Chapter 11: The Duels
The morning before the Duels went smoothly with the car going through pre-race inspection with ease as Angela had gotten the team to put the final touches on it. Based on how practice had gone the day before, she believed that they were in for a good race.
She watched as Dale got done driver introductions and returned to the car before the race, joining her by the driver’s window.
“So I think we’ve got a good car and based on fuel strategy, this should be an easy race for me to call,” she states with a smile. “It’s going to be up to driver to make it happen.”
“They don’t call me the master for nothing,” he replies with a grin as she shakes her head in agreement.
“Just please whatever you do, don’t wreck this one. I want to have this car for Sunday as I believe it’s good enough to win the 500. Besides, the back-up would’ve been the Shootout car but we know what happened there.” Dale lets out a sigh as he remembered that wreck quite well. He also remembered the discussion in the garage, more so.
“Can we just forget that night happened? I thought we had moved past that.” She then glances over.
“I wasn’t referring to the fight or anything, just the actual wreck. You don’t have to worry about anything, Dale. I meant it when I said that we were squared away. Pretend that I never mentioned it, okay?” He shakes his head yes as they watched the boss walk over.
“How’s my favourite pair?” He questions as Dale and Angela glance at each other, intrigued.
“Ready to go win a race for you boss,” Dale states with a smile.
“So Greg and Chad made the right decision in hiring her for you?” Angela thinks it over as she knew that a good discussion with the pair would need to be had. She knew that she deserved the position. Her credentials with the team showed that she was the right person for the job. However, did either of them have another plan? Based on Rick’s glances between them, she had to wonder if there was a cupid somewhere in the mix – perhaps. Besides, Jason Burdett should’ve got this spot before her and she should’ve gotten an XFINITY crew chief position with JRM.
“So far, it’s working out great.”
“We’re getting along just fine, as expected,” Angela adds with a smile as she glances towards the direction of the 48 car. She was definitely having a chit chat with Chad later. If wasn’t that she doubted herself and the fact that she was there, but was just purely curious.
“Why would there be any issues, anyway?” Dale questions. “We both know the job that we have to do. I trust that she can get the job done based on her knowledge. She has been doing a good job so far.”
“It’s just about building that chemistry so we can have great communication during the race.”
“Well, good luck and hope to see you in victory lane later,” Rick says before walking away as Angela keeps her eyes locked on him.
“You’re thinking….” Dale starts as she takes her eyes off the boss and looks at him.
“Can’t I think?” She questions as he shrugs his shoulders.
“What are you thinking?” She then lets out a sigh as she glances down at Chad.
“What if we have a cupid in the mix? What if they paired us together because they’re wanting us to be together?” Dale’s jaw immediately drops and he shakes his head no.
“Rick is adamant about performance. He’d only put us together if he believed that we could work together and win races. That has nothing to do with it.” He then looks over at her. He knew that the next question would be an obvious no as they had kept their relationship on the down low, with barely any people finding out about it while they were together. They didn’t want to be the talk of the next gossip magazine, or have the shop focused on what they were up together. “Besides, he doesn’t know about us….does he?” She shakes her head no. “I told T.J., Stevie and my sister. Oh, and you met my mom. Who did you tell?”
“Denny because I dated him aft-”
“Seriously?” She shakes her head yes.
“We were good friends and it just happ-”
“Did you not hear about his little black book of girls?” She then lets out a sigh.
“He’s not as bad as you think, Dale. Besides, you’ve had your fair share as well.” She then glances away, taking a deep breath before returning her eyes to his. “We agreed not to fight, put the past in the past and focus on right now so let’s just do that, okay? No more talk of Hamlin.” Dale puts his hands up in agreement, but was still curious as to what happened there.
“Fine. Who else did you tell?”
“Jimmie and Ron. I’ve been close with those boys since I joined that team. But I never told Knaus. However, the way that Rick was questioning about us and the glances, it got me thinking that there’s a cupid in the mix.” Dale shakes his head no as he knew that Rick was a serious owner who made decisions with the sole purpose of successful for his company. He also knew Greg really well and that his past crew chief would give him the best person to succeed with based on their experience together last year. He didn’t know Chad that well, but he knew that Chad had a serious sense to him as well.
