The Royal Contract

"What are we doing here?" Jacky asked as they parked on a huge parking lot in the middle of nowhere. She saw him grabbed a bag inside his trunk before ushering her towards the building.

The place was almost empty except for a few cars parked around them. But there was a loud noise coming from the inside of the building in front of them.

"We are going to have fun. Are you up for an exciting challenge?" He asked her with a boyish grin as they entered the building. 

"Why not?" She could not help but smile too. 

She saw the signage outside, so she had a bit of an idea of what was happening inside. But she wondered if she could do it. Then, she looked at her clothes. Her sundress did not seem to match what they were about to do.

But then again, she might be overthinking his invitation. For all she knew, they were only going to watch while others do it. Well, whatever it was, she would enjoy it.

The man at the counter greeted Lance and gave him a key. "We will have everything ready for you, Sir Lance, in thirty minutes." Looking at his watch.

"Thanks. We'll go change then." Lance smiled at the man and placed a hand at her back to guide her in another direction.

"Ladies first." He indicated that she should enter the locker room. "Wait. You need to change into this." He gave her the bag he was carrying. "Hope it fits you. I had to rush to get it for you."

He had planned this last night, hoping that she would call. When she did not, he was a bit disappointed. Then, when he received her call, he rushed to have the uniform delivered to him.

"What is this?" When she peeked inside, they were colorful clothes.

"Go on. Meet you at the lobby when you are ready." He told her, persuading her to change. When she entered, he also went inside the men's locker room.

When they finally meet again in the lobby, she felt slightly awkward wearing red overall driving clothes with several patches in them. Then, she saw that it had some similarities to what Lance was wearing.

"That looks perfect on you." He complimented her when he saw her.

"Thanks, but are we doing what I think we are doing?" She asked, uncertain of what to expect on this date. It was absolutely a unique date. She had never experienced something like this, that was for sure.

"Yes, we are. I promise you that you will love it." Lance grabbed her hand and pulled her to the exit, opposite where they entered.

Then, they were once again in an open space. The earlier sound she heard was louder this time, much louder. She had to cover her ears as a car just drove by, not very far away from them.

"Are you sure we are allowed to be in here?" She slightly spoke louder to him, afraid that he would not hear her. 

She had never been to a race track before. She only had seen it in the movies or a sports channel, but she was not a fan of it. She always thought that people who did extreme sports were stupid, putting their lives on a line just for the thrill of it.

She valued her life too much to gamble it on such a very unnecessary game, hobby, or leisure, whatever the rich called it. But then again, why was she here, about to do something stupid? That was her question too.

"Don't worry. I am a professional." Lance squeezed her hand to assure her as they continued to walk on the path.

Then, the few people present in the arena started greeting them. "Are you going to race next week?" One of the people they bumped into asked Lance.

He was probably a racer too. Jacky thought since he was also wearing something similar to them.

"I still am not sure. But I did sign my name on it. Well, I'll try to see you there?" Lance answered the man as they continued down the path until they reached their destination.

A square, covered area with several people inside, working busily on a hot, gorgeous race car. "Is that your car?" She surmised from the way they talked about racing. She was beginning to believe that he was a racer. She thought earlier that he was pulling her string. 

She did not expect that he was telling her the truth. She could not think of him as someone who loved speed when he drove like he was afraid to break the law.

"Yes, that is my baby." He announced proudly. "But today, I will share her with you. Are you ok with that?"

She thought about it for a few seconds, then agreed. "Certainly." For the first time, she wanted to feel daring and experience new things. It would count as something new in her life as she rode with him in a race car. 

"Wait here." He instructed as he talked to his crew, who was double-checking everything. Then, he grabbed a phone on the side of the wall and began talking to someone. Then, he was back at her side.

"I don't want you to worry and just enjoy this moment." He was trying to convince her that nothing was going to go wrong.

"I'm sure nothing would go wrong unless you are just pretending that you knew how to race." She was feeling bold today. 

She was not going to allow what happened to her this morning to ruin her day. She was with a great guy, and she planned to take full advantage of it.

"That is something that you will have to find out later, but for now, do you know how to drive?" He asked as he led her to the tracks. The crew team was starting to push the car into position on the side.

"I do, but what does it have to do with your plan." She was confused at the relevance of her skills in driving to riding with him in his car.

"Because you are the one driving." He whispered in her ears.

"What?" She shouted at the same time, stopped in her tracks. She could not believe what she just heard. Or maybe she just misunderstood him. "Wait. You want me to drive your car." She pointed to the expensive machine. 

"Yes, why not?" Lance just smiled at her, amused at the shocked expression on her face.

"Because… because… because." She was speechless, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Because I trust you." Lance finished her sentence. "Besides, if you crush it, we won't die. There are many safety precautions on the car and the medical team standing by. No need to worry." 

"That is not that simple." She finally found her voice and her brain. "You can't just say you trust me. You don't even know me." Then, she stopped her outburst because she did not want to cry. 

She was never like this, but Lance had a way of saying the right words, acting so gallant, and looking so trustworthy that she could not stop herself from liking him.

She was suddenly feeling emotional. She was not talking about the car, but him, putting his life in her hands.

"Hey, I like you, and I believe I can trust you." He pulled her face up to his. "I want you to enjoy this experience." When she nodded her head in understanding, he finally let her go.

For her, to drive a speeding car was never on her bucket list, but it was now topping the charts.