19 First to be Invited

As agreed upon, Kurtis was there before the sun rose. He smiled when he saw Lyra in a pretty sun dress and politely asked her to change, much to her embarrassment. Preferably jeans and some shirt he said, not wanting her to attract too much attention on the circuit where mostly men worked and where there wasn't much to look at but cars and other guys.

Telling her that made her face flush even redder as she had to ask him to stop with the details so she could run up and change. Successfully teasing his future sister-in-law so early in the morning definitely already made Kurtis's day as he leaned back on his seat.

In minutes, Lyra came back down in a gray T-shirt and blue jeans. Her hair was tied up in a nice long ponytail—just the way Kurtis found attractive on any girl. Even in such plain clothes, she looked stunning from top to bottom. 'Too bad Angela doesn't dress like that ever so often,' he thought to himself before starting morning greetings all over again.

They drove about two hours out before he stopped at a place where a helicopter was waiting. Lyra couldn't believe that Kurtis was just going to leave his few hundred grand car out in the middle of nowhere to fly in the helicopter. But that was exactly what he did.

Kurtis easily hoisted himself up the flying machine before extending his hand for Lyra's. She climbed on with relative ease and was instructed to put on her seatbelt as the pilot flew off.

"First time on a helicopter!" Lyra yelled over the loud noise of the rotor as she peered over the edge, legs shaking with excitement.

Her company grabbed onto her before she leaned too outwards, but she knew she wasn't going to fall. She just wanted to get more of the air that felt so naturally clean. It reminded her of the air on the island.

"It's so nice up here!" she beamed and Kurtis was delighted. It almost seemed too good of a deal to be able to see such a smile from a simple helicopter ride.

His previous girlfriends all liked it too, but something in the way Lyra took the experience was very different. Unlike them, she acted as if this was an opportunity that she may only have one chance of taking. She really seemed to be in the moment.

In that sense, she was much more present than Angela ever was. He really hoped his fiancé could one day learn that from her sister.

When they reached the destination, the staff all seemed to be shocked by his unannounced arrival, but more than overjoyed to welcome him.

The staff overlooking the track conditions pulled up the special two-seater race car they had on hand and thew Kurtis the keys. The head guy exchanged a few words with him before patting him on the back.

"Good?" the engineer asked from the window as Kurtis got settled in. The racer lifted a thumbs up and his friend took cue and escorted Lyra out.

Lyra sat down, buckled her seatbelt, and looked forward, not once looking at Kurtis until he held out a racing helmet for her. She took it with the same sunny expression and wore it.

"Alright you're set," the mechanic stated before tapping the window sill. "Enjoy the ride!" he said before giving Lyra a wink.

The girl waved to the man before the car was off. It was a slow start at the normal 30mph, warming up the car. But when that part was done, one hundred miles was nothing. Then came two hundred that sent Lyra laughing hysterically. And when three hundred came around, she shut up and almost fainted.

That sent Kurtis laughing. It was probably one of the shorter runs he ever did, but it was definitely one of the most fun in a long while. He knelt down on the other side by the passenger seat to wait for Lyra to adjust. She did eventually and even asked to go again.

"Next time," Kurtis answered. "I need a break," he said, pointing to his right leg before letting a slight look of pain appear on his handsome face.

The two ended up enjoying lunch together before Kurtis offered a tour of the place, even encouraging her to go for a test spin with him as instructor. Lyra declined once but full heartedly accepted when he only started to ask a second time.

'Too easy to read,' he thought before getting in the car with the energetic girl. He watched her slowly get used to the car and get excited when it sped up. She didn't pass 100mph because everything was still foreign and much more complicated than a normal car, but it was good enough. She was satisfied and kept talking about it even half an hour after she got out. Kurtis only smiled more and more, leading to the guys talking.

"Kurt doesn't usually bring gals on the track," another racer who just joined the staff gathered in the private viewing facility commented.

"More like he never did," the head honcho corrected.

The guys gathered in the room all smirked.

"Let's bet—hundred bucks he gonna tie the knot with this one."

They temporarily halted their gambling as the star walked in with the pretty lady and led her to the back where the helicopter was parked. The pilot was still eating and Kurtis wasn't in a rush so ended up waiting with Lyra.

"How was it?" he asked, still grinning.

"INCREDIBLE," she spelled out, almost. But it couldn't be more obvious that she loved it.

"But you were only going at 80…" Kurtis teased.

"83mph was what I recall on the dash," Lyra defended. "Plus, you didn't look too eager for me to step on it anymore than I did."