“Nobody that made a decision would know then. Besides, they look for performance – not love. And if Rick would’ve known that we were ex-relationshiped, he never would’ve put us together as that’d spell no chemistry.” She then crosses her arms. His explanation did put her thoughts about a possible cupid being in the mix away from the discussion, but it brought up a whole new batch of thoughts that she thought they’d thrown far away already.
“So what are you trying to say?” He then glances away before returning his eyes to hers.
“People would say that we couldn’t get over what happened. However, we’ve gotten over it. We’ve talked about it and agreed to put it in the past without letting it influence our current friendship or work relationship. We’ve also both recognized that there’s still feelings there, if we should pursue that. So despite some people saying that we couldn’t make this work, we’re going to make it work and have success. I believe in you and I hope you believe in me.” She then smiles a little as she pats his shoulders.
“I do believe in you. Hence why I expect my damn car in victory lane later today.”
Chapter 12: Post Duels
Angela could only shake her head as she looked over the car after the completion of the Duel.
They had played the right strategy. Dale had ran the perfect race, putting himself in position to snag the win in the closing laps. Then it happened. A tap from someone into someone triggered the big wreck, and there they were stuck right in the midst of it.
Rather than celebrating in victory lane, or at least savoring a decent starting spot, here she stood at a crumpled piece of metal – the second wrecked car in the span of a week.
She was thankful that she worked for Hendrick Motorsports and they were prepared as after the wreck in the Shootout, HMS had already sent down a third car just in case they needed a back-up should something happen.
Rather than running the car that she had worked all off-season to perfect on, they’d be running the back-up to the back-up. It wasn’t that bad of a car, having displayed some decent wind tunnel numbers and been used in the past restrictor plate races, but it wasn’t the chassis that she would’ve preferred.
She watched as Dale walked over to the garage area, done with the medical center and interviews, glancing over the same piece of scrapped metal that she was. The guys were already all over it, taking what she wanted off of it to be transferred to the back-up car, while another group was already working on the back-up.
“Are you okay?” She asks quietly as she catches his attention and he shakes his head yes. Neither was certain whether they wanted to speak to each other based on how the last discussion had gone between them following a wreck.
“Yeah I’m fine,” he answers as he takes one more glance over the car. “I just hate to see another torn up car.” She shakes her head in agreement, setting her clipboard down on the pit box.
“That’s Daytona – sometimes everything goes your way, and sometimes you end up in everybody else’s messes. So far this week, we’re suffering the lather of the two. Let’s just hope that we got all the wrecking out of the way and Sunday goes well.” He shakes his head in agreement, glad that she was taking the positive road out of what happened. He was worried that he’d meet a frustrated crew chief once again.
“Let’s hope. It can only get better from here, right?” She shakes her head as she gives him a little pat on the back.
“Glad that you’re alright, though. I have to admit – my heart jumped a little.” She then walks away as a small smile forms on his face. She still liked him and wanted the same thing that he did, but was afraid. Only 36 more weeks to work through that layer.
“Do you need any help?” She shakes her head no as she looks back at him.
“You’re the driver. I don’t trust drivers to work on my cars, remember? We’ve got enough guys. I’ll have everything squared away and a car ready for you for practice tomorrow. Just take care of yourself, okay?” He shakes his head yes.
He then watches as she involves herself in making sure the plan is being followed carefully, admiring how she could easily take control of the situation without any agitation. Everybody easily listened to her, not questioning her decisions as they each did their job. There was a reason that she had earned her position in the garage and it was without a doubt that each day he saw that working with her. He couldn’t help but continue to give her more credit than he did before, and feel even more guilty for screwing things up before.
“He’s staring at her…” Travis whispers to one of his fellow crew guys as Kevin looks over at Dale, before returning to his job.
“I told you that there was still some chemistry there despite the rumors,” he offers in return as Cameron rolls his eyes, looking at the pair.
“Are you ever going to shut up about their relationship?” He wonders as the pair of crew guys glance at him.
“If we’re going to have to suffer through their stares and awkward conversations, we might as well have some fun with bets and discussions.” Cameron immediately rolls his eyes.
“There isn’t going to be any awkw-”
“I guess you forgot about the other day when they shared some conversation and he offered to take her out for an evening of fun. She likes him, he likes her. He knows that she likes him, but she’s scared for obvious reasons. It’s just a matter of time, buddy. Till then, we have to suffer through awkwardness. And then once they are out in the open, we’ll be yelling TMI and having to watch them kiss all the time.” Travis shakes his head as Kevin stands up, brushing his legs off as he had finished getting the transmission out, per his crew chief’s request. “So, do you want to start placing your bets now and wait for another couple of weeks and start believing me?”
