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“You have nice crew members,” she says. “Who’s car is that?” she asks, indicating the 52 car.
“Our rookie, Joey Fisher. He never arrives until the absolute last minute.”
“You don’t sound like a fan.”
“I felt sorry for him, then annoyed by him, and back to feeling sorry for him. He’s looking for a job, but there aren’t many prospects. That’s hard to deal with, especially after working hard to get your shot. I sympathize.”
“Jake, hey. Good luck today.”
I turn towards the hand clapping on my shoulder. It’s Joey, suited up in green and red to match his sponsor’s logo. Dark circles under his eyes signal a restless night, which will worsen his on-track struggles.
Sarah tightens her grip on my hand, so I give a returning squeeze. She’s not ordinarily shy, but I rarely see her mingling with other teams, so maybe it isn’t a surprise.
Joey notices her and says, “Sarah, good to see you again. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
She steps away from both of us. “Since you desperately started trying for a space in the Cup series. It’s awful you’ll be losing that opportunity so soon. Oh, well. It’s deserved.” Sarah shifts her attention to me. “Maddie is waiting for me, so I’ll talk to you later.”
That was strange. Sarah mixed anxiety with false bravadoand some of her trademark prickliness.
“You two have met before,” I say. Disquiet fills me. Sarah avoids drivers, and she knows this one.
“We dated a couple of years ago. I’m not proud of it, but I was desperate.”
“Getting into this series makes many of us do crazy things,” I say.
Shooting your face off, for example.
“Her family had an open car, so I asked for help. She was my girlfriend, so that’s fair, right? If she could arrange a meeting or vouch for me, that could be enough to score a contract.”
I smile and see red. “She turned you down, huh?”
“She said it was a bad idea, that I couldn’t do it like I wasn’t good enough for her fucking family. I dumped her, but not before getting some of my own back, if you know what I mean. That wasn’t my finest hour, I’ll admit.” He shrugs his shoulders, dismissing the incident and dismissing her. “There wasn’t any reason for us to be together after that.”
Sarah shared the story without giving me a name, and this is why. My teammate was the guy who did it, and she wanted to protect me. I constantly spoke with him, and Sarah knew it the entire time.
“You’re the reason she would never come here.” I indicate our cars and pit boxes.
“What?”
“You’re confused, so let me explain. She’s my fiancée.” Joey’s face blanches. “And you’re about to have an incredibly awful day.”
****
I want to fucking kill him. Honestly, that still might happen.
First, I need to wreck any future chance he has in the Cup series.
“Fisher’s chief asked me to convey another message,” my pit chief, Mike Jones, says. “Last one because this isn’t a playground, and we aren’t passing notes.”
“Tell him to suck my dick,” is my only response.
“I will do that.” Mike doesn’t even react. “The message is relayed. How are your tires?”
“Fucking fantastic.”
“Jake, what’s going on?” Derek asks. “You seem upset.”
