A Day in the Life of...

Crush Part 2- Riley Herbst

Elle didn't know what made her more nervous. The possibility of Riley losing or the possibility of him winning. She didn't forget about the bet. There was no forgetting about the bet Elle and Riley had made in Talladega. She knew that he had a crush on her, it had been painfully obvious. What was unexpected was the fact that Elle agreed to the bet. She had a rule. No dating drivers. Especially one's employed by her dad. Elle never told Tony about Riley's crush, the pair spending time on the Boulevard, and she definitely didn't tell him about the bet. How do you tell your dad about something like this? Elle pulled up to her dad's house, knowing both he and Leah were home. She got out and headed in. She found Tony and Leah sitting in the living room watching a movie. They both smiled at her when she came into the room. Both of their smiles faded when they saw the look on her face.
"Hey, Ellie girl, what's up?" Leah asked her step-daughter as she sat down in one of the chairs.
"I need to talk to dad for a minute." Tony got up.
"We'll go to my office" Tony turned to Leah. "Don't worry about pausing the movie." Elle followed her dad to his office. He sat down in his chair while Elle stood. "You can sit down."
"I need to walk around for this."
"You're not pregnant, are you?"
"God no. It's nothing like that."
"Thank God. I am not prepared to be a grandpa yet. You're definitely not ready to be a parent. What is going on?"
"I know that you pride yourself on knowing I make smart decisions when you let me go to the track with the Harvicks."
"I trust you. And the Harvicks."
"And you know I have very strict rules for myself." Elle said as she continued to pace. Tony only nodded. "I didn't want to be the one to tell you, but Riley..."
"My Riley."
"Right, your Riley. Well, your Riley has a crush. On me." Tony laughed. "What is so funny?"
"That was blatanly obvious." Elle stopped and looked at her dad. "What?"
"I may be old, but I'm not blind or stupid. They kid can't keep certain looks off his face when you're in the room."
"Well, he told me that he liked me and then asked me out."
"Oh."
"I tried to say no, but..."
"Riley can be very persistent. Very nice, very polite, and very persistent."
"Yes. So, we made a bet."
"A bet? What kind of bet."
"He wins at Las Vegas, I'd go out on a date with him."
"What are you hoping for?"
"I don't know." Elle said, twisting her fingers together. "I don't want to disappoint you."
"You think Riley winning a race is going to disappoint me?" Elle finally plopped down in a chair. "You're an adult, Elle. I can't tell you what to do anymore. Whatever decisions you make, I'll be there."
"Thanks dad."
"Now if Riley ever hurts you..."
"Dad!"
"I'm serious. Kind of." Elle smiled. Tony got up from his chair before coming around to the front of his desk. Elle stood up, wrapping her arms around her dad's middle.
"Thanks dad. For understanding."
"I'll always be here. You're my little girl."
"I'm not little anymore."
"You will always be little to me."
***
Elle sat nervously in her living room, waiting for the race to start. Did she want him to him to win? Would she still go out with him even if he didn't win? As she sat there pondering what could happen after the end of this race, her roommate came bounding into the living room with way more energy than she needed.
"What's with that look on your face?" Isla asked, pulled Elle back to reality. "Thinking about a certain guy that you made a bet with?"
"Is it that obvious?" Isla plopped down on the couch.
"Absolutely."
"I just don't know what to do."
"I wish I could help you make the decision, but..."
"I know, I know." Elle said as there was a knock on their apartment door. "Expecting someone?" Isla smiled. Isla got up off the couch before going to open the door. Isla's boyfriend, Christian, walked in. "Hey, Eckes."
"Sup Stewart." Christian said as he wrapped an arm around Isla's waist.
"We'll be watching the race in my room."
"Don't knock." Christian said with a wink before Isla dragged him to her room. Elle was happy for Isla. After pining over Christian for ages, they finally got together on her birthday. Elle still remembers the look on Isla's face when she came home from the karaoke bar a couple of weeks ago. She had been silent for a few minutes before finally telling her what happened. Then proceeded to call Kaia over where the three of them talked boys. Elle turned the race coverage on, just as the green flag waved. Her nervous subsided as the first stage finished as Riley finished 10th. He had a good car, Elle didn't know if it was good enough to win. As the green flag waved for stage two, Isla came out of her room.
"You still good in here?" She asked. Elle looked over at her with an amused smile. Isla's clothes were now wrinkled, her hair a mess, and her lips were red and swollen.
"Are you two even watching the race?"
"Kind of." Isla said, making Elle laugh out loud. "I can't help that he's so kissable."
"You know where the condoms are."
"Elle! We're not...I mean..." Isla's face turned red.
"Don't act like you two haven't. I heard you last week."
"Oh my God."  Isla said, barely holding in her laugh.
"Walker, you coming back?" Christian called.
"I'm coming!" Isla grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge before disappearing back into her bedroom. Elle could hear Isla giggling before she turned the TV volume up. She wasn't about to listen to anything that was going to happen in that bedroom. The laps ticked by, Riley making some head way towards the stage win. When the final stage started, Elle was on the edge of her seat. He was now absolutely dominating and Elle didn't know what to do. The laps winding down and Elle couldn't sit anymore. She paced the living room, watching as Riley's lead got even bigger. When the checkered flag finally waved, Riley had won. He led the most laps and won by a staggering 14.9 seconds. Elle couldn't believe it. He actually won. Her nerves were absolutely shot to hell.
"He won, Elle!" Elle turned seeing Isla standing behind the couch.
"He did."
"He won the race and he won the bet."
"Bet?" Christian emerged behind Isla.
"Ms. Elle here made a bet with a now Las Vegas race winner. The wager? A date with the boss's daughter. And I guess Elle has to now deliver."
"Good luck with that. We're going to go get some food. Wanna join?"
"I'm good. Though you should probably turn your shirt right side in." Elle said with a laugh. Christian returned the laugh before fixing his shirt.
"Bye, Elle."
"Have fun you two." She said before the couple left the apartment. Elle kept herself busy, waiting for Riley to call. When he finally did, her nerves shot way up. "Hello?"
"Hey!" He sounded so happy and like he was shouting. He must have been celebrating with his crew and family. "Did you watch?"
"I did. You flat out beat them."
"I did. So..."
"So..."
"Do you want to back out? If you do..."
"No, I don't. I promise. I'm just..."
"Worried about nothing."
"Riley..."
"The Halloween party."
"What about it?"
"You want to go with me? That can be the date. Only if you want to."
"You don't have to sacrifice your bet win..."
"Forget about the bet for a second, Elle. This was never about the bet for me. I generally like you."
"I like you too." That was the first time she had said it out loud.
"You do?"
"Of course. I wasn't going to agree with the bet if I didn't. I will definitely go with you to the Halloween party."
"Great."
"We can, however, hang out before that if you want to."
"That actually sounds amazing."
"Great, it's a date."