Chapter ten
Clay
Detroit, MI
It was a good thing Nate raced in the West division. He would get more recovery time without missing any actual racing, so it wouldn’t kill his points, and he should hopefully be healed up by the next East West showdown coming up in St. Louis.
Eventually, the fans thinned and Ryker grabbed a yogurt before plopping down next to me. “It’s nice to have a set up where Jason can stay with me.” Jason, Ryker’s partner, was a sports reporter and was here with them in their private RV.
Cole walked up behind Ryker. “No lie. Nix is out here too, working with him. Makes me happy as hell to have him with me.” Cole’s partner was some kind of videographer or something and worked a lot with Jason. It meant we had two extra RVs parked, but no one could begrudge them that.
“Good for you two, but I have to share with Craige.” The guys laughed a little, but honestly, it wasn’t a hardship. There was more than enough room for both of us. Even if Craige took up a lot of space with his haphazard organization and video games. “Slade has it worse.”
“What do you mean?” Ryker dropped his container in the trash.
“He has to share with his dad, and that trailer is tiny.” I shook my head.
“It’s not decked out like ours either. Bare bones.
” I’d wanted to spend more down time with Slade, but with his dad there, we didn’t get much chance.
I liked him, was attracted to him, and despite what I’d originally said, I could see myself having some kind of relationship with him.
Especially after watching Ryker and Cole balancing their relationships.
“That sucks but he’s on a small team. They have little funding. And no Johnny to fix things up for them.” Ryker held his hands up, gesturing like it was obvious. “It’s barely above privateering.”
“Johnny to do what?” As if calling the devil, Johnny walked over and dropped his clipboard on top of one of the tool boxes.
“Just talking about how you manage to find savings, get extras and keep things moving.” Ryker flashed a cheesy smile. “You the best, man!” He pointed at Johnny.
Johnny glared at him, even with his thick glasses, he could give looks that you thought might take you six feet under. “So what?” And he didn’t miss a beat.
“Slade doesn’t have that.” I wanted to say he deserved more, but I still didn’t know him well enough. I remembered the feel of his cock in my hand and his breath on my neck, but who was he really?
“Slade? The other Toyota 250? Didn’t he just get team sponsorship? Wait. He’s been practicing with you guys out in North Carolina, right?” Well, sometimes it took him more than a beat, but we loved him anyway.
“Yes and yes. But it’s a small team. He has a coach and a mechanic.
” I shrugged. “That’s it, and I don’t know if there’s even a team manager or anything.
I mean, Ryker’s right, he’s riding at a privateer level.
” That was the truth of it. And Slade had won me over.
I hadn’t realized his situation until we spent a little time together.
He still stayed cool with a great attitude no matter what.
The rest of us were spoiled, and I bet Craige would be the first to cry if we took away his video games.
That didn’t mean Slade wasn’t cocky as hell, but all racers were.
“Hmm…I’ll talk to Gavin.” That usually meant Johnny wanted to make something happen, and he tended to get his way. Not that Gavin spoiled him, but yeah, Gavin spoiled him.
Andrew, our 250 head mechanic, pulled my bike off the stand. “Knock off the gossip, and let’s go. It’s time.”
Heat race number one. Slade wasn’t in this one, and with only a few guys that could challenge me, I would probably win, but it wasn’t a guarantee.
It never was, and I needed a good gate pick.
I was currently in first for championship points.
Finley was in second, but he wasn’t in this heat either.
He’d be in the next one, challenging Slade, who currently and surprisingly sat in third.
That was testimony to the fact that he stayed consistent and never gave up.
I liked that and couldn’t wait to see how he’d do today.