by Karen Botha
“Let’s get this show on the road,” Elliott hollers and the emotion is too much for me. The tide rises and I swallow, fighting the urge to cry.
Elliott
I’m super excited. I’ve not driven a race car since the end of last season, so I’ve been counting down to today when we’re going to take this out on the circuit. We need to make sure all the work we’ve done in the simulator over the past few months has paid off.
My stomach is churning. The race teams are poised in the garage ready to analyze my performance and tell me how to drive differently to achieve optimum results.
I hop into my cockpit for the first time of the season and it’s Kyle who comes over to strap me in. Through all the grease in the pit and through my helmet and fire gear I can smell him. That musky scent I crave each morning when I wake.
He tugs the harness, and it tightens around my groin, shifting my butt back in my seat. I grin beneath my helmet and when his mischievous eyes meet mine through my visor, I know this was intentional.
“Cheeky,” I shout.
“Enjoy.” He raises his eyebrows.
“Oh, I will.” Bloody helmet, I can't kiss him. The warmth of our love surges through me as Ryan raises his left hand to tell me to stop flirting and get my ass out of the garage.
“Be careful. It’s only four degrees out there today. Take it steady,” Trevor warns down my earpiece. What he means is that he doesn’t want everyone’s hours of hard work to end up in a barrier because I was over exuberant in my thirst to be back on the track.
To be fair, he has a point because I’ve been crazy bad in the simulator this year, planting this baby in a wall more times than I care to admit. So I can understand his caution. The team have nearly killed themselves to build me a beast and while I'm totally in love with her, her handling has taken some hefty getting used to.
But now we’re on track.
And we’re connected.
Every single one of my senses is tuned in to her. To how she handles, and to how far I can push her before she gives in.
My inhibitions vaporize into the overcast British sky like rain evaporating in the hot sun.
I enfold myself in my blanket of concentration, zoning everything else out as I tear out of the pit lane and take this girl for her first lap of a circuit. My focus is unwavering as I act on the team’s instructions.
“Push harder here.”
“We just want to see what happens if you go faster there.”
“Your brakes are overheating, slow down early for this bend.”
It’s a constant cycle of communication as we work out just how far we can push this monster and what we need to do after today to make the adjustments which will mean I can drive her harder.
“My rear feels odd, we need to look at it later. I’m struggling to hold her.” I drift around a fairly standard bend at a fairly standard speed; sideways. Whatever is going on at the rear of my car is not good.
“We’ve heard that about you,” Greg mutters into his microphone.
I manage to reply with, “Funny guy,” without my concentration flickering. She feels great. We have fewer cylinders this year, but somehow the team has managed to get more from less. The vibration of the engine rises through the chassis and into my gut so that her handling is instinctive. This is what I miss on the simulators, my ability to be able to read a car. I sense how far I can push and feel confident enough to press my pedal to the floor. The tires are warm now, but still fresh so this is my moment to open her up.
The throttle roars, but I only feel it. My hearing is dulled to the expected, focusing on the unexpected and staying alive. G-Force snatches my neck, but my gym work pays off, allowing my focus to sense just how late I can leave it before I press the brake pedal.
I pass the point where I should brake.
Wait...
Wait...
Finally, just before I shoot off the track, I switch my boot to the other pedal and slam it down, the engine slowing as I blitz down the gears.
“This car is awesome,” I scream as I come out of the turn alive, “I’ve never had one like her.”
Kyle
It’s our anniversary, which is fabulous timing, as we’re back in the workshop. It’s not as great as a standard work day though. Today we’re responsible for packing up the factory before we head off for formal testing.
It’s not even like working on our special day is fun. I might as well be employed as a removal guy the way my day is going.
Anyway, here I am, so I may as well make the most of it. I scowl. This process is never easy and I don’t see why today will be any different.
It’s not even like we can celebrate on the weekend like people with nine to five jobs do. Sure, they may have to work their special dates in the calendar, but they at least get days off. We’re flat out now, pretty much until the summer break.
I’ll be lucky to see Elliott at all.
“What’s with you?” Greg asks as I turn my nose up at his singing.
“Your singing sucks.” I grumble.
“Ooh, touchy.” He whistles.
To be fair his singing is atrocious, but I’m just snarky. Not that I’m going to admit it to him though. He walks off, knowing better than to jibe at me further.
We’re half packed up. The spare chassis is loaded, so at least that’s one thing, but we’re waiting for the manufacturing plant to make three new rear ends which should help the handling. Until they’ve finished those, we can’t pack the rest of the equipment into the crates as nothing else will fit in their allotted space without these being in first.
“Any idea what time you’ll get out?” Elliott asks from the comfort of our home.
Luckily he knows better than I do what it can be like, so at least he’s not getting antsy about our delayed celebration.
“Not at the moment. The parts should be ready in a few hours, but then we have to fit all the rest of the gear in the pods. It’s a shame we can’t go out now and then come back later. I’m sitting doing nothing.”
