and then she passed her gaze over me and her smile returned, full of affection. She gave Brax and Hale a kind, empathetic glance before taking a drink.
Glasses clinked and while I reached over toward Hale, and to Brax, across the table to two of Brax’s teammates, Roger Dawes and Felix Hernandez, I made sure to avoid Ashton because I couldn’t trust myself not to spill my water in his lap.
His laughter drew my curiosity, and I relented. “Something funny?”
“I know what you’re doing.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do. But that’s fine. Keep it up. Two can play.”
I bit my tongue to keep from telling him that he’d started it by escorting me out on the terrace and then forcing himself into the seat beside me. He was right in one respect, though. I was going to only draw attention to us if I didn’t change how I treated him for the rest of the evening.
I lifted my glass to his and he met it. “To a new season,” I said, not quite meeting his eyes.
“To a lot of new things,” he replied, his voice soft. My gaze drifted back to find him staring at my mouth for a split second before he turned toward the person who was seated on his other side.
I stifled a sigh.
Confusion meet Off Balance. I think the two of you are going to be great friends.
9
Ashton
Helen barely said a word as we passed dishes along the table. She simply took whatever I held out to her, said a polite thank you, served herself, then passed it along. There was always a small conversation between the two of them, or between her and Hale. She even talked to my mother, but she barely spoke to me.
It grated on my nerves.
Our friendship, usually fun and light, had changed. What Hale did was between us, but I was making it about Helen, too. I was pulling her into the middle of it. None of it was right or fair and none of it seemed to be within my control.
It was me, but at the same time, not me at all.
I didn’t want to hurt her, use her, but I was going to all the same. I was going to ruin my friendship with her, which in turn would ruin my friendship with Brax. None of us would ever come back from this.
Part of me cared, regretted what was going on inside my mind. A bigger part of me didn’t.
And I wish I knew how to stop the destructive course I was on.
“Ashton? Here, man.”
The next dish was offered to me from Stan, one of the engineers on the 05 car that Brax had driven before the wreck when he moved into my seat. I ground my back teeth together to keep from sending it flying across the room, but I took it and held it until Helen leaned back in her seat.
My mother believed in family style dinners. She didn’t want servants serving us, didn’t them waiting on us. She didn’t like buffets, either. She wanted guests to feel comfortable and treated them as family or as dear friends.
It was no secret that our family was one of the richest in the series. Our name was certainly one of the oldest, next to Ferrari, but my mother never acted like it, never brandished our wealth or name unless it was a last resort situation and both of my parents made sure things never got that far in business dealings.
There was a lot of money represented at the table. Some of it generations old, some of it brand spanking new. There were various levels of drivers. Some were working regular jobs, owning businesses, and doing this because they were passionate about it. Others drove full-time wherever and whenever they could, in whatever car they could.
In one way or another, we all had a need that only racing could fill.
Our sport wasn’t cheap to participate in. Racing wasn’t cheap. But endurance racing was a different breed altogether. Our cars were elite machines built and tuned to handle constant running for two hours at a minimum and twenty-four hours at the max. The longer the race, the happier I was.
I loved it. I was born into it, born for it.
And just like that… Red clouded the edges of my vision. My heart rate picked up. A light sweat broke out across my forehead. And every muscle in my body tensed. I wanted to scream. I wanted to hit something.
