SASHA
My heart pounded in my chest as Bello and I walked. Everything felt louder. Not just the sounds, like the engines somewhere in the distance, or the voices layered over each other in a constant hum, but something inside me too, like my chest suddenly didn’t have enough room for everything I was feeling. The excitement. The smell of fuel and rubber hitting me sharp and immediate.
I tightened my grip on Bello’s hand without thinking about it.
“This is where I am always the happiest,” he said, and his voice had that easy calm of someone who belonged here, who had always belonged here. Someone who yearned for more than just a visit here.
“If you could,” I said softly, leaning closer, “would you race professionally?”
His gaze swept towards me briefly. “I wish I could. But I have the
