Elizabeth stared at her reflection in the dressing table mirror. Absently she tugged at the fabric coated rubber band that held her massive curls. She shook her head letting her chocolate locks fall wildly as they framed her face. She leaned toward the mirror studying her features in particular her full lips. She brought her fingers upward letting them ever so slightly graze across her mouth. Closing her eyes, Elizabeth's mind held a vivid image of Jason Morgan's own mouth within inches of hers. She imagined what it would have been like if he had actually kissed her rather than bolting from the room like a scared rabbit. Yet perhaps it was just as well things ended the way they had. The last thing Elizabeth needed in her life was another NASCAR driver. So why was it for all her trying to convince herself otherwise she couldn't stop the pull she felt towards him? It was like the gravitational force had a strangle hold on her inching her closer and closer to Jason all the while she dug in her heels in a failing attempt to stop it.

Elizabeth let out a frustrated groan as she stared at herself once more. As the hours turned into days since their encounter she thought that her memories of that evening would have faded but if anything they had only gotten stronger. She could still feel the way her body felt pressed against Jason's as they danced. How easily she felt one with him. That frightened her more and more with each passing thought of him that she wasn't able to get out of her head. Outside in the distance the rumbling sounds coming from the Ryan practice track conjured up even more images of Jason. Elizabeth wondered if he was there readying himself and his car for the upcoming qualifier. It would have been so easy for her to slip down to the track for even the slightest glimpse of him – that was all she needed – just one little look. "Stop it!" she scolded her reflection. "Enough already!" she said with a tone that a mother would have reserved for a whining toddler.

Elizabeth pushed herself away from the dressing table and started to pace the four corners of her room wishing that she was somehow able get control of her frenzied thoughts when it came to her father's newest driver. She found herself standing in front of the large bay window with views of the practice track in the distance. Elizabeth pressed her hands against the large pane of warm glass and heard herself sigh. What the hell am I doing she thought just as the phone on the nightstand rang making her jump. "Hello," she said draping her body over her still unmade bed.

"Hey Liz," Melanie's cheery voice came through the line. "Want to meet me for a late breakfast – early lunch?" she asked.

Elizabeth rolled over and contemplated Melanie's offer. She needed the distraction but had her doubts as to her friend's ability to distract her. If anything it would be the complete opposite.

"Liz?" Melanie questioned again when Elizabeth was less than quick with her reply. "So what do you say to meeting?"

"Where?" Elizabeth answered without actually saying yes.

"What about College Place?" Melanie suggested.

"What time?" she asked pushing her body into an upright position.

"Can you make it in a half hour. I am working the afternoon shift at the hospital today."

Elizabeth looked around at the various items scattered around her room. Her full intention was to spend the afternoon cleaning and straightening up her mess yet as the hands on the clock inched closer to race time she knew that the farther away she was from the track the better off it was for all concerned. "Sure half hour sounds good to me. I'll meet you there."

"See you then."

Elizabeth padded across the thick carpeted floor closing the door to her bathroom behind her hoping that the hot water of the shower would wash away all thoughts of Jason Morgan and knowing deep down that there was little chance of that happening. He was so far under her skin as it was nothing would cleanse him from her system.

Jason leaned against his front fender eyeing all the hoses and lines paying close attention to the one leading to the oil pressure gauge. He heard Elizabeth's voice ringing in his ears from weeks ago. Running his finger against the connection it came out clean, Jason felt himself smile inwardly thanking the tiny brunette for her expertise. As much as he hadn't wanted to he found himself thinking about her a great deal lately – especially after the other night at the bar. He still couldn't believe how close he had come to actually kissing her. It all seemed surreal to him yet at the time it was the most natural thing he could think of to do and honestly that scared the hell out of him.

He reached for the creeper leaning against the garage wall and eased himself under the chassis of his metallic blue machine. He was still uneased by Jake's absence. It wasn't as though Jason wouldn't have been doing these things if Jake had been there – because he would have but there was a strangeness that hung in the air without Jake's booming voice filling the empty garage space the way it normally would have. Jason gave the under carriage a cursory once over even though his mind wandered from time to time. He knew his focus should have been on the day's qualifier that was only hours away yet there was little he could do to stop himself from thinking about Pat Ryan's daughter. Jason tried to force the idea that even toying with the notion of approaching the owner of his current team's daughter for anything other than friendship was well – like playing with fire. He knew he was asking for trouble so why was it that he couldn't stop himself from wanting more than a causal friendship with Elizabeth Ryan.

Jason rolled out from under the car and sat up pressing his back against the driver's side door. Even without closing his eyes he could still see the image of her from the other night. It was almost burned in his mind. The way her jeans hugged her slim figure, the way her smile lit up her face with each bullseye she made and the way her laughter was almost infectious. But it was the way that her body felt against his while they were dancing that Jason wasn't able to stop thinking about. It was like they melded into one form rather than two separate ones awkwardly trying to move about the floor.

