10am can't come soon enough; I dress casually but a little more wisely than last time as I came home very dirty. At 9.30am Taylor calls to say they are ready to go. The traffic is awful this morning and I abhor being late however we reach the stadium only 15 minutes late. Security is waiting and gives us visitors badges again before escorting us over to the garage. I can see a car already out on the track taking full advantage of the practice time.
Ray Steele rushes over, enthusiastically shakes my hand and proceeds to introduce me to everyone in the garage but no Ana in sight, I feel really disappointed.
Ray asks me if I want to see anything particular and I was tempted to say his daughter but didn't think that would go down very well. I shake my head and reply that just observing would be fine unless I was getting in the way.
I watch Dale drive around the circuit, he looks good but I am no expert, I hear the chief mechanic call car number 25 to come into the pits, I watch it finish the lap and pull off into the pit lane.
"Hello Mr Grey" I spin around and see Dale standing next to me offering his hand.
"Oh Err hello Dale" I mumble weakly shaking his hand feeling confused.
"Hey Steeley, nice laps out there, you are really getting the feel of the car" Dale comments.
I turn around to see a helmeted figure walk towards where we are standing.
"But I thought you were Steeley" I say to Dale.
"Me? No" he laughs.
"Well hello Christian, so nice to see you again" as the helmet comes off I see a cascade of blonde hair fall around her shoulders and Ana is standing in front of me.
I stand staring for a moment just converting oxygen to carbon dioxide, looking like a goldfish opening and closing my mouth. Seriously not cool Christian!
"You're Steeley?" I eventually engage my brain to say something.
"Yes I am" her sweet voice says.
"You never told me you were a racing driver" I still am shocked at seeing her in a fire retardant racing suit.
"You never asked" she counters quickly with a smile.
"Isn't it too dangerous for you?" by the look on her face I know she is pissed off.
"Why is it too dangerous for me and not anyone else? Are you saying that because I am a woman? I didn't have you down as a total chauvinist Mr Grey but perhaps I was wrong"
"No I err was just…"
"If you are suggesting that because I am a woman then I suggest it would be wise to rethink your agreement with my Dad. I race, I am good at it and no one, least of all you Mr Grey is going to change that!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you" I say
"I need to change, get under the car and adjust the rear suspension, if you will excuse me" she walks off toward the offices.
Damn Grey, stupid thing to say, you have really pissed her off now. I stand feeling slightly awkward knowing most of the garage heard out exchange of words and I can feel a few disapproving looks being thrown my way.
"I see you have met Steeley, my daughter" Ray interrupts the silence and I am actually pleased he has.
"Yes, in actual fact I met Ana at the weekend, my Mother holds a charity ball every year and we bumped into each other" I don't feel like sharing that I 'won' her in the bachelorette auction.
"She is quite feisty especially when she is vilified for driving a race car. She has worked hard to get here, believe me if she wasn't a decent driver with a bright future she would not have got a place on the team and of course she wouldn't listen to me, her father, when I said was she sure she wanted to progress" he chuckles "I had Ana in one ear pleading with me to let her drive and her Mother in the other ordering me not to let her drive"
"It must have been hard" I can't think of anything else to say
"It was, her Mother hasn't really spoken to me properly since" he chuckles again.
Ana returns in a white t-shirt and short dungarees and trainers, she has put her hair up in a ponytail. She still has the slightly 'dirty' face from doing the laps earlier but I find that actually quite sexy. My God what is this woman doing to me?! I have been constantly horny since the weekend but am not really interested in calling my sub over for a session since I met Ana.
"Still here I see Mr Grey, have you reconsidered your earlier view?"
Damn she has caught me off guard again. What's wrong with me?
"Ana please don't scare off our new partner; everyone is entitled to have an opinion" Ray talks to her.
"He would be wise to keep those opinions to himself" she retorts loud enough for me to hear.
I want to fuck this woman, she's astute, confident, obviously loyal and smart and I like it!
She glances over at me whilst putting on some safety glasses and gloves before she lies down on a mechanics trolley and disappears under her car.
Ray invites me into his office and shows me some preliminary designs for the new team logo.
"These are an excellent start, who does your designing?" I ask.
"Well actually Ana does" Ray looks a little embarrassed.
"You certainly have a very talented daughter, would you mind if I show these to my brother? He has a great eye for detail and I would like his input"
"Not at all Mr Grey, it's always good to have a second pair of eyes for these things" he smiles warmly.
"That's wonderful and please, call me Christian"
"I will Mr G…Err Christian"
"I will leave you in peace but I will be back with the logo drawings"
"Good to see you again Christian" we shake and I walk out of the office toward the car that Ana is working under.
"Goodbye Miss Steele" I say tentatively
She slides out from under the car but doesn't get up "Goodbye Mr Grey" she smiles unfortunately it doesn't reach her eyes. I walk out with a bad feeling I have blown any chance of getting to know her better.
