We walk to the entrance of the steak house and there is a rather large group talking and laughing. When they notice us walking up they get quiet and have a look of shock and bewilderment on their faces. What the hell did I agree to? I didn’t think to ask if he was married or had a girlfriend because he was hitting on me.
Derik smiles and says, “Hey guys I’d like you to meet Sidney. Sidney, this is Drew and his wife Tracy, Rick and his wife Jody, Brian and his wife Judy, Tyler, Haylie, Thomas, Will and Robin.”
I didn’t expect this many people. We all say our hellos, go into the restaurant and are seated right away. Apparently he doesn’t have a wife or girlfriend, phew. After drink orders are placed I ask if they’re from the area or here on vacation.
I’m surprised to find out they’re from Texas and are here for drag racing at the local dragway. They’re racing for a purse and pinks. Derik, Brian, Drew and Rick have cars they’re racing. I tell them I’m here for a much needed getaway to relax.
Judy asks, “Sidney, it’s tomorrow night if you’d like to come with us. It’s a lot of fun.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. We’ll exchange numbers after dinner.” I turn to Derik. “I can’t believe you’re racing for pinks. What if you lose?” This gets the whole table laughing.
“Sweetheart, I don’t lose.”
Cocky much? “You could. You never know.” I shrug my shoulders.
“That’s true but very, very rare.” He has a big cocky smile to go with his big cocky attitude.
“Oookay then.” Thank God the appetizers show up so I can stuff my mouth with food instead of getting into a sparring of words.
When dinner is done I excuse myself to use the ladies room. I stop on the way and settle the tables’ bill. It’s the least I can do since they invited me. It didn’t even cost half of what I won.
When I come back Judy and I exchange numbers so she can text me the details for tomorrow. The waitress comes by to thank us and tell us to enjoy our evening. The men ask about the check, she winks and says, “Someone’s already taken care of that. Goodnight.” I tipped her well and asked her not to say anything.
Rick says, “Damn, Derik, you got some fans in here?” And starts looking around.
Everyone’s laughing so I guess Rick’s making fun of his cockiness too.
We leave the restaurant and I start to say my goodbyes. They ask if I’m heading to my room or if I’d like to stick with them and gamble some more. I chose to stay and gamble because I’m not tired enough to pass out yet. That’s what I’m shooting for. I want to be so tired when my head hits the pillow I’ll be asleep. It doesn’t give me time to think that way.
Derik is telling them how lucky I was on the slots and wants me to play blackjack with him. When I finally agree Tracy and Drew come with us to play also.
We find a table and take our seats, only one other person is playing, which is perfect considering there are only five seats at this table. We change our cash in for chips and I bet a hundred dollars. The dealer deals and I have twelve, Derik has twenty, Tracy has sixteen, Drew has twenty and the other guy has nineteen. The dealer has a queen showing. I hit and get a five, I hit again and get twenty one. I’m bouncing in my seat I’m so excited. Derik stays. Tracy hits and busts with twenty five. Drew stays. The other guy stays also. Dealer flips and has a ten. They all lose except me. Derik leans over and asks, “Can you rub some of your luck on me? You know that was an almost impossible hand, right?”
“Well, win or lose I wasn’t about to stay at seventeen when she had a queen showing.” I take my arm and rub it against his before the bets are placed.
The cards are dealt I’m at twenty so I stay. Derik gets blackjack, he grabs and kisses me on the cheek. All I can do is laugh. He tells me I’m his luck and I’d better show up tomorrow at the races because there’s a car he’d like to win.
After playing for a while we’ve all been up and down like yo yo’s but we’re able to end it on an upswing. We run into the rest of their party and they’re heading to their rooms also. We pile in the elevator and it winds up Rick, Jody, Will, Haylie and Tyler are all on my floor. When we reach our floor we say goodnight to the rest and go to our rooms. Will and Haylie are right next door to me. Right before my door shuts Derik comes running down the hall. “Hang on, Sidney.”
