"Lily?" I asked, confused and happy at the same time. It was one of the newer combination of emotions that I didn't know I could feel. She turned towards her right with amusement dancing in her eyes. I followed her line of vision. "Nick? What are you guys doing here?"

I looked at Monica, who only rolled her eyes at me at my obvious questions and went ahead to serve other tables, leaving me to catch up with my friends. "Get a table guys, I know it's going to be a long talk."

I looked at Monica, my brows forming a small v, thinking if she was the one who set this up for me. But on the other hand, she didn't know that I was upset in the first place.

"Hi." I said, leading them to a corner table, the only one that was free. "Where's James?"

I pulled a chair and they followed me. Lily and Nick sat next to each other while I took a seat opposite to them. Looking at Nick so handsome and out of reach was getting a little better and I didn't want to launch at him every time I laid my eyes on him. I was making progress and I was proud. As I let another second pass by, checking his features out, Nick smiled at me.

"Football practices." He shrugged, dropping his lips down. He leaned forward to whisper something to me. I mimicked his actions and leaned forward, my ass still in mid-air. "I think he's seeing someone behind her back."

I giggled and took the seat, while Lily curled her fists and hit his head, earning a cry from him.

"He has to practice." She stressed. "He didn't become vice-captain overnight."

"How else can he bring those trophies if he's not practicing?" I asked, with my own smirk. I winked at Nick silently telling him that I was still in his team.

"You guys are sick, I tell you." Lily huffed, folding her hands together and looking away.

"Anyway, you guys want anything to eat?" I asked, holding my hands up and pointing to the kitchen. "I just got a few cookies out the oven few minutes back."

"Sure, I'll have one chocolate cookie while Lily will have two." Nick said, putting his hands over her shoulder. "What do you say? Better than the vice-captain huh?"

At this Lily laughed and pushed him away. "Shut up, but I'll take up the offer."

I shook my head with a chuckle. "I'll be right back."

With the next few minutes being spent on procuring of the cakes and cookies, I pondered over the fact of them knowing my location. Even if I was here I knew for sure that they wouldn't be here unless they had some work at this locality.

"How did you know I was here again?" I asked, taking a big bite from my cupcake. "I know I didn't message anyone telling that I was back."

"Robert told me." Nick was very proud. "He called me this morning and told me to meet you."

I pointed my cookie at him suspiciously. I knew Nick had a crush on him, but I didn't know that they were close enough to make calls and hangout.

"How do you have his number?" I asked.

At this, Nick blushed. It was very rare to find him blushing and I had to blink back to make sure that I wasn't falling into those soft red pools in his cheeks.

"He gave it to me the last time I met him." Nick ran his fingers over his soft locks. "He was so generous, you know. I didn't even ask him for his number."

"You are going off track, Nick." Lily rolled her eyes. "Ever since he's okay with your crush on him, there is no stopping you, is there?"

"What did he tell you?" I asked, more worried about the information he had let out about me.

"He told us that you were so sad and wouldn't talk." Lily said, looking at me with weird eyes. "Are you okay?"

"He told us what happened." Nick said, all his butterflies about Rob were forgotten when it came to my feelings about the issue. "I understand if you don't want to talk about it."

"I'm really fine." I said, finishing up my cookie. "I was a little down, but now, I'm okay."

"He sounded very... I don't know, troubled." Nick said, thinking back to his conversation. "Something about you not contacting him. He was really worried. I could tell from his voice."

"You are so obsessed with him." Lily said with a roll of her eyes. "Scar, is there something we can do to help you?"

"Thanks, Lil." I smiled. "I'm good, for now."

"She's fine!" Nick said, putting his hands up in the air and leaned back on his chair. As if he realized something, he leaned forward again with wide eyes and whispered. "I think he only called to talk with me."

I laughed at him and Lily joined. And just when I was about to tell something even more funnier, my cell phone beeped.

"That's probably him, checking if you came here, Nick." Lily teased for which his cheeks grew a light shade of pink.

"Hi?" I asked without looking at the caller ID. The moment they said a hello back, I knew it was Calvin. All the funny statements I had formulated in my head evaporated instantly and my throat seemed to block up. "Calvin?"

"Hey, kiddo." He said, his voice as cool as a cucumber. I looked at the two people who sat staring at me wondering who Calvin was. I stared down at the wooded table that separated us, thinking why he had called me. "How are you feeling? I know first fails hit the spot, but you took it really well."

Only if he knew how well I was taking everything in. But why had he called to console was beyond me. Did Robert tell him too?

