Cherishing You (15 page)

I finish in the restroom and go back out to the table. There’s a guy standing there, and I don’t recognize him from behind. I quietly walk up, slide into my side of the booth, and take a quick drink of my water.

“Wow, Andi, I haven’t seen you in a few years. How have you been?”

“Hey, Steve. I’m good. Great to see you, it’s been a while.” I stand up and give him a quick hug. “How have you been?”

“I’m good. Ethan here tells me he’s finally gotten up the nerve and told you how he feels. I’m so proud of him. I think he’s actually growing up on us!” Steve says with a laugh.

“Ha-ha, you’re so funny, Steve. At least I
am
growing up,” Ethan says, giving him a bro-punch in the shoulder.

“Ah, just giving you some shit, Ethan. We all knew how bad you both had it for each other, and I’m stoked you guys have at long last figured it out.”

“Thank you, Steve, we appreciate it. You can join us if you want, we just placed our order a few minutes ago.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ve already eaten. I’m on my way out to the track. We have a special team doing some trial runs today, and we’re getting ready to get started. Hey, after you guys eat you should run out and see this one. You might be surprised,” Steve says, wiggling his eyebrows. “I can leave instructions to let you in for a VIP view with gate security if you want to come by.”

“What do you think, Ethan? Do we have time to go out there?”

“Sweetheart, we have plenty of time. Sure, Steve, we can come over. We’ll be out as soon as we get done here.”

Ethan stands and gives him a bro-hug.

“No problem, see you guys soon.” With that, Steve heads out the door.

I’m excited to go to the track. The last time I went was with Ethan—of course, most times I went were with him. Dad would go with us some, and we loved it either way. I think that was our last good time out before graduation. One of our favorite racers ended up winning that night, I got caught up in the excitement and jumped into Ethan’s arms.

Now that I think about it, I felt the same jolt of electricity run through me then as I do every time he’s touched me since I’ve been back. How could I not have realized it then? Oh, how stupid I was—or we were, I guess, since he obviously felt the same way.

“Earth to Andi, are you okay?”

“Huh . . . Oh, yeah, I’m good. Sorry, I got lost in thought for a minute. I was just remembering the last time we went to the track together. I had so much fun that night, and when TJ won the race I ended up in your arms.”

“Yes, you did, and I was so damn happy it was my arms you went to. If I remember right, there was a guy there who was very nice to you. When you ended up jumping to me, my head swelled like a balloon. He got the message really quick,” Ethan says with a laugh.

We’re both still laughing when the waitress brings our food. She seems to have relaxed a little, which I’m glad to see.

After taking a couple of bites, Ethan says, “So, I chatted with Steve for a couple minutes while you were in the restroom, and he and Darlene are doing pretty good. They got married a few years ago.”

“Oh, they did? I’m not surprised at all. That’s great, they were such a cute couple. I figured they were a sure thing.”

“Yeah, I did too. You know everyone’s always said that about us, don’t you?”

“Well, I’m starting to figure that out, actually. I mean, I always knew how
I
felt, of course, but I was terrified you would never see me the same way. You know, like I was only your friend who could turn wrenches in the daytime and dress up and hang out in the nighttime. I couldn’t risk losing you.”

“You will never lose me, no matter how much you try or how long you’re gone. I’m sorry, baby, but you’re stuck with me.”

“I’m so glad to hear that, because I don’t plan on letting you go,” I say with a giggle. Somehow, I don’t think he’ll mind being stuck by me.

We continue our meal, which is amazing. Looking around while I eat, I notice I could do all kinds of updates and advertisements for this place. This food is too good for people not to know about it; I can see why Ethan was so excited for me to try it. This could definitely be a regular pit stop on our way to the track.

We finish our food and get ready to go. Of course, Ethan won’t let me pay for mine. I’m not surprised; we used to fight about it when we were teenagers. I finally convinced him to switch off with me without a huge fight every time.

Ethan places his hand on the small of my back again, leading me out the door and to the truck. I’m starting to really like the feel of it, the heat through my shirt reaching to my core. He again opens my door, lifts me into the seat. After latching my seat belt, I grab his cheek, turn his face up towards mine, and place a sweet kiss on his lips. I wish I could get lost in his mouth for hours. I can’t seem to get enough of him.

After making sure my door is shut, Ethan jogs around the front and gets into the driver’s seat. He takes a look at me and laughs out loud; as soon as he shut my door, I quickly unbuckled, slid over to the middle, and was buckling my seat belt once again when he opened the door.

“What’s so funny? Do you not want me to sit beside you?”

“Oh, nothing really, I guess you just took me by surprise. I actually like the thought of having you closer to me.” Ethan gives me a wink and puts his seat belt on. Then he lays his arms around my shoulders and pulls me to him, placing a soft peck on my head, which is resting on his shoulder.

“Andi, you are always welcome by my side, anytime, anywhere.”

“When did you become so sweet?”

“Probably the same time you said you like me too,” Ethan says with a laugh. He starts the truck and pulls out onto the highway. I can’t wait to get to the track. I’ve missed the feel of the vibration in my chest from the engines firing up; it sets off a deep rumble in my veins. A shiver runs through me just thinking about it.

“Are you okay, Andi?”

