It didn’t take very long to get ready. It’s not like you had to dress up fancy to go race car driving or anything. Ben was proudly sporting the racing shirt Julian bought him last week.
I turned to lock the front door once everyone was outside. Julian had brought Desire, what he’d named his Chevelle SS, today. As soon as Ben saw it, his mouth fell open like he was preparing to catch flies before he turned back to Ace. “Wow! You’ve got Grandpa Luke’s car now?”
He booped Ben on the nose playfully. “Yep, but did you know it’s actually my car, and your grandpa was just holding onto it and keeping it safe for me until I came home? One day, this car will be yours, kiddo.”
He turned his head sharply, his expression unreadable. “Really?”
“Of course, really… but you’ve got a lot of growing up to do first.”
Ben nodded as if he agreed. I stopped by my mom mobile and pulled out Ben’s booster seat before heading toward the Chevelle. Pulling the door open, I set the passenger seat down so I could reach into the back and put his booster seat in.
Grabbing Ben, I lifted him into the back seat and buckled him in. I looked over and noticed that Julian was observing me, and I was glad. If he ever took Ben somewhere by himself, he’d have to do the same thing.
“You ready, sweetheart?” I whispered.
“You bet, Mama!”
The engine roared to life as Ace put the key in and started Desire before shifting into reverse. The rumble caused a vibration below me.Do not think of the few times we had sex in this car. Do not think about the sex. Definitely don’t think about the backseat sex we had.It became my mantra as we drove because, if not, I was going to be incredibly horny with nothing to do about it, and I didn’t need that with my kid in the backseat.
The normally crowded parking lot was a ghost town when we pulled in. My brows furrowed. “Where is everyone at?”
I narrowed my eyes at Julian as he picked a spot to park in. “Please tell me you didn’t rent out the whole place?”
“Okay, I won’t tell you that.” He shrugged with a knowing smirk on his face. The car turned off as we parked and all quickly unbuckled our seat belts. Julian quickly opened his door and jumped out, running around the back of the car.
He opened the door for me. “My lady…” He said with a small bow and an outstretched hand, pulling a small smile from me. Once I was out, he moved his attention to Ben, pulling the passenger seat down and unbuckling him before lifting him out.
Julian set him down, and Ben started off at a run ahead of us, and I had to remind him that he can’t just run away like that. It may only be a small town, but there are some parts of this town that are definitely safer than others.
Looking over at Ben, Ace rubbed his hands together. “Think your mom can beat me?”
He shook his head in a swift arc. “I don’t know. She’s pretty good. You better watch out.”
Julian again opened the door for us. The Go-Kart track had obviously been redesigned since we were young. The walls of the building had been painted over with abstract artwork, and the tires on the track were clearly new, highlighted with red and white striped guard rails. They must have done this recently because it was missing all those scuff marks along the track that it used to have. The track had been expanded and now had an indoor and outdoor area. My eyes traced over the straightaways and every turn, trying to figure out where I’d need to be while driving.
Silverbell Shore had become a tourist town over the years, but it wasn’t like most tourism joints.
Pedal & Medal definitely wasn’t your typical, run down, small town karting place, not like those touristy places who also offer mini-golf. No, this place was completely focused on the Go-Karts.
“Hey there, folks, I’ll get the karts all ready for you, Julian.” I jumped at the sudden entrance of a new voice.
“Thanks, Toby. Now I just want to make sure Ben can drive his own car. He’s five years old, so technically old enough.”
He seemed to contemplate it for just a moment. “Age wise, we’re good. Minimum age to drive here is five. As long as he meets the height requirement, he’ll be good to go.” On the wall to the left of the go karts, a dinosaur stood, showing you had to be at least 36 inches tall to drive.
“Do me a favor, Ben. Go stand in front of the dinosaur. We need to make sure you’re tall enough to drive your own kart.” He nodded his little head and skipped over.
Standing tall against the dinosaur, he was definitely taller than the limit, at least for a junior go-kart. “He’s good to go,” Toby said from behind us. He went through all the mandatory things with us; rules, instructions, and gear. We finished everything up, and Toby nodded. “All righty then, I’ll go grab the karts, give me just a few minutes.”
Julian nodded a quick thanks. and my eyes fell to Ben. who couldn’t seem to keep the excitement from his face. Everywhere he looked, his smile grew larger. Julians smile rivaled Ben’s. Seeing the joy a simple Go-Kart track brought them probably made the money to rent this place out for the day worth it.
He didn’t tell me that’s what he did, but I knew it had to be because this place wasalwaysbusy.
It only took Toby a few minutes to get the karts pulled around. It wasn’t a normal Go-Kart track where they were all lined up in a row. He seemed to pull them out from another room that I assumed was a garage; two full sized Go-Karts and one junior size.
I helped Ben put his helmet on and strapped it under his chin so it was secure
He waited until I was done and then ran up to the junior car. He bounced up and down on the balls of his feet as he once again waited for the all clear to climb aboard. “How cool is this?” He exclaimed. “It’s my favorite color, too! You’re the best, Dad!” Very quickly, he ran over and hugged Julian before running back to his car.