“I’m just going to pretend that I never heard this conversation. I’d rather keep things professional.” Cameron then walks away from the pair, having finished his latest thing on the list of duties.
“Perhaps you should quiet down a little,” Travis suggests as Kevin shrugs his shoulders.
“Where’s the fun in that?” He questions as he drags the transmission out. “Angela, it’s out!”
“Take it over to the other car,” she instructs with a glance their way. “The boys have already got it set to install that transmission with the motor.” Kevin simply shakes his head, accepting, as he goes forth with his duty.
Angela remained in her spot, watching the crew work feverishly. She hated that they had to go through the extra work, but had to admire how well the group worked together and followed the necessary requests. She couldn’t help but applaud Greg and Travis’ efforts from last year to get the team working in a fluid motion, continuing what Steve started. She just hoped that she continue that with ease, while having some success
The pressure was on and she knew that she couldn’t fail now, for more reasons than one.
Chapter 13: The Boss
As they worked to move forward beyond what happened on Thursday, there was still one thing lingering in Angela’s mind – the boss. The conversation on pit road and his comments, followed by her conversation with Dale.
How much of the truth did Rick know?
It was something that she knew that she shouldn’t let bug her. She had earned her spot on top of the pit box through her work with the 48 team. Rick wouldn’t just put someone on the box for cupid reasons, but whether they could produce the results.
However, it still lagged in her mind when she got up on Friday morning and got ready to head to the garage for practice that day.
Glancing at the time, she knew there was time to spare before she had to be in the garage. It wasn’t much time, but it was enough time to go see the boss. She had to concentrate on her job and she couldn’t do that with a lingering thought on the mind. She knew that she needed her answer.
She made her way through the garage, knowing where Rick was hanging out. With this being Chase’s first year in Sprint Cup, she knew that he’d be there, checking in on how things were going for Chase and Alan. Like Dale and her, the Duel hadn’t treated them well either as they found themselves with a torn up racecar as well. Certainly not how they envisioned starting their rookie campaign.
She stands back, watching as Rick interacts with Chase and Alan, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. This was something that didn’t have to be addressed immediately, and she didn’t need more people hearing about her personal business.
As she watched Rick finish up and start to walk away, she made her way over, knowing that she had her chance now.
“Hey Rick,” she starts, catching his attention. “Can I ask you something?” He then looks at her cautiously, and shakes his head yes.
“I told you that my door is always open and you can ask any question that you want,” he tells her and she shakes her head, remembering that. He was their boss, but he always had an open door policy. If you had something on your mind and wanted to bounce ideas off of someone, he was there to hear you out and offer whatever advice that he thought mattered. He also was keen on keeping an eye on his employees, noticing if something was off and expressing his concerns. It was that family atmosphere that everybody bragged about with regards to Hendrick Motorsports.
“When you were on pit road yesterday and you made some comments to Dale and I, it trigged some thoughts in my mind. Now, I may be way out in left field with these and the implications, but I can’t seem to get it out of my mind.” She then looks at him, wanting to have a square honest look in the eye when she asked. “Did you know about Dale and I’s past of dating before?” He looks at her surprised and shakes his head no.
“I didn’t know that the pair of you went out. Dale never came to me asking for any dating advice that pertained to you, and nobody else mentioned anything.” She now felt guilty as heck for bringing it up. She should’ve known to trust her gut and trust that she was paired with Dale for the right reasons. “Is there something that I should know?”
“During his first year at HMS, we dated for about five or six months. We didn’t do it publically right out in the open, but there were some people who found out. We broke up over a disagreement.” Rick shakes his head, understanding.
“Is this past relationship affecting your professional relationship?” She shakes her head no, immediately. That was a lie, though, and she knew that she couldn’t keep secrets.
“Well, it did at first. We had a couple fights and such. But, we both came to an agreement that it wasn’t going to get us anywhere. So we agreed to put the past in the past where it belongs and focus on working together as driver and crew chief in hopes of having success.” The answer seemed to satisfy the boss as a smile formed on his face at her explanation.
