Ignite

Emmit pulled his ear buds out of his ears and handed me his iPod and the ear buds. “Yep.”

“Don’t be nervous, baby. You’ve got this. Just listen to Waldo and your spotter.”

The sound of Emmit’s neck cracking made me look over to my father for some reason. Chewing on my lower lip, I brought my attention back to Emmit. “I love you.”

Emmit’s whole body froze. Cupping my face with his hands, he smiled and rubbed his nose on mine before he softly kissed my lips. “I love you too, pumpkin. I promise I’ll be careful.”

I wanted more than anything to wrap my arms around him and deepen the kiss, but there was now a camera shoved right in our face.

Ugh.

As I took a step back, I smiled as I felt the heat move across my cheeks.

After “The Star Spangled Banner” was sung, the drivers started climbing into their cars. This was the part I hated. Having to walk away while he got ready to drive. Leaning into the car once more, I fought to hold my tears back. “I have a surprise for you.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yep!” I said as I popped my P. “Meet me over in victory lane after the race and I’ll give it to you.”

Emmit laughed and gave me a thumbs-up. “See you in a few, baby.”

I walked a few steps back as I watched them get Emmit ready. Turning, I bumped into Ashley. “Ashley! Hey it’s good to see you.”

Ashley glanced over to Emmit and lifted her hand as she smiled weakly at him. “I didn’t get to talk to him today. I was upset and ignored his calls.”

My heart dropped for a brief second. “You can still talk to him really quick. Come on before they put his helmet on.”

Walking Ashley over toward Emmit, I stopped just short of the car and let her walk over to him.

“Hey, big brother. I just wanted to say good luck. Kick ass. I’ll talk to you after the race.”

“Hey, baby sis. I love you and I’ll see you soon.”

Ashley smiled and took a few steps back as Emmit glanced over to me. He put his helmet on and now all you could see was his eyes. For some reason I thought it was the hottest damn thing ever . . . just seeing those gray eyes looking back at me.

With a smile, I turned and headed toward my father with Ashley walking alongside me.

Robert smiled when he saw Ashley. “Johnny seems to be smitten with your friends.”

Ashley laughed and nodded her head. “Yeah. They helped him walk Lola.”

That sparked my attention. “What?” I asked.

“Oh, we stopped by the bus and little Johnny was outside playing with Lola. My girlfriends, Becca and Janet, walked Lola with Johnny and played for a little bit.”

I nodded my head and said, “Well, Johnny is going to be a little heartbreaker. I can see why your friends were smitten with him.”

Ashley chuckled. “Speaking of, I’m going to go find them. Emmit was sweet enough to give full passes to each of them. They’re probably in their seats. See you after the race, sis!”

Waving, I said, “See ya, Ashley.” I couldn’t help but notice how Ashley looked over at Malcolm’s car. And I really couldn’t help but notice how Malcolm never took his eyes off of her as she walked by.

“Oh shit,” I mumbled as I turned back and looked at Emmit. “That’s not going to turn out well.”

“What isn’t?” my father asked.

I shook my head and looked at my father. “Oh, just the fact that Malcolm Wallace seems to have taken an interest in Ashley.”

My father looked over at Malcolm and sighed. “Let’s just hope he uses his head with this one.”