by Storm, Sloan
“Yes, honey?” I replied.
“What are we having for dinner?”
I let out a shallow, uneasy exhale, relieved for the moment that he didn’t know. Dinner was the last thing on my mind. But still I managed a smile for him.
“How about pizza?”
He smiled in return. “Extra pepperoni?”
“Extra pepperoni,” I said. “Now go get cleaned up. Aunt Jillian and I will get it taken care of soon.”
He started to walk away, when I remembered my conversation with Dyson.
“Simon, wait,” I began, gesturing for him to walk in my direction. He drew close and I took his small hands in mine, wrapping them in the warmth of my own. “I wanted to talk to you about something, but I’m not sure if you’re going to think it’s cool.”
I noticed Jillian leaning away from me. I hadn’t mentioned the invitation to her. It would be a surprise for both of them and a much-needed one at that. I proceeded to tell him all about the race and going to watch qualifying as a special guest of one of the drivers. I honestly had no idea if Simon would be excited or not. While he was talkative and engaging with people he knew, he could be far from it with strangers.
“So, what do you think?” I said, leaning towards him and smiling. “Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
To my surprise, he wasted no time in replying. He nodded his head and smiled right back at me. “Yeah!”
Later that evening, after we’d ordered pizza and eaten, I got Simon ready for bed and began to do the same. In less than a day, our entire lives were turned upside down, and to top it off, I was apparently going to have to deal with Dyson Vix at least one more time.
DYSON
Gearing up for my runs, I was talking to my head mechanic when I noticed her.
I gotta be honest. I didn’t think she’d show. Things had gotten off to a bit of a rocky start between us. That didn’t bother me so much. Just because a woman’s angry doesn’t mean she’s not interested.
On the other hand, since we hadn’t really talked, I didn’t know much about her. And, I didn’t suspect she had a kid. I watched as she, a boy and another woman walked around the pits looking at the cars. I guessed that could be her friend’s boy, but if it wasn’t, then she made my decision to come on to her a no-go.
The last thing I needed right now was to raise someone else’s son.
My mechanic, Jesse, distracted me for a second with a question.
“You said the oversteer was the worst in turn three? Right Dyson?”
I looked down at him and nodded. “Yep.”
I immediately looked up towards her again. Before long, Ava noticed me noticing her. Unbelievably, she gave me what appeared to be a smile, followed by a wave of her hand. Surprised, I nodded in return and gestured for them to come over.
Just then, Jesse, fired up the engine. I reached down and patted him on the shoulder.
“Be right back!” I yelled.
He nodded and returned to what he was doing. All around, teams were doing the same as us - getting the cars set up and ready for qualifying. I loved the buildup, the tension that came along with getting ready.
So many things have to go your way if you want to have a chance to win out here. The way we’d been running the past month or so, I felt fucking awesome about our chances. Everyone else knew how close we were. It was a matter of time before we got things dialed in. What we needed right now, more than anything, was consistency.
We’d get there.
Or I would die trying.
Approaching the three of them, I nodded my chin in Ava’s direction.
“Glad you could make it.” I began, gesturing towards their badges. “Any problems picking everything up at will call?”
“Thank you for having us. And no, no problems at all.” She paused and looked around for a second. “Wow, things have sure gotten busy since the last time I was here.”
“Yep, that’s the way it works.” I pointed in the direction of the woman and the boy. “Who’s this with you?”
“Oh,” Ava began, rolling her eyes. “Sorry about that.”
She finished talking and looked in the direction of the woman first.
“This is my roommate, Jillian.” Next, she tilted forward at the waist and put her hand on the kids shoulder before looking back towards me. “And this, is my nephew, Simon.”
Nephew? Much better.
I extended my hand towards Jillian. “Pleasure.”
She reached up and just before she shook my hand, she slid a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
Smiling, she replied, “Nice to meet you, Dyson.”
Dyson? Cool. Someone’s been talking about me.
I let go of her hand and looked down at Simon. “Is this your first time at a car race, little man?”
He looked away from me and nodded his head.
“He can be a little shy around strangers,” Ava said.
“Not a problem. Before I leave town, we’ll all be good friends.” I winked at her and then looked down at the kid one more time. “You wanna see my car?”
Once again, he didn’t say anything, but, unlike the last time, a huge smile came to his face. I stepped to one side and gestured for the three of them to pass.
“Well, come on then.”
Jillian walked in front of me first, followed by the boy, and finally Ava. Just as she passed in front of me, I caught a whiff of her perfume. She hadn’t worn any the first time, when I met her at Dr. Wilcox’s office. I liked it. She wore just the right amount. A nice change of pace from Anastasia and Svetlana, that’s for sure.
“Hey,” I said, as she walked in front of me.
She stopped for a second and looked at me as Simon and Jillian continued to walk away.
“Yes?”
“Good to see you.”
She pursed her lips.
“You know, I’m only here because of my nephew. Don’t read anything into it.”
Once she finished, she looked away from me and followed behind them as they headed in the direction of my car. I chuckled and shook my head. A few minutes later, I’d given all of them the grand tour of the team garage, and while I finished, my teammate, Marco Rhys, approached.