"Hey man," Tom's voice beckoned Jason from his thoughts. "How's things looking?" he asked pointing toward the car.

"Good – everything's good," Jason responded as he rose to a standing position. To him his comment sounded half hearted and he couldn't help but wonder if Tom had caught the weariness in his tone – weariness not for the upcoming race but for his fledleging feelings for a girl everyone would have been better off if he left alone.

"Good," Tom replied almost absently as he walked across the concrete floor towards his tool box keeping his eyes averted from his friend. Every since the other night at the bar Tom hadn't been able to look at Jason without seeing red.

Elizabeth sat at the table sipping on her third cup of coffee as she waited for Melanie to arrive for their brunch. The alone time only gave way for more thoughts of Jason Morgan to plague her mind. She looked at her watch again just as Melanie came rushing through the door looking a little worse for the wear. "What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked as her friend slumped down in a huff in the chair across from her.

"Nothing."

"Don't give me that. What's wrong?"

"Nathan trying to be my dad again that's all," Melanie said as she held her empty mug in the air trying to get the waitress' attention. "He picked the minute I was walking out the door to decide that we should talk about our disastrous attempt at a family dinner the other night. I couldn't get the hell away from him," she sighed heavily.

"You want to talk about it?" Elizabeth asked knowing full well that the father daughter relationship shared by Melanie and Nathan King was as tenuous as hers with her own father.

"Not particularly besides I'd much rather talk about you."

"Me?" Elizabeth shot Melanie a questioning look.

"Yes you."

"What are you talking about?" Elizabeth said as she placed her hand over the mouth of her mug as the waitress attempted to refill her cup again. She was already wound tight enough. The last thing she needed was more caffeine.

"Like you don't know," Melanie said with a sly smile circling her lips.

"Obviously I don't."

"Come on Liz, weren't we at the same bar the other night?"

"Yes," Elizabeth said still more than a little confused.

"So what – you mean to tell me you didn't see what I saw?"

"What did you see?" Elizabeth was slowly catching on to the direction her friend was taking this conversation but she had no intention of giving her the satisfaction of following along.

"You and Jason Morgan – that's what I saw," Melanie stated in all knowing fashion.

"Please, give me a break. There was nothing to see. It was one lousy dance." Elizabeth retorted as she tried to quell the slow burn that was filling her body again with the thoughts of Jason's strong arms wrapped around her.

"Who the hell are you trying to kid Liz? That just wasn't some lousy dance. Hell it was electric any fool can see the attraction between the two of you."

Elizabeth closed her eyes let out a heavy sigh and took a long gulp of steaming coffee hoping that the sheer heat of the liquid would seer her tongue leaving her unable to speak. "There's no attraction between us. First off he's a NASCAR driver. That alone is enough to have me steering clear but he's also part of my dad's racing team. Why the hell would I go there again?"

"Because you don't have a choice that's why."

"What the hell do you mean I don't have a choice?" Elizabeth scoffed.

"From where I was sitting sweets there was no denying you are attracted to Mr. Morgan. And baby he's certainly attracted to you."

"He is not!" Elizabeth forced all the while the thoughts of his almost kiss bombarded her.

"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much," Melanie chuckled as she watched her friend's face turning several shades of crimson.

"Shut up!" Elizabeth instructed.

"What hit a nerve did I? Not so much fun to be on the other end of the match making now is it?" Melanie laughed again before turning a little more serious. "Liz, believe me I don't want to see you go down that NASCAR road again nor do I want to see you get you heart ripped out and stomped on. But girlfriend, anyone with two eyes can see the sparks between the two of you. You can deny it all you want but they are there…"

"Just like you and Leo," Elizabeth interrupted her desperately hoping to change the subject.

"This isn't about me and Leo. It's about you and Jason."

"There is no me and Jason!" Elizabeth shot back suddenly feeling boxed in not only by her friend's persistence but her own thoughts that wouldn't leave her alone.

"There will be. Mark my words Liz – there will be. Damn!" Melanie said as the beeper at her side sounded. "I've got to go but don't think this conversation is over."

"It most certainly is," Elizabeth said as Melanie dropped a five on the table.

Elizabeth leaned back against her chair and watched her friend breeze out of the small restaurant. She let out a labored breath as she wrapped her hands around her mug allowing its warmth to seep through her fingers. How the hell had she gotten herself into this position? She knew all too well that Melanie would run with this idea of hers like a dog with a bone. She would be relentless in her pursuit of what she thought she saw. Sadly enough though Elizabeth knew her friend was right on the mark when it came to what she saw – at least on her end. She had no idea what Jason Morgan did or didn't think let alone feel for her – if anything at all. That thought in and of itself terrified her. There she was throwing her heart into uncharted waters more than likely setting herself up to have it eaten by the sharks once more.

