Chapter 18
JESSICA
Molly and I are talking about social media strategy for Star News when the drivers start filling up the interview zone after the first practice of the weekend.
I’m hoping I’ll get to see Luke, but I know he’s always busy during race weekends.
I’m not even sure how I should act around him when all my colleagues are nearby.
Should I just treat him like any other driver?
Will he treat me like any other reporter?
A part of me hopes so.
I don’t want anyone to start asking questions about us. I’m trying to enjoy this thing going on between us and don’t want anyone to mess things up for us.
I feel him before I see him.
I look up, already noticing his eyes on me even though he’s talking to another reporter a few rows down.
My pulse quickens at the sight of him, all sweaty with messy hair and his race suit tied around his waist.
That’s a sight I’ll store away in my mind for later.
He gives me a small smile before turning his attention back to the reporter in front of him.
When he finishes his interview, he comes over to our stand, and Andrew is ready with all the questions.
I watch him closely, noticing the way he handles the media and the attention with confidence.
No wonder they’ve termed him the golden boy.
He has the charisma and talent to be the next big star, and the way he carries himself only emphasizes his appeal. When he wraps up his interview with Andrew, he passes me slowly, gently squeezing my side before walking away.
That small touch, just to let me know he sees me, makes me feel all mushy inside.
I’m in big trouble.
“It’s weird how the star of the paddock just happens to have so much more time for Star News after our little run-in with Luke Hastings a few weeks ago, don’t you think?” Steve looks at me with a slight smile on his lips.
He’s an observant one.
I open my mouth to answer and deny that no, Luke Hastings certainly doesn’t spend more time here now than before, but I realize I don’t know anything about the past, as I’ve only been here for a short while, and Luke ran into us on my first day of real racing.
Steve chuckles at my expression before winking at me.
“Your secret is safe with me.”
◆◆◆
After everything winds down in the paddock, I head back to my trailer when I receive an incoming call from Sarah.
“Hey girl,” I say, but she only huffs on the other end of the line.
“What is going on?” I ask her.
“I just met the biggest fucking asshole ever. Seriously, I thought the guys playing in the NHL were men, but as far as I’m concerned, they’re a bunch of babies.”
Before I get the chance to respond, Sarah tells me about her day from hell, as she calls it.
Sarah’s internship is with the Chicago Coyotes Hockey team. She’s working with their media department, which handles the press for the team and the players. That means she will be working closely with the players.
“I’ve been working my butt off to create media strategies designed for all the different players, based on the information the team has given me.
Most of my meetings with the players have been good, but then today I was meeting with the team’s captain, Alexander McGregor, and he accused me of being a fucking prostitute! ”
“What?!” I shrink into the phone.
Sarah tells me she’s been bringing her A-game in the fashion department, wearing outfits that make her feel confident but professional. She was meeting Alexander in his hotel room because he was “too busy” to meet her at the stadium.
When she arrived at his hotel, he opened the door and whistled at her, jumping to the conclusion that she must be a high-end escort sent as a gift from one of his teammates.
Sarah makes me proud when she tells me how she handled the idiot.
She started by slapping him across the face, then gave him a piece of her mind before storming off.
Now, she’s still fuming, but her doubts have begun to creep in as well.
“Oh god, Jess, what if he reports me for physical assault? This whole internship may be over before it’s even started.” I can hear her pacing around.
“Calm down, Sarah. He was the first one to assault you by calling you a hooker.”
The nerve of some of these athletes.
Once I’ve gotten her to calm down and assure her that she won’t be reported for physical assault, I tell her that I talked to Luke yesterday.
“Yes, please, give me some good guy news.” She tells me, and I blush just thinking about how our “talk” ended yesterday.
“Well, I would say the talking went great, considering he gave me the best orgasm a man has ever given me,” I tell her, and she squeals into the telephone, making me move my phone away from my ear.
“Shut up, you slut! Did you sleep with him? Please tell me you did!” I chuckle and fill her in on the whole oral sex before the dreaded telephone call from his team, making our night together shorter.
“I’m a little relieved that we couldn’t stay the night together. The sexual tension is so overwhelming, and I don’t want to rush things, but whenever I’m around him, I want—”
“To rip his clothes off?” Sarah finishes my sentence, and I roll my eyes at her even though she can’t see me.
“No, well yes, but my point is that he’s making me feel overwhelmingly good, and I don’t know, I just feel like we should wait, not rush into things, causing the tension to die out.” I say, but Sarah only chuckles on the other end.
“Jessica, seriously, stop doubting yourself. You’re smoking hot and beautiful, and you deserve to be with someone who appreciates that, if that’s what you want.
Don’t tear yourself down and let any doubt get in your way.
I’m sure once you cross that line with Luke, the tension will only burn even brighter. ”
Sometimes, it feels scary having a best friend who knows me so well, who sees straight through my crap and insecurities.
I once was with a guy who was only interested in sex, and when that was a done deal, he moved on to someone else.
It left me feeling hollow and insecure, like I was only enough until he got what he wanted.
Ever since, there has been a small, ugly voice in the back of my head, telling me that all guys who follow will be the same.
With the support of my best friend, though, I’ve managed to tame that ugly voice, but in times like this, when a man like Luke is stirring up all kinds of feelings, the vulnerability creeps in.
I remind myself that Luke has been the total opposite of the men before him, always making sure I’m certain, making me feel assured and confident.
I made the first move yesterday, and Luke made me feel desired, wanted, and cherished through his every touch and look.
There is no doubt in my mind that he enjoyed himself just as much as I. It was the first time I experienced being with a man who not only seemed to enjoy but also genuinely craved, making me feel good.
The memory of it makes my skin tingle.
We keep talking until Sarah is called away for a meeting.
“Hopefully it’s not my dismissal on the agenda!” she says before hanging up.