“Hey man,” I began, as I pointed towards his car. “How’d it go out there?”
Marco slipped his hands into the pockets of his fire suit. “Um, all right. There’s still a lot of work to do and not much time to do it. Anyway, I’m not too concerned just yet. Talk to me in a few hours.”
I chuckled while he finished talking and looked past me towards the Ava, Jillian and Simon.
“Friends of yours?”
I nodded and introduced them all to each other. Afterward, Marco looked at Simon and said, “Hey, how’d you like to sit in my car?”
The kid turned and looked up at Ava. “Can I?”
Her eyes darted towards mine. “Is it okay?”
“Yeah, of course.” I looked down at the kid. “Whatever you do, don’t hit the brakes coming out of the straightaway heading into turn one.”
Marco chuckled and gestured for Jillian and Simon to follow him. After they walked away, I turned towards Ava.
“Seems like a good kid.”
She kept her eyes trained on him for another second or two before she looked at me.
“Yeah, he really is.”
“Take a walk?” I asked.
She looked at me for a moment and then glanced towards Marco’s car.
“He’s in good hands.” I began, waving with a causal gesture towards Marco. “I can’t go far anyway. Come on. I promise I won’t bite. I mean, unless that’s your thing.”
Ava shook her head at me. “No, it isn’t. But, okay, just for a few minutes.”
We walked in silence for a bit, eventually making our way out of the garage and along pit road. It was a perfect day for driving. Not a cloud in the sky.
“So you’re Simon’s aunt?”
Ava nodded.
“Too bad his folks coul
dn’t make it out,” I began, stopping and turning to face her. “Seems to me they’ve done a good job of raising him.”
Just then, a small gust of wind passed between us, sending Ava’s hair in front of her eyes. She moved it out of the way.
“Simon. He…”
Ava paused and turned her head away from me.
“Yeah?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her. “What about him?”
“He, um, he doesn’t have any parents.”
“Oh… Damn. Sorry to hear that. Do you mind if I ask what happened?”
I studied her and noticed a difficult swallow make its way down her throat while she considered my question.
“You know what, don’t worry about it,” I said, shrugging. “It’s none of my business.”
Ava continued to battle with wayward strands of her hair. During a few seconds of still air, she looked into my eyes. It was almost like she was deciding whether or not she could trust me.
“Maybe some other time,” I said, deciding to take the pressure off.
She smiled and nodded at me. “Maybe.”
DYSON
Just then, I noticed the expression on Ava’s face change. Something behind me caught her attention.
“It looks like you have company, Dyson.”
Doing a half turn, I glanced in the direction of her line of sight and noticed Anastasia bearing down on me.
Ava immediately appeared tense. “I’ll leave you and see you back inside the garage.”
I shook my head and gestured for her to stay put. “Don’t worry about it. It’s totally fine. You don’t have to go anywhere.”
By that time Anastasia was close enough I heard her footsteps.
“Dyson,” she began, walking right up to me. “What she doing here?”
“What do you want Anastasia?” I said, ignoring her question. “Can’t you see I’m busy right now?”
She crossed her arms and scowled at Ava before looking at me once again. “You promise me we going to leave racetrack today and go out. Do you remember?”
I nodded. “Something came up. What can I tell you, Anastasia? It’s race week, and schedules get fucked up.”
“Mmm hmm,” she grumbled. “How you have time then to spend talking to… her?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but Ava is an important medical professional on the team while we’re here in Austin.”
She shook her head and pointed at me. “She is not team doctor. That is Dr. Luca. Do not lie, Dyson.”
I shrugged. “It’s not a lie. Dr. Luca had passport problems and can’t get into the country. And so Ava here is helping out in his place.”
Anastasia thinned her lips. “I do not like her.”
“Whoa, whoa, hold it right there, Anastasia,” I said, pointing in Ava’s direction. “She’s never said a single rude word to you. You need to go right now, Anastasia. We’ll talk later.”
“No!”
I glared at her in silence for a couple of moments. “Go right now and quit complaining, or you can forget about ever going anywhere. Got me?”
Anastasia shook her head, returning my stare with an icy look of her own. At last, she turned and stormed off.
I shook my head and looked at Ava once again.
“Where were we?”
Ava chuckled. “Your little girlfriend seems pretty upset right now. Don’t you think you should go after her?”
I reached up and raked my fingers through my hair. “Who said she was my girlfriend?”
“She isn’t?” Ava asked. “So you just have sex with random girls in doctor’s offices whenever you feel like it?”
I had a hunch she’d been pretending all along, but now she’d confirmed it. I didn’t really see the point in dragging this out any longer. She wouldn’t be complaining about my behavior if she secretly didn’t like it.
Looking down at her, I smiled.
“So whatd’ya say? After I’m done here today, how about we go out and grab something to eat tonight?”
Ava’s expression froze for a couple seconds before she reached up towards her mouth and tried to stifle a laugh.
“You are really unbelievable, Dyson. Do you know that?”
