Somewhere In My Car {A Kasey Kahne Story}--Complete

Chapter 7: Las Vegas and Changed Feelings

Madison came in later that night and Heather was waiting for her when she got there. "Glad to see you're finally home" Heather said pausing the DVR. "Yeah got tied up at work" Madison said setting her bag down. "Or got tied up in Kasey" she said. "Alright I can't keep anything from you" Madison said. "So has he told you he loves you yet?" Heather asked. "No I'm not getting into all that." "So what you two are just going to keep hooking up and that's it?" Heather asked. "I mean right now that's how it is. I told him nothing is tied down." "What brought this on?" she asked. "Well this morning on the way to work I stopped at Starbucks and saw Kasey there with another girl. He didn't know I was there and when the barista called my name he looked up and saw me and chased me to the car trying to explain himself. I told him we weren't in any kind of relationship so why would it matter so he texted me at work and asked me to come over to tell me about something that happened in Indiana." "And?" Heather asked. "Apparently after I left he flew home to see if I was there and broke down about losing me to Kale, Willie, and Kole." "Holy shit" Heather said. "Did you tell him about the baby?" she asked. "I told him that, but didn't mention you knew since it would have only made it worse" Madison said. "So do you see it going anywhere?" Heather asked. "I don't know" Madison said. "I would like it too, but I'm not going to get my hopes up and apparently other drivers want to ask me out too according to Kasey." "Well aren't we just Miss popular" Heather said with a laugh. "Yeah yeah, I'm going to bed."

Kasey was lying in bed when Kale came in. "Kasey you home?" Kale called out. "Yeah in my room" he said. "So did you patch things up with Madison?' Kale asked. "Well kind of..." Kasey trailed off. "Kasey damn it, you slept with her again didn't you?" he asked. "Yeah, but she knows about Indiana" Kasey said. "What did she say about it?" Kale asked. "She was shocked, but not as shocked as I was when she came back at me" Kasey said. "What happened?" he asked. "Apparently a couple of months after we left for Indiana, she found out she was pregnant. She knew I was focusing on my new career and didn't want to burden me with a baby, but she lost it shortly after." Kale spit out the Mountain Dew he was drinking. "Are you serious?!?!" Kale asked. "What did you have to say to that?" "I was speechless really and didn't know what to think." "So sleeping with her was the best thing you could think of?" Kale asked. "I mean I guess" Kasey said. "I think you might was well tell the girl you never stopped loving her and make it official or cut her lose and don't lead her to heartbreak again." "Maybe you're right, but isn't it kind of soon to be telling her I love her, I mean in 7 years a lot of people can change" Kasey said. "I know, but don't you love her Kase?" Kale asked. "I do, more than you know..."

Before Madison knew it, it was Wednesday night and she was flying out bright and early for Las Vegas the next morning. "You gonna win us some money?" Heather asked as they drank wine on their balcony. "I'll try" she said. "What if Brian asks you about Kasey again what are you going to say?" "I don't know it's nothing really right now so maybe nothing at all until I figure out what this is."The next morning Madison dragged her bag to the Hendrick plane at the airport and got aboard where Brian already was seated. "Madison" Brian said. "Hi Brian" she said. "Have you had a good week?" she asked. "Yeah it's been pretty good and yours?" he asked. "It's been alright just getting press releases done and everything." "That's good have you ever been to Vegas before?" he asked. "No this is my first time" Madison said. "You'll enjoy it" he said. The rest of the plane ride seemed to be pretty quiet until Brian asked her what she knew was coming. "So Madison, are you and Kasey together?" he asked. "Brian I thought we talked about this" she said. "I know but all the drivers are wondering" he said. "We're friends Brian, we grew up together and our families have been friends for as long as I can remember. I don't know why in this day and time girls and guys can't just be friends" she said with a laugh. "I know, but I was just curious because some of the other drivers just think something is going on." "Brian let me go ahead and answer the question you want to ask. I don't date guys I work for. I have figured since the day we met you may like me, but that's my rule and I'm sorry." "Well dang Madison you cut me real deep" he said with a laugh. "Hey it was worth a shot." "Yep, now can we go back to being friends here" she said. "Absolutely." Madison sat on Brian's pit wall working on his schedule for the next week while she looked down and saw the group of guys huddled together again. "So Madison said she doesn't date guys she works with, so I'm out" Brian said. "Well I'm in" Dale Jr. said. "What about you Kahne?" Jr. said. "We're friends" he said. "If I had grown up with that I would have been more than friends" Jr. said. "I know" Kasey said. Brian and Jr. looked at each other and smiled. "You have been more than friends at one point" Brian said. "I never said that, but you believe what you want to believe" he said looking over at Madison on the pit wall. 