“I’m proud of you both for taking the mature route about how to handle the situation. With that said, if it does become a problem, I would have no issues in rearranging the teams – giving you an XFINITY crew chief position and having him work with Burdett. However, if you both feel that you can handle it, I’m not going to step in.” Angela shakes her head in agreement. It was nice to know that there was another spot that she’d fall should things fall apart. However, that wasn’t going to happen. They had put the pieces together and despite the wrecks, they were set to solider on together and have success.
“Sir, I can assure you that we’re going to make this work and have success. It won’t be a problem. I just mentioned it because it was on my mind.” He gives her a pat on the shoulder with a smile.
“You know the rule – if you have something on your mind, don’t be afraid to voice it. There’s no worries in saying something to me. Keep that in mind and if you ever want to come to me to talk about how things are going, you can. Whether you feel that there’s an issue to be addressed or advice on where to go from here, the door is open. Hopefully I see you in victory lane on Sunday.” She smiles and shakes her head in agreement as she watches him head off.
She knew there was more to that statement than he was letting on. Now that he knew that they had a past together, he was going to be keeping a close eye on them and how things developed from here.
However, she was going to stick to her guns. She wasn’t ready to go back down that road yet and she wasn’t going to go back down that road till she was ready – if that ever happened. For now, she was just going to focus on her job and leave it at that.
Taking a deep breath and putting her hair up in a pony tail, she walks into the 88 garage, set for the practice session that afternoon. They had a brand new car with no laps on it. It was time to see whether the wind tunnel data had told the truth.
Chapter 14: Denny
The day had gone smoothly.
They were able to get through practice without any problems. Dale was happy with how the car drafted, pleased with how it ran in the pack and how he was able to pull out front with ease. If anything, it felt better than the other car. Their confidence was certainly back up easily.
She went through the post-practice routine of talking everything over with the fellow HMS teams, and her guys – with no issues. Everyone was happy and already looking forward to Sunday. They were so looking forward to Sunday that they agreed to skip out on running the Saturday practice session. Why risk wrecking the car?
With that said, she finished up the final meeting in their hauler by telling the guys to take Saturday off and have some fun in Florida, whether on the beach or at the amusement park.
“Does that include yourself?” She hears as she packs up her belongings. She grins, recognizing the voice as she glances back at him. She had a feeling that he’d stick around till everyone else had left.
“I’m going to be here to watch the XFINITY race to see how things play out,” she offers. “I’m also going to be here for Cup practice to see who practices, and how their cars look. The work never stops for a crew chief.” He then leans back against the one cupboard, watching as she gets everything in her backpack.
“You can’t work yourself to the bone. You’re going to wear yourself out and it’s only the first race of the season.” She then picks her bag up, swinging it over her back as she walks over to him.
“Dale, I can balance this. I worked with Chad and Ron. That should tell you enough. Besides, possibly after the XFINITY race on Saturday, I’ll do something to cut loose a bit.” A bit of hopefulness immediately forms on his face, wondering if she’s set to accept the go-karting offer.
“Would you like to go go-karting then?” She then thinks it over and shakes her head yes with a smile, though immediately lets that smile fade away.
“But just as friends – nothing else. I just want to do it so we get used to spending time together and being friends.” He shakes his head, in agreement. Though he also knew it was another step towards his goals.
“Deal. Meet you after the race?” She shakes her head yes as she heads out of the hauler.
“Don’t try and pull something special, Earnhardt.” He then grins as he watches her walk out. He had a couple ideas in mind, however also knew that he had to be careful with the chance that she was giving him.
She walks out of the hauler, walking through the garage area, waving at a couple familiar faces. She then smiles as she notices Denny coming out of the FedEx Hauler, catching up to chat with him for a bit.
The pair had been close friends for a long time, even before she started working at HMS as an engineer, having met at Hickory one night, racing late models together. They had gone out for a couple of months, but broke it off. They made great friends, but didn’t have the chemistry for a relationship. Denny liked to do things a little different than she did.
“Did you have a good practice?” She asks as he looks over at her and shakes his head yes.
“I think I have a car capable of winning the Daytona 500,” he answers. “How about you?” She smiles, easily knowing the answer.
“The driver is happy. The car looks like it’s handling well with a lot of speed. I say that things are good.” There was no question – Dale would be part of the winning equation on Sunday, as usual at Daytona. However, he still didn’t feel comfortable about her and Dale working together.