His tone changes and I imagine his lips curling into a smile. “OK, well call me as soon as you have an idea of when you’ll be done.”
He hangs up and I continue my perusal of his private locker room in which I’m waiting. My uniforms are usually the last thing I pack, but today I have them in my branded luggage already. It’s planted on the bed next to me, ready to go.
Fifteen minutes later I’m laid out on his soft mattress relaxing with my head resting on my kit bag. My eyes are closed and I’m hovering in and out of sleep, when the door crashes open.
My heart slams into my mouth as my eyes fly wide and I sit bolt upright. “What the...?”
“Happy anniversary.” Elliott is standing in the doorway with one arm up on the frame. In his other, he’s holding a Marks and Spencer carrier bag.
“You scared me you dick. What are you doing?” I’m up and already enveloping him in my arms, my mood irreversibly lifted, because I know exactly what he’s doing.
“If you can’t come to the party, then I shall bring it to you.” His voice is muffled, buried in my shoulder.
I kiss his blond curls, inhaling his fresh smell and a tinkle of excitement springs to life. Forgotten are the few minutes of sleep I was trying to catch before a long night of work.
“Come on, sit,” he says manhandling me back toward the bed.
“OK. Sorry.” I shift, rearranging my groin and the smile which takes over his face does nothing to help my cause, but he’s having none of it.
“Hey, I have big plans.” He opens the lime green bag between us and tips out a range of sandwiches and salads. “I was planning to have an unhealthy food night tonight, I just hadn’t expected it to be in the form of bread and mayo. Needs must be met though.” He winks.
That’s it. I’m sorry. Lovely as this gesture is, a BLT is no competition for what I have in mind.
Elliott
Kyle is not taking no for an answer and so my offering is left una
ttended beside us which is a huge mistake, because as he rolls on top of me, my back squelches into a discarded cardboard like sandwich.
I ignore the icky slime trickling down my crack, more intent on Kyle’s heavy body crushing mine. He sweeps the rest of the food out of the way and rubs his cock through his clothes against my solid shaft.
His mouth presses down onto mine, and I’m entirely trapped beneath him, unable to move, loving his power. My hand sneaks to his hip and up the inside of his t-shirt, feeling the muscles in his back flex as he drives down on top of me. My other hand is on his butt, forcing him down harder as my hips drive up, crushing our cocks together.
His tongue tangles round mine, searching my mouth for a place undiscovered over the past year. My mind wanders off to that first time I saw him, covered in grease. To our special moment where time froze as he watched me getting blown by the toilets, rubbing himself at that sight. I grow more solid at the thought of how he let his repressed passion free. And we’re left with the most amazing connection fueling a relationship like no other I’ve ever experienced.
Every intimate time is different with him. We can be going through the same motions, and yet it feels special. Our emotions are on so many levels and their effect on how our bodies connect is awesome. I can’t imagine a time when us making out will be boring or predictable.
My heart is connected to the physical as I tune into Kyle’s tongue swirling inside my mouth. He lifts it, runs it over the roof of my mouth before sucking my tongue, taking it down as though it were my penis.
He growls as it slides out, then sucks me back in. My cock is going to explode in my pants at this rate as his body pounds against me. He catches the tip of my tongue between his front teeth, flicks his against it. The throbbing in my trousers intensifies, and I force my hips up, begging for him to lower his mouth.
He releases me, shoves up my tee with both hands, running his thick palms over my tight abs fleetingly before unbuckling my jeans and ripping them to my knees. The relief as I spring loose is only momentary. I catch the twinkle in his eye. It’s enough to send my eyes rolling into my head in anticipation of what this man can do to me.
I tip my groin forward as I fumble with his belt before slipping him free and wrapping my heated palm around him.
He slides away, bends and sucks.
“Oh Kyle.” I push deeper and as I remove my butt from the support of the bed, he glides his hand between my legs and circles, trailing his nails lightly over my nerve endings which are ablaze with desire as his sultry mouth takes me down his throat.
Every part of me is on fire, electricity shooting to my feet, curling my toes into the mattress.
And then he stops.
Kicks himself free of his clothes and twists on top in a 69 position so his ass is facing my head. He encases my cock between his lips again and splits my thighs wide, greasing me as he does.
I reach down and take some lube on my hand before placing his cock in both my palms. He thrusts into me as I tongue him, circling around his entrance. The speed of his breath is rapid as he groans. His head swells within my grasp. I remove my hand and wrap his throbbing member in my fingers as I spread his lubed butt with my other hand and insert my finger.
His shout as he bulldozes back onto me and lets go is enough for me to join his ecstasy. I force my hips down so that when I come, it's deep in the back of his throat.
“Kyle, you’re needed, we’re ready,” Greg shouts through the door, knowing better than to barge in.
“OK.” He rises, his eyes still glazed as he pulls his uniform back on. “I’ll see you later.”
“Yep.”
He bends to kiss me. “Happy anniversary gorgeous. Thanks for the surprise; it was amazing.” He winks and I grin as my chest swells.
“No problem. See you at home.”