I’m a little uncomfortable but I got this. I took self-defense classes of all kinds and can kick ass if I need to. He makes it to me and asks, “Would you join me for breakfast tomorrow?”
“I’m hoping to sleep in tomorrow but I will see you at the track before you race tomorrow.”
He looks a little put off and asks, “Promise?”
I smile to put him at ease. “Sure do. Goodnight.”
He nods, says goodnight, turns and leaves. I go in my room and I really want a shower but I’m afraid it’ll wake me up so I strip my clothes off and climb in the bed. They didn’t just drop the sheets off they changed them for me. When my head hits the pillow I fall right to sleep.
Chapter
10
I start rolling around in a fitful sleep and start to wake myself up. When I open my eyes I’m sideways on the bed looking at the light coming in through the curtains. I lay there for a bit getting my bearings. When I have myself together I look at the clock and bound out of the bed. It’s four twenty in the afternoon. I’m happy I finally got some sleep but I need to get my ass in gear if I want to make it to the track before they race. I need to shower, eat and then get to the track.
I make it there with twenty minutes to spare. I can tell by looking at them they’re not as cocky as last night. There are a ton of people surrounding Derik and Drew taking pictures and asking for autographs. Judy and Tracy flank me and Judy says, “You really have no idea who Derik is, do you?”
I’m taken back a bit by this. “What do you mean, who he is?”
They’re laughing at me and I don’t like it but I also know they’re not being mean. Tracy speaks up this time. “They’re brothers. Derik is the famous seasoned racer, Drew is the up and coming driver.” She’s really proud of them from the large smile on her face.
Huh. I smile myself and shake my head. “No, and I still have no idea who they are. I don’t watch sports or much television for that matter. If I’m not working I don’t want to sit around and do nothing.”
They look at each other with serious expressions like they can’t believe I don’t watch TV. Judy asks, “What do you do that has you cut off from the rest of the world?”
Honesty but with little information so there are no follow up questions. “I’m an emergency department nurse. I work long and sometimes very odd hours.”
Jody, Haylie and Robin join the group and the girls fill them in on how I still have no idea who the guys are. Robin starts jumping up and down and says she gets to show me. What the hell is she going to show me? About that time I feel a hand on my lower back and I whip around to give someone a what for, but see it’s Derik. He looks shocked for a second and then starts chuckling with a huge smile on his face.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
I scowl at him. “You didn’t scare me. I just don’t like strangers thinking they can touch me. You almost got put on your ass.”
Now they’re all howling with laughter. And it’s contagious so I laugh with them.
Derik says, “Come on, I want to show you my car and then I’ll show you the rest too.”
“Okay.” He takes my hand and leads me away. We’re almost to his car when someone jumps in front of us and starts taking pictures and hurling questions. He wraps his arm around me and pulls me into his chest to shield me from the camera. Then he starts hollering for someone to get the guy out of here.
I can hear a small scuffle and then he pulls me back and asks, “Are you okay?”
What the fuck? “Yes, confused but I’m fine.”
He walks me over to a trailer and we go inside. It’s so cool. There’s a bench with a small table in front of it with a little kitchen. Abo
ve where the trailer connects to the truck there’s a bed. Wow. I had no idea these even existed. We sit on the bench and he starts talking.
“Sidney, I’m so sorry.”
I wrinkle my brows in confusion. “What are you sorry for? The fan taking pictures of you?”
He’s rubbing his hand across his forehead. “That wasn’t a fan. That was a reporter and the pictures he took will probably be splashed all over the TV, internet, papers and magazines within the hour.”
“So you’re not just local famous you’re famous, famous.” Not a question a statement. Fuck. I don’t want my picture out there like that. “Is there something we can do to get the reporter to not release them? I can pay him.”
He’s chuckling. “Sorry sweetheart, I don’t think you want to pay him what he could get for those pictures.”