“How are things going between you and Dale?” She then glances over at him, knowing that he was genuinely concerned as a friend. He was one of the people that she vented a bit of concern to after the announcement was made in January.
“They’re going great. I honestly can’t complain, Denny. We talked things over and straightened away both of our concerns. We both agreed to put the past in the past and work on working together and being friends. Since we’ve had that chat, everything has gone perfect.” She knew that she could’ve gone on more, revealing the signs of feelings but the need to hold back due to fear of a broken heart, but didn’t feel comfortable telling Denny. He’d freak that she shouldn’t do it as he was never the reasonable one. If she was going to discuss those feelings, that’d need to be with Jimmie and Chad.
“That’s great to hear. I’m surprised, honestly.” She then looks at him, a little confused.
“What do you mean?” He shrugs his shoulders, remembering the couple of weeks after the break-up.
“Well, after you both broke up, you swore that you’d never talk to him again, you’d avoid him at the shop at all costs and you never wanted to be near him again. Oh, and you told me that he should be a human dart board. But now, everything is perfect?” She shakes her head yes. “How can you forgive him?”
“Denny, we all make mistakes. That was a mistake made during that period of time. He made a mistake in the fights that we had. I made a mistake, as well, in how I handled them in return. We both have realized the mistakes that we made and are set to move on to better avenues.” He then rolls his eyes as she stops and crosses her arms. “Hammy, you made mistakes, too. Do I need to remind you?” He then stops and looks back at her.
“Excuse me?” She then rolls her eyes.
“The little black book! The book of lady’s numbers in each bloody city across the freaking NASCAR schedule. The same book that Kyle found by accident in your motorcoach and brought up in discussion. You made your mistakes sleeping around, boy.”
“That wasn’t a mistake. That was having fu-”
“If that’s what you want to call it, okay? Besides, look at things with you and Kendra. That was supposed to be a couple night stand. But someone forgot to wrap it up and got her pregnant. Hey, isn’t that a mistake? Getting your sex buddy pregnant? But yet, you both worked it out and are working together so that way your daughter is happy. If you can work out that mistake and fix things, why can’t I?” He then lets out a sigh, knowing that she was right. However, he wasn’t about to tell her that she was right.
“I just don’t want you getting your heart broken again, Angela. I hated to see you go through that – as a friend – and I don’t want to see that happen.” She then takes a deep breath.
“We’re just being friends, not sleeping with each other and making out. But I guess you don’t get that, do you?” She then heads off without another word as he lets out a sigh.
Sure, they were just being friends now. Sure, everything was going great now. However, what if things got closer? What if Dale tried to pursue another relationship with her?
Chapter 15: Denny’s Thoughts
The whole discussion with Angelica was something that he couldn’t let go. He had to admit – she was one of his closest friends and he worried about her. He had picked up the pieces before, and he wasn’t about to do that again.
It continued to plague his mind as he entered Saturday, and it was noticeable by his teammates as he went to join them for their meeting.
“Uh oh, something is on Denny’s mind,” Matt lets out as he sits down beside his teammate in the lounge.
“Did you piss off Kendra, again?” Kyle questions as he sits on the other side of Denny. Denny immediately shakes his head no as the pair of teammates continue to stare at him.
“You do realize that they won’t leave you alone till you speak, right?” Carl offers from his vantage point. “Matt will just give sarcastic answers, and Kyle – he’ll be like a pesky kid.”
“Thanks Captain Obvious,” Denny offers as he pulls out his phone, staring at it. He thought if he made himself look busy, perhaps the boys would get lost in the discussion. It seemed with Brexson getting older each passing day, Kyle and Matt had things to talk about with their children. Denny would normally jump into the discussion with factoids on Taylor, but was set to ignore it today.
“So you’re not going to say anything?” Kyle asks and Denny shakes his head no. “What did you do?” Denny lets out a sigh as he lowers his phone, looking over at Kyle.
“Nothing.” He then pulls his phone back up, randomly scrolling through twitter to look amused.
“Randomly scrolling through your phone isn’t going to help….” Denny lets out a sigh as he glances between the pair with a sigh. They both knew the whole story, having been his teammate when he dated Angelica. For Carl, this would be a little bit of news.
