My Escape

Chapter 14: Riding High on Confidence

Saturday, February 5 – L.A. Coliseum

Danielle smiles as she looks down on the track, followed by a glance at the makeshift scoring pylon. His late model experience was paying off, as evident by being at the top of the leader board with practice drawing to a close. The Ryan Blaney fan in her was also pretty stoked in seeing him near the top of the charts, too.

While this was a good way to get away from everything going on – and that was on the back of her mind, she was fully ready to embrace the experience this weekend in everything the event had to offer.

She makes her way down the stairs and out to the outside of the track, ready to go see how he was feeling and whether the speed was a true display of how he was feeling. She just hoped she was not getting in the way or intruding, still not knowing the right spot to be or such. Every time she was over by the team, it felt like an intrusion of space. Did she really deserve to be here?

She makes her way down the walkway designated for those going back and forth, rolling her eyes as she hears a cat call whistle sound as she does so. It was insane how obnoxious guys thought that's what girls wanted, and even crazier how some ladies would answer to that. As she tried to ignore it, though, it got louder, as if the source was getting closer to her.

"Dang girl, you got the curves in the right places," she hears, causing yet another eye roll as she recognized the voice immediately. Leave it to her to go to a NASCAR event and get garage access for the first time, and get cat called by the bigger player in the garage. "It's not nice to ignore someone you know."

"Oh, were you referring to me?" She questions, finally turning around to face Denny. It was still a little star strutting to realize she was among stars so easily, however she also wasn't going to let this guy get away with his games either. "I thought you were calling for a cat or something."

"And she has a sense of humor, too. It'd be nice to get to know you. My name is Denny, Denny Hamlin." All she could think about was the persona he carried on the television, and thinking it was even more cocky than she envisioned. She actually wished Joey or Alex had punched him harder now.

"I can see why Jordan left you standing alone in the cold."

She then turns on her heels and walks away, leaving him standing there shocked and speechless by her response. It wasn't long before her feet carried her to the No. 9 trailer, where her eyes focused on the man of hour as he discussed things over with his crew chief. She allowed herself to take a spot at the side, hopeful she was out of the way in watching the crew guys scurry around the car in getting ready for qualifying.

"Are you having fun?" He questions to which she glances over at him. She debated not bringing up the incident with Denny, but still felt bad for lying to him last week and how far he went to help her with that.

"Other than being cat called on by Denny Hamlin, I would say it's been a great day and fun experience. This is a pretty plac-"

"Denny cat called you?" She nods her head, though debated whether saying something was the right thing in seeing the look in return immediately.

"He cat called me as I was coming back here. I told him that I was no cat, and I could see why Jordan left him standing in the cold." Chase's jaw drops in response as he was mightly impressed, almost wanting to give her a high five. Not only was she adorably cute and all, but she had some great southern sass to her. It was just another quality that drew him in closer.

"Well if he becomes a problem, let me kno-"

"I can handle...myself..." She then glances down, knowing that was a lie as she wouldn't had landed on his doorstep as she had, or still been there these weeks later. She also wouldn't needed his protection over a simple parking lot meeting, or a runaway to California.

"Danielle..." He reaches out, clasping her hand with his own, catching her attention as their eyes lock together. "You're stronger than you realize. I know that you can handle yourself, but there's also situations that sometimes become too much for one person. Certainly what happened to you is one of those. It's okay to admit that you need help, and it became too much. That doesn't make you any weaker. You are a fighter for how far you have come, and the fact that he did not win."

"Thank you, and thank you for being my knight in shining armor." The pair share a smile together, the first of a few they had since the initial meeting. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, the feelings for the Georgia peach before her were growing as she felt all warm and fuzzy in their moment shared together. "Now, are you ready for qualifying tonight?"

"Riding high on confidence, feeling good about my chances." She wasn't about to argue, knowing that was the perfect response in return.

"I believe in you..."