Getting Back on Track

2. Driving Blind

When Tim woke up in the morning, he reached for the other side of the bed...which was empty.

As it had been for seven years.

Yet, his reaction was always to seek Lucy out first thing in the morning as if she still belonged in bed with him.

He scrubbed at his face and ignored the pang in his chest at the reminder he lost the woman he loves so that he could get ready for his morning run. Going through the motions had become his new normal, but it still felt wrong to be so numb after knowing a vibrant life with Lucy by his side. Tim could not dwell on what he had lost. He had to take on the day.

There was a distinct wave of deja vu when he set foot on the Mercedes practice campus. He stopped at the steps of the entrance to the main building and looked up.

"Did you forget your way around the place?" Lucy asked at his back as she came up behind him.

He reflexively smirked at the sound of her voice then forced his face back into neutrality before turning towards her. "Of course not."

She caught up to him and paused when she realized exactly where they were standing- on THEIR spot. The threshold they marked early on in their relationship where they agreed to act professionally. Lucy used to kiss him right on that line to say goodbye to her boyfriend then step forward to walk beside her racing teammate into work; it was the clearest way to separate from their job and their love life. Standing in the same spot again with Tim but not kissing him before going into work together felt foreign and wrong. "I wish I could forget," she murmured and had step away from their spot. Without a kiss. Without his soft smile. She shuddered as she went down to the garage.

"Oh, Lucy, maybe you can tell me why Tim reserved the track for the entire day," Nyla said.

"I have no idea, wait," Lucy looked around, since she could feel Tim's presence. She locked eyes on him behind her and asked, "What's going on?"

"Training changes," he answered.

She crossed her arms and scowled.

"I know that look," Tim said and pointed to her face. "Just give this a try."

"Give what a try?" Lucy wondered.

"We're starting over. Back at square one."

"Square one? We don't have time for a Tim Test or whatever this is. I've got a GP coming up."

"Trust me."

Lucy scoffed. "I don't."

He was wounded to hear her say so even though he already knew that. "Which is why we need to do this."

"What do you have planned?"

"I'm going to drive, and you're going to talk to me in my headset and tell me how to navigate the track while I have my eyes closed."

"Are you kidding? Tim, you could die."

"No, I won't. I trust you."

"What if I tell you to drive right into a wall?"

"You wouldn't do that."

"Clearly, you don't remember me that well."

He stepped forward and towered over her, scanning her heatedly. "Oh, I remember everything about you," Tim husked.

A part of her tingled under that stare every single time even years later. Lucy heard her heartbeat quick and loud in the stillness. Bubbling up amid the emotions forcing her to stay quiet was anger. Anger at herself for still wanting him. Anger at him for leaving. Anger at the universe for bringing them back together. "You better not drive too quickly. I'm afraid your reaction time has probably slipped in your old age."