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

| nine |

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Sunlight streamed through, Lara's eyes fluttering open. A body shifted next to her. Her eyes flew open when she realized that she had not made it back to the motorhome.

"Fuck." She threw off her covers, pulling on her clothes. Last night had ended with enough makeup sex that she drifted off to sleep without a single thought of the consequences.

Chase shifted again, groaning, "What are you doing?"

"I didn't go home last night," Lara told him as she found her phone, thankful that there were no missed calls from her grandfather. Maybe he had slept in.

Chase sat straight up, "Shit, Lara. We're fucked."

Lara let out a shaky breath, "I'll just... uh... I'll just tell him that I fell asleep at Ryan's."

Chase nodded, "Okay, I'll give him a call just in case Rick decides to say something."

Lara leaned over, planting a long kiss onto his lips. Chase put his hands on her hips, pulling her down so he was straddling him. "Chase," She broke the kiss, "I need to go."

Chase brushed a curl from her face, "Text me and let me know how everything goes, okay?"
She leaned down again, pressing a quick kiss to his lips, "I will. Call Ryan, okay?"

"Calling now," Chase called as Lara shut the door behind her.

Lara hurried to the motorhome, her heart pounding. She scolded herself for being so reckless. Lara reminded herself that her career was at stake. Her grandfather never explicitly told her the consequences of dating a teammate but she had seen what happened to other people when they disobeyed or crossed him. And the wrath of Rick Hendrick was not something that Lara wanted to be on the receiving end of.

Slowly she opened the door on the off chance that he was still sleeping. But her hopes were dashed at the sight of her grandfather sitting at the table, reading the newspaper.

"Go for another walk?" He asked, not bothering to look up fro the newspaper, "One that lasted all night."

"No uh..." She trailed off, trying to collect her thoughts, "I ended up going back to Ryan's to watch a movie and fell asleep and he didn't wake me up."

Rick set his newspaper down, eyebrow cocked, "Ryan Blaney, huh? He seems like a good kid, comes from a good family. I wouldn't mind having him around."

Lara's eyes widened when she realized what her grandfather was insinuating, "Oh no, it's not like that."

He chuckled, "You know, sometimes I search for the ways you're like your dad but other times it slaps me in the face."

Lara slid in the seat across from him, "Really?" Her dad wasn't something that was talked a lot about, the pain still very much evident in her grandfather's eyes any time he was mentioned. But she had always wondered if she was like him. Sure, she knew that she looked just like him, anybody she met that had known him always made sure she knew that but as far as personality, she was clueless.

Rick nodded, "He was a hot head and stubborn as hell. He was the only person who would go toe to toe with me, something you do pretty well. The intensity you have, the way you threw yourself into getting a Cup ride was exactly how he was."

Lara couldn't help but smile, "I never knew any of that." She shifted nervously, "Does it hurt? How much I'm like him?"

Rick shook his head, "You have been the greatest gift, you remind me daily that even though he's gone, he's still here shining through you. I am so thankful for that."

Lara wiped away a tear, "Thank you, Grandpa. Thank you for everything." She stood up, and so did Rick. She wrapped her arms around him.

"You're a terrible liar just like your dad was." He informed her with a chuckle. "But I trust that whatever you're doing, you're being smart about it."

Lara pulled away, unable to stifle a laugh, "I'm going to take a shower." She didn't wait for her grandfather to respond, she made her way into the tiny bathroom.

She checked her phone to see texts from both Chase and Ryan.

8:13am
Ryan
Good to hear you and Chase have
smoothed everything over.

Lara stared at the text, unsure of how to read that. If she didn't know better, she would have thought that that sounded sarcastic. She shook that thought off before typing a reply.

8:29am
Lara
Yeah, I guess so.

She shrugged it off, opening Chase's message.

8:16am
Chase
Is everything okay?

Lara's fingers hovered over her keyboard, unsure if she should tell Chase that her grandfather had insinuated that she was seeing Ryan. She sighed, hoping that it wouldn't upset Chase but she was worried that her grandfather would say something to Chase.

8:30am
Lara
Yeah. Rick thinks I'm seeing
Ryan so beware.

8:31am
Chase
Good.

8:32am
Lara
You're not mad?

8:33am
Chase
Why would I? He's the perfect
decoy, isn't he?

8:34am
Lara
He is. We should've thought of that.

Lara quickly stripped her clothes, stepping into the shower, getting ready for the day.

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