unexpected love // chase sexton

part five

   "You feel nervous at all?" AP came over and handed me a bottle of water, I put my KTM jacket on and shook my head, "very nervous." I told him the truth, "it only gets worse throughout the day!" Chase added as he walked past us then into the trailer, I rolled my eyes as Aaron laughed. "You guys get along well!"

I just fake smiled then went inside the trailer to put on my old shoes for track walk which was starting in 10 minutes. "Did you sleep good?" Vialle asked and I nodded, "just a little nervous- you got any advice?" He laughed then shrugged. "Just ignore the other racers but be aware of them and do good." I nodded.

We all walked in the stadium for track walk and I looked around as all the racers were looking at me and whispering things. "Blake." I mumbled and he looked up from his phone, "oh shit it's a sander!" He yelled and I thought he was joking but the closer we got, I realized it really was a sand section and I pointed.

   "Just go slow through the turn then gas it after you're outta there." Somebody told me and I saw it was Tomac standing there, pointing out the same area. "You're the new 450 guy huh?" He asked and I nodded, "I guess you're a girl and not a guy..." we laughed then he talked to me for a few minutes about this track and how I could get a good position but also how to be comfortable out here.

Chase walked over and cleared his throat, Tomac turned around and nodded while Chase half smiled. "Camera crew wants to interview you." He told me and I looked at Blake who nodded, "again?" I frowned as Chase mocked me then led the way to the camera crew who looked happy to see me.

I got interviewed then we all headed back to the pits to hang around until the pits were open to the public. The fans came in a mob and there were people from every different angle looking all in the KTM area which was making me nervous so I hid behind the shaded part of the barrier.

   "Y'all got 10 minutes until 450s go out there for qualifying!" One of the KTM mechanics said and I thanked him then went to find another water bottle. I came back and Chase was complaining while getting a back massage from AP who was messing around, "you have any plans tonight after the races?" Aaron asked me and I nodded. "I'm going to the bar with Blake and his friend." "The bar?" He questioned.

"What are you gonna do, use a fake ID?" Chase laughed to himself, "no I need to retire that one." I joked and Aaron got the hint then he smiled while it took Chase a little longer to understand, "dumbass it's her birthday today!" He explained, "well why didn't you tell anyone?" "I don't need all the attention on me."

"10 minutes is up, get on your bikes!" Blake came over and told all three of us so we all got geared up. I put on my alpinestars gear that was black with white dots while Chase wore the matching gear except it was white with black dots- he glared at me once realizing we were matching...

Blake hopped on the back of my bike with his headset and whiteboard then we headed into the stadium and I got lined up in between Hunter Lawrence and some no namer guy but I couldn't be talking...

"Hey your the new girl!" Hunter said after I tightened my ponytail under my helmet, "yup that's me." I said back and we had a small conversation then wished each other good luck as each of our 'groups' were getting dismissed one by one to start the 450s class A qualifying session.

The first lap I rode extremely careful and cautious of all the jumps because even though I trained all week for this moment, I still felt so unprepared. 'breathe ken' were the words on my whiteboard from Blake in the mechanic area when I passed so I obeyed him and felt much better as I shifted gears over finishing jump. Each lap I kept getting faster and faster and at one point, my name was in the top five but then Chase laid down his first fast lap and stole first from Jett which knocked me down to sixth place...

Our qualifying ended and luckily nobody got hurt and I didn't crash at all. I qualified seventh which isn't bad for my first time at all and Blake was proud of me, "look at you go out there!" He smacked my shoulder once we got back to the pits and I took my helmet off, "you feel comfortable?" I shook my head. "Something's off..." I explained while sitting down, "but I don't know if it's mentally or physically." Blake nodded then walked over to my bike and made sure everything was tight and in the right spot...

"Drink this." Chase interrupted and handed me a blue Gatorade, "thanks for eavesdropping." I added with an eye roll and he mocked me. "Right now you should ride the bike for cardio to help cool your heart rate." He explained then did it himself so I used the other bike across from him while taking my jersey off, leaving me in a sports bra to which I caught Chase staring but neither of us said anything.

"How'd you get top qualifier today?" I asked Chase and he shrugged, "lots of preparation." "Like what?" "Cardio beforehand like this, practicing during the week, massages, mental recaps..." he explained, I smiled then realized he was being nice and having a conversation with me, made me wonder why.

It was time for autographs and the two 250 guys sat first then down the line was me, Chase, and AP. Mostly everyone was here for Chase but a handful of the fans were talking and taking pictures with me which made me extremely happy that I wasn't a privateer without a name. I looked over at Chase to see a little girl was asking if he could follow her on Instagram because she races also, he smiled and his whole mood seemed to change which randomly made a smile appear on my face...no Kendall, think of tonight.

"That's so cute!" I said once we were all done with autographs and everyone else had seemed to disappear except us 450 people. "So cute." AP mimicked and Chase was so confused which made us both laugh. "You got so excited when that little girl asked you to follow her!" I explained and he shook his head, "it's called being a good role model." He explained, "to a little girl that loves you." AP added.