She looked up at the over head clock noticing there was a little less than three hours to race time. Everything in her head screamed at her to stay as far away from the track as she could get yet the heart that was now floating in those open waters had a mind all of its own.

Jason and Tom circled the garage floor for the hundredth time inspecting and reinspecting every aspect of Jason's car. The fact that Jason was more than a little distracted wasn't lost on Tom. He wanted to believe that that distraction was purely fueled by Jake's absence but there was a part of Tom that knew differently. He knew it had a hell of a lot more to do with Elizabeth Ryan.

As much as Tom wanted to wipe the image of Jason cutting in on his dance with Elizabeth and the way that she was so much more comfortable in Jason's arms than his own – he just couldn't. That picture ate away at him as did Jason's almost kissing her. For Tom that was the one thing that kept him awake at night. Yet the last thing he wanted to do was broach the subject with his friend. It was as if he didn't mention any of it that there was still a shot for him and Elizabeth – at least in Tom's mind there was.

"So we done?" Jason asked forcing Tom to look him in the eye.

"Yeah, I think so. You feeling good about this race?"

"It's still all so weird," Jason admitted. "I'm not sure I'll ever get used to being here." He motioned to their new surroundings.

"You will," Tom said throwing a few of his tools into the large red box against the wall. "You just need one win under your belt. That's all."

"Maybe," Jason agreed with little certainty.

"Don't you think you should get suited up?" Tom asked hating the tension in his voice and the green haze that clouded his sight when he now looked at Jason.

"Guess so," he said knowing that race time was fast approaching. He looked around the Ryan garage with a heavy heart. There was no denying he missed Jake and each minute the clock inched closer to the start of the race only intensified it.

"Hey Jas," Leo's loud voice filled the suddenly silent garage. Tom turned around to see Leo Jorgenson approaching Jason. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "Would you come look at something for me? I'm still not sure I'm satisfied with the new suspension set up on my car."

Jason dropped his firesuit across the hood of his car. "Is there something wrong with it? I thought it felt good during those practice runs." Tom eyed his friend curiously at that remark. He had no idea that Jason had been behind the wheel of Leo's car. That was just another thing in a long list of reasons that Tom couldn't stand Leo.

"It did. Hell I don't know. Would you just come check it out with me?" Leo asked waving him toward the door.

"Sure. I'll be back," Jason said to Tom.

Tom picked up the heavy socket from the workbench and hurled it hard against the wall its tinny sound reverberating loudly throughout the garage. What the hell happened to the days when it was just Jake, Jason and him? When it was the three of them against the world? Tom was beginning to hate it here at Ryan Racing.

Elizabeth flashed her pit pass – a pass that she hadn't used in months – to the man in the white ticket booth and walked through the gates. Immediately she was hit with a rush of adrenaline as her body filled with all things familiar. The roar of the engines was deafening to most but to her the sound was music to her ears. Despite not wanting to she found herself grinning from ear to ear – she was home. As much as she had tried denying it this was the one place she felt completely like herself. There was no pretense, no trying to fit into other's perception of her – nothing. Here she was just Liz – one of the guys and she loved it.

As quickly as the feeling came that's how fast it flew away as the sight of Billy's black number fifteen car came into her view. She was assaulted by more memories than she cared to recall. Suddenly she was questioning the validity of her being there. What on earth had gotten into her? What was she doing there? On the way over her head repeated a mantra that she was going for Leo. That he needed her support. Over and over again she tried unsuccessfully to convince herself that her presence was all for Leo.

In the distance she saw Leo's green bomber and felt herself smile. She was glad to see him part of the action again. She hated that Billy's antics on the track weeks ago had kept him out of several races. She knew that Leo still was less than thrilled with his place in Ryan Racing but at least he had stopped talking about looking for another team. For that she was immensely grateful. It was then that she saw Jason's metallic blue roll out into the pits. Her heart skipped a beat. If anything she had to keep her distance. Again she told herself she was there for Leo and Leo alone yet she heard the voice in her head almost laughing at her at the absurdity of the remark. Elizabeth felt her pulse rhythmically beating in her neck when she caught the slightest glimpse of Jason's frame. How she knew it was him from that distance but she did. It took all she had not to walk down to the Ryan Racing area of the pits. She stood there heart and head warring with one another until finally her good sense won out forcing her into the stands hoping to look like nothing more than the causal observer.

Jason shook his hands at his sides all of the sudden overcome with anxiety. This wasn't unusual – actually it was typical but normally Jake would have been there to calm his nerves and put him in his car. Now Jason had to do that all on his own. Not something easy for him to do. He swung his head around giving his surroundings one more glance only to see Elizabeth Ryan sitting in the stands. He closed his eyes and opened them again and she was still there. Even though he felt his pulse race, out of the blue the calm that had eluded him prior now settled deep within him. Jason stared at her for a minute longer before climbing into his car ready for anything.