“There has to be something we can do. Can you have someone go get him and bring him here so I can talk to him?”
He’s looking at me odd. “Are you married or something because I have to tell you women usually try to get their picture taken with me so it can be spread all over.”
I shake my head. “No. I’m not married nor do I have someone special at the moment. Actually that’s a part of why I’m here. I recently stopped seeing someone very special and needed some time away. Can you please have someone find him and bring him back here?”
He stands up, tells me he’ll see what he can do and leaves the trailer. A few minutes later he comes back and tells me he has someone looking for the guy. He has to leave and get ready for the race but I’m welcome to stay and wait, if they can find the guy they’re going to be bringing him back here. Also that one of the girls will come and get me if he races before then. I stand give him a hug and kiss on the cheek and wish him luck. With that he leaves.
About fifteen minutes later a guy brings the reporter in and says, “I’ll be right outside, if you need me holler.”
“Thank you.”
The reporter is looking at me in disgust. This may not go the way I want. I smile at him and invite him to sit. When he does I start pleading my case. “I’m sorry to interrupt your job but I’d appreciate it if you would hear me out.” He nods so I continue. “I am a very private person and would like to buy the pictures you took of us. There is no story. I met Derik and some of his friends last night. They were kind enough to invite me to have dinner with them. While we were eating I asked what they were doing here and that lead to them inviting me here tonight to watch the races. I literally just found out Derik is famous for racing but still have no clue who he is. I’m not married nor do I have a significant other, I’m just a private person and would rather not have my picture everywhere and people invading my privacy to find out who I am.”
“Lady, I can make a grand off each picture. These are going to be sought after and I really don’t care if it invades your privacy.”
He goes to stand up, “WAIT! Hang on. How about a deal? A good deal?”
“I’m listening.”
Son of a bitch. “Okay, how about I pay you two grand a picture and we pick one of the ones for you to sell where you can’t make out my entire face?”
He’s thinking it over and grins at me. “I’ll counter with everything you said along with a one on one interview with Derik.”
“I can’t promise the interview but I can do my damnedest to persuade him. Will that work?”
“Yes ma’am but I’d like the money up front.” He’s smiling like the cat that ate the canary. Fucker thinks he has me over a barrel. Guess again.
“How many pictures do you have?” He turns his camera on so I get up and sit next to him to see what he’s doing. I don’t want him to pull a fast one on me. There are a total of six pictures that show my face enough for someone to recognize me. The others I don’t care about. “I counted six that I want deleted. That’s twelve grand.” I go back to my side of the bench and get an envelope out of my purse. I start counting the money out on the table and his eyes are huge. He set the camera on the table to watch me so I know he’s not copying any and saving them for later. When I’ve got twelve counted out I stack it together nice and neat. I hold it out for him and when he reaches for it I tell him, “Hand over the camera and I’ll give you this.”
He gets all pissy. “You never said my camera. No deal.”
“I’m not trying to take your camera I want to be the one to delete the pictures so calm your ass down.”
“Oh.” He hands me the camera, I hand him the money.
When the pictures are deleted I hand it back to him. “Wait up a second. I have one more thing to say. If I find my picture taken at the track even without Derik anywhere near me and I’m linked to his name I will find you and ruin you. Do you understand?”
The look on his face is priceless. I’ve shocked him. “You can threaten me all you want. I’m not afraid of you.”
“Let me put it this way. You have no idea who I am and that’s fine with me but you should be very afraid of me and my reach. See, all I have to do is ask who you are and will be told. It won’t be so easy for you to find out who I am.”
He has a pure evil smile. “You think? I have my camera with your fingerprints all over it lady. Fuck with me and see what I do with them. Not one single part of your life would be private. Not even when you take a shit.”
