A Day in the Life of...

Invisible Strings- Ross Chastain

This is a "backdoor pilot" to a future project!

This is the kind to woman Ross Chastain should be with
OMG the other girl he's been seen with isn't pretty enough
Taylor Kennedy is such a plain looking girl, she doesn't deserve Ross
Taylor set her phone down on the table in the media center. She had retreated to the media before opening ceremonies for multiple reasons. One was to get some media work done. Taylor worked for NASCAR, running their social media accounts. Sure, Taylor knew she should be out on pit road, but she was in the media center for another reason. Ross. Taylor was on her way to see him like he asked when she had seen some blonde come up next to him and looped her arm into his. She had stopped dead in her tracks before turning and practically ran away. Taylor knew they weren't exclusive as they made the decision. But, for Taylor? Ross was the only guy she had been seeing. For Ross? She didn't know. Taylor didn't want to know.
"Taylor?" Taylor jumped slightly out of her chair.
"Hey, Jeff."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, you've looked at your phone at least ten times in the last minute."
"I'm fine, really."
"What's really going on?"
"I'm 30 years old. Why the hell did I agree to a non-exclusive relationship with one of the hottest Cup drivers?"
Taylor spilled. "I'm not getting any younger and when I saw Ross with that blonde..."
"I don't know exactly what to tell you."
"I should just cut my losses now and be single for the rest of my life. I'm gonna get back to work." Jeff said nothing as he walked away. Taylor sighed, putting her head on the table. She grabbed her phone, pulling up Instagram. She searched the NASCAR tag before scrolling through the posts until she found her. The blonde. She was some Instagram model named Allegra Scott. Taylor had seen her a few times at the track before, obviously around other drivers. Taylor stared at the photo of her and Ross, her heart breaking seeing the smile on his face. She slammed her phone down, getting a few media members to stare at her. She grabbed the NASCAR phone to start her job. The race only made 78 circuits until the skies opened up.
"This might look like it's going to be a Monday race." Someone said.
"That would be fine if I didn't have a taping for NASCAR.com tomorrow." Taylor responded with. They all watched the TV screen, seeing Daniel and Ross being interviewed by Regan Smith. Taylor turned away. She took a deep breath and got back to work. She couldn't concentrate though. Her phone chimed.
Can we talk?
It was Ross. Taylor bit her lip. She went back to Instagram and saved the photo.
I'm busy.
Please
Fine. I'm in the media center. I'll meet you outside.
Taylor stood up and grabbed her umbrella before heading outside. She found Ross standing outside with his own umbrella.
"I'm assuming by how quickly you got here, you knew where I was already."
"Pockrass tweeted a photo of the media center and I saw you in the background."
"What do you want?"
"I thought you were coming to see me before the race."
"I was, but then I saw you with her."
"Who?"
"Allegra. The Instagram model slash pit lizard. Y'all were looking pretty cozy."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Taylor brought up the screenshot.
"'Hanging out with this hottie before the race! Man, I love this man!' That's the caption."
"Taylor..."
"I know we agreed to a non-exclusive relationship, but I can't compete with this! I'm just some plain Jane looking girl. This is someone you should be dating."
"Taylor..."
"Have you two..."
"We went out on a few dates." Ross revealed.
"Right. I should get back to work. You should go find Allegra."
"Taylor, please."
"I'm 30 years old. I don't need this. How could I ever think that plain Taylor Kennedy could grab the full attention of Ross Chastain when he's got girls like Allegra Scott hanging on him." Ross stood there speechless as he watched Taylor retreat back into the media center, not seeing the hot tears that fell from her eyes as she left.
***
The race was postponed until Monday, much to Taylor's dismay. All she wanted to do was to go home and prepare for the week.Taylor looked at herself in the full-length mirror in her hotel room, absolutely hating how she looked in just a tank top and her underwear. As Taylor continued to look at herself in the mirror, she thought about what Allegra had that she didn't. Allegra was this tall, skinny blonde. Her hips and breasts proportionate to the rest of her body. Taylor, on the other hand, barely stood over 5 feet with plain brown hair with flecks of gray starting to show. Her hips were wider than she liked and as for her breasts? They always got in the way. She didn't have to think about what Allegra looked like in a tank and underwear as that's almost all she posted. Taylor sighed, heading over to the bed. As she flopped down, her phone rang. She didn't want to answer, but knew she had to. It was her mom.