He grabs a sandwich and shoves it in his mouth as he dashes out.
Kyle
I’m shattered the next morning. I’ve only had four hours sleep as the night was long. We were delayed again before we could complete the pack-up, but the spring in my step after Elliott’s visit meant that waiting for more parts no longer felt like a problem. Elliott is at least with me.
“El, I don’t want to go to Barcelona on the private jet with you. I know you say it means you’re fresh, but it’s...it’s important for me to fit in with the team. I have to go with them.” I said a few nights earlier.
He stops, as though this is the first time we’ve discussed it, his eyes rolling to the left as he considers what I’ve said. “OK, I’ll come with you then.”
“Really?” This is a one for the books. Elliott Judd on a bus and then a standard flight. “You know we fly economy right?”
“Sure, why not? It’ll be fun, plus with you being on the night shift when we get over there, I won’t be seeing as much of you as I’d like, so I have to grab every opportunity.”
Whoa, well, I’m not turning this chance down. And the guys will love him for it too. “Ah, thanks.” I brush my lips over his.
His eyes shoot up and meet mine. “I’m not staying in a camper with everyone else though. The only person I want to share my sleeping space with is you.” He grins that adorable grin that I love so much, the one that tells me how happy I make him and how much he’s willing to give to be in my space with me. I wrap my arms around him but perhaps with a little too much emotion behind my gesture. Squeezing him tight, something surges through me and I feel like this could be the last time I’ll ever have the chance.
“Hey, watch out.” He frees himself from my grasp by pushing against my abs.
I nod. “Sure,” and pull him back in.
“Hey, you OK?” His voice is soft, but he’s unable to move as I crush him within my biceps.
“Sure. I just love you that’s all. It’s a big deal you traveling with the boys. They'll appreciate it. You being with us more often is breaking down your enigma, and garnering you more respect within the team. The more they get to know you, the less they mind having to put in the unsociable hours it takes to prepare the car for the race you get all the glory for winning.”
I feel his head nod, hear a muffled, “I guess you're right.”
“And it’s great for me because that allows me to nip off and spend time with you without being ridiculed for having special treatment. This is important to me. So, thank you.”
“I’m not sure what my security detail will have to say about it, but we’ll make it work.” He rests his hands on my hips, finally breaking loose from my clutch and landing a kiss on my chest.
We’re shivering in the pitch black at six o’clock in the morning, shoving our luggage in the hold under the bus, ready to depart for the airport as a collective.
“That’s it, everyone is aboard.” Chase finishes his head count and the driver closes the door to the coach.
“It’s like a school trip,” Elliott jokes.
“Let the season commence,” someone, probably Ryan, shouts from the back row.
I clasp Elliott’s hand in mine. “We’re off.”
Kyle
I’m overcome with emotion as we pull into the testing circuit with Elliott at my side. It all started here and although we’ve been back to race in the interim, there’s a poignancy about this being a year ago.
“I think I’m turning soft,” I say to Elliott, my voice low.
“Oh, you think do you?” He’s laughing at me, one eyebrow raised.
“What?”
“Well, when I met you here, you were a butch, muscle-bound, straight guy. Now I catch you crying at the drop of a hat.”
I shove him. “Hey, I just wasn’t in touch with my emotional side, that’s all. You’re the one to blame for this soft side!” The outrage in my voice doesn’t manifest to my feelings and Elliott knows it.
He wraps his arm around my shoulder, “And I’m so pleased you allowed me to show you what you were missing.”
I fall serious. “It’s odd isn’t it how we can bury such a deep
rooted part of who we are because we’ve been conditioned into believing we should be someone else. If I was honest, maybe there was a portion of me that realized I liked men, but I’d never admit it. Yeah, I thought some men were hot, but I honestly convinced myself that any straight guy would appreciate another man’s beauty in the same way.”
We’re silent. Both of us stare into the distance at nothing in particular, each considering how differently life could have turned out if Elliott hadn’t been such a persistent bugger.
“Come on, I have to get settled down and get some sleep for this evening’s night shift.” I tap Elliott’s arm.
“Sure. You’re staying with me though?”
“I wasn’t planning on it because we’re on different schedules. We’ll end up disturbing each other.”
Elliott struggles with his wheeled bag as it catches on a tree root and tips to one side. I laugh. He’s not used to looking after himself like this. Normally when he arrives, his luggage is already installed in his private camper.
“Come here, give me that.” I reach out and tug on the handle.
“No, I can do this.” He grins. “Can’t have you thinking I’m spoiled now can I?”
“I love spoiling you. Come on, give it here.”
He snatches it away. “I will not have everyone else assuming I need you to look after me either. That’s what I really meant, his cheeks flush a cute shade of pink.”
“Elliott cares what others think! That’s a first; guess we’re both changing.” I jab his ribs.
He shoots me a glare, but he’s smiling and I allow him to continue to drag his bag behind him as we walk in companionable silence to his trailer. Our congenial mood is only broken by Elliott’s phone pinging a message.
Elliott