We arrived in Bristol before I knew it. I must have crashed hard. I sat up and my cell phone started vibrating.
"Hey girl get up!", Danica said cheerfully.
"Ugh! Where are you?"
"I'm coming up." I hung up and knocked on the door.
I opened the door and let her in. "Guess who's next to you?", she teased.
"Please don't ruin my day, Dan."
"Oh come on. Is he really that bad?"
After I didn't answer my, sheI said, "Do tell."
I filled her in. "I can understand why you would and wouldn't want to get involved."
"Exactly. I can't get involved. I don't want to jeopardize my career. Besides, it wouldn't look good."
"You're right."
"Good. Let me get showered and let's go check on #4."
W headed down to see the car. Most drivers were checking on their cars, making sure things were kosher, including my 'favorite' person. I acted like I didn't see him.
We spent the majority of the afternoon in the garage, taking care of things with my crew. The car was finally ready to rock and roll and we were satisfied.
"Hey", a voice said. I turned around to see Kasey and Elliott.
"Hey Elliott. Kasey", I said.
"You girls wanna go grab a beer or something?", Kasey asked.
"I can go for a little while. Danica?"
"Yeah. Not too long. I gotta rest my knee sometime."
"Okay, let's go. We'll follow you guys there. I don't really know the area."
Leaving the bay area, I forced myself not to look at Jr. I could see him watching me from the corner of my eye. I was proud of myself for not making any eye contact.
I got Danica into my car and we followed Kasey & Elliott out of the speedway.
We landed at 'A Hole in the Wall' bar & grill up the street. That was actually the name of the joint. The ditsy waitress sat us at a table near the bar, right after she squealed when we walked in.
We established a resting place and ordered a few beers and shared some appetizers.
Elliott was nice enough to let Danica prop her leg across his knee. It was healing nicely, but still prohibited her from racing.
"So, do who do you think will make the chase this year?", Kasey asked.
"Not really sure. I hope to, but I don't expect to my first year", I replied.
"Well, you did make a great impression in Daytona", Elliott said.
"Thanks. That means a lot . I really didn't expect to do as well as I did."
Laughing, Danica said, "You were great! And the payback you gave Jr. was the best."
"I probably made a fool of myself on live tv, too. I should have never let him get the best of me."
"Oh don't worry about that. I've seen worse things that weren't on live tv", Kasey assured me.
We had some good laughs, while Elliott and Kasey revealed some juicy tidbits about their teammates. Some, I would not dare repeat to the most loyal person.
Danica excused herself to go to the ladies room. I helped her up and to the back of the joint. I had to wait on her, since there was only a one room bathroom.
I leaned against the wall and bided my time. People passed me left and right in the narrow hallway. What is she doing in there? Then she emerged.
I went in and took care of things. I got lost in my thoughts as I looked in the mirror. Part of me thought about last night with Jr. Get him outta your head!, I told myself. You can NOT screw up your future!
I cautiously opened the door. Noone was outside. Part of me was hoping to run into him when I opened the door. I walked down the hall to the open area. I stopped dead in my tracks and my eye locked with the other guest that had joined our group...