"Hello?"
"Taylor!"
"Hi mom."
"How did the race go?"
"Rained out until tomorrow. So, I'm sitting in a dinky hotel room for the night."
"Why aren't you staying with..."
"Ma."
"I'm just checking in on..."
"Do you do this with Jordan? Chelsea? Lauren? Daniel?"
"Well..."
"I'm a grown woman. I can handle myself."
"After the divorce..."
"That was easy to deal with. Xander cheating on me was another thing. Four years down the drain."
"So this new guy you're dating..."
"We're seeing each other, not dating. There's a difference."
"What guy would just want to see my daughter. She's an absolute catch."
"Ma..."
"I'm just saying!"
"Why are you calling me? Aren't you and dad supposed to be living it up in Tokyo today?" Ava and Henry Kennedy were spending every time they had post-retirement traveling the world. The Tokyo leg of the trip was a gift from all five Kennedy kids.
"We had a bit of a break and I wanted to check in on you."
"I'm fine. Really, mom."
"If you say so."
"I have to get some sleep. I have to be at the track early."
"Okay, honey. Let us know how it goes."
"I will. Love you mom."
"Love you too." Taylor let out a breath as soon as she hung up the phone. In her five-minute conversation with Ava, Taylor had two texts from Ross.
We can't just leave things like this.
Can we talk tomorrow? Before the race?
Taylor didn't respond. Instead, she plugged in her phone, turned off the lights, and crawled into bed.
***
"Taylor!" Taylor turned towards the voice, seeing Justin Marks, jogging towards her.
"Hey, Justin. Congrats on the win last week. Sorry I haven't had the time last week to say something." Taylor said, giving him a one-armed hug. Taylor missed working with Justin when he drove for Chip Ganassi. That's how Taylor and Ross first met. Justin had offered her a job at Trackhouse as the head of the social media department, but she had respectively declined. Taylor liked her job with NASCAR too much to leave.
"Thanks, Taylor. I have something for you." He said, holding out a cup.
"Coffee?"
"I'm figuring you were here early, so you didn't get any yet."
"I'm so predictable." Justin smiled.
"Just a little." Taylor took a sip and a smiled spread across her face. It was exactly what she always ordered when she got coffee.
"How did you know what I liked?" She asked bringing the cup up to her lips again. "I never had coffee at Ganassi."
"I didn't. Ross did." Taylor stopped and looked at Justin.
"Oh. Be sure to thank him for me. Thanks for the coffee."
"You should really thank him yourself."
"I'll send him a text." Taylor said as she walked away towards the media center. As she got closer, Taylor heard his voice calling her name. Instead of turning around, she kept walking.
"Taylor, please." Taylor stopped and turned to face him. "You got your coffee."
"Thanks."
"Can we talk?"
"I have work to do."
"Taylor."
"How was your rainy night?" Taylor asked, crossing her arms in front of her.
"Boring."
"So Allegra is boring now?"
"She wasn't in my bus."
"Oh?"
"She was probably at some expensive hotel with her Tik Toker turned movie star boyfriend last night."
"I..."
"Can you let me explain to you now?" Taylor didn't say a word. "I should have told you about my past with Allegra. We went out a few times, yes, but not in a while. Before we started seeing each other."
"Answer me this. How many women are you currently seeing?"
"One."
"One other?"
"No, just one. The one standing in front of me."
"Then why label this non-exclusive?"
"I suggested it because I didn't think you'd want an actual relationship after your messy divorce."
"I couldn't care less about the divorce. My marriage was basically over as soon as it started. I told you that."
"I didn't think you'd want to commit."
"I'm 30 years old, Ross. I'm not a casual person."
"I get that. Are you seeing..."
"Just you. I'm too old to be seeing more than one guy at a time." Ross laughed.
"You're not old."
"Older than you." Ross just smiled. "I like your crooked smile."
"Have we cleared the air?" Taylor nodded. "Can I kiss you now?"
"Maybe..."
"I'm sorry everything got so mixed up with this entire thing. I should have just asked you out like an actual adult and not some frat boy trying to get as much..." Taylor cut him off with a kiss.
"I should have told you I didn't want to see anyone else."
"So we're in agreement? Just you and just me? Nobody else?"
"Just us." Ross leaned down and placed a kiss on Taylor's lips. "You should probably head to pit road." She said between kisses.
"I don't think Justin would want me late. Coming with me?"
"I have work to do." Ross stuck out his bottom lip. "I'll be right at your pit when you're done."
"Promise?"
"Promise."