Unchartered Waters ✅

Chapter 122: Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt

Saturday, April 18 – Bristol Motor Speedway

Alex walks over, hamburger and fries in hand, sitting beside Ryan as he glances over with a smile.

He never thought he'd be sitting down watching races with Ryan. He never thought they'd be sharing conversations about Chase together. He never thought he'd overly enjoy the company together.

However, there they sat together, ready to watch the sight before them in seeing their man battle for the glory tonight.

"I owe you desert since you covered dinner tonight," Alex comments, immediately catching Ryan's attention who had a smirk on his face. it was obviously clear where his mind had gone already.

"I have no problem with that payment at all," Ryan replies to which Alex just chuckles in response, knowing he'd get a thrill out of that as well later on. Thankfully, there were no fans sitting close to where they were or else things may get a little interesting. "Hopefully we're both having to pay the man for a good performance tonight."

"I told him no pressure, except the fact that I almost took that truck to victory lane if it wasn't for Stewart." Ryan nods his head, remembering watching that those finals at COTA with dread and heartbreak over what happened.

"I give you all the kudos in the world for being brave enough to apologize to Kyle in that moment. Everybody else would be afraid of getting their head chopped off." Alex chuckles, nervously, knowing that was certainly a possibility when he walked over. However, he also knew exactly what happened.

"If it was me who fucked the corner, then I definitely would've been getting that punch." Ryan wasn't about to argue that, knowing the way Kyle's temper seemed to work.

Chase started off the race solidly, keeping himself in the top-10. He would fall back a bit through the beginning of the final stage, though survived the chaos that seemed to ensure with a solid seventh-place finish.

Following a quick debrief with Kevin Manion as well as a thank you for the opportunity, he made his way back to the motorcoach. He then makes his way inside, slipping off the top of his firesuit immediately with a sigh.

"It seems someone needs some more dirt practice," Alex comments as he sneaks up behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Lucky for you, I could be your teacher and show you the ropes."

"And what happens when I kick your ass tomorrow?" Chase questions as Alex immediately lets go, surprised by the response in return. The lack of response caught Chase off-guard, as he turned to face him with a chuckle. "Well?"

"Let's just say that is not happening.." Chase just chuckles as he reaches in the fridge, grabbing a bottle of juice to drink. He then leans back against the counter, drinking it. "And you should go get a shower. You're leaving dirt everywhere in here."

"Has anyone ever called you a clean freak before?" Alex nods his head, having heard it constantly for the guys that worked for him. What was wrong with wanting to have everything perfectly clean and organized? "Are you going to join me, perhaps?"

"I'm sure that's what you would like..." Chase nods his head as he reaches out for Alex's hand, slowly clasping as a small smirk forms on Chase's face. "There's nothing to celebrate tonight, but I can't let you waste the water alone. Besides, I need to make sure you get the dirt from everywhere out of you."

"Can't believe a clean freak like yourself likes racing dirt as much as you do..." Chase sets his drink on the counter, walking down the small hallway to the bathroom doorway. "Where's Ryan?"

"He's spending the night with Isabelle. She travelled down this weekend, and he wants to make it worth her while. He did say he was going to be dreaming about you, though." Chase just chuckles in response, though admittedly was caught off-guard in how accepting Isabelle was about the new found chemistry between Ryan, Alex, and himself.