Chapter 13 #2
“And I’m not looking for serious.” The words were quiet, raw, more honest than she meant them to be. “Not emotionally.”
Reese took the smallest step toward her, not pushing, not asking, just there. “Who is? I think we’re two people who are drawn together. Just let whatever this is be what it is. Real.”
Real. That word resonated. And tempted. Sloane shook her head, enjoying their proximity immensely. She could smell Reese’s shampoo, melon again. It was becoming her drug. “You’re very bad for my self-preservation, Reese.”
Reese’s grin was soft. “Maybe. But you’re very good for mine. Also, I like it when you say my name.”
Sloane felt the pull, the gravity, the terrifying comfort of it.
She didn’t kiss her.
But she stepped close enough that her breast brushed Reese’s arm when she reached to pick up her notes from the table. Close enough to feel Reese’s breath. Close enough that the space between them wasn’t space at all. And Reese didn’t move away.
For this moment, that was enough.
Sloane wasn’t ready to fall.
But she was starting to lean.
“What is happening out there lately?” Delaney asked, clapping Reese on the shoulder hard enough to rock her forward.
They stood in the Ravensport garage, still buzzing from the aftermath of qualifying, mechanics and engineers weaving around them with the kind of barely contained excitement that only victory could generate.
“This is epic. You’re starting on pole? Again.
And at Monza no less. You’re on a streak that doesn’t quit. ”
“I know,” Reese said, eyes wide, cheeks flushed from the adrenaline that hadn’t yet worn off.
She still felt the vibrations from the last lap, every apex clean, every braking point sharp, every risk she’d taken paying off.
Her body remembered it all, even as her brain still tried to catch up.
“It’s fucking rad, and I don’t want to do anything to jinx it. ”
“What changed? I need the recipe so I can join you on the front row of the grid.” Delaney had qualified in P6, which would still give her a good shot at finishing in the points for the team.
“I’m not even sure. There have been a variety of factors, but I’ll tell you one thing: I’ve been working my ass off.” She shook her head. “I was too complacent before. Headstrong and thought I knew exactly what I was doing.”
“You?” Delaney oversold a scoff. “No. That can’t be.”
“I get it.” She shrugged. The lighthearted back-and-forth was easier than admitting how close she’d come to stalling out her own career. “Turns out there might be, like, two things I don’t know in life. It’s fine.” She flashed a smile, still riding high from quali.
“But let’s be real.” Delaney arched an eyebrow in a way that suggested she had further suspicions. “It’s her, isn’t it?”
“Who?” Reese asked, attempting casual innocence but overshooting it by a mile.
Delaney simply crossed her arms. Waiting. Knowing. Dammit.
Reese sighed. Why was she fighting the inevitable? “Fine. Yes. Maybe.”
“Say more. All the words, please.”
Reese kicked at the concrete and exhaled. “She made a lot of valid points about how I was spending my time. We … disagreed about it at first. There was all this tension.”
“Of course there was,” Delaney said with a smile. “Here we go.”
“She recommended a stronger work ethic,” Reese continued. “Fewer selfies. Cutting back on brand deals when I could. More sim time. More gym time. Basically: grow the fuck up. Get serious.”
“And that’s all it is?” Delaney asked. “Just her helping you become a better driver?”
“Delaney …” Reese warned, though a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “What exactly are you asking?”
Delaney stepped closer, lowering her voice like they were discussing state secrets. “We know you hit on her. Has it progressed from there?”
Reese stared at her, contemplating whether to go there or not. This felt like standing at the edge of a cliff.
“Are you sleeping with her? Confirm or deny.”
“No,” Reese said immediately.
“But you want to.”
“Well, who wouldn’t?”
“Valid.” Delaney nodded. “She’s beautiful and amazing and so out of your league I feel like I should prepare a PowerPoint about it.”
Reese threw up her hands. “Everyone keeps saying that. Constantly. Relentlessly.” She hesitated, then shrugged. Her chest tightened, the thrill tangling with something more vulnerable. “But … yeah. I think there’s a spark. A sizzle. Something. We kissed once.”
Delaney froze. Squinted. The world just exploded. “Are you kidding me? When? You—no. No. I refuse. You buried the lead entirely. You have no future in journalism, and I am filing a formal friendship complaint.”
Reese turned and started walking toward the quieter stretch of pit lane, knowing Delaney would follow.
F2 drivers swarmed around their cars, preparing for their own qualifying, the air buzzing with energy but blessedly free of anyone listening too closely.
The space gave Reese room to breathe, to let the moment settle instead of ricocheting away from it.
“You’re telling Marissa and Cassidy,” Delaney said, hot on her heels. “Immediately. I’m not carrying this burden alone.”
“Who said I haven’t told them?”
Delaney’s eyes went wide. “You told them and not me? I’m your friend. Your only teammate. We go back to childhood. I don’t even know—”
“Relax. I was fucking with you. You’re the first.”
Delaney went still. “I’m going to have to murder you a second time.”
“That’s not even a thing,” Reese said, leading the way back to Ravensport’s suite. “You can’t die twice.”
“You will. It will set a record.”
“At least I’ll finally hold one.” She smiled as she said it, but the truth lingered underneath: pole position, records, wins.
They were starting to matter differently now.
Not just as proof she was fast, but as proof she was becoming someone worth believing in.
And for the first time, that felt like an ending she wanted to stand inside, not outrun.