Gambling It All

Chapter Fifteen

Dixie was practically bouncing in her seat she was so excited. The plane she was on had had to circle the airport twice before finally being given permission to land, and it seemed like it was taking absolutely forever.

So far, nothing during her trip had gone smoothly, but once she saw Javier again, it would all be worth it, she mused.

First, her luggage went to O'Hare instead of Amsterdam, then she had had trouble finding a car service that could drive her to Assen, which was almost ninety miles from the airport.

Plus, she'd nearly missed her connecting flight due to a faulty ticket scanner in the airport.

And she'd spilled coffee on her favorite skirt, but still! She was on her way now.

She couldn't wait to get back to the 'circus' – coming home had been great for the 'sunshine, your own bed, catch up with friends' factor, but she'd missed the hustle and bustle, the competition, the excitement.

And yes, the men.

Javier, of course, but she found that she missed Cade too – they'd grown so close since she'd returned to 'bike world', and he was one of her closest confidants – something she realized was lacking in her life in California, no matter how close she and Jackie were.

And, if she was being honest, she missed Nicky too.

Well, Nicky from a few weeks ago, not sullen, bratty Nicky that had taken over his body like an alien when she left the circuit.

She missed the simple times of Gamble Ranch – she almost wished they were going there, instead of on the road for the race.

Still, Javier was in Assen, so to Assen she would go.

She hadn't told him she was coming, instead hoping it would be a happy surprise to see her before qualifying got underway. From the sounds of it, he'd been having trouble with the track all week, but Nicky seemed to be performing strongly so far.

She hoped that maybe she would be able to bring some much needed good luck to Javier – and to bring them closer as a, dare she say it, as a couple.

She'd decided that this was the weekend – to finally trust him enough to go to bed with him, and hope that he accepted her as she was.

In truth, she was dying to go to bed with him, but past experiences with men in the bedroom had made her cautious – she just wanted to make sure the time was right to tell him.

She also hoped she'd be able to talk with Nicky – really talk to him – about what was going on with the two of them. They wouldn't be a very productive training team if they can't communicate, can't get past whatever roadblock they've each put up with the other.

It was time to straighten things out on a number of levels, Dixie thought with a smile – and to take a Spanish lover, she thought with flushed cheeks and an embarrassed laugh.

Dixie grabbed the armrests as the airplane came to a bumpy rest on the runway, and practically leapt from her seat when the seatbelt sign was turned off.

It was time to go racing again – now.

**

After swinging by the hotel to check into a room – without luggage, but still, it was nice to have somewhere to freshen up a bit – Dixie had taken the car to the track, despite the earliness of the hour. She knew the teams would be up and at 'em, and often the drivers were as well on qualifying day, so she fully expected to run into Javier and Nicky not long after breakfast.

She thanked the driver of the team car as he delivered her to the back fence line of the hauler area and she used her hard pass to get through the security that was in charge of entrances there. Her footfalls gained speed as she hurried towards the coaches, mentally debating where to go first – Cade's hauler, or Javier's?