He put his hands up in defense. "Hey, I've never sat in your car before. Only reasonable I'm at least this nervous when you're driving a RACE car," he said while showing the distance of two feet.

They were laughing again. Kurtis seriously loved how she could laugh so easily. Lyra didn't really want to laugh, but he had this stupid charm that worked every time.

"Still, it's great getting back on the track," he said, leaning back in his seat. "Thanks to you."

Lyra didn't expect that so she sat up from her comfortable position. Judging from her big eyes and dumbfounded expression, she was obviously clueless.

Of course she should be. She was Angela when she inspired him to get it together again. It was her words that motivated him to get back into physical therapy so that he could do what he liked again. But she didn't know who he was or what happened to him then.

"Sometimes you fall out of love or feel you love a little less. But if you truly did love, you'll end up loving again and come back loving stronger."

Lyra was speechless for some time before cracking a thin smile. "You still remember?" she asked, disbelief in her voice.

It was in the beginning when she was readying herself to break up with him, she accidentally got to know his character and personality. Lyra couldn't find herself seeing through the plan when Kurtis loved Angela more than she would ever know. Thus, she stayed as "Angela" and said those words to cheer him on to not give up on the relationship that Angela seemed to take for granted.

Who knew he still remembered every word…

"Everyone said I was no good when I first started out, but I loved racing and didn't want to stop. I wanted to prove them wrong," he said throwing his head back on the head rest and looking at the chopper's beige ceiling. "But after I accomplished that, racing didn't feel the same. Racing wasn't racing anymore after you win a few times. It becomes a game of PR, marketing, endorsements, gambling, and so many other things. I started to hate it. And then I got into that accident," he said, recalling the horrible memory when the car flipped and skid across the track.

Lyra remained silent as she watched him hold onto his right leg again. That must still be causing him some trouble.

"So I thought, might as well use that as the excuse to hang up my gloves and get away from the spotlight. I didn't think I want to race anymore." Kurtis paused and looked into nothingness as he continued. "Then Angela and I fought over that. She wanted me to keep on going, get back on the track as soon as possible. And the more she pushed me, the more I felt I didn't want to. Plus, this thing wasn't getting better any faster despite the therapy."

His grip on his knee tightened.

"And then one day, she just left. I tried connecting with her a few times, but she didn't answer until I called her to the island. But instead, you showed up."

Kurtis sat up to look Lyra in the eyes now.

"I was so nervous to see you again after the last fight, but you seemed to forget everything and even gave me such encouraging words. You were referring to Angela and my relationship, but to me, it felt like you really understood how I felt towards what I love and am passionate about. Your words, though unintentional, replaced the pressure I was facing for the past year with hope. It gave me the courage to feel at ease about my choices. You told me the words I wanted Angela to tell me so badly."

If it was Angela he wanted to hear it from, no wonder he was furious when he found out about the switch. Kurtis wanted the person who he didn't want to disappoint to be there for him.

"Just consider my words from Angela," Lyra said while fidgeting in her seat, feeling guilty for betraying and hurting the feelings of such a fragile person.

"No." Kurtis said, placing a firm hand on her folded ones that were slightly trembling. "Lyra Cades," he spoke her name with such authority and familiarity that she couldn't help but feel the intensity of his stare. "They were from YOU. I can't and won't ever forget that."

Her heart was ready to explode. The way he looked at her wasn't just simply out of gratitude. There were so much feeling behind his words that it sounded more like a confession. It wasn't right for her to keep quiet. If he was going to be so vulnerable in front of her, it was only fair she was completely truthful to him about her own feelings and motives. Though she didn't quite figure them out back on the island, it was clear now.

Lyra opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, her cell interrupted the moment with an untimely ring. She looked at Kurtis who looked out of the copter after seeing the caller was Angela. He didn't say a word as he sat there listening to the sisters converse.

"What? No, I'm not at the shop today. I'm uh…dunno where but…at the track with Kurtis," the girl seemed to struggle to answer the bombardment of questions from the other end. "Took a helicopter. Yes, I'm coming back soon. Huh?"

Kurtis wondered what caused Lyra to suddenly go quiet with a blank expression. Conscious of the company, she regained her smile as a quick recovery before handing him her phone, indicating that Angela wanted to talk to hm.

He took it and within a few minutes he handed it back.

"July 7th," he said with a big smile. "I don't have an invitation card with me right now, but you're the first to be invited."

"I'll be there," Lyra said, swallowing her confession entirely. "Won't miss it for the world."

She made sure to wear the smile that could fool the world. But sadly, it could never fool her heart.