“’Team Air,” He laughed. “That’s cute… You’re pretty good at bringing me parts on time, kudos there.” He said beginning to put everything back together. He was momentarily satisfied with what he he’d found and glancing briefly over his shoulder at the second container, decided he wouldn’t put her through another one. She’d been a good enough sport to get this far, but what she’d said before that gave him a pause that he did not show outwardly. What did she mean by [i]invite?[/i] Normally the first practice was pretty drab. Do a few laps, check everything out, nothing exciting and certainly nothing worth spectators. Tommy had always wanted to pursue “bigger” sponsors for the car, not that Footsteps and Apex Designs looked bad, it was just the fact that the car competed against a lineup of some of the biggest motorsport teams and manufacturers in the world with its primary decals being a local sports bar and one-man speed shop. Joel knew he was right. They needed something a little more grandiose, even if only for presentation’s sake.  

His gaze switched between her and putting the crate back together, [i]something[/i] about her name was familiar, but he couldn’t place it. He knew he’d heard it somewhere. It was an inkling that would bother him until he could figure it out. “Geez, that’s a mouthful,” He said referring to her full name, “Why don’t we just stick to, ‘Mali’?” Since she already had an, “invitation” to Saturday morning a second date was practically built in. [i]How convenient[/i]. Inwardly, he weighed how much he was interested. She seemed to be a tad on the high-maintenance side and he shrugged a little to himself. His mind was still working on the name. Some nights he simply stayed up, drank coffee and read Wikipedia and other corners of the web absorbing information for hours on end. The feeling seemed to be leading him back in that direction. [i]Alaska, media, family problems…[/i] He was making mental notes. He didn’t want to feel like a stalker, but on the other hand, she somehow had an invite to what was now an event, starring himself, that he hadn’t even known about.

He set the lid back and snapped the buckles with an affirmative, [i]thwack![/i] He was considering his words from a number of angles and drummed his fingers a few quick rounds on the top the crate giving the appearance that he was indeed, perplexed… which he was. He wanted her to feel like she had a leg up on him… which she did apparently and that was as far as his thinking was taking him. He hated surprises. He looked back at her, narrowing his glance slightly, ”So why is it that ‘Team Air’ is interested in coming to a race test on a Saturday morning? Just curious.” He said, keeping a playful yet inquisitive tone.