Invisible Strings

Chapter Eighteen

Delaney's POV:

When the 'Welcome to Dawsonville" sign appeared in front of me, I wondered if Brantley was aware of the connection that I had to the town. When we pulled into the parking lot of the Dawsonville Pool Room, that suspicion grew even more. There was no way that he had chosen this place out of anywhere to want to come to if he didn't know that my best friend was married to Chase Elliott, that they lived only a few minutes from here. Then again, it was possible that he didn't know it since we haven't really talked about our friends or all the other things that people talked about when getting to know more about someone that they were interested in.

I was in the middle of removing my helmet as I climbed off the back of the –paying close attention to not touch the shiny chrome pipes that extended down the side of the bike– when I locked eyes with Brantley. "How did you know that this is probably my most favorite place on earth?" I asked, a smile on my face as I thought about the times that Amanda, Chase, and I had hung out here since becoming friends. Not only was the food here delicious, the atmosphere was unlike anything that I was used to in Charlotte.

With its retro black and white checkered floors –a nod to the checkered flag that waved at the end of every race– the place was almost a shine to the Elliott's that had put the small town on the map. Memorabilia covered the walls, chronicling both Chase and his dad's careers in racing and all the things that they had achieved. It was nothing for someone to walk into the place and see Bill, Chase's father, behind the counter flipping burgers or tossing onion rings into the fryer just because he wanted to or to see Chase –mostly during the off-season– playing a round of pool with some of his friends in the sport.

The locals here were pretty much immune to the fact that they had a living legend and one that was making his own name in the sport of racing within their midst.

And when you think about it, Jefferson was kind of the same when it came to Brantley. No one seems to care that Brantley is a big star. They just remember him as the kid who grew up in town, the one that went out and pursued his dreams.

"I didn't.This place just has some of the best burgers in the state and unlike anywhere other than Jefferson, the people here don't treat me like I'm anyone other than just a guy who likes the food here." said Brantley, swinging his leg over the bike. I watched as he hung his helmet over the handlebars before taking mine from my hands and setting in on the other. His hands landed on my hips and he pulled me against him as he sat back down onto the bike. He pulled me so that I was standing between his legs and looking down at him. "But now I'm curious. I know this place isn't too far from home but how do you know about this place?"

"Well, when one of your best friends is married to an Elliott, you just kind of know about this place." I said, glancing over my shoulder at the front of the building. The smell of burgers grilling filled the air around us, giving me a sense of familiarity.

"Of course you are friends with Chase's wife." and Brantley, almost as if all the pieces just fell into place. "I should have known that considering your ex's profession." As he said 'ex', it sounded a whole lot like he growled the word, almost as if he hated the fact that I had ever been with anyone else. I can't describe the way that it made me feel either. All I knew was that it spoke to me on a level that I didn't know that I found extremely hot.

"We haven't really done a whole lot of talking about that type of stuff."

"We haven't." he replied. "How many other friends do you have that are connected to the sport?"

"Well, there's Layla. She's married to Ryan Blaney." I said, looping my arms around his neck. "She and Amanda are really the only two besides their husbands that I would call friends. I'm friendly enough with some of the other wives and drivers that I get christmas cards and all but as far as hanging out with them, I haven't spent enough time with them to get to that point."