Things were mostly business as usual, the only difference now being Ava’s presence. We’d only spoken a couple of times since arriving in Miami, but I didn’t see it as unusual. The days leading up to qualifying were always pretty damn busy. As much as I tried to be friendly with her, she seemed distant. I wouldn’t say she was pissed at me, but something was different about her. In fact, when I’d seen her the day before in the hotel lobby, she seemed cold as ice.

Anyway, we were at the track the next afternoon when I’d just come out of the garage headed to one of the team trailers. Emerging into the bright sunlight, I hooded my eyes with my hand and spotted a familiar figure walking in the opposite direction.

“Ava!” I called out.

She stopped and looked at me. Taking that as my cue, I walked over towards her. She looked sexy as hell standing there. The sun’s rays reflected in her long, dark red hair, causing it to shine. She wore a tight T-shirt and a pair of jeans that hugged her feminine curves like the tires on my car did in a tight turn. Even though she still eluded me until now, I had no intention of letting that continue. I slid my tongue across my lips as I approached.

“What’s up?” I said.

She shook her head as I neared.

“Oh nothing,” she said, patting her hand against a manila folder tucked under her arm. “I just have to get some signatures from Darren.”

“Okay,” I replied, tilting my chin up at her. “I, um, haven’t seen you around. What have you been up to?”

She shrugged. “I’m just trying to do my job and stay out of the way as much as possible.”

Before I could say anything, she continued. “What about you? How’s everything going with the car? Are you going to be ready?”

I nodded and slid my fingers through my hair. “Yeah, we should be good to go. Gunter needs to watch his ass this time.”

Just then, a trace of a smile came to the edge of Ava’s mouth.

“Ahhh,” I began, winking at her. “So you do remember how to do that?”

“What are you talking about? Do what?”

I pointed at her. “Smile. Every time I see you around here now you look like you’re not having much fun, depressed even.”

Ava looked away from me. “It’s not intentional. I’ve just had a hard time adjusting. That’s all.”

“I understand.” I said. “It’s a lot to take in all at once. You only got to see the tail end of things in Austin. I suppose from your point of view it hasn’t been real exciting here in Miami yet, has it?”

She shook her head. “Not really, no.”

I leaned against a nearby retaining wall. “Have you had a chance to get out? See the sights? Go to the beach?”

“Yes,” she began. “I finally made it to the beach yesterday. I wish I’d gone sooner. It was just what I needed.”

While I listened to her, something still didn’t seem right.

“Hey,” I said, snapping my fingers. “Why don’t we go out and grab a bite to eat later? We haven’t hung out for a while. It will give us a chance to catch up.”

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea, Dyson. Thank you, though.”

I frowned at her. “Was it something I said? It usually takes you a little longer to shoot me down.”

She chuckled a little. “No, I think it’s just better if we keep things, you know, a bit less friendly. I don’t mean anything by it. I do enjoy your company, but now that we’re working together it’s probably for the best if we don’t mix business and pleasure.”

I pushed myself off the wall and nodded in the direction of Darren’s trailer. Not acknowledging her comment, I said, “Come on, I’ll walk with you.”

Ava repositioned the folder, crossing her arms and hugging it to her chest. Without speaking, she turned, and we started to walk side-by-side.

“You know,” she began, glancing at me for second. “You don’t have to worry about me, if that’s what this is about.”

I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders at the same time. “I’m not worried about you, Ava. I’m trying to get into your pants.”

Something that sounded like a cross between a laugh and a scoff came out of her mouth. I smiled. It was good to hear. She quieted down after another second.

“Isn’t that what Anastasia and Svetlana are for?”

“Sometimes.”

“Uh huh,” she muttered. “Well as much I respect your honesty, that’s about the worst idea possible.”

I chuckled as we continued to walk. Changing subjects, I asked, “How’s Simon doing? Is everything okay back home?”

I looked at her and watched as she ran her fingers through her hair, tucking it behind one of her ears. She turned and smiled.

“He’s doing fine. Thank you for asking.”

“Of course. He’s a good kid. I’m sure you miss him.”

Just then, Ava stopped and faced me. I looked at her as she did. She opened her arms and held the folder in one hand.

“Thanks for the talk. I should really get this stuff to Darren.”

“Okay,” I replied. “Last chance. You sure you don’t wanna go out and do something later?”

She nodded, but before she could say anything, I continued, “Well, now that you’re an official member of the team, you really should hang out in the pits on race day. There is nothing else like it. I promise you’ll love it.”

“You never quit, do you?” she said.

“Nope. It’s not in my nature. So what do you say? You want to have some fun with all of us? Or would you rather sit in your hotel room and feel sorry for yourself?”

Ava shifted her jaw at my teasing comment.

“Okay,” she began, pursing her lips at me. “I’ll do it, if for no other reason than to keep you from asking me out again.”

With that, she offered me another small smile before heading towards Darren’s trailer. As she walked away, I allowed my eyes free roam along her backside. My fingers curled, itching to dig themselves into her hourglass figure. Licking my lips once again, I watched her hips swaying from side to side and did my best to ignore the twitch in my crotch.

“Damn.”

AVA

After my conversation with Dyson a few days earlier, my mood started to steadily improve. Part of it was due to the fact that once the race was over, we’d have a bit of a break before moving on to the next stop in Los Angeles. Also, in a strange way, hearing Dyson come right out and tell me he wanted to sleep with me somehow caused me to trust him a bit more.

Although part of me still wondered if he manipulated the situation to get me alone with him, I felt as if I’d made my desire to keep things friendly between us clear. If he did have any ulterior motives and wanted to get back at me for refusing him, he hadn’t done anything yet. Until he did, I decided to leave well enough alone and give him the benefit of the doubt.

In any case, race day arrived, and I made my way to the track to join the team.

Just as it was in Austin a month ago, the venue crawled with spectators. In a way, all the boring time leading up to the event didn’t seem so bad in retrospect. I came to enjoy the craziness surrounding race day. As I reached the pit area, the insanity ramped up to another level. Mechanics, race officials, and VIPs crammed in every square inch of space.

I weaved through the throng of people, flashing my badge to security personnel along the way. Not long after, the team appeared ahead of me. But just as I picked up my stride, someone called out my name from behind.

I stopped and turned in the direction of the voice.

Anastasia and Svetlana. Great.

Glammed out in their Grid Girl outfits, the two women marched straight up to me. Crossing my arms, I prepared myself for whatever would happen next.

Svetlana spoke first. “You. Girl. Do you not remember what we say?”

I shook my head at her. “First of all, my name is Ava. Not girl. And secondly, what the hell are you talking about?”