"You know, I really miss it." I took another sip of the most expensive red on the menu as we waited on our food. "I miss it more than anything."

"What? Racing?" Griffin asked.

I nodded. "And I'm doing everything I can to get back there, but what if no one wants me on their team? Then it doesn't even matter."

"Of course someone wants you. You're easily one of the more qualified and talented free agents out there. You said you're doing everything in your power to prove you still want this, right?"

I nodded. But what about Daniel Henderson and his insulting offer to publish my complaints? "Well, mostly."

"Then they'd be stupid not to sign someone like you. I mean, I'm a little biased, but—" He trailed off. "I actually wanted to ask you if you wanted to come to the Pocono race this weekend. Ever since you left, I haven't even come close to winning."

I had been planning on going since there was no way in hell they'd continue the tournament on a Sunday, but he had to beat me to it.

"Dammit." I laughed. "That was going to be a surprise."

"Oh my god, really?" He laughed too. "But, like, I want you there there. In the pit box and shit."

It wasn't uncommon to have a wife or girlfriend sit with the crew chief and a few of the engineers under a tent to study lap times, fuel mileage, and other aspects that drivers didn't have the time or focus to care about, but I wasn't any of those people for him.

Was that going to ruin my fun? Fuck no.

I smiled. "That'd be great actually. I've always been curious about how the other side operates."

"You're just not allowed to touch anything, okay?"

"I won't."

"Don't lie."

"I'm not lying."

Griffin raised an eyebrow at me.

"I'm lying," I said.

He nodded. "I'm not fucking around, Kate. I really want you to be there since we're finally just a state away from each other, but you cannot touch anything. Do you understand that?"

"Yeah, I understand that, but that's kinda lame. What can I even break from up there?"

"Thousands and thousands of dollars' worth of technology. You can have as many wine coolers as you want. Just don't touch any of the monitors."

I bit my lip. Of course, that wasn't the image I needed everyone to see while I was there, so I certainly would have to pass on the drinking, but I could never pass up an opportunity to spend a Sunday afternoon judging every move Griffin made. "I'll be good. I promise."

"I know you will. You're a lot less of a dumbass than people think."

I smiled. I really wasn't, but he always thought of me as something better than I actually was. "So anyway, how have you been?"

"Bored. Really, really bored." He laughed. "I'm gonna be honest with you. It's like I have no reason to put up with Roger every day."

"Put up with him? You get everything from him. You make him money, so he likes you."

"Well, yeah, but I don't exactly like working for the asshole who fired my favorite person in the entire world."

"You shouldn't let that change anything about the way you go about your life, okay? I'll always be there for you no matter where I am, and there are plenty of other somewhat tolerable people in Baton Rouge and NASCAR."

He chuckled but didn't say anything.

If I managed to find my way back, it wouldn't be the same. I wouldn't sign with RTR again, which meant that my new team would be set up somewhere other than Baton Rouge. It really wasn't that big of a deal, since we drivers weren't needed all the time at the HQ, but since Griffin and I were both young and single, it wasn't like we had people who needed us elsewhere.

Well, that wasn't entirely true now. Drake and Annie seemed to think I was a good addition to the Sacrilege team.

As the waiter passed by, Griffin asked him to bring me more whatever the hell the expensive wine was. He wasn't much of a fan of wine himself, but he knew how to keep me around.

When I really thought about it, I couldn't come up with a single reason why Griffin was so goddamn good to me. He kept me company when I broke my neck at Talladega even though he didn't even know me, he fed me, he listened to me bitch about whatever bothered me, and what did I ever do for him?

Of course, it was difficult when we were in two different countries, but I had to fix that. I couldn't lose him too. There were days that he was the only thing on the planet that mattered to me.

"Griffin," I finally said. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For ruining everything because I'm the worst." I let out a laugh. "Really though, I fucked up a pretty good thing, didn't I? All because I couldn't just keep my damn mouth shut."

Griffin smiled and shook his head. "Is this about getting kicked off of RTR?"

I nodded.

"Well, is your current situation better or worse than it was when you worked for Roger?"

"It's better for the most part, except—"

"Then isn't that a win?"

I thought for a moment and nodded once again. There was one glaring problem with the whole situation, and that was that Griffin really was too good for me.

"I just wish we got to do this more often," I said.

Griffin smiled. "Oh yeah. I mean, we're kind of on a date right now."

I tried to hold in a laugh, but it snuck out anyway. "I guess we are."

"You want me to bitch so we can get our food faster?" He looked around the full restaurant. "I mean, it's been at least forty-five minutes since we ordered."

I shook my head. "Nope. I really don't mind waiting in this case."

***

A date with Griffin. There was nothing complicated about it. It was so simple, in fact, that it really wasn't even a date, but I stored it in my memory as one anyway. It had been a while since my last real one, and unfortunately, it was with Tyler Bailey.

We had gone out to dinner at least a million times before, but there was always a revolving door of women who handled every other aspect of his dating life. And maybe there was one now. But now that I had gotten back into that arena, maybe I could fix whatever the hell was going on between Drake and me.

