He didn’t want to come across as desperate. If she didn’t want to stay, that was one thing, but they’d had a wonderful time so far, and he was reluctant for it to end so soon. “We’ll bring your laptop. When I train, you can write. That way, we can hang out together later. Maybe watch a movie?” A faint pleading note crept into his voice. He’d have to be careful. He didn’t want to pressure her into anything she didn’t want. He had a suspicion that had happened to her in the past.
“I’m not imposing? You want me to stay?” At last, she met his gaze.
“I do.” He kissed her softly. “I can’t bear to give you up yet. This way, we’ll only have a couple of nights apart before we leave for Indonesia.”
“I’ll stay,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “On one condition.”
“Anything.” A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“If you change your mind, or tire of me being here, you tell me.” She seemed so serious.
“Anna, mi corazon, I won’t get tired of you in three days or three hundred. I promise.” He infused all his sincerity into his words. He would help her understand her value.
“I mean it.” She bit her lip again. “I’ve been told I’m high maintenance.”
“Whoever told you that is an idiot,” he said, “But, if it makes you feel better, I agree to your condition. Plus, if you change your mind at any time, I promise to drive you back to Cervera whenever you want.”
Her dimple reappeared, and her smile lit up the room. “Then, I’d love to stay.”
After breakfast and a quick trip into Cervera, Isaac got out the dirt bike and helmets as promised and took Anna for a quiet ride on the mountain road above them and into the neighbor’s fields. There were no animals there to disturb right now, and the neighbor had given them permission to ride on his property. At first, Anna clutched him tight around the middle, but she soon relaxed and seemed to enjoy herself. It filled him with warmth that she enjoyed spending time doing something that was such a major part of his life.
Everything about their weekend together went like that and was full of firsts. The first time they made pancakes together. The first time they showered together. Their first movie. Everything about the weekend felt magical.
The best part was they filled the days with everyday things and having Anna with him made them better. He didn’t haveto invent things for them to do—they just happened naturally. Isaac hadn’t realized how lonely he’d been until Anna changed it, giving his life a zest it had been missing for a long time.
Isaac trained extra hard on his runs, the road bike and the dirt bike, just knowing when he finished, he’d get to spend more time with Anna. They went running on Friday and Sunday. They ran the first kilometer together while they warmed up, and then she waved him forward. When he got home, she’d showered and was relaxing on the patio with her notes. The rest of the time when he trained on his dirt bike, she wrote. She hadn’t let him see what she’d written yet, but said she was making progress.
She’d write for an hour or two, print the pages in his room, edit, type her revisions, then print again. The next day, she’d revise and then add on with new writing. She said that writing her way into a scene kept up her momentum. He glanced over to where she was blushing as she typed. He’d bet there were naughty scenes in her book and was intrigued to read her manuscript once it was ready. He’d never heard of the story she was using as an inspiration,The Twelve Dancing Princesses. A twisted fairytale wasn’t his typical kind of story, but the idea of seeing what occurred in her mind was fascinating.
Sunday after dinner, Isaac drove her back to the Inn an hour before Vince was due to return. His brother would be tired, and he didn’t want Anna to feel as if she was underfoot. He and Anna had already made plans to have dinner on Tuesday and about what they could do together in their downtime in Indonesia next weekend. There were a couple of places he wanted to share, as she’d never traveled to that part of the world.
That night, his room felt emptier than ever. He missed her scent, her feel, and he wanted to talk to her. They’d spent the last four days together, but it wasn’t enough. Grabbing his phone, he texted her his opinion about the intro to the book she’d chosen. He smiled when she texted back right away. They tradedmessages as they dissected the first couple of chapters. When at last he was too tired to keep his eyes open, he drifted off to sleep still on an Anna high.
...
In Indonesia, Anna met him at the hotel pool for a couple of hours between practice sessions on Friday. The warm water and the leafy palm trees surrounding the deck seemed exotic enough that it was like they were on a vacation for something other than work. He hadn’t always found time for leisure and racing, but instead of making him stressed, he found it was the opposite. He excelled at compartmentalizing time on and off the track and was more relaxed before riding because of his fun downtime.
Vince swam lengths of the pool while Isaac and Anna floated and swam circles around each other, making each other laugh. Once, unable to resist, he wrapped himself around her and kissed her in the shade. Her enthusiastic response made his heart race. It didn’t matter that others might see—his happiness bubbled out of him when they were together.
At the end of the day, Isaac and Vince sat with Anna and Catarina at dinner. Isaac filched fries off Anna’s plate, and, in return, she stole a few bites of his spicy chicken. Vince was quiet and as soon as he’d eaten, he left. Isaac and Anna stayed with Catarina and told stories about growing up. Anna shared nothing about her parents, just that her grandmother had raised her. The rest remained a mystery.
Where had her parents gone? Had they died? It had been her grandmother who’d helped her cope with her autism and to navigate the resulting social difficulties. His own childhood had been filled with vacations to other countries and motorcycleracing from a young age, but his parents had been a major influence.
Early Saturday morning, Isaac accompanied Catarina and Anna to a nearby beach for an hour for a walk before heading to the track for FP3. He couldn’t think of a time he’d been so relaxed. This was how life should be.
His results for the first three free practice sessions on the Pertamina Mandalika circuit were better than expected. Isaac marveled at his new bike, pleased at the consistency with which he could set fast lap times. He found himself slotted into the top ten, once more going straight to Q2.
Before the afternoon session and qualifying, Vince strode past Isaac’s box and motioned him out the back with a toss of his head. What did he want?
Isaac followed. His brother’s request was surprising this close to the next session on the track. They climbed the stairs and entered Vince’s trailer.
“Everything okay?” said Isaac, looking around the trailer that matched his own.
“Are you tired?” said Vince. “I’m worried about you.”
“Tired? Not especially. Why? I’ve never felt better.” Isaac’s forehead bunched, feeling tense. It wasn’t typical of Vince to ask about his well-being. Where was he going with this line of questioning?
“I’m concerned because Anna monopolizes your time,” said his brother, his dark eyes intense as always.
