Off Track

Chapter 5

Ryan was feeling really good the next morning.
He had a great time with Livvy the night before, and that kiss was something else. It wasn't planned. He intended to hold back, but he couldn't help himself. She was every bit as sweet as he remembered her to be.

As the next few days passed, he found himself feeling better and more relaxed then he had in a long time, and he knew it was because of Livvy. Just her presence alone calmed him. He showed her around the shop, introduced her to everyone. He found himself thinking more and more about their kiss. Even though it had been impulsive, he was glad it had happened, and he was waiting for the right moment to do it again.

He also realized he had not thought about Lauren in days. Her betrayal had stung, but he was moving past it. All he could think about was Livvy. She was night and day from Lauren.

Lauren loved the attention she got by dating a NASCAR driver. She craved the spotlight and when he had gotten into a run of bad luck, she couldn't handle it and decided she wanted to be with someone who was winning races. Of course that had been behind his back until he caught her in the act. Livvy didn't care about the spotlight or who he was. She had known him way back when he was a nobody.

Since their dinner, they hung out daily. Laughing, joking, reconnecting. It was amazing how seamless it was, like no time had passed. Being with her was as easy as breathing.

*******

On the plane to Pocono, she was nervous, but excited. She had no clue what she was getting into, but welcomed the challenge. Ryan squeezed her hand for comfort and when she smiled at him, his heart melted.

He didn't know where any of this was going with Livvy, but he knew he wanted to be with her.

*********

Olivia's head was spinning. She didn't realize that Ryan had so many different sponsors. The car that was red and white last week was now yellow and green for this weekends race.

Reading through all the information she had been given, along with her own research, she tried to wrap her head around everything. Menards/Libman was this weeks sponsor. Dex Imaging was last week. Body Armor the previous week. Next week would be Wrangler. Moneylion would be the next Pocono race. PPG was also a very popular one. Those were just some of the main ones. Each sponsor had a very different paint scheme, different companies that Ryan had to meet with, and she was going to have to coordinate all of that. To say she was overwhelmed was an understatement.

Scott proved to be a godsend, giving her tips and tons of information, and constantly reassuring her that she would be fine.

He also assured her that Ryan was very easy to work with. He had a very laid back, easygoing personality, but like pretty much all drivers, he did have his little meltdowns. However, his meltdowns were few and far between and blew over fairly quickly. She was reminded of the previous weekend when Ryan had snapped at her, and she had gotten her feathers ruffled. She really did need to develop thicker skin for this job.

Friday had gone well. Ryan couldn't help but notice how cute Livvy looked in her new Penske polo and khakis.

Olivia and Scott had accompanied Ryan to his first appearance, which was a Q&A for Ford drivers. She couldn't help but smile when she saw how many fans were there in Ryan Blaney shirts and hats.

Ryan had first practice of the day, and Olivia and Scott took that time to debrief and go over the rest of Ryan's day. After this practice was over, he had about an hour free before final practice, then an appearance with Menards and he was done for the day. Not too bad.

Practice ended, and Olivia went with Ryan back to his coach so he could change for his appearance. "Just give me about five minutes." He said.

"That's Fine. We have time." She replied.