Short Track Lovin' ✅

Chapter 60: Her Return

Sarina walks through the hallway in the motorcoach, earning a shocked glance from Chase as he simply looked her up and down.

"You went for a jog?" He questions, noticing the sweat and outfit, and she can only nod her head. "Why didn't you leave a note or anything?" She then sits on the edge of the bed, slipping her shoes off. She knew she needed a good shower now, but first, she knew his heart needed some tender loving and care. Seeing the response she was getting only made her feel more guilty since her conversation with Kyle.

"I didn't think you'd wake up before I got back," she answers as he rolls his eyes. She was a racecar driver. She should know better by the way.

"It's race morning. What else do you think?" She then lets out a sigh, remembering Kyle's words, slightly chuckling. It seemed drivers thought more alike than they probably even realized. "What?"

"Kyle just said the same thing..." Chase then kicks the blankets off, crawling to the front of the bed where she sat. He couldn't help but eye her up and down, remembering everything that flooded through his mind in the minutes that had past since awaking without her.

"I don't mean to be worried or if I'm being a little paranoi-"

"Chase, I get it..." She then looks back at him, just needing to think back to her own nerves at Indianapolis when he was really sick. "I understand the worry and fear and everything. I mean, the last time we got separated alone at a track, look what happened. I can understand that going through your mind and affecting you, even though you say it was no big deal. Kyle gets it, too, as he knows how much you care about me. I'm sorry for worrying. I should've left a note." He then picks up her phone, eyes still focused back on hers. The note was just the first trigger to set her panic attack in motion.

"And what about this?" She lets out a sigh, switching the screen to her playlist. Considering he did the same thing while working out, she hoped it earned a couple sympathy points.

"I was lost in the lyrics and my thoughts. I didn't realize it was a text notification. I'm sorry..." He then lets out a sigh as he sets the phone back down. Perhaps he could let this go, however he wasn't about to make this a regular occurrence.

"It's okay. I'm not upset. I'm just...." He runs his hands through his hair as he flops back on the bed. Why wouldn't' the words just come to him easily this morning? "I can't describe how empty and worried I was when I woke up and saw the other half of the bed empty. It was an odd feeling...which is strange..." She could only smile in response.

"Some people would call that love, Chase. Others would say it's reasonable and psychological reaction to what you've been through. I'm going to say a bit of both." He then sits back up, feeling a little better as he expected to be rang out by everybody for his actions when all she had done was go for a morning jog.

"So I'm not insane for lighting Kyle's phone up when you didn't answer me within 30 seconds of sending a message?" She laughs and shakes her head. He was probably the only person that would get away with that, though. "Okay, that makes me feel better."

"I'll make sure to leave you a note, okay?" He nods his head. "Now, I'm going to grab a shower before we head out..."

"Good idea. You're all stinky and sweaty." She then puts her face within inches of his, knowing the worry would cause him to ignore it in a minute and she'd get what she needed.

"But I bet you'd still kiss and cuddle me..." He smiles, leaning in for a kiss.

"I can never deny that." She laughs as she gives him a kiss back, before heading to the bathroom. Chase grabs his phone off the night stand, checking a couple left over text messages, before glancing at his e-mails. There was one from the attorney in Florida, which caught his attention immediately as he opened it up. "Ugh!!!! Are you kidding me?!?" He wanted to chuck a pillow across the room in response.