Can't Help Falling in Love {Ryan Blaney}✔️

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"Mini golf?" Chase asked as he shut the door to his truck. When she had told him to follow her, he hadn't anticipated this was where she'd take him.

"Mini golf," Lara confirmed. "Not what you had in mind?" She tilted her head, waiting for his answer.

Chase chuckled cooly, "I did say we could do whatever you'd like."

Lara nodded, opening the door to the clubhouse. "Hank!" She greeted the old man.

"Lara!" He replied back, just as cheerily, "You don't work tonight."

Lara smiled as she stopped in front of the counter, "I know. I'm here to golf."

The old man raised his eyebrow, "Lara Riddick, are you on a date?"

"No!"

"Yep."

Lara's head snapped to Chase. "We are not on a date."

"Didn't mean to cause a squabble," Hank chuckled as he handed them their golf balls and putters.

"Thank you. If you want I can close up when I'm done," Lara offered.

Hank smiled warmly, "That would be lovely. Have a nice night."

"You work here?" Chase asked as they walked away.

Lara nodded, "I have to do something with my spare time. I mostly do bookkeeping." They walked in an uneasy silence, "This is not a date," Lara finally blurted out.

"Why can't it be?" Chase asked, grabbing her wrist and spinning her into him.

Lara looked up at him, reminding herself what her grandfather had told her. "It just can't." She turned on her heel, trying to put space between them.

"That's not a reason." He jogged to keep up with her.

She shook her head, "You're my teammate."

Chase wrinkled his nose, "So?" Then it dawned on him, "Your Grandpa said so, didn't he?"

"Can we just play mini-golf?" Lara snapped, annoyed that Chase wouldn't drop the subject. If she had been any other person in the world, she would have been incredibly flattered by Chase coming on to her. He was good looking, there was no doubt about that. His dark locks always styled to perfection, scruff always present, adding to his sex appeal. Distant, mysterious, incredibly handsome and hard to resist.

"Not until you say it's a date." Chase crossed his arms.

Lara dug her heels in, "It can't be a date," Her words came out in an almost whisper, pleading for Chase to get what she wasn't saying.

"Nobody has to know," He whispered, stepping closer to her. "Not even the almighty Rick Hendrick." He brushed a blonde curl away from her cheek, dragging his knuckle across the side of her face gently.

Lara's heart started pounding, her mind spinning. She had never gone against anything her grandfather had said, always eager to please the man who held her Cup career in his hands. Lara was an adrenaline junkie, she was just fortunate to have been born into a family that raced cars for a living. But the thought of going against what her grandfather had instructed her, now that was a different type of thrill, and against her better judgment, Lara knew she had to chase it.

Slowly she nodded, "Okay fine, but seriously. Nobody can know."

Chase flashed his dazzling smile, "Cross my heart, this will be our little secret."

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"You thought you were going to beat me, didn't you?" Lara teased as they walked back into the clubhouse.

Chase laughed, a genuine laugh that Lara had heard while they were playing mini-golf but never before. She realized that maybe the Chase that she had seen in the garage and on TV wasn't the real Chase. "You had no mercy on me."

"One of the perks of working here is that I get to play all the free mini-golf that I want," Lara explained as she put their putters away.

"I guess I'll have to start practicing." Chase handed her their golf balls.

"This wasn't a one-time thing?" Lara shot back, curious to see what his reply would be. Chase always did seem like a love-them-and-leave-them type of man.

"I had a lot of fun tonight." Chase inched closer to her until their chests were touching, Lara's back pressed up against the counter. "I'd like to see you again."

Lara nodded, smiling. She had had a lot of fun with Chase. It turned out that they had similar interests and he was easy to talk to, and he was hilarious. They had spent the majority of their time together doubled over in laughter. "Okay, sure." She hoped that she sounded nonchalant and not like the giddy schoolgirl that she felt like on the inside. She had always been too busy to date, and now she wasn't sure if anybody would ever compare.

Chase leaned forward, "I'm going to kiss you now." He murmured.

Lara's chest tightened, her stomach flipped, she found herself nodding. He brushed his lips softly against hers. Lara leaned into the kiss, deepening it. They stayed like that for a moment, forgetting the rest of the world until a loud ring startled them apart.

"Damnit," Chase swore under his breath as he pulled his ringing phone out of his pocket. Lara watched as his eyes widened for a moment before he declined the call.

"You can take that if you need to." Lara offered.

Chase shook his head, "It's nobody important. Now, where were we?" He smirked as he leaned in.

"I was just about to lock up and then go home." She wriggled away from Chase. The kiss had been, but she knew that Hank had cameras and she didn't think he'd want to watch them make out.

"Right." Chase's voice fell flat, his disappointment was evident. "Can I have your number?" He asked, out of the blue.

Lara nodded, reciting her number while Chase typed it into his phone. "I had fun," She reassured Chase as they walked out of the clubhouse. Lara paused, twisting the key in the lock. Chase waited quietly before they continued the walk towards their cars.

"I'll talk to you later," Chase lingered at her car door.

Lara smiled as she leaned up and brushed her lips against his, "I'll be waiting." 

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