Page 61 of Drive Me Wild
“I had two beers.”
“You slammed two beers in twenty minutes? Are you upset about the women I was with?”
“Caleb, I…who do you owe for Saturday night?”
“What?”
“The note. In your wallet. It fell out when I pulled out the money to pay for the fries and beer.”
I rub my hand over my face. She’s jealous, and it’s a silly misunderstanding. I wish I could show her that she has no reason to be. That she means more to me than all of the other women I’ve been with combined— and then some.
“It’s from Cody. He leaves notes on my truck when he comes into town for his groceries.”
She chews at her lip as she concentrates on my words.
“I was supposed to help him stack a couple of cords of wood.” I wipe away a few grains of salt at the edge of her mouth. “I bailed to be with you instead.”
She looks down at her hands and back up at me. Her gaze is intense and not at all relieved when I told her about the note.
“Why do you keep it?”
A chuckle erupts from my chest as the announcer tells us that Tommy is racing next.
How do I explain my sentimentality about someone I almost lost without sounding obsessed? How do I explain my connection to the person I’m the most tuned into, simply because we share identical DNA?
“I save all his notes.” I pick at one of the calluses on my hand. “I save everything from Cody. It’s a brother thing, I guess.”
“Oh.” I see her mentally chewing on my words. “That’s sweet. I don’t have any siblings, so I don’t know what that’s like.”
“It’s exasperating, and fun, and everything in between. There’s Tommy.”
I point to a cherry red Barracuda at the starting line.
I hear the engines rumbling, vibrating in my chest. I recall the feel of my grip on the steering wheel, the adrenaline pumping through my veins as I waited for the signal to start.
“Damn, that was a fun car to drive.”
The cars take off in a thunderous roar, wheels spinning and smoke emanating from the tarmac. It’s thrilling to watch that much power and speed. Tommy takes the first corner like a boss, and I feel relieved that he seems to have control despite the beer. That shit could ruin his chances of ever doing anything with racing, and he doesn’t seem to care.
“How many times will he go around the track?”
“Twenty-five.”
“They look like they’re going to crash into each other!”
“That’s the thrill. You have to be constantly aware and tuned into your car, the road, and the other drivers.”
“Sounds a little like meditating.”
I catch her eyes again, which have softened up a bit. I think we’ve reconnected, and she’s no longer worried about Laura or the note. “That’s exactly what it’s like.”
“Cool.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“We can leave after he’s finished because I don’t need to stick around here.” Even though I feel the thrill of the race in my bones, I don’t want this life anymore. I don’t want the parties, the hookups, the danger, the emptiness of it all. “This isn’t my life anymore, Zoe. I brought you here because you wanted to see it. But this is it. Adrenaline, noise, danger, smoke, the smell of rubber and fuel.”
