"To live every day as if it had been stolen from death, that is how I would like to live. To feel the joy of life, as Eve felt the joy of life. To separate oneself from the burden, the angst, the anguish that we all encounter every day. To say I am...
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Charlie sat at the hotel bar with a couple of cup series drivers. She was sipping on an Old Fashioned when Ryan approached her. He was dressed up nicely and had a clean shave. And for the first time in a while he wasn't wearing a trucker hat. Charlie slightly bit her lip as she enjoyed the view of a nicely dressed Ryan Blaney.
"I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier. It was out of line," he said as he took a seat on the stool next to her. "Can we just call the bet off? I'd rather have my friend back than ruin our friendship over something so stupid. I like you Char, but I'm not willing to risk our friendship for something that is clearly one sided."
Charlie was at a loss for words. There was a sincerity in his tone that she had heard only few times in her life. The tone of, I know I fucked up big time and please forgive me. Charlie managed to compose herself and replied, "Can we talk about this later? I don't want the guys to overhear."
She knew that it was a sincere apology but the last thing she needed were rumors especially since she would be teammates with Ryan. Ryan nodded, "I understand. We should probably go meet up with our dads anyways."
Charlie and Ryan walked out to the lobby after Charlie downed the rest of her drink. She enjoyed drinking Old Fashions because of the nice slow drunk it gave her. Her father and Mr. Blaney were waiting for them with their Sunday best on.
Charlie chuckled, "Awe come on, don't tell me you two are planning on getting out of hand tonight."
Her father winked, "We have Aaron to keep us in check tonight. Isn't that right?"
She turned to see Aaron walk towards them as he fixed the cuffs on his dress shirt and jacket. "Mr. Pierce, I already told you I am not responsible if you get intoxicated tonight. Although I will help you get out of jail on bail."
Mr. Pierce laughed, "And here I was beginning to think you didn't have a sense of humor. It's nice to see you ditched the blazer tonight."
Mr. Blaney said, "John, cut him some slack. We're all dressed to the nines."
"I'm just ready to see the sights," Charlie responded. "And hopefully not get banned from every bar in Las Vegas."
"Right, dad, you and Mr. Pierce are still banned from that one bar," Ryan pointed out. "It would be best if you two didn't test your luck."
"Rules are meant to be broken," John Pierce chuckled. "But we will try to stay away from that bar. We don't want the press getting involved."
"Where's Bentley," Mr. Blaney asked.
"Bubba is taking care of him," Charlie responded. "They're probably going to lounge around and play Mario Kart."
Ryan laughed, "Yeah that sounds like Bubba. Now where shall we go first?"
"I was thinking dinner since it's getting late," Mr. Pierce said. "I'm sure we can all appreciate a good steak tonight."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Charlie made sure not to stare at Aaron for too long and all but ignored him. Her and Ryan talked and laughed like everything was normal, and to an extent it was, but there was the undeniable fact that things had changed. Charlie now knew that her long term friend had feelings for her while she had to deal with the fact that she had chosen Aaron.
