Vera

Chapter 39

Vera

I'm still getting use to not having Silas with me all the time. Back in Florida the only time we were apart is when he was at school and I was at work. I can tell how much this move has opened him up, made him brighter. He has more people he can talk to and family he can rely on. We're staying here for good, and Santi and I's relationship has started to rebuild itself.

He's an amazing father and great man. He's so much more mature and wise. And hot. He has more stress lines from over the years and a few strands of grew hair peaking through his roots, but that man still makes all the oxygen vanish from a room. He still has a dominance that people obey and a hold over me. I had a dream about him a few days ago that left me hot and wide awake. There's blanketed tension between us and I'm trying to be patient and all of that, but it's not working.

"We're here." I'm pulled from my fog of thoughts by Santi. After making a few calls, he said he had a surprise. I followed and now we're in front of a storage building. I look over at him in confusion. Does he have to run a business errand? Is this one of his storage units? Before I can ask any questions, Santi gets out of the car, loops around, and opens my door. He pulls me along until we're standing in the middle of the road. My brows furrow with the utter lack of explanation.

"Just wait." I stand by his side doing as he says, about 30 long seconds later I hear the rev of an engine. Multiple engines. I hear people cheering and a muffled voice, loud like an announcer would be. I hear the shriek of tires on pavement. And later comes the smell of rubber burning. My heart starts pumping faster out of old practice. My adrenaline starts pumping, and my feet start moving, Santi in tow with a smile on his lips. As I get closer, the noise gets louder and the smell gets stronger.

I turn the corner and in a big crowd against the back storage wall is an audience, cheering and whistling. Standing in front of the crowd is a man with a microphone listing off racers. And farther away from the people is 5 cars sitting at a starting line. A trail of cones give them their guidelines and a flag girl sways her hips as she walks to the cars.

"I know you don't race anymore because of Si but there's no harm in watching and being able to talk about racing again to people who love it just like you." Santiago says over the roar of the crowd. God, I want to hug and kiss him right now, but I'm mesmerized by the black and white checkered flag. The flag girl reaches the cars and seductively raises her arms above her head, holds it for suspense, then drops them. Engines roar, the crowd screams, the spokesman narrates, and I watch.

It's a smooth act of the cars going around the cones on the pavement. The car that initially takes the lead is a striking red Ford Mustang GTD. It keeps its considerable lead until it's cut off by a black McLaren Speedtail. The McLaren speeds off and stays in the lead the Mustang not far behind and the rest of the cars not even close, except one. An Aston Martin Valhalla sneakily and steadily moves up the ranks and at the last second steals first place, winning the race. The crowd celebrates and praises the racer.

I turn to Santiago with a beaming smile. I throw my arms around him and squeal from excitement. He picks me up in his arms and spins me around. He places me back on solid ground with a smile on his face. His skin crinkles in the corners from it, just like his mom.

"We have a treat for you all today. A former champion will be delivering the price herself to this new, mysterious winner." My joy turns into curiosity. Who's presenting the prize? Women racers weren't very common when I was racing. Maybe there was someone after or before me that I don't know about.