“What do you think of Dale and Angelica?” Kyle’s jaw drops as Matt rolls his eyes. He didn’t want to discuss Angelica after the last round of discussions.
“Why do you care?”
“She seems happy and that’s what matters,” Matt adds. “They seem to be getting along. Besides, don’t you have Kendra and Taylor to worry about?”
“Why are we talking about them?” Carl then wonders out loud, catching the attention of the three men before him. They all debated whether they should tell him the story.
“Denny, you don’t need to worry about the competition but rather focus on yourself,” a new voice chimes in as Darian enters the lounge. “We’ve talked about this. We stay focused on our goals and ourselves and we’ll get the cars running well, and not have to worry.” The teammates roll their eyes, wishing the crew chief would’ve stayed away. He obviously didn’t understand the significance of the conversation.
“I’m not worried about their performance,” Denny offers, catching a questioning gaze from Matt as Carl still sat there, looking confused.
“Ah of course you’re not worried as they’ll be performing in the bedsroom, right?” Matt questions as Denny immediately looks to his left, staring at Matt.
“Do you seriously think that?” Matt shrugs his shoulders as he relaxes.
“They have a good relationship. They seem to be working together nicely. Perhaps it’ll translate to the bedsroom, but perhaps not. Either way, you know Rick will have an eye on their performance.” Denny wondered if perhaps that could bring ramifications and perhaps ease his worries. Perhaps, as she shared, he didn’t have to worry.
“Why are you worried?” Kyle questions once again as Carl crosses his arms.
“It seems someone cares about Angelica a lot….” Carl summarizes, glancing between the teammates. He could put the pieces together and realized that Denny had some feelings. Matt and Kyle ere used to these, but thought they had disappeared into the sea of friendship.
“Well?” Matt questions as Denny keeps his eyes on Matt, dead-set.
“We’re just friends – nothing more,” he offers in a stern tone. “Can’t friends be concerned about each other without questions?” A small smile forms on Carl’s face.
“You have a crush on her…..” Carl teases as Denny turns his gaze straight forward at Carl.
“No, I don’t! We’re just frien-”
“Denial is the first ste-”
“We dated, okay? She’s my ex-girlfriend. We dated and it didn’t work so we agreed to be friends. Are you happy now?” Carl sits back, surprised as he slowly shakes his head yes.
“Should we add that Angelica and Dale dated, too?” Matt questions as Carl and Darian both drop their jaws in shock. “That was well-timed.”
“Seriou-” Darian starts as Matt shakes his head yes.
“Just ask Denny. He knows the whole story. He picked up the pieces afterwards and then dated her for a couple months.”
“Thanks a lot Kenseth,” Denny says as he rolls his eyes. Matt looks over with a smile.
“You’re welcome, Hamlin,” he replies. “And, you shouldn’t worry. They’re both grown adults who can make decisions. She’s going to be fine. She knows what he’s done in the past and will probably watch her step as needed. Just relax and let things play out.” Denny lets out a sigh, knowing that Matt was probably right. Hence why Angelica had flipped back at him and explained that very fact.
“That’s harder than you think.” Matt shrugs his shoulders.
“You could just admit that you like her, too.” Denny rolls his eyes.
“I don’t like her. I just care about her.”
“You have a crush on her,” Kyle adds as Denny gives him a glare. “You’re adamant about her and Dale together, and you’re adamant that you care about her. Admit it – you still have feelings for her, Hamlin.” Denny shakes his head no.
“Now, can we get this meeting properly started?” Darian then interrupts the teammates.
“Yes please,” Denny answers as he turns his attention on his crew chief. For once, a meeting was welcome as it’d save him from discussion.
Chapter 16: Go-Karting
As per the plan, Dale and Angelica met up later that night at the local go-kart track. They both traded a smile and small exchange as they headed up to pay, get her a helmet and get their karts.
“So superstar brings his own helmet, huh?” She questions with a laugh, noticing the helmet under his arm. He stands there with a smile as he watches her try a couple helmets on, finally deciding on one.
“I don’t have to go through what you just went through by bringing my own,” he informs her as she rolls her eyes.
“Just promise to not wreck me this time, okay?” He then looks at her surprised as he wasn’t thinking that she would’ve remembered that exchange.
“So you do remember?” She then turns back to him with a grin.
