Driving Me Crazy

Chapter Twenty

Charles

Walking away from Katana has to be the hardest thing I've done in a long ass time. I know that giving her space is the best thing to do, but it is so fucking hard. My ego was hurt after the incident earlier, but the time spent with her before I got brutally turned down was terrific.

My team calls me in to get ready for the second practice of the day and my body is buzzing with nerves. I don't know if it's because I know Katana is watching or what, but I'm ready to show off. The team waves me along into the pit lane and I feel the excitement of the crowd. American races are always top-notch with excitement and crazy fans.

The car has soft tires today, which means extra grip for top speeds. I can feel the way the tires stick to the track, giving me more room for faster corners and higher top speeds. The heat from the engine is running down my spine as I press the accelerator to pick up the pace. My car flies around turn 11 as I enter a series of sharp turns before a straight where I can pick up a lot of speed. Once I round turn 16, I use most of my engine to get up to 317km/h. I could push more, but I want to save that for qualifying tomorrow. Traffic stays quiet on my lap until I round turn 19 towards the finish. Lando is in the middle of the track and I doubt his team has notified him that I'm flying up on his ass. Luckily he catches me in his mirror and moves out of the way before I have to slow down and ruin my lap time.

"They need to get their team under control, I almost just smacked Lando," I announce over the radio. Shortly after, Fred comes over the radio and responds with, "Understood. Lando asked us to tell you thanks for not hitting him." The nonchalance of the message has me giggling lightly before finishing up the practice.

When the hour is up, I'm placed in the pole position with Max Verstappen in P2 and Lando in P3. Not a bad top three, but the one that really matters is qualifying. Stepping out of the car, my team double-checks that I'm not sweating to death and gives me the all-clear to go. I have my race suit unzipped and down around my waist again, but I left my helmet hair running wild. The team has to go to a couple of press conferences, but Lando and I are together in almost all of them which means I get to see her.

Normally, the drivers get time to clean up before these conferences, but Miami is party central so they have us running straight there after we get off the track. The top three people in practice two are in this conference, and I am sat directly between the two other drivers. People crowd the room for any chance at being in the same room as us and go wild racking their brains for questions. There are seats in the middle of the room and along the sides of the walls, but many people prefer to stand. Most of the team members are sitting along the walls since they don't have any desire to ask any questions.

After everyone packs in, an older man with a beer gut and a balding head asks the first question. "My question is for Max. What happened earlier that caused you to lose control and almost spin off the track?"

The question has me chuckling lowly to where the microphone doesn't pick it up. Max hates questions like this and he hates even more when he makes a dumb mistake like that. While trying to avoid eye contact with an angry Max, I look over to Lando who is staring right past me. Following his gaze leads me to exactly what I was looking for. Her smile lights up the room as she talks to her friend, completely oblivious to the room of old men checking her out. My gaze runs down her body as she leans against the wall with one foot up, hinting at the soreness that's bound to happen with the amount of walking. Her shirt has ridden up her torse as she has gone through the day, leaving the majority of her stomach exposed. She brings her hand up to her mouth as she hushes her laugh because of something that Camryn said. I wish that I was the one making her laugh like that again. Katana turns with a concerned look on her face and makes direct eye contact with me.

"Charles? Did you understand the question?" The older man asks, bringing me back to reality. Everyone is staring at me, and I didn't even notice that anyone had spoken.

"I'm sorry, I was thinking about the best tire options for qualifying, what was the question again?" Smooth, not.

The man frowns lightly before asking his boring ass question again. While answering one question after the other, all I can think about is when I can talk to her again. Just as they ask Max another question, Lando leans into my ear and covers his mouth so no fans can make out what he's saying. The words he whispers are literally music to my soul, which I immediately support.

"I'm asking them to tour with me."

My eyes go wide in both approval and shock as he winks at me and smirks lightly. We don't bring it up again until after the conference when we're alone at my trailer since the girls went back to his.

"You like her that much? I'm proud of you kid, she seems good for you," I say to Lando about Camryn.

Lando sighs before speaking with a genuine tone. "I really do, I know that the paparazzi will eventually figure it out, but I don't think it would be anything bad. I also know that Cam won't stay without Katana, so I hope you're cool with that invite as well."

My face lights up with happiness as I say, "I am absolutely one hundred percent okay with this, all it does is give me more time to win her back. Is your team going to accommodate two of them though?" Most times, they will only accommodate one extra, and unless it's the driver's child involved, they don't care about anyone else.

He laughs before winking and saying, "That's a problem for later, first I have to actually get them to say yes."

My hand hits my forehead and runs down my face while laughing, he has no idea what he's getting himself into. "Good luck with that kid, Katana is stubborn and she's especially not leaving without that cat. Let me know how it goes if you survive."