Page 27 of Not So Fast
* * *
Xander was up only one grid position from the starting order, but he’d take it. Five more laps to go. If he could just hold on, it would mean a sixth-place finish, by far his best showing this season. But the other issue was that Dirk was somewhere ahead and likely within striking distance of getting into third, which would mean a podium for the man Xander was so desperate to beat.
* * *
Mia bounced on her toes and gnawed on her fingernails as the laps ticked by. Three laps to go. Two.
From behind her, the announcer’s voice rose in volume and speed.Oh, my word! There’s Dirk Van Dijk making a mega move, no pun intended!
She whipped around to see on the TV that Dirk was up into third.Fuck.She knew it was good for the team, but she worried about what it would do to Xander. That he would continue to see himself as second-best.
She returned her attention to the track. “Come on, come on,” she muttered, leaning over the railing as the final lap started. As Xander’s car whizzed by, she made a silent wish for all to go well. She imagined him in the car, holding on for dear life.
Stay where you are, Xander.
* * *
Beads of sweat rolled down Xander’s forehead inside his helmet. So much that it felt like rain in the cockpit.
He was less than one lap away from his best finish of the season. Now it was half a lap and he dared to let himself think about the good that would come from this. Breathing room.
Come on.
A quarter lap. He checked his mirrors. Kenji was right on his ass. Xander went full beans. Final corner needed to be perfect. Final apex hit exactly. The finish line was ahead. He gave it everything. And when he sailed across with the checkered flag waving, securing his sixth-place finish, he felt like he’d just won the Drivers’ Championship. He pounded the steering wheel with his fist.
“That’s P6, Xander,” his race engineer said. “Great job. Great points.”
“Come on, baby! Let’s gooooo!” he hollered back into the radio.
“Dirk was P3. Excellent result for the team.”
Bloody hell. A podium for Dirk.
“Great. I’m so thankful for everyone’s hard work.”
The good wishes for the team were real. Any enthusiasm for Dirk was pure fakery. But none of that mattered right now. He was finally pointed in the right direction. And as he continued his cool-down lap and realized what had happened, he thought he might have Mia Neal to credit with some of this.
Because he’d looked ahead, during that race. Not back.
* * *
Xander felt like he was floating when he climbed out of the car and took off his helmet and balaclava. As he paused and looked out at the grandstands bursting with fans, he remembered why he did this. He loved the pure adrenaline of it all. Striving to be the best of the best in the entire world. He could get there. He knew it. And that was why he had to keep fighting through these struggles he was having. Today was certainly a start.
He did his post-race weigh-in, then entered the garage, which was sadly empty. All the mechanics and engineers had already headed down to get their spot in front of the podium to celebrate Dirk’s third-place finish. Part of him thought he should be a good sport, be a team player and support Dirk. Then again, Dirk was a horrible prick and had been doing everything he could to get inside Xander’s head. Dirk could sod off. Xander would celebrate on his own. All he needed was to find a bottle of champagne.
He exited the garage and headed for Mega Racing hospitality. In the distance, the Spanish national anthem was playing for Emilio, the race winner. How he hoped that one day he’d stand on that top step and listen to the strains of “God Save the King.” Even today, it still felt so far out of reach.
“There he is,” a voice came from behind him. “Mr. Sixth-Place Finish!”
He turned, confronted by Mia. Confusing, sweet, beautiful Mia. He might owe her a lot of thanks for today. But that would require admitting she might be right about him and his mental state, a fact of which he was not convinced.
“You aren’t watching the podium celebration?”
Mia waved it off. “Nah. I can’t watch Dirk up there. He’s kind of a jerk, if you haven’t noticed.”
“Oh, I noticed.”
“Plus, I’m short and the crush of people watching is no place for the vertically challenged.”