In the car on the way home I call Elliot…
"Hey Christian, what's up?"
"Hi Elliot, I have got some preliminary logo designs here and I would like you to cast your eye over them"
"Are you serious bro?"
"Of course I am, you are good at designing and things, you about this evening?" I hope he is.
"Sure, about 8pm?" Elliot suggests.
"Good, see you later" The line goes dead.
I indicate to Taylor that we need to stop at a store, Elliot is a beer drinker unlike me, I appreciate a fine wine or spirits. I also ask him to pick up some hand cooked sea salted crisps and I have a longing for wasabi peas, garlic stuffed olives and macadamia nuts.
Elliot arrives promptly at eight; I have already spread the designs over the table.
"Beer bro?" I ask
"That would be great after the day I have had" he slumps into a chair, kicks off his shoes, lays back and sighs.
"Anything I can help with?" I ask
"No thanks though, just a supply and timing issue but it is pissing me off"
He clicks open his beer and takes a deep drink, I can see him visibly relax after a few moments.
"Ok, let's see these designs then" he shuffles through the papers "These are great, really detailed. Who drew them?"
"Ana"
"She is a talented lady" Elliot smiles at me.
"You have no idea Elliot"
"What do you mean?"
"She is also Steeley" I say
"Who is stee…oh! You mean Ana is Steeley the racing driver?" his face looks a little like mine did.
"Yep, she is feisty, hot and I think I totally screwed up any chance of getting to know her better"
"That is awesome bro! Women NASCAR drivers are rare but oh, let me guess, you said something about it being dangerous?" he roars with laughter.
"It just slipped out" Elliot is curled up laughing with tears rolling down his face "It's not funny bro, what am I going to do? She pretty much blanked me afterwards"
"You have got some major sucking up to do; I would go back to the track with a modest bouquet of flowers, a bottle of wine and two glasses, apologize and if that doesn't work the get down on your knees and beg" he starts laughing again, I lob a couple of macadamia nuts at him in retaliation.
"Shit, this is going to be awkward" I say "I can use the designs as a talking point so come on Elliot, help me out here"
"Ok, ok, right, this is good but it doesn't fit right with your image, not that one, not that one, this is perfect though, it's simple but the way it flows is eye catching especially when it's on the side of the car. What colours were you thinking?"
"I think her car should be silver with steel grey logos that way it all ties in nicely. I do appreciate other sponsors when they are found will be different colours"
"Boy you are smitten" Elliot says but this time without laughing "She will not give up racing, you do know that don't you?"
"I could tell by her reaction that she would not and I think she has shunned a lot of people for thinking the same as me" I say truthfully "However I can at least ensure the car has the maximum safety features, it doesn't sit well with me though"
"You can't have control and that bugs you doesn't it?" Elliot reads me very well at times.
"It makes me nervous" I admit.
"You cannot control everything that comes into your life Christian, life just isn't like that"
"I know but…"
"Just go to her and apologize, see what her reaction is and take it from there" Elliot suggests.
"I will have to otherwise I will drive my-self crazy"
"Do it soon bro"
I find my feet making their way down to the circuit the very next day; I couldn't leave the office until late afternoon. The track security team have organised an all access security pass for Taylor, Sawyer and I which means we no longer need to be escorted everywhere but we were reminded to pay attention wherever we go.
Taylor and Sawyer remain outside the GSR garage while I go inside to see who is still about. I pass a couple of mechanics leaving for the day and the rest of the garage appears empty. Damn, why couldn't she just be…
"Hello Christian, back so soon?" Ana's voice and body slide out from under the car. She is wearing not quite as much clothing as yesterday and she has a streak of oil smudged across her face. I want to go over and kiss her face, everything.
"Yes, I just wanted to apologize for my comment yesterday and make sure you understand my reasons for saying what I did"
She stands up, wiping her hands on an oily rag and motioning to the office.
"I brought you these by way of an apology and wonder if you would care to join me" I offer the flowers before getting the wine and glasses out.
"This is a new way of apologising and I like it" Ana sips at the wine "Hmm this is lovely.
"I also wanted to say how impressed my brother and I were with your logo sketches, he was very complimentary about this one" I show her the drawing we would like to use.
"That's one of my favourites too" she smiles.
"Ana, I want you to understand I feel uncomfortable in situations I can't control"
"We all feel a little that way Christian but that's part of the thrill of racing that I love so much, every turn, every pit stop is different and sometimes you have a split second to react" she looks so captivated when she talks about racing.
"I like to know what is happening and when down to the minute if I can, I prepare for things so I don't get sideswiped by any surprises.
Ana stands up, comes around the desk and sits in front of me.
"So I guess this will take you by surprise then…"