I arrive at the airport with time to spare, I sit in the small lounge provided while the final checks are being done on the plane, waiting for Elliot to arrive and then we can board and take off. He is cutting it fine as usual.
"Bro!" come's a shout from across the room; Elliot is running with a sports bag slung over his shoulder "Sorry, sorry" he bends over breathing heavily "Traffic, horrendous"
"Let's go" I pull his arm to get him moving again.
We sit down in the leather swivel seats, fasten our lap belts and settle in for the evening. Once in the air, the hostess Vera pours champagne and offers various Hors D'oeuvres. I never eat a huge meal on a plane; it just makes me feel sluggish and tired.
Elliot and I use the time to discuss everything and anything; we don't have this opportunity very often although I suspect he will be accompanying me on most of these trips. I tease him about not having a girlfriend and he retaliates by saying Ana is a friend with benefits, not that I can deny it but I hope we will become more.
After a couple of hours of almost non-stop chatting, I yawn, say goodnight and walk to the bed area. It's a single bed that is shielded from the rest of the plane, not that comfortable but better than turning up after sleeping up right in a chair, looking like you have been dragged through a hedge backwards and with a crick in your neck. I am seriously thinking about buying a bigger plane that has actual bedroom. My mind wanders to Ana and how easy it would be to get her to join the 'Mile high club' and all the delicious things I could do to her at 20,000 feet.
We have obviously landed but I didn't feel a thing, I wake feeling quite refreshed but I am eager to eat and head over to the stadium to see Ana. Vera serves a continental breakfast, I help myself to cheese, meat, bread and coffee, I don't know when food will next be available so best fill up now.
Taylor is ready with a hired SUV picked up locally, Sawyer is in the front passenger side and Elliot and I ride comfortably in the back. Getting into the stadium is hell, so many people driving and even more people walking the remaining distance that have either parked outside the area or used buses. As a part owner of a team we are entitled to park inside the stadium in an allocated car park. However that's if we can get through the mass of people first. Then the stadium security were reluctant to let us through until they spoke to Ray Steele who confirmed we were legitimate even though we had the appropriate documentation. Still, I am all for security, checking and double checking.
I hurry toward the GSR pit, it's very noisy, dirty and smelly but I am focussed on seeing Ana. As we enter the garage, I see her, she is in her fire retardant race suit but her hair is fanned around her shoulders, she has no make-up on and looks more beautiful. She looks over and smiles when she sees me but we both have to act in a restrained manner and I don't want her distracted by me or anything when she is driving around the track at crazy speeds.
"Hello again Christian" she smiles warmly but doesn't give any indication that we know each other on anything but a professional scale.
"Miss Steele, a pleasure as always" I kiss the top of her hand "Good luck today"
"Thank you" she smiles again before her race engineer takes her away for more instruction.
"Mr Grey, Mr Grey, such a pleasure to have you here today" Ray Steele comes in from out the front.
"Please call me Elliot" Elliot reaches his hand out and shakes Ray's and I do the same "Please its Christian" Ray nods
"I hope you will excuse me, as you can imagine it is a very busy day for me so I must carry on" Ray sounds apologetic.
"Of course Ray, please carry on, we don't want to be any trouble" I say honestly. Ray nods and continues on with his work.
Tim, one of the pit crew takes time out to show us a few things on the car, in the engine and inside the cage. I am amazed by the technology and man hours that go into these cars and understand why everyone cringes when things break, have mechanic failures or the cars get spun off the track.
"We have a viewing box above the garage, if you would like to see the race, please feel free to use it" Tim says pointing to a grey door.
"Thank you Tim" Elliot says "Oh how long until the race starts and what position is Miss Steele in?
"Race starts in 45 minutes and Steeley is starting in 22nd place out of 43 runners" he replies.
"That's great"
"Yes it is brilliant" Tim beams and I really get the sense that the whole team is right behind her all the way.
The car looks fantastic with the new logos, Grey Steele Racing across the bonnet and GSR on other panels. Other logos will hopefully join ours shortly. The announcer gives the 15 minute warning over the tannoy and a huge cheer goes up from around the stadium, the tension in the garage is palpable so we decide to go up to the viewing box.
As we go through the door, I hear Ana's voice behind me…
"Christian" I turn and she fling's her arms around me, fortunately we are shielded by the door and we are not far enough up the steps for anyone else to see.
"Ana, are you ok?"
"Yes, I just need a good luck kiss" well who am I to disappoint? She backs me into the wall, I lift her up and she wraps her legs around me as we share a lingering passionate embrace.
