2 - Lou

The young man headed out to the racer's lounge for the rest of the night. All eyes turned on the young rookie as he stepped into the area. Hudson was starting to get noticed, especially after his win that day. He slicked his dark brown hair back as his piercing blue eyes scanned the room. His new friends, Junior, and River were sitting on a couch in the corner. Junior flagged down Hudson, and the young man sat across from them on the couch.

"Nice win today, Hud," River said, taking a swig of his drink.

"Yeah kid, you pulled some gutsy moves out there today, but they paid off," he paused, "heck, you better show me how to do some of that drifting."

"Someday I'll show you. Once I retire," Hudson flashed a smirk as he was brought a drink. Junior and River laughed out loud. Smokey came in and sat at the bar, watching Hudson from a distance. As great as it was that he won the Piston Cup, Smokey worried about Hudson. He didn't know how he would handle the fame, the money, and the attention. He was going to keep an eye on Hudson. At least he had friends to talk to and spend time with.

The men talked with each other, about the race, about life, about ladies and cars. Hudson liked to talk, but he also liked to listen to what his friends had to say. He had been raised in a family that valued respectfulness and politeness. He tried his best to remember everything his Mama had taught him. He listened, with intent and curious blue eyes, ignoring the many eyes that were constantly on him wherever he went. He had to come to terms with himself that he was likely going to be famous pretty soon. He didn't know how he was going to handle it.

Junior looked left and right, then looked back to Hudson. "Hey Hud," he smirked, pointing across the room to a particular figure, dressed in a pink and creme racing suit. "That's the new laaaady racer," he cooed. "Rumor has it, she stole her number."

"Number 94?" River questioned. "You got that right," replied Junior. Hudson smirked a tad, taking a sip of his drink. "What about her? She lost?" He asked, tapping a finger against his glass.

"No, she's not lost, but you better watch 'er, she was on your tail the whole time."

"I know she was. It doesn't matter. I'm the one who won the race."

"True, but in the future…"

"I know, Junior."

"Why don't you ask her over here?" River asked.

"Me?" Snapped Hudson, pointing to himself, swallowing his drink. "Now, why in the heavens above would I do that?"

"Because it's polite," Junior chimed in.

"I don't care what it is," Hudson snapped, "this ain't no place for lady racers, fact, I've never seen one before. If the press sees me with a lady racer it's gonna be all over the papers and my rep' will be ruined."

It wasn't even a few minutes later before the young woman made her way over to the corner that the three young men were sitting in. She wasn't shy. She knew they had been snickering and talking about her. She stood in front of the new rookie racer.

"You must be Hudson?" She asked. "I watched the rear end of your car all day long. Good win to finish off the season," she said, shaking his hand.

"Thank you," he replied kindly.

She shook the hands of the other two men and introduced herself. "Louise Nash," she said kindly. "But you can call me Lou."