“How could I forget our first night officially together?” She then immediately erases the grin, putting herself back at ease. She couldn’t dive in this fast already. “It immediately crossed my mind when you suggested that we go go-karting together. I thought that you were trying to get right back to where we were.” He then glances down at his feet, feeling the nerves rise as she had caught on to his plan.
“That…was….the….plan.” She then rolls her eyes as he glances up at her. “But, I’m sticking to what we talked about and taking it one step at a time. I’m focusing on having a good friendship and seeing where things go, if they ever want to go that way again. If it happens, it happens.” She smiles as she was glad that the night wouldn’t have any pressure or other assumptions attached to it.
They then get their karts, both heading out on track together. For the next half hour, the pair battled around the short course, trading spots back and forth as they each looked for the advantage. There were some laughs as she may have hit him once causing him to spin, but he had to admit that he had it coming as he was blocking her.
Later that night after a couple more times on the track as they left the track together, the pair couldn’t help but smile and laugh at the fun times that they had throughout the evening. While Angelica wasn’t interested in going at first, she had to admit that it was a good escape from the track.
“Well, that was a fun nigh-” She starts.
“Do you want to go for ice cream?” He asks as she immediately lets out a sigh. So much for sticking to his word.
“Dal-”
“I mean as friends, nothing else. We can continue chatting about things and perhaps strategize for tomorrow’s 500.” She then takes a deep breath, thinking it over. Ice cream did certainly sound like a good idea. However, she knew if she spent anymore time that night, she would be falling head over heels and it was too soon for that.
“Well it’s a nice offer, I’m going to have to decline. I want to have some time to relax back at the motorcoach tonight so that way I get a good sleep so I can be on my toes tomorrow.” Dale couldn’t help but feel upset at the rejection as they got in the rental car and headed back to the track. “I hope you don’t mind. Please don’t be too sad.”
“It’s fine. I understand. We can do it another time.” She smiled, knowing that would probably happen as if things kept along this course, she knew her resistance would grow thin.
“Sounds like a plan. Besides, you don’t want a tired crew chief tomorrow, do you?” He shakes his head no with a smile.
“I don’t think we want a tired driver so maybe you’re on to something.” He then keeps his focus on the road as they head back to the track, thinking of the possibilities for not only tomorrow, but the future. Though each time he thought about it, he kept being reminded of their argument.
“You have something on your mind.” Angelica could tell with how quiet he got and how focused he was on the road that he was trying to avoid her, and something. She could only wonder what that was.
“I keep thinking back to when we were together. I keep thinking back to the argument that we had. I keep punching myself in the ass for thinking that you were cheating on me with Hamlin, when you both were just close friends.” She lets out a sigh as she wasn’t in the mood to talk about Denny, epically after his words for her yesterday.
“We talked about this. I told you to leave that in the past where it belongs and focus on the future. Focus on our friendship, focus on what you have ahead of you and learn from your mistakes.” He wished he could follow those words without a glance back. However, the disappointment and tears seemed to be stained on every thought.
“It’s not that easy because rather than being stuck in this moment, things could’ve been different. We could’ve been at a different step in our liv-”
“Everything happens for a reason. Our time together back then and the break-up happened for a reason. It taught you a lesson in trust and love. It taught you….I can’t believe I’ll admit it, but how much you love me. It taught you a bunch of things that you’re able to carry forward with you.” She also knew that it taught her a bunch of things, in relation to trust, just like their coming back together was showing her just how much she missed cuddling with him. “You can’t live with regrets as then you’re stuck living in the past. The only way to move forward is to do what you can for the future.” She then felt like biting her tongue at her own words. She was telling him to move forward, but yet here she was stuck on that thought and unable to fully trust for the next step yet. How was that fair?
“So, you’re okay knowing that I have feelings? You’re okay knowing that I may want to be with you in the future?” There was no may about it, as he was determined to make it happen.
“Absolutely, Dale. I understand that you have feelings. I understand that you want to act upon those feelings.” She knew how he felt as she had those exact feeling herself. It was just convincing the broken pieces to subside to find the love that was there. “It’s just about keeping that balance that we have discussed so far and seeing where the season takes us.”
“Well, let’s start that off with a good note and win tomorrow. Is that a deal?” She shakes her yes with a smile as they arrive back at the track.
Ladybug's Fan Fiction 