Chase (Resisting Love #1)(66)

My father was once a stunning man. He had broad shoulders, thick arms, a dazzling smile, and a woman to adore. Then the crash happened. The crash that changed everything. Now he walks with a limp. He rarely leaves the house, instead, opting to drink himself into oblivion most nights. I think it’s the only way he can sleep. I don’t blame him. I’ve contemplated it many times too.

My father, was a world champion race car driver. He won the championship three times. He raced every day and night, committing himself fully to the world of racing, and, go figure, it was an everyday car accident that stole his dream and his wife. Life is horrible like that, sometimes it’s sent to try us, in the cruelest, most gut wrenching ways. My father never had an accident on the track, but one rainy night driving home, changed everything for him.

“Sure dad,” I say, smiling.

His smile widens, as though I’ve relieved some sort of pressure in his mind. His brown eyes twinkle, and he runs a hand through his messy dark hair. “Thanks Dash.”

“No problem, anything else while I’m out?” I ask, picking up my purse, tucking it under my arm.

“Are you racing this afternoon?”

I frown. “Yes, Slade has moved back to town, so I have to put extra effort into my racing now. Lots more practices for me.”

My father grimaces. “That boy will be the death of us. He’s good Dash.”

“I know.”

“Have you spoken to him yet?”

I shake my head furiously. Slade and I go a long way back. We met during high school. We became friends through our love of racing, but it was always strained. Our fathers hated each other, competition was fierce. I don’t really know why they hated one another; I think competition just got the better of them and winning became everything. It’s sad how winning changes people, I swore it would never change me and I fought to keep Slade and I as close as possible.

Then that awful night happened, and everything changed for both of us. Slade and his family just upped and left the next day, he never even came to my mother’s funeral. I still don’t know why. Slade and I now dislike each other, to a point we can’t be in the same room for longer than five minutes, before going at each other’s throats. I’ll never forgive him for leaving me without even a goodbye. Worse, I’ll never forgive him for not being there when I needed him to be.

“I haven’t spoken to him,” I say, walking towards the door. “And I don’t plan to.”

My father looks weary, he’s warned me against Slade now for years, making me swear not to go near him and to avoid speaking to him. I understand why, he knows Slade pulls my heart strings. Our parents didn’t know of our close friendship, they knew we got along, but they never realized it ran so much deeper. Slade’s father refused to ever acknowledge me, constantly pushing his son to be a winner and forget the rest.

“Don’t look like that dad, it’s not worth your head space,” I soothe, gently.

He smiles, but it’s forced. “I know, thanks Dash.”

“I’ll be back soon.”

I walk out the door before we can discuss Slade any longer. It’s a beautiful day in Brisbane, Australia. We’ve lived here, in this same house, my entire life. I wouldn’t have it any other way. We travel down to Sydney a few times a year to compete, but mostly we compete here in Brisbane. There are a few good race tracks as well as a lot of older beach tracks that we can go to on weekend, off the record. I love place and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

I get into my old Chevy Nova that my dad did up for me before the accident. It’s my baby. I start her up, and the engine kicks to life, letting off a low, husky rumble. Ah, cars, it’s what I live for. I started racing when I was a kid, just go carts and things like that. When I was old enough, my father got me into cars, sneaking me down to the old beach tracks to practice. I still remember my first real race, it changed my life.

“You won Dashy!” Slade cries, wrapping his arm around me, swinging me in a circle.

I beam at him, I finally won my first race. Of course it wasn’t against the big guns, just a junior team, but I still won. The more I win, the more I’ll climb to the top with Slade. I beam over at him and his aqua eyes sparkle with joy. There’s never competition between us, even though we will eventually race against each other and only one of us will win.

“I can’t believe I did it!” I cry.

“You are going to kill it on the big tracks.”

Slade hugs me again and then takes my hand, leading me down to the small lake nearby. We sit on the soft grass and our hands remain firmly tangled. Slade and I don’t have a normal friendship, if our parents ever found out how close we are, things would become messy, very quickly. So for now, we hide it.

“How do you feel?” he asks.

“Amazing, I can’t believe I did it!”

“I knew you would Dash, you’re amazing.”

“Well, only thanks to you, I am certain I have learned half of what I know from you.”

He grins and a dimple forms in his cheek. “You got talent Dashy, you can’t teach talent.”

I snuggle into his side and sigh. He’s right about that. You can’t teach talent. You either have it, or you don’t.

I shake my head and the memory away, then I pull out onto the main road. I’m desperate for some coffee after going over those university applications, so I pull into our local coffee shop first. I park the car right down the end of the lot, away from all the other cars. Call me careful. I get out and walk into the shop, the aroma of coffee, and the grinding of coffee beans, takes me away so much, that I don’t notice him sitting in the corner with his buddies.