Second Chances // Chase Elliott

more hearts than mine

twelve

CAROLINE JOHNSON

"Alright, come on," I said as I opened the passenger door for Chief. He hopped in the car and soon we were on our way to the boutique for the day.

After the week in Charlotte, I came back to Atlanta for some meetings about the new store and for Chief. As much as I want to still be traveling with Chase every weekend for races, I can't. There's so much that goes into keeping the boutique up and running and it's not fair for me to leave Haley to do it all on her own. So, for right now, Chase and I decided that we would take turns visiting each other whenever he can get some time and when I'm not busy with boutique things. I'll still go to some races but just not the full circuit. It's not ideal for us to not have a lot of time together, especially with our relationship being so new, but we've been making it work for the last two and a half weeks.

Life has been a crazy whirlwind of emotions over the last few weeks. When we made our relationship public knowledge, I was nervous to see how the NASCAR community would respond. I was ready to have girls fill my DMs and comments section up with messages about being upset because Chase was no longer single and now, they wouldn't have a chance to date Chase themselves. Of course, we were the talk of the sport for a few days but to my surprise, all the messages and comments we received were nothing but positive. The drivers and their spouses all welcomed me into the NASCAR family and Chase's fans were accepting and welcoming as well.

If you would've told me a year ago that I would be as happy as I am right now, I would have laughed in your face. After Spencer, I thought that I would never find happiness again. I didn't think it was possible. But then Chase came into my life and has helped me to find that happiness again. I don't know what I would do without him.

When we had gotten inside the store, I turned the lights on and did my usual routine that I do when I get to the store every morning. I sent Chase a good morning text and sent him a picture of the sunrise from my commute to work this morning.

To Clyde 🥰: Look at how pretty my view was on my way to work this morning 😍

Haley was getting in earlier than usual today to go over a few things and to help me barcode and steam our new arrivals. While I waited for her, I checked our emails and packaged the online orders that we received last night.

"A coffee for my beautiful best friend," I looked up from my computer as Haley was walking in the office with two cups of coffee in hand. I took my coffee from her and looked at the clock to see that an hour had already passed.

"Wow, you actually made it on time this morning - and that's with getting coffee," I joked as I took a sip of my cold brew.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Haley said holding her head high. "I'm always on time."

"Whatever you say," I laughed. My phone lit up and I smiled when I saw who it was from.

From Clyde 🥰: Turn the camera around. The view is a lot prettier 😉

The smile on my face grew when I read his text and the butterflies in my stomach were going crazy.

To Clyde 🥰: ☺️🙈 miss you racer

"I haven't seen you this happy in a long time," Haley said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "It looks good on you."

"It feels good," I smiled at her. I looked back down at my phone to see another message from Chase.

From Clyde 🥰: I miss you more than anything. Only a few more days and then we'll have a few days just to ourselves ❤️

These next few days need to hurry along so I can see my boy.