I laugh at him. What a stupid little fuck. “Alright sparky let me teach you how to play with the big dogs. I had your camera and while I had it in my possession I wiped my prints off of it and handed it back to you by the strap. That’s lesson one. I also just pulled twelve grand out of my purse like chump change, think about that for a minute. That’s lesson two. Refer back to my earlier statement of not to fuck with me. Now that’s a rule I expect you to follow. Are we clear?”
He’s gone pale while I was speaking. I think he gets it now. He nods so I stand up, he does too and with that we leave without another word being said.
When I walk out of the trailer the girls are walking up to get me to watch the race. Perfect timing. Walking to where we’ll watch I think about what I said to the reporter. I have to laugh to myself because he has no idea I was bullshitting. I have no reach. I don’t know anyone in the journalism field. If you bullshit your way through something without tipping your hand people will believe you. It’s true that I like my privacy though. If those pictures got out and Jack saw them that would hurt him and that’s not something I’m willing to do. If I didn’t care or have love for him I would have stayed but that’s not who I am.
Jody hands me a little package and I realize they’re ear plugs. As we get closer to the strip the girls still can’t believe that I don’t know who Derik is. I explain to them that they wouldn’t know who the star of cardiac surgery would be but I would be fangirling. It’s still lost on them so I leave it be. I get it. He’s a celebrity. I see him as a normal person with a great talent. He was probably pissing himself last night when I didn’t go spastic over him. Oh my god! I called him an ass and Casanova too funny. I put my earplugs in because it’s loud right here and only going to get louder.
Robin bumps me and points to the lineup. HOLY HELL!! I’m in love with the car he’s racing against. I love old cars but this one, wow. Derik’s car is a new Camaro. The light turns and they take off. Derik is just a smidge ahead of the other guy when something happens and the other guy is totally out of the race. It seems like it only last five seconds for the whole thing. Everyone is jumping and screaming so I join in. I’m happy he won. Wait…he won! That means he gets the other guys car! “Wooooooooo!” I had to let it out. Haylie grabs my arm and gives me a tug in the direction they’re all walking. This is so cool. I’ll have to check if we have these events when I get back home. Not just that but now I want a race car to race too.
We get back to where the trailer and car are when all of the sudden I’m in the air flying around in circles. Instinctively I grab shoulders. I look and it’s Derik smiling so big I think I can see every tooth in his mouth. “You’
re my good luck!”
He finally sets me down and I’m laughing he’s so happy. I tell him, “You did that all on your own.”
“No way, Sidney. Last night and now today, it’s all you sweetheart.”
“Do you race again?”
“Yep, so you can’t leave yet.”
“I wasn’t going to. Can I speak to you in private for a minute?”
“Sure. You need to give me that kiss you’ve been dying to?”
“Wrong, Casanova. I need to tell you about the reporter.”
“Come on.” He takes my hand and leads me back into the trailer. When the door is shut I explain everything to him except the part of the threats that went back and forth. He even agreed to do the interview. Hey the guy deserves something. I’m the one who threatened first and he didn’t have to sell the pictures to me. He could have been a huge dick instead he was a little prick.
After the races are over Derik wound up with the pink slip to the Chevelle that he raced first. The car I want. The car I’m going to talk him into selling me. Then I’m going to talk him into teaching me how to race it.
We’re all talking and I hear a child squealing and it’s getting closer. My stomach flips even though I know it’s an excited squeal. Derik reaches down and snatches up a little girl and is spinning her around like he did to me. When he stops spinning her he asks, “Did you see Daddy win?” Well fuck me. I need to go.
She’s shaking her head yes and then she’s plucked from Derik’s arms and into Drew’s. She throws her arms around him and screams, “Daddy!” Then gives him a big kiss. She’s not Derik’s but I still need to go, she reminds of what happened to Sophia and I don’t want to remember.
I tell Derik I need to go because I’m not feeling well. He comments on how pale I am and tries to drive me back to the hotel. I refuse because I need to be alone. I do ask him to have breakfast with me and he agrees to meet me at the Grille in the casino at eight. I say my goodbyes and leave.
Chapter
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