surprised as she was concerned. “Are you serious? That’s too fast … I mean, you were a passenger, right?”
“Yes … But next week I’ll drive.”
“At two-hundred miles an hour?”
“Maybe.” He laughed again. “Okay, maybe half that.”
“Hmmm.” She wasn’t sure how she felt about him racing as part of his moviemaking. “Shouldn’t you have a stunt double?”
“And miss all the fun?” His eyes sparkled with the challenge. “Come on, Bailey … You should know me better than that.”
“So …” she relaxed a little. He would be fine … no one would let him get hurt. “What was it like … in a car that fast?”
“It’s the weirdest thing …” A sense of adventure shone in his eyes. “At first it’s like you can’t believe you’re going that fast. But at a certain speed — I don’t know, maybe a hundred and eighty or so — everything starts to feel like it’s in slow motion. The edges are blurred, and the only thing you can really make out is the track ahead of you.”
Bailey imagined herself in a car moving that fast. “Sounds crazy.”
“It is.” The familiar flirting returned to his expression. “But you know what?”
“What?”
“Even though the director told me to think about how the car might handle, which groove to be in, and whether I’d sling-shot the car ahead of me …” He nodded a few times, his eyes sparkling. “And even though I did that for the first two laps … by the third time around the track, you know what I was thinking?”
“How soon you could get out of there?”
“No.” He moved closer to the screen, his expression lockedon hers. His eyes had never looked more sincere. “I was thinking about you.”
“Brandon, …” She laughed a little, but she didn’t look away. He had this effect on her more often lately, making her dizzy, filling her senses with his presence even when he was three-thousand miles away. The teasing in her tone kept the conversation fun. “Come on … be serious.”
“I am.” He tossed his hands in the air and gave her his best helpless expression. “I can only imagine if I were behind the wheel. They’d radio me to pit and I’d just keep driving … around and around and around. Thinking about Bailey Flanigan.”
For the slightest instant she felt a whisper of fear. From the time she met Brandon, she hadn’t expected anything to come of their friendship. He was so different from her, his visibility and the life he lived. If she let herself fall for him, at some point she’d have to deal with the big questions:
Where would they live? How would she tolerate the public eye? What parts of his past would she need to know about?
Questions she wasn’t ready to consider. But she would have to deal with them at some point. Because at the rate they were going, she wasn’t sure she could stop herself from falling for him.
“What are you thinking?” This was another difference with having a video conversation on Skype. In a phone call, a person could hide in the little silences between conversation points. But here … face to face … emotional depth was harder to miss.
She smiled. “You know me too well.”
“I try.” He settled back in his chair again, studying her. “Have I told you how much I miss you?”
“Once or twice.” She picked up a pen and paper and doodled a picture of the
Hairspray
marquee. “Well, … I better get some sleep.”
“Me too.” He gave her a look of mock seriousness. “I’ve never been so tired.”
She laughed out loud. “You always do that … you make me laugh whenever you want.”
“Not whenever I want.” His voice softened. “Otherwise I’d make you laugh in the morning and at lunchtime and at night … and we’d never have to rely on Skype again.”
The thought sounded wonderful. The last time she and Brandon were together — at her house when she was packing her things for New York — she’d enjoyed every minute. “With your life, we’d probably
“Yes … But next week I’ll drive.”
“At two-hundred miles an hour?”
“Maybe.” He laughed again. “Okay, maybe half that.”
“Hmmm.” She wasn’t sure how she felt about him racing as part of his moviemaking. “Shouldn’t you have a stunt double?”
“And miss all the fun?” His eyes sparkled with the challenge. “Come on, Bailey … You should know me better than that.”
“So …” she relaxed a little. He would be fine … no one would let him get hurt. “What was it like … in a car that fast?”
“It’s the weirdest thing …” A sense of adventure shone in his eyes. “At first it’s like you can’t believe you’re going that fast. But at a certain speed — I don’t know, maybe a hundred and eighty or so — everything starts to feel like it’s in slow motion. The edges are blurred, and the only thing you can really make out is the track ahead of you.”
Bailey imagined herself in a car moving that fast. “Sounds crazy.”
“It is.” The familiar flirting returned to his expression. “But you know what?”
“What?”
“Even though the director told me to think about how the car might handle, which groove to be in, and whether I’d sling-shot the car ahead of me …” He nodded a few times, his eyes sparkling. “And even though I did that for the first two laps … by the third time around the track, you know what I was thinking?”
“How soon you could get out of there?”
“No.” He moved closer to the screen, his expression lockedon hers. His eyes had never looked more sincere. “I was thinking about you.”
“Brandon, …” She laughed a little, but she didn’t look away. He had this effect on her more often lately, making her dizzy, filling her senses with his presence even when he was three-thousand miles away. The teasing in her tone kept the conversation fun. “Come on … be serious.”
“I am.” He tossed his hands in the air and gave her his best helpless expression. “I can only imagine if I were behind the wheel. They’d radio me to pit and I’d just keep driving … around and around and around. Thinking about Bailey Flanigan.”
For the slightest instant she felt a whisper of fear. From the time she met Brandon, she hadn’t expected anything to come of their friendship. He was so different from her, his visibility and the life he lived. If she let herself fall for him, at some point she’d have to deal with the big questions:
Where would they live? How would she tolerate the public eye? What parts of his past would she need to know about?
Questions she wasn’t ready to consider. But she would have to deal with them at some point. Because at the rate they were going, she wasn’t sure she could stop herself from falling for him.
“What are you thinking?” This was another difference with having a video conversation on Skype. In a phone call, a person could hide in the little silences between conversation points. But here … face to face … emotional depth was harder to miss.
She smiled. “You know me too well.”
“I try.” He settled back in his chair again, studying her. “Have I told you how much I miss you?”
“Once or twice.” She picked up a pen and paper and doodled a picture of the
Hairspray
marquee. “Well, … I better get some sleep.”
“Me too.” He gave her a look of mock seriousness. “I’ve never been so tired.”
She laughed out loud. “You always do that … you make me laugh whenever you want.”
“Not whenever I want.” His voice softened. “Otherwise I’d make you laugh in the morning and at lunchtime and at night … and we’d never have to rely on Skype again.”
The thought sounded wonderful. The last time she and Brandon were together — at her house when she was packing her things for New York — she’d enjoyed every minute. “With your life, we’d probably
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