Page 40 of Drive Me Crazy
Blake nods in greeting as I approach him, not taking his eyes off the car. Aromas of dust, sweat, and fuel cling to him, adding to his own sensual grime. I usually like a clean-cut man who smells like cologne, but for him I’ll happily make an exception.
“Teletubby all good?” I ask casually.
A smile flickers at the edges of his mouth. “You really think I named my car Teletubby?”
“Worth a shot. So, as I was asking, is Testicles all good?”
He lets out a laugh that mixes with the low buzz the tire warmers are emitting.
“Testicles is an interesting guess, but not even close.” He briefly glances at me. “My car’s doing great, though.”
We’re nearing race time and I can see the nervous energy building. Even though the drivers and cars are well equipped to drive in the rain—there’s a whole tire set for wet conditions—it’s not ideal because it makes the track trickier to anticipate. It’s been coming down for the past hour and the race has already been delayed once.
“You watching the race from the paddock or here?”
“If there is a race, I’ll be watching from here,” I say. “If I watch from the paddock, I’ll choke to death on the smell of expensive cologne.”
I’m rewarded with a knowing look. Blake may love racing, but he doesn’t love sucking up to sponsors. An engineer approaches us to let him know they’ve gotten the go-ahead to start the race. They really should just cancel it. This is fucking risky. There’s no way the visibility is good.
“Time for the world to scream your name,” I joke. “Your favorite part.”
“I’drather it was you screaming my name, love, but this’ll do for now.”
He shoots me a sinful wink. I don’t have time to respond or wish him luck before he’s sauntering off to the pit lane.
Josie joins me right before the start of the race. We watch the drivers take their positions before peeling off as soon as the gantry lights go out. Blake starts the race behind Theo, who’s in pole position, but quickly makes it out front. Lucas’s launch is outstanding, and he easily catches up to his friends, with Harry not far behind him. The Everest, McAllister, and Alpha-Vite drivers are always at the front of the pack, trying to beat each other to the top podium positions.
It’s not until halfway through the race that things start to heat up toward the front. The cushion Blake built between himself and Harry is quickly dwindling as the Everest driver slowly but surely bites into Blake’s lead. The two of them drive tire to tire for an entire lap with Blake finally getting the upper hand. As the race continues, the rain starts coming down harder. There have already been two crashes between midfield drivers. I have no idea how any of them can see a thing.
It all happens so quickly I almost miss it. Harry loses control through an uphill sweep of one of the fastest corners, clipping Blake’s right rear wheel with his left front wheel. Blake’s car rapidly spins out before slamming into the barrier at a brutal angle. His car jerks back into the track and moments later, another driver slams into the rear of Blake’s car, adding insult to injury. Chunks of twisted metal lie in front of the crushed barricade. My knees buckle as the entire garage falls silent. No one moves a muscle. The only sounds you can hear through the entire circuit are panicked yells and gasps. The race is immediately red-flagged, the drivers out on the circuit notified to make their way back to the pit lane.
“Are you okay?” Andreas’s voice crackles through the radio. “Blake?”
Timemoves in slow motion as we wait for him to respond. I feel utterly and completely helpless. We all do. We’re bystanders unable to do anything but hope Blake’s fine and that the safety car reaches him quickly. It’s an out-of-body experience—hearing panicked noises, seeing blurs of people running by, smelling fuel, feeling scared, but also not recognizing any of those sensations happening tome. I don’t even realize I’m holding my breath until Josie wraps her arm around me and tells me there’s a reason the Halo safety device and other precautions are put in place to protect the drivers. Her eyes tell a completely different story than her lips and I can see she’s just as freaked out as I am. Blake’s been involved in his fair share of crashes, but this is by far one of the worst.
“Can you let us know if you’re okay?” Andreas tries again. “The safety car is on its way.”
Ten more excruciating seconds of silence.
“Blake? Let us know if you can hear us. Are there any injuries?”
Another few seconds go by before we hear Blake’s voice crackling through the system. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. What a bloody fucking mess. I’m sorry.”
Only Blake would apologize for a crash that’s not his fault. His team means the world to him and they’re going to have to put in a lot of work to get his car back in shape for the next race. The relief that floods my body is so overwhelming I sit down on the pit garage floor. I don’t give a shit if my jeans get covered in fuel, grease, dirt, grime. Blake’s okay. He’s okay. Thank God.
I’ve never hated a sport more than I do in this moment.
EIGHTEEN
Blake
I’M FUCKING ANGRY, but I’m fine. My ego’s more bruised than I am. The car can be rebuilt; my points can’t be recovered. Harry’s slowly creeping up behind me for the World Championship title this year and that makes my head hurt worse than getting hit with 5.6Gs of force. At least no one got points given the red flag that ended the race. They shouldn’t have let the race happen with the heavy rain and low visibility. The FIA is no doubt scrambling to come up with some sort of statement explaining why the bloody fuck they kept the race going for so long.
I’m usually able to brace for impact to lessen the blow, but Harry knocked the fucking wind out of me. The crash isn’t entirely his fault thanks to the weather, but he’ll still be penalized for it. No one can predict how the rain will affect our cars, no matter how much we try to prepare for anything.
I’m anxious to leave the medical tent next to the circuit, but I know I can’t until the doctor gives me clearance. All drivers who are hit with a certain amount of force are required to come here to ensure they’re okay. I sit on the foot of the stiffmedical bed I’m stationed in, answering a text from my sister, when I hear Ella’s voice.
“I am allowed in there too. I have a badge and rights, you know.”
