Only the Lonely {Chase Elliott} ✔️

xiii.

chase looked over at kathryn claire as the cars got ready for the green flag. she looked at him, her hazel eyes sparkling with excitement, a wide grin on her face. her fingers found his, squeezing them in anticipation.

chase grinned back and they fell into a comfortable silence as they watched the start of the race.

"when am i going to get to see you again?" chase finally asked after the race settled into a rhythm.

kathryn claire gave him a sideways look, "i mean, i was planning on seeing you tomorrow."

chase paused, giving her a pointed look before letting out a semi-sarcastic sigh, "i meant after tomorrow."

kathryn claire chewed on her lip for a moment, "i'm not sure. maybe chicagoland in three weeks, although i don't think i'd be able to get the whole weekend off..." her voice trailed off. "if not then, i don't know, maybe when you come back to michigan in august."

chase shook his head, "i don't want to go that long without seeing you."

she let out a laugh that left a bitter taste in his mouth, "my landlord and the university of michigan really don't care about that and neither does my boss." she bit her lip, almost as if she was trying to keep herself from saying something.

"what?" chase questioned.

she shrugged, "it's mean."

"say it," chase prodded, "i'm a big boy, i can take it."

she let out a breath, "you don't understand. some of us weren't born into money so we can't just drop everything and travel the country."

chase nodded, she was right, he didn't understand. "i'm sorry..." an idea popped into his mind, "travel with me for the summer, i can cover your rent and stuff while you're not working."

kathryn claire turned to him, a stunned look in her eyes, "you met me like an hour ago, that's a little crazy, i think. besides, i don't want your pity money."

"it might be a little crazy, yes. it's not pity money. what if i put you to work?" chase cocked his eyebrow, waiting for her response.

"what kind of work?" she shot back, unconvinced.

chase shrugged, he hadn't thought that far ahead, "i could talk to the guys in the garage, you could get some experience there. i bet that would look good on a resume? we could call it an internship."

kathryn claire thought for a moment, "i don't think i'd be comfortable with you paying my bills."

chase grabbed her hand, squeezing it, "i can help."

she shook her head, "as much as i'd love to do it, i can't."

chase drooped, "okay," he murmured. he winced as they settled into an awkward silence, afraid that he had just ruined everything.

"if you can get that internship to be paid, i'll do it. coincidentally, my lease is up this week and i should be able to cover tuition with everything i've saved, i just might have to take out a loan." she shrugged, "but you're right, having hms on a resume would be a foot in the door."

chase nodded, a smile spreading across his face. "i'll give rick a call now." he excused himself, stepping into the suite, dialing rick's number.

"chase, my boy. what can i do for you?" rick's voice boomed on the other end.

"i need a favor, sir. i have a friend who is looking for an internship. she's studying engineering at the university of michigan." chase tapped his foot nervously.

"i'd love to meet her and see if she'd be a fit, we have one more unpaid internship spot open for your team, actually." rick informed chase.

chase's stomach dropped for a moment but he quickly recovered, "that sounds good, just one thing. i'm going to give you the money for it to be paid but you can't tell her. she has to think that it's a paid position."

rick chuckled, "part of me thinks that i should ask for an explanation but i'm just going to mind my business. bring her to the headquarters sometime this week and we'll get everything settled."

chase smiled, looking out to kathryn claire, her big eyes looking at him expectantly, "thank you sir. have a good rest of your weekend."

chase hung up, stepping back outside. "he wants to meet you but i'm sure he'll love you."

kathryn claire chewed on her bottom lip, a nervous habit that chase had noticed, "and it's for sure paid, right?"

chase gave her a weak smile, "right. we have the off week this week so i figure i can stay here and help you pack and get your things moved into a storage locker and then we'll head down to charlotte to meet with rick and then back up to sonoma." he hated that he was lying to her again. but he something in his gut told him that he needed her with him. "it's going to be fun. we'll be on an adventure."

she relaxed, a smile spreading across her face that made chase's heart pound.

"i can't wait."