"Um... okay. Thanks." I said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ears. I sat on the edge of my chair, planting only the tips of my feet of the ground, knocking the wood with my fingertips to release my nerves. "I'm sorry though. I don't think I apologized to you before."

"Don't worry about it." I could almost see him wave his hand in the air, as he said those words with his eyes half closed. "The reason why I called you is, the Victory Speeds, aptly called as VS are impressed with your racing skills."

"VS?" I asked, not able to recollect anyone with that name.

"They are a tyre manufacturing company." Calvin explained. "They were there yesterday in Nevada watching you race and I'll say they are impressed."

I honestly didn't know why they were impressed with someone who hadn't won, but I nodded my head, listening to what he had to say. "Okay."

"They are holding a race Monday in town and they asked who was your manager." Calvin said, his voice escalating and I knew he was excited. "The winner gets to advertise the tyres and get on TV! Isn't that great?"

I panicked at that. My racing skills were something that I had kept private all this long. Except for my close friends and family, no one else knew about my extracurricular habits. And if they expected me to get on TV, then I knew I was sold to this world never to return back to normalcy.

"The one that lost?" I asked, waiting for an ultimatum to be said, but there were none. "Can I think about it, Cal?" I asked. It was a huge deal and a great opportunity, but I wanted to discus it with Dad and my coach before I took any decision. "Not that I mean any disrespect, I want to sleep on it a bit."

"Sure." Calvin said. "Can I know it by tonight?"

"Okay," I agreed. "Bye."

As I cut the call, I gave my best peeps the information I had just received. Apparently they thought it was the best thing that was happening to me and I should trust my guts and go for it.

It was not as simple as it was.

I was nervous about the losing part. I had lost once and there was no guarantee that I wouldn't be losing the next one. I knew I had to embrace the wins and losses equally, but they were eating up my head, taking up the maximum space to settle.

"It's in town, what are the odds?" Lily said with a big smile on her face. "You get to be on TV as a plus. I'm coming to the race, get me a ticket."

She was right though, it was in town and I didn't have to worry about the terrains. I had gone to almost all the race tracks in town considering my Dad's races and most of them were similar to the ones that I practiced in the tracks. But if I chose this, then I would be getting into the fame land and there would be no turning back. 

It was one of the best ways to gain more money and shove it to Ashley's face to get Dad's debts cleared. Besides, it was legal. That meant, unintentionally, I was choosing the legal path - which was a good thing.

A small smile grew on my lips as I looked at the two faces that were studying me. "I suppose I need to buy a few tickets to the race, huh?"

---

I had spent two hours on conditioning, making sure that my body remained fit to be in the tracks. When I had given all my heart and soul to conditioning, I had lost the edge on driving. As a result, this time, I wanted to have a bit of both. I had sat down at the diner that day, making a timetable for myself, making sure that I got both of the things to work out.

When I showed it to Luke since Rob was busy, he was impressed and asked me to do as I wished. I gave him a two fingered salute and started working out.

I was at my twentieth lap when I noticed Robert under a green classic car's hood. I was already tired and I wanted nothing more than to get back home. I parked the beetle back in its place and walked towards Robert who was completely immersed in his work.

He was wearing only his shorts and a very loose, thin, sleeve-less shirt. Most of his shirt was covered in sweat and it glistened under the dim yellow light of the bulb which was hanging above him. His hair was messy as if he had ran his hand over it a thousand times already, figuring out what was wrong with the car. His hands were greasy and as they made contact with his five o' clock stubble, his chin got smeared with the black paint, making him look like a lost pirate.

Suddenly, I remembered how Nick had described Rob under the same situation and I smiled at the memory.

"Ahem, Scarlet?" Luke cleared his throat, with a smug smile on his handsome face. "Done for today?"

With Luke's interruption, Robert was disturbed. He looked at me and gave a thousand watt smile. "Hey," He called, walking up to me. "How are you feeling?"

Robert looked very tired, his eyes were drained and were in need of a good sleep. Dark circles were formed around his eyes and I wondered if he was turning into a raccoon soon. Even his smile looked tired and I badly wanted to run my fingers on his hair, untangling all those curls.

"Aren't you sleeping?" I asked and soon regretted it. We hadn't yet gone back to our usual routine and I wondered if it was the reason behind his raccoon eyes. "Um, you look tired."

"Since, I'm not getting answer to my questions, I'll leave you guys alone." Luke said and went back to whatever he was doing. I threw a rag cloth at him, for which he only laughed without turning back.

"I am tired." He said, closing the car's hood and sitting on top of it.

"New one?" I asked, pointing my chin to the car. He only nodded and sighed. Ever since he had designed the first convertible, he was gaining notice. I walked towards him and sat next to him. "I got myself into race."