"I hope that can be classed as a good luck kiss" I say.
"Hmm, I will expect some more later" she runs her hand over my crotch which is swelling considerably and then she is gone.
"What are you doing down there Christian? You are gonna miss the line-up and start" Elliot shouts from up the stairs.
"I coming" I yell back.
The two minute warning sounds over the stadium to an even bigger roar from the crowd, all the cars are lining up but my focus is on number 25 half way down the grid. A huge cheer goes up and the race has begun, everyone pulls away with no incidents. A television screen flicks in in the corner, no sound but it is displaying some facts about Daytona, each lap is 2.5 miles and they do 500 laps in this race, bad weather is predicted for this race but hopefully it will miss us and it gives the current racers positions, I for one, am glad for that as I cannot tell who is leading at times.
The race seems to be running smoothly; the announcer is keeping track of where everyone is placed, pointing out near misses and giving the occasional career history in quieter moments.
Lap 71 brings the first drama when a car loses control exiting the pit lane, he bounces across the grass but retains control however the mistake costs him a lot of places.
Elliot is on the edge of his seat, his face fixed on the racers, he is clenching and unclenching his hands, shouting the occasional 'come on!' or 'shit, that was close' and then I look at myself, I am sweating slightly and feel very fidgety, I don't think that will change until Ana crosses the finish line.
"Fucking hell!" I yell and hurry toward the glass front, lap 146 brings a pile up and I am frantically searching for Ana's car. I see it; she has not been caught up in the crash. I am not sure my heart can cope with this; I swear I have aged years in the last 20 seconds.
"Chill bro, its fine" Elliot is standing next to me with his hand on my shoulder "you care about her don't you?"
"There is just something about her Elliot"
"Whoa, blown engine" Elliot yells seeing the smoke rise into the air. I glance over the track to find Ana again and I keep my eyes firmly on her car.
"Holy shit Christian, another pile up, damn that's bad when there is only 7 laps to go" Elliot yells.
"Yeah, unlucky" I say distractedly as I am watching Ana tussle with another driver.
"Oh my god, she is off! That bastard pushed her off the track" I vehemently curse the other driver "it was deliberate, he pushed and pushed until she lost control" I watch her bouncing across the grass, into the inner track retaining wall before crawling to the pit lane.
I fly out of the box, down the stairs and into the garage
"Is she ok? He pushed her off the track, he shouldn't get away with it" I run my hand through my hair quite violently.
"Ana is fine Christian, I have spoken to her on the radio" Ray says calmly, I have to remember she is his daughter and is probably watching the race with his heart in his mouth.
"Good, but surely who ever that was should be penalized for doing that?" I say anxiously.
"No they won't, it is classed as 'rubbing' and a 'racing incident'" Ray explains but I am still fuming at the audacity of the driver. "You don't expect any of these drivers to willing give up places or allow a pass do you?"
Her battered car pulls into the garage and she exits via the window, removes her helmet, rolls down her race suit to her waist and speaks to the mechanic for a moment. I can see she looks miffed at being out of the race so close to the finish but in a moment she throws her head back and laughs at something said to her, the non-finish in the first race of the season is all but forgotten.
The announcement comes that Dale Earnhardt Jr has won the race and he is now taking his victory lap with the chequered flag waving. I have missed the finish but I don't care, I need to see Ana.
She bounces over, "Are you alright? That looked like a heavy impact" I say visually checking her arms, shoulders and face for signs of injury, when what I really want to do is take her in my arms, kiss her all over and never let her in a race car again.
"It wasn't too heavy, I have had worse. I might ache a little in the morning but I'm fine" she admits.
"Good race Ana, how did the car feel?" Ray has come over
"Not too bad Dad, a little loose at times but nothing I couldn't compensate for but I am kicking myself, I shouldn't have allowed Jimmie to manipulate me"
"It happens sweetie" he kisses her on the forehead "next time eh?" she nods.
"I guess I had better get changed and start packing up to move on" Ana smiles.
"Can I see you later?" I have to see her.
"I'm not sure, lots to do but I will text you"
"I can give you a tour of my plane, have food, some champagne, am I tempting you yet?" I almost beg.
"You have a plane?" her eyes widen
"The Falcon" I beam.
"Wow but I should have guessed you would have your own transport, I will contact you later" she waves as she walks back to the car.
Damn it woman, I don't like to be kept waiting…Elliot puts his arms around my shoulders.
"You got it bad bro…real bad" he smiles "but for what it's worth, I really like her"
I smile back because I realise he is right…