Page 91 of Crash Course Omega
He gives me another one of his small smiles that nearly kills me.
“Would you like that?” he asks.
“You better keep your promise,” I say. “I’ll be coming after you if you don’t.”
He nods seriously again as I shoot off. I make a beeline for Jacob, the director, and the track owner, who have been discussing the movie, along with the best places to take photographs. They’re laughing and joking and look like they’re having a grand old time, so at least some of us are having fun.
“Okay,” I say as all three of them look up at me with various smiles. “What do you need me to do?”
“Hey, we saw the clips of you driving in Texas, and you fucking killed it! Whatever those Grace assholes said, you’re the fucking best!” Two young alpha female drivers from the Valkyrie team have hopped over as I get the car out onto the grid and are leaning over my cockpit with the same shining look in their eyes. Runa and Aster both talk so quickly it’s like I’m being piled on by puppies.
“Yeah, Sands and Harrison can fuck off. We’re your partners today, so no one’s going to mess with you,” Runa says.
“And I’ll fucking bite anyone who says any shit,” Aster growls.
They talk so quickly that it’s like a ping-pong ball bouncing between them.
“Listen, Harm.” Aster leans over, thumping her fist against the crash guard. “We’re not the best out on the track, but we’re definitely the funnest. I don’t care if they are using this girl-power shit for promotion or marketing or whatever. We gotta stick together, okay? We’ll be racing like fucking demons on the next Grand Prix to make sure the Graces stay right at the back. We promise you that.”
I just nod because I learned at the beginning of the conversation that I couldn’t get a single word in. But it’s pretty cute how excited they are about it. There aren’t any other female drivers in the season apart from them, and I love that they’re both on the same team.
Alpha females are a lot rarer than males, and, like male omegas, they have to deal with prejudice. But it looks like these two don’t let it bother them.
“You’re a fucking queen, so don’t let any of those dickhead alphas tell you what to do,” Runa says.
“Yeah, if you win, we’re totally going clubbing later, okay? You better promise us you’ll hang out!” Aster says.
“We might not be hooked up on the comms, but we’re hooked in our hearts, okay!?” Runa bangs her fist against her chest.
I laugh as I wave them away, and they give me matching grins as they hop over to their own cars.
I can’t help but smile as they shout at each other from their own cockpits, goading each other on before turning to me and giving me excited smiles. It’s the warmest welcome I’ve had since I came back for my training, and now I can’t wait to get back out on the track. If I ever join another team, that’s the kind of energy I want in my race, not a moody alpha and an absolute flirt. But that’s mainly because I want to fuck them so badly I can barely concentrate around them.
They put me in pole position in front of the lights. Behind me are Runa and Aster and then six of the stunt crew that have already been training on the Grace track.
Even though there are half the number than usual out on the grid, the excitement of the race still hums in me. As the red lights count up, the three of us rev our engines, and my tension fires.
Harmony
I’m on lap 25 and I’m getting annoyed. But that’s mainly the incessant shouting in my ear.
Jacob has never been a pushover. Even though he has an open and friendly demeanor, he worked for his position as Team Principal. They call the three of us nepo babies because Dad owns the team and everything to do with it. But if me, Jacob, Viktor and even Maddock had bought our places with money, then the Grace team wouldn’t race as well as it does. We earned our spots, and the mock race we’re doing now just proves that I’m still on point.
The alpha girls have pulled way out in front and they are ignoring everyone else, racing each other instead.
The director wants shots of me at the front of the pack, with the stunt drivers behind me. They are only focused on me for this shoot, and are doing a separate shoot for the male lead once the Silverstone Grand Prix is over, so it works out fine.
Except that Jacob has handed the headset to the director, who’s shouting orders at me as we sail around the track. I realized about half-way through the first part of the staged race that he doesn’t know anything about F1, or race cars in general. Everyone knows he took on this movie because it’s a guaranteed success. And his passion lies in winning awards and making money instead of the races.
“No! I want you to drive on the inside of that corner so a stuntman can overtake you! We want to make you look like the underdog, and then you can pull out in front and show that you’re better than the rest!”
I can’t glare at him, but I hope Maddock is doing it for me.
The director, the PR manager, and the track owner have taken up spots in the comms tent, so it must be cramped in there. Which is probably making Maddock grumpy, and, from what I know of Jaxx so far, he’s probably watching Maddock and grinning.
But it feels good that they’re there, and that Everest is in the pits, waiting for me when I need him.
“Do you know how hard it is to do something like that when we’re racing at this speed?” I ask him. I try to keep my annoyance out of my voice, but it’s difficult when I’m dealing with the stress of driving in front of six guys who are still wobbly behind the wheel.