"Cal told me." Robert looked at me with a proud smile. "Didn't I tell you that things would come around?"

"You never told that." I rolled my eyes at him.

"I did!" He argued. "You were crying your eyes out to listen to me."

"I wasn't crying!" I said, pushing his slightly away. He only laughed back bounced back to his same position. "Anyway, I agreed to race."

"Good." He said. "I didn't understand why you wanted to take time to think about it."

"I actually wanted one more advice before I finalize it." I admitted. This was something I wanted to ask him, but things happened one after the other that I had not found the right time to ask him.

"Sure, babe." Robert smiled. "What is it?"

"Should I opt for legal or illegal races?"

"You got an option?" Robert was now fully serious. "Man, I never got an option."

I briefly explained him the situation I was in. Calvin had asked me this question a week ago and I had told him that I would think about it and I had to give him an answer. I had thought about it too, but becoming the legend was what got me hooked. When I told Robert about my anxieties, he only smiled back.

"If you get an easy option out, you always choose it." He said. "I mean, when I got into it, there was no one to tell me what to do next."

"How did you get in?" I asked.

"Well," He said, looking at me. I knew he had caught me and a wall was starting to be built around him. "I was scared of accidents and thought that I could get over it if I started racing. Illegal were lethal so I thought, why not try that?"

"Didn't your parents stop you?" I asked, not believing what he was saying.

He let out a sad chuckle. "They wanted me out, anyway."

As I sat there, next to him, imagining stories about him and his childhood, he tapped my shoulders. When I looked at him, he rolled his eyes. "Stop with the thinking, Stone." He said. "If you have to live in the moment, you have to live now. Not with the over thinking."

"I'm choosing legal races." I said, confident now. Though illegal had its own pros, I wanted to stick with something that was possible by me rather than trying the impossible, only to die in the end. "I'll probably be in TV by next week."

Robert laughed. "I like that you're so positive about it."

I smiled back. Robert went back of the garage to get some oil and resumed his work. His arm muscles popped up as he began undoing one of the hinges, sitting on the floor. I gulped in response. Though he seemed capable of working all night, I knew he needed to rest.

"Rob, come on." I said, getting off the bonnet. "I'm very tired. Let's go home."

When he looked back at me, I saw one of the rarest smile on his face. Though he was always smiling and laughing with me, this one was very different from the others.

"I love it when you say home." He shook his head, still giddy from the words that had come out from my mouth. "Isn't it nice how few words can make you feel so great. It's as if you have included me in your family."

I walked and sat next to him on the floor. I put my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "I have." I knew how it must have been feeling when his parents wanted him out. "Now, let's get home."

"I can't, babe." He said, pulling me closer. I was almost cradled on his lap, my hands twisted around his neck. "I'm on a race tomorrow morning. I need to be flying out around at three tonight."

"Oh." I didn't know that and if he was away racing, how was I going to face my race without him? "When are you going to be back?"

"Are you missing me or are you thinking about the earpiece at your race?" I blushed at his words, but didn't correct him. "As soon as the race is over, I'll fly back to you."

"Won't you be tired?" I asked. He already looked beaten up and if he was travelling tonight and racing tomorrow morning, I didn't know how he was coping with it. He was a hard worker, I could tell that. Even with a race, he had sat under the hood, trying his best to design his car. How confident could he be at it? "I guess I can manage without an earpiece for this one."

"Awe," Robert said and without giving a moment for me to register, he pressed his lips to mine. It was gentle and sweet and before I could get used to it, he pulled back. "I love it when you worry, Scarlet Stone."

I pushed him away, my cheeks burning. We were in the garage for God's sake, what was he thinking? What if someone had seen us being this cozy with each other?

"Fine, go wherever you want." I said, getting up on my feet. "You don't even have to warn me the next time. Bye."

"Babe, babe." He called, his laughter rippling behind me. He pulled me and held me hostage on my middle. "I'm sorry, okay? I'll be back before you know it."

"Obviously," I said, flipping my sweat filled hair at him, making sure that my hair hit him on his face. "Otherwise, you are only going to miss my win."

"What did you just say?" Robert asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

And before he could catch me, I ran away, grabbing my bag and running towards my car. Soon, I was in my car locking myself in. We both were breathing heavily, the window glass separating us.

I pressed my lips on the window exactly where I could see his lips. "Just make it back in one piece, Hastings." 

I started my engine, leaving him behind with a smile on his face as he shook his head, watching me drive away.

---

A/N: Ah, another race. I think I'm getting addicted to those races than Scarlet ever has. Did I give you enough time to recover from the previous one?