“Yeah, I’m great, actually. I was just thinking of how excited I am to go to the track. I know it’s just trial runs, but I didn’t realize how much I miss it.”

“It’s so much better being the driver. I mean, it’s a whole different world when you sit in a car you’ve spent countless hours molding into something unique, something yours. When you take that same car and crank over the engine, firing it up, you realize you have all this vibrating power just begging to be let loose to go screaming down the track. You swing it around to the burnout box and warm up the tires, let a little smoke roll. If your heart isn’t hammering to the revolutions of the engine by that point, it’ll be beating out of your chest with the adrenaline pumping through your veins.”

As Ethan’s saying this, I realize he’s been racing himself. I had no idea he actually drove a racecar. Holy shit, I hope he’s careful. Racing is awesome, but it’s also a very dangerous sport. There are so many ways something could go wrong with the car, track conditions, or the driver. While it
is
a huge adrenaline rush, if the driver doesn’t keep calm and focused, he could easily lose control.

“I had no idea you were racing, Ethan. When did you start? I can tell you like it, what are you racing?”

“Well, I’d actually steered clear of this place for a while, since this was something we’d always done together. I know it sounds corny, but I was missing you like crazy. Eventually, I started catching up with some of the guys, and they talked me into coming one night. It was so easy to see your face anywhere that I realized the track was no different. However, driving a car down the track was. Of course, Ron comes with me a lot, so really the only thing missing has been you.”

We pull up to the gate, so I don’t get the chance to reply. I’m actually glad, because I need a few minutes to process all this. I’m so grateful Ethan and Mom and Dad have a good relationship, but I’m a little sad that I missed out on seeing all Ethan’s races. Surely, someone took some videos or pictures or something.

I wonder what kind of car Ethan drives, or what bracket he runs. I know he likes it, but I hope he doesn’t go too fast—the faster you go, the more dangerous it is. I’m sure he’s a good driver though; he’s always had a knack for driving, and I always felt safe with him behind the wheel, no matter what the conditions. Not to mention, he has a sixth sense with cars; it’s like he can anticipate what’s going on with it. He does a great job working on them. We both learned our way around a car growing up with Dad, but I’m nowhere near the mechanic he is. I enjoy turning some wrenches now and then, but not for an everyday life. Ethan, however, picked it up quick and soon became a master like my father. That’s why they work so well together—they have a mutual respect for one another.

And I’m sure it helps that Ethan is probably like the son he never had. My parents had tried for another child, but they never could get pregnant again, so I grew up an only child, Dad’s tomboy and Mom’s princess. They never really forced anything on me though; I just liked being with Dad at the shop as much as I liked going shopping with Mom and dressing up.

I never felt slighted for not having a sibling because when I was old enough to think about it, there was Ethan. We became close friends fast, and I was never bored. I’ve always cherished having Ethan in my life.

I’m stoked about my girl being back at the track with me. Man, it feels good to think of Andi finally being my girl. Even though we’ve talked with each other several times since she’s been back, the racetrack hasn’t come up. We actually haven’t talked much about the past four years at all. We’ll have to change that very soon.

We pull up to the track gate; Mike is there, waving us on in. Steve probably told him we were coming, but even if he didn’t, Mike wouldn’t have said a word. We all went to school together and still hang out here and there.

I pull the truck up to the fence, shutting off the engine.

“Do you want to stay in here, or do you want to go up and say hi to Steve and see what’s going on?”

“I’m good either way, but we should probably see Steve since he’s the one who invited us.”

“Yeah, you’re right, but first . . .” I unbuckle my seat belt, turn to the side, and pull her to me, placing a hard kiss on her lips. I hear her let out a low moan, which makes me stand at attention in an instant.

We eventually break our kiss, and I hold her to my chest for a few minutes. Even though it’s the last thing I want to do, I’m kind of excited to see who the racer is today. I let go of her and she looks up at me with a smile on her face. She leans up and gives me a soft peck on my cheek.

“All right, let’s go see what’s going on.” I open my door and climb out as she unbuckles and starts out behind me. I offer my hand and help her out of the truck. Shutting the door, we walk hand in hand to the announcer tower, as I’m sure that’s where Steve will be, and it has the best view of the track.

We’re just about to the tower when I see Steve walking up to us.

“Hey, guys, I’m glad you made it. You’re in for a treat today. We have a guy here to test out the track who’s won the northern division championship like four times so far.”

“Really? That’s great, man. If he likes the track that could mean some big advertisement for you guys, right?”

“That’s what I’m shooting for. I’ve seen him race a few times and he’s good, but he’s also a pretty good guy too, which is why I invited him today. Honestly, the track does well already, but it’s not going anywhere either. I’d like to build it up more, with more fans and racers so we’re able to give better payouts. You guys put so much into your cars between time and money that if we can’t raise the payouts, some of the drivers will have to start going to other tracks so they can get some return on their investment. I understand that need, so I’m trying to fix it for everyone.”

“Well, I haven’t been anywhere else, but I’m lucky enough to know how to do most things myself, so I don’t have to hire anyone to do the work. That saves me a bundle of cash right there. But you’re right, some of the other drivers aren’t able to do that and the cost will soon be too high for them to keep up with. I think it’s a great thing you’re doing, Steve.”