The day at the track was a good one, but Madison was happy when it was time to get back to the hotel. Luckily most of the teams were staying at hotels right near each other and Kasey's team and Hendrick were at the same one. As she got into her hotel room she heard her phone go off. Hey beautiful can I come in? She walked to the door to see Kasey. "Hi beautiful" he said kissing her. "Hi" she said. "Should we really be doing this when we keep denying to people we're just friends? Madison said. "Like you said we're friends no one has to know anything else" he said pulling her into kiss her. "You're amazing you know that" he said. "Oh I try" Madison said with a laugh. Just throwing her head back laughing made Kasey weak in the knees just like it had when they were in High School. "Madison?" he asked. "Yes" she said. About that time there was a knock on the door. "Madison its Brian do you want to do dinner with some of the other drivers?" he asked. Madison looked at Kasey and sighed. "I'll be down in a minute" she said. She turned back and looked at Kasey and shrugged. "Sorry" she said. "It's ok I was invited too, so I'll see you down there" he said. Down in the restaurant FIX, Madison saw Dale Jr, Brian, Kasey and Kale, and Jimmie sitting waiting on the waitress to get back with their drinks. "There she is" Brian said. "Hi I'm Dale" Dale Jr. said getting up from his chair. "Nice to meet you" she said shaking his hand. "Sit down" Brian said as she found a spot next to Kasey who had made sure there was a seat for her. "So Madison Brian tells us you're good at your job" Jimmie said. "Well I do my best" she said with a laugh. "She does, don't let her fool you" Brian said. Kasey turned to smile at her. "So you and Kahne grew up together?" Dale asked. "Yes we did" she said. "Our parents were good friends so we have been hanging around each other for as long as I can remember." She smiled at Kasey and he smiled back, red flagging the other guys at the table. Dinner was fun and then they wanted to move to the bar at the hotel. "I'm going to go to bed" she told Brian. "That's fine I'll see you tomorrow" he said. Madison turned to walk away and Kasey tugged on her arm. "Do you want me to come up?" he asked. "No go have fun, I'm tired" she said. "Ok" he said. Kasey joined the rest of the guys at the bar. "So Kasey you might as well ask her out" Brian said. "What do you mean?" he asked. "The way you look at her, it's obvious you like her" Dale said. "Like I told you before, we've been friends forever, that's it" Kasey said. "Now he's on the offensive" Jimmie said with a smile. "Take some advice from a guy who's getting married later this year. If you like her, don't let her go." Kasey downed his beer and knew that Jimmie was right. After many beers later, the guys dispersed and went to their rooms. Kasey who was a little tipsy went to knock on Madison's door. Madison who was sleeping rolled over and let her eyes adjust as she turned the light on. She looked through the peephole and saw Kasey standing there. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "I wanted to see you" he said coming through the door. "Obviously you've been drinking" she said. "I'm not drunk" he said. "Ok whatever you say" she said with a laugh. Kasey went to sit on the bed and patted the spot where he wanted Madison to sit. "What is it Kase?" she asked. "I'm being pulled in all directions right now in my life, but you're the only constant that I have and I don't want it to go anywhere" he said. "Kasey you're drunk maybe we should talk when you're sober" she said. "No damn it this is important" he said. "I screwed us up before. I let you go and I never should have done that. I had loved you since middle school and making love to you those nights in my truck were the best moments of my life. I had you and you had me." Madison who was now wide awake looked at him in awe. "I never you knew you felt that way Kasey" she said. "Yeah I was upset you left and then all those things happened, but I mean life gets in the way" she said. Kasey took her hand. "I love you Madison, I never stopped" he said. Madison pulled back her hand and walked to the window. "Are you sure you aren't drunk?" she asked. "I didn't know we were jumping back into this again." "I love you Madison do you not understand that" he said. "Of course I do, I love you too. Why do you think it killed me for so long and the feeling of avoiding you was the best option? I mean I knew I would run into you and I knew it could bring back those feelings, but you hit me like a ton of bricks." "Well I didn't think my first reaction would be wanting to jump into bed with you, but it felt right and I don't regret it" he said. Kasey got up and walked to the window and took her in his arms. "I don't regret loving you either and I still don't" he said putting his hand on her face and kissing her. The next morning the sun was shining through the window and Madison's alarm