I had enough difficulty in my life, and so why the hell would I add any more to it? Either he wanted me or he didn't, and there were no complications needed.

The next morning, I met Drake and Josiah in the pits after I got dressed in my fire suit (I wasn't fucking around) so we could fix the damage from our last fight. There really wasn't any since it was over in about ten seconds, but Josiah could never let a minor issue slip through his meticulous fingers.

Only half of the sixteen teams remained, and by the next evening, the field would be cut in half again. The ruthless nature of a bracket system was satisfying to be a part of, but only when I was winning.

"Now, when you were fighting Snowcone yesterday afternoon, did you feel or see any sort of damage to the robot?" Josiah asked me.

I shook my head. "I think we're okay, as long as the metal bar thingy doesn't fly off and almost kill someone again."

Josiah looked up at Drake with a smug grin.

Drake crossed his arms. "I said I was sorry."

"Well, I won't let that happen again. Drake may be listed as the captain, but I think we all know who's really in charge around here," Josiah said.

"It ain't you," I said with a laugh.

"And it sure as hell ain't you." He ran his hand along the metal on the exterior of the robot. "No cosmetic damage, which is a good sign."

Drake knelt beside Sacrilege as well, and the two of them flipped her over to inspect the underside. It was fascinating to watch them since they were so well-versed in a system that I didn't understand, like it was second nature to them.

They probably would have felt the same way if they accidentally joined a car racing team, though.

"Everything looks good here too. The next fight is against a flipper, so if we keep all four wheels on the ground, I think we'll be in good shape moving forward," Drake said.

Josiah looked up at me. "Don't fuck this up for us."

"Me? I've never fucked anything up in my entire life." I laughed a little. Dammit. I couldn't even keep a straight face.

"If you don't mind, Katie, I'd like to have a word with you," Drake said.

The two of us headed out to the main common area of the venue. There were no activities or concerts going on, so there was no one there. We wouldn't even need much time. If I could handle a date with Griffin, then I deserved to get back into the dating arena. I owed it to myself, really. I loved my job even when it was miserable, and now that my career was on hold, I had the time for something like a relationship. Or a dog. I could always get a dog.

I deserved to let myself be loved, and he deserved something for putting up with all of my shit.

"Before you say anything, I just want to apologize," I said.

Drake stared back at me for a moment. "What?"

"Surprisingly, I've done a little thinking, and this doesn't have to be so difficult. I just want to have some fun, and you're a good guy, and I just thought that maybe we could have a good time together."

"That sounds really nice, Katie. You're a lot nicer to be around when you slow down and let yourself think a little," he said.

Ha, ha. Who the fuck had time for that?

"I don't want there to be any sort of pressure on us. It's no fun then," I said.

Drake nodded. "And the future?"

"Look, I'll make this easy for you. If it works out, great. If it doesn't, then we'll handle ourselves like adults. It doesn't have to be anything complicated really. It's exactly like the Team Sacrilege dynamic we have now."

"I don't think you're understanding what I'm getting at. I just want a little more assurance that they're both going to last for a while."

"I can't promise you that. That's ridiculous to ask of anyone, even if it were someone other than me."

He glanced at the floor and nodded slowly with his hands in his pockets, and he finally looked up at me. "Why do you have to look so good in that fire suit?"

I let myself laugh. "Annie's a genius."

"Then what do you say we do something tonight? You're from around here, so I'm pretty sure you know where the best places are."

I rose an eyebrow. "Is this a trick? It's the night before a fight."

"No trick. We'll have fun just like you said." He smiled. "I'm sick of the flirty bullshit that never goes anywhere."

I smiled. My God, I could get used to this again. "Me too."

"Now, if I can get to what I wanted to say earlier, this next flipper is called The Jackrabbit, and it's like SBSP on steroids. It's not going to do much damage to little Peanut, but it sure as hell can flip you right out of the arena. We'll go over a few strategies later so you know exactly what you're getting into," Drake said.

I had assumed that he wanted to talk about us, but apparently, I completely forgot that Drake's most defining personality trait was his robot.

It wasn't like I had any room to talk, though. My only personality trait was addicted to pure fucking bullshit.

This will be fun.

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Hello everyone, and thank you so much for reading! I hope you had a good week, and I hope that you have an excellent week this time around!

It seems that Katie and Drake are finally opening up, but what about her "date" with Griffin? Do you think he'd be a better option for Katie?

Also, I want to do a fun question this week too (even though all of my questions are super mega fun, obviously). So where is your favorite place that you've ever been?

Mine is Mount Desert Rock. That place honestly changed my life in twenty-four hours, which is incredible to think about really. Obviously, it was a huge step out of my comfort zone and gave me a little bit of courage and a shit ton of inspiration. Who would have ever thought I'd owe a bunch of my happiness to a rock in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean? Sorry. I've just been nostalgic for Fluke lately haha.