Race With a Heart
Chapter 216: The Challenge That Flows from Love

Chapter 216: The Challenge That Flows from Love

"Alston? I don’t want to race him, I want to race you!" Steve looked funny, at this point resembling a child who had decided he was going to sulk. Martin, however, felt no amusement. He knew how serious the situation was.

"I know," Martin relied, "but I want the three of us to go."

"But he pisses me off..."

"Me too" Martin agreed. "That’s exactly why I want to go with him. I want to take my sports anger out on him. Maybe this will be the last opportunity for me. Transfer season is coming up and we probably won’t get together."

"How about we take Jack instead of Alston?" Steve made another attempt to convince his partner, but his voice lacked conviction.

"Are you kidding? Jack is like a good brother to me. I have no incentive to want to kick his ass. But I’d like to crush Don on the track, it’s just that I haven’t had the opportunity to do it..."

"You did great in practice," Steve praised him stroking his head.

"It’s just not the same. You know that yourself. Training has its own laws."

"It will be training too."

"No, it will be a test competition," Martin assured with conviction. "It will be a great opportunity for Karl to assess the suitability of his drivers. No concessionary fare. A pure battle. You wanted me to show my best in front of Karl, so this will be the last opportunity for me this season. What do you think?"

Paxton mused. He even wrinkled his eyebrows. He was clearly preoccupied with this problem. Still thinking, he tilted his head slightly, as if he was strongly considering some options. Finally, he smiled and looked directly into Martin’s bright eyes.

"I love you, you know that?"

Martin, seeing that smile and the light in Paxton’s eyes, felt as if larks had begun to sing in his heart.

"So you agree? Will you race with me? And with Don?" he beamed.

"I will. Are you that happy about it?"

"Very much so! How excited I am!"

"Does this mean that you will already have the urge to have sex?"

"I’ll just jump to the bathroom and I’ll be all yours!" Martin promised almost jumping for joy and ran to the bathroom. He stood in the corner and dialed Walton’s number.

"Yes, Martin, what is it?" he heard the tired voice of the stable manager.

"I’m sorry to call so late, but could you arrange a test race between me, Steve and Don for tomorrow?"

"A test race?"

"Don’t you think having your friend and greatest enemy on the track will be an excellent test for Steve?"

There was silence on the other side of the phone. The silence dragged on worrying Martin. He was already about to ask if Karl was still listening to him when he heard Walton’s voice.

"Did you talk to Steve?" he said.

"He agreed."

"Then it’s settled. I’ll call Abe right away."

"Thank you, Karl!"

"No, I’m the one to thank you. Your idea may turn out to be better than you think. Well done."

Martin swayed by the praise felt even better. Steve was his love, his heart and his life. If Steve had any problem, Martin would do anything to help him.

The conversation with Teddy gave him a lot to think about. Martin didn’t know exactly what was in Paxton’s head, but if a similar experience had happened to him, Martin would probably have been afraid to get back on the track and into competitive racing. Of course, it wouldn’t be such a clear-cut fear for everyone, but Martin would probably be afraid that some inexperienced or ill-intentioned driver would cause an accident in which he and maybe even others would suffer.

Steve had been stalked for a long time and this was no one’s imagination, it was a fact. Don had supposedly gotten over it, but what if he was lying? What if similar madness will come to mind of another driver?

So Martin put himself in Steve’s shoes and approached the problem as if it were his. If such a situation had befallen him, he would have wanted to know that someone on the track had his back. Someone like that for both of them was Jack, and for Steve, probably Martin as well. Martin would also want to face his enemy, and that, no doubt, was Don Alston for Paxton. But instead of measuring himself in an official race, where there is pressure from sponsors, organizers and journalists, he would like to do it behind the scenes. What could be better than a test race?

For Martin, it would be a dress rehearsal before the real competition. It would be for real, but without too much external pressure. It would be perfect! So maybe it would be like that for Steve, too?

Martin, overjoyed, came out of the bathroom.

"Karl said yes?" asked Paxton from the off.

Martin looked at him bewildered.

"How...?"

"After all, you can’t organize it yourself, and time is pressing, so you had to ask your boss, who will organize everything. I just don’t know why you had to go to the bathroom with it."

Martin grunted blushing to the tips of his ears. Embarrassed, he lowered his gaze. Then he felt the strong arms of the man he loved so much embrace him.

"Thank you," Steve said. "I know you’re very worried about me and you’re doing this to help me. In fact... I actually don’t feel very comfortable thinking about returning to the track. I can’t understand it, maybe that’s why I didn’t tell you anything, but I went to Larissa, a psychologist I’ve been working with for several years, about it. We both think this is temporary."

Martin hugged him tightly. He was grateful that Steve had decided to confess the truth to him as he understood it. However, he also felt remorse, because he himself had been withholding something from Paxton. But should he talk about it?

"Is something wrong?" worried Steve.

"No, just... I’m also struggling with something I can’t define. I’d like to talk to you about it, but I don’t quite know what it’s about myself..."

"Is it something serious?" worried Steve and moved Martin back to shoulder distance so he could look at him. "Is it something with your health?"

"No, no," assured Martin quickly. "I just want to choose the right future for myself, but I’m not sure what I want. I’m indecisive. It’s a bit annoying. But tomorrow’s test race should help me."

There was clear relief in Steve’s face, but the anxiety did not completely disappear from his eyes, although his lips smiled warmly.

"So I guess we’ll both have to give it our all. Or even more."

Martin felt the trepidation rising in him. It wasn’t because he would be on the track racing against Paxton, because that caused him the best possible excitement. The trepidation stemmed from the fact that this test race, or rather what he would feel during it, would be decisive for his future.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Steve continued to look at him intently and with concern. He didn’t ask anything, didn’t say anything else, just tenderly slipped his hand into Martin’s hair and nuzzled his ear with his thumb. A shiver of pleasure ran through the young driver.

"I’m not pressing you too hard?" asked Steve.

"You could squeeze me harder," complained Martin. He liked it when Paxton’s touch was gentle, but preferred it when it was firmer. "Not just an ear, but something more."

"That’s not what I’m talking about. Am I pushing you too hard about racing?"

Maybe, a little bit, he wanted to concede Martin’s point to him, but he didn’t dare. Steve should now focus on his own performance on the track and his own future as a racing driver. He didn’t need to bother Martin, who, after all, was not in such a serious situation.

"Not at all," he assured almost cheerfully. "Do you know how many guys as boys dream of going as a racing driver?"

"I won’t even try to guess the exact number. How about you?"

"What about me? I don’t know the exact number either..."

"It used to be your dream to be a racing driver too, I know, because you admitted it yourself and even raced amateur, but is that also the case now? Do you still dream about it? After all, you are no longer a boy."

Yes, Martin was no longer a little boy chasing childish, naive dreams. He was a young man who was just trying to decide what his future should look like. Arguably, he should decide this with Steve, who he hoped would be a permanent and important part of that future, but Martin didn’t want to talk about it now.

"We’ll talk about it after the race, okay?" he suggested. "Now don’t make me wait any longer and take me in such a way as to blow my brains out."

"As you wish," announced Steve, and within seconds Martin was under him on the bed....