I nodded and smiled at her once again. “So is that a yes?”
“No,” she began, exhaling and crossing her arms like Anastasia had. “It absolutely is not. What makes you think I would all of a sudden change my mind about you?”
“What can I say?” I shrugged. “To know me is to love me.”
Ava continued to shake her head. “I’m sure that there is no shortage of women around here who are more than willing to throw themselves at you. However, I’m not one of them.”
“And here I thought you were special,” I said, pausing to lick my lips for a second.
She narrowed her eyes at me. A frown spread across her forehead. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Hmm?” I said, shrugging. “Oh nothing.”
I turned and started to walk in the direction of the garage once again. Ava jumped in front of me and touched her finger against my chest. Now I had her right where I wanted her. Pausing, I looked down at her finger and then drew my eyes back up to meet hers.
“Don’t try that with me,” she said. For a couple of seconds she managed to keep a straight face before a tiny smile curled at the edge of her lips. “What did you mean?”
I reached up and wrapped my fingers around her hand, gently prying it away from me.
“First of all, don’t touch me,” I said, following it with a quick wink.
As before, Ava folded her arms at her chest. I took a moment to savor her figure. The way she angled her body at me in displeasure accented the curve of her hips and the fullness of her tits. She didn’t let me linger for long, though.
“Are you going to tell me or not?”
“Fine,” I began. “I can see that you’re not going to leave me alone until I do.”
“No.”
“See, the thing is, I don’t usually date women with kids. Hell, I don’t even date women with nephews. However, in your case I’m willing to make a special exception.”
Just then, Ava’s expression changed again. The smile vanished from her lips and she looked away from me. After only another second or so, she turned.
“I should be getting back.”
I frowned. “What’s the rush?”
I had no idea why she closed herself off from me all of a sudden. It must’ve had something to do with the kid, but I really didn’t know. What was clear was that I was losing the little connection we did have. If I didn’t do something, and do it quick, I could forget all about getting together with her.
“Tell you what,” I said, stepping in her direction. “You can bring Simon with you if you want.”
She shook her head. “No, I… This is really not something that I’m interested in, Dyson. You’re probably not as awful as I’ve been imagining, but…”
“Oh thanks. That’s nice of you.”
Ava uncrossed her arms and held them up in front of her body, pleading with me a bit. “No, that’s not what I meant. It’s just that… Oh, never mind.”
I’d hit on a sensitive spot where the kid was concerned. There was obviously more to the story. She seemed like someone I wanted to get to know better, so I gave it one last shot.
“I’m only gonna be here for a few days,” I said. “There’s no pressure. I mean, for Christ’s sake, I just said you could bring your nephew. How much less threatening could I possibly be?”
Ava reached up and gathered a handful of hair in her hand to keep it from blowing in her face once more. Chewing on her lip, she looked at me.
“I know I’m going to regret this.”
I nodded and smiled. “How does eight o’clock sound?”
She grimaced. “It sounds like something I need to think about.”
AVA
I glanced in the rearview mirror at my nephew’s semi-slumped position in the back seat.
&nbs
p; “Is he sleeping?” I whispered.
Jillian turned in her seat and peeked into the rear of the car.
Nodding, she glanced in my direction. “Yeah.”
Dyson qualified to start in fifth place on race day. He seemed less than thrilled about it, but the excitement took its toll on my nephew. The afternoon at the racetrack exhausted poor Simon. Amid the hustle and bustle, Dyson and Marco went above and beyond to show him a good time. Fortunately for Jillian and me, once he fell asleep, Simon was all but impossible to wake up.
I turned my attention to the road ahead. “It looks like you and Marco got along well today.”
Jillian turned her head in my direction a bit. “Yeah.”
Frankly, I’d hoped for a little bit more of an enthusiastic response from her. Not that it was practical or realistic for her to hook up with him, but I preferred anything over her good-for-nothing boyfriend, Dan.
“That’s it?” I replied. “Yeah?”
“What? He didn’t talk about himself very much. Most of the time he kept the conversation focused on me and Simon.”
I frowned. “Hmm, okay.”
Jillian turned her upper body towards me. “And, anyway, who cares about what happened with me? You still haven’t told me anything about your conversation with Dyson.”
“Well, I really didn’t have an opportunity. You know, since we were all together the entire time.”
Double checking, Jillian looked in the backseat one more time to see if Simon stirred at all.
“Okay, it’s just me and you now. Spill it.”
I shrugged. “There’s really nothing to say. He asked me out, and I told him I’d think about it.”
“I don’t understand you sometimes, Ava,” she said, exhaling and dropping her hands in her lap. “Why don’t you just go out and have some fun? You deserve it.”
We eased up to a traffic light. I applied gentle pressure to the brake. The car came to a stop and I looked at her.
“You know it’s not that simple.”
“What do you mean? Because of Simon?”
I nodded. “I can’t just bring anyone around, and I certainly can’t go out with every man who wants me to. You know that, Jillian.”
“Well, okay, but when is the last time you actually went on a date, Ava? How long has it been?”