started to go off. Kasey rolled over and turned it off and ran his finger down her naked back. "Maddie time to get up" he said getting out of bed pulling his boxers on. Madison rolled over to see Kasey getting dressed. "Just like old times" she said. Kasey let out a laugh and kissed her. "I've got to get going, I'll see you at the track" he said. "Ok" she said getting up and going to the bathroom. Before he left he wrote something on a piece of paper and laid it on her pillow and closed the door behind him. Madison got into the shower and let the hot water roll down her body. A lot had happened in the last few weeks and she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Kasey had admitted he still loved her and for the first time in her life, she doubted if she still loved him or loved the idea they were back together. She toweled off and walked out to her room to get her clothes. She turned to grab her phone and saw the note from Kasey lying on her pillow. The note had 3 words on it the ones she had waited 7 years to hear again and now she wasn't so sure. Madison got to the track and parked the car in the motor home lot and went to meet Brian at the hauler. "Morning sunshine" he said as she passed him for some coffee. "Hi" she finally mustered. "Long night?" he asked. "No, just not enough sleep" she said. "We better get to the driver's meeting." Meanwhile Kasey and Kale were talking in his hauler. Kale had seen Kasey come in this morning and hadn't said anything to him then or in the car on the way to the track, but now he was curious. "So you went to see Madison last night after you left the bar?" he asked. "Maybe" Kasey said playing coy. "Kasey why in the hell do you keep hooking up with her and can't commit to a relationship" Kale said upset. "Kale I told her I loved her last night" Kasey said taking a sip of his mountain dew. "Wow to which she replied?" he asked. "She told me she loved me too, but she doesn't seem too sure about it" Kasey said. "Well it doesn't help you two probably hooked up after it happened" Kale said. "Oh shut up" Kasey said. Madison and Brian walked into the driver's meeting where everyone was already being seated. As Brian went to sit at the front with his crew chief, Madison stood in the back writing down notes for the next press release and going over Brian's schedule for the next couple of weeks. "Hey" she heard a voice say. She turned around and Kasey was standing right in front of her. "Hey" she said. "I'm sorry if I said some things last night that might have offended you" he said. "You didn't say anything that offended me, just a little surprising, that's all" she said. "Look this isn't the place to be talking about it, so we'll talk later." Kasey finished 2nd in another dead heat with Matt Kenseth while Brian had an ok day with 23rd. "Plane leaves in an hour" Brian said to Madison as he left the hauler. "Got it" she said. Kasey came around the hauler looking for her. "Hey Maddie, do you want to ride home with me and Kale?" he asked. "I need to ride back with Brian to go over his schedule, but when we get back next week maybe we can get together" she said. "Ok" he said. Madison knew she had done the right thing and needed to get some space for a couple of days to re-evaluate things. "Brian you have two interviews next week; one with FOX and one with Speed Channel" Madison said. "Ok and then Atlanta next weekend" he said. "Correct and you have to make an appearance at the Chevy stage as well as with the DITECH people since they will be in attendance" she said. "Ok sounds good." Madison went to writing more notes and could see Brian looking at her out of the corner of her eye. "Yes?" she asked. "Nothing, just think you're good at what you do" he said. "You've said that before" she said with a laugh. "I know but I think you should know" he said. Kasey and Kale arrived back home. He pulled out his phone and texted Madison saying when she got home to let him know. "You got it bad" Kale said. "You have no idea" Kasey replied."Thanks Madison, see you Tuesday" Brian said walking to his car. Madison got into her car and drove home where Heather was sitting there watching TV. "Welcome home superstar" she said. "Why do you call me that?" she asked. "Well because I think it's funny that all the NASCAR guys are like in love with you." "Well that's an understatement" Madison said pulling out a bottle of wine. "Oh boy if you're pulling out the bottle then this must be big" Heather said. "He told me he loved me when we were in Vegas" Madison said pouring both of them a glass. "Did you run off to the little white chapel too?" she asked. "Oh shut up" Madison said handing her a glass of wine. "What did you say?" Heather asked. "I told him I had never really stopped loving him either, but now I'm not so sure." "Maybe you should talk about it with him" Heather suggested. Madison pulled out her phone and texted Kasey. We need to talk. I'm free all day tomorrow.