Games Lovers Play by June Tate

revving their engines as the marshal stood holding the flag aloft. It dropped, and they were off!
    Sam moved off quickly, threading his way through two cars in front of him, leaving Barton in his wake. Connie cheered loudly. She found herself stiffen when the car was out of sight on the other side of the track, but breathed a sigh of relief when Sam sped past the grandstand in third place.
    To Connie, the race seemed endless and nerve-racking. As the race progressed, the lead cars changed place. At one time Sam had dropped back two places with Barton moving up.
    As they drove past on the penultimate lap, Sam was behind the lead car. Connie and the two men could hardly contain their excitement, but they gasped aloud as they saw Jake try and overtake at speed, catching the rear of the car in front. They both spun out. Bits of metal flew over the track, and a wheel bounced over a fence, missing spectators by a miracle. The Jaguar piled into a load of hay bales and stopped, smoke pouring from beneath the bonnet. Everyone held their breath as Barton clambered out just before the vehicle erupted into flames. The other car stopped ahead of him but not close enough to be in danger from the flames. The driver ran over to Barton waving his fists angrily as marshals put out the fire with extinguishers. Stewards pulled the two drivers apart – as blows were exchanged – and led them away.
    The race had to be stopped. There was debris on the track which was deemed too dangerous for the race to continue. The result was announced eventually, placing the cars in order they were in before the accident.
    Sam stood on the rostrum in second place.
    As Connie, Tom and Harry stood applauding, Tom tried to conceal his anger.
    â€˜If that bloody lunatic hadn’t driven so dangerously, Sam stood a good chance of winning this race,’ he declared.
    â€˜But hopefully no one was seriously hurt,’ Connie said. She was just relieved the whole thing was over and that Sam was in one piece.
    Back in the pits, Jake Barton was raging. He loudly blamed the other driver for the accident. ‘If he hadn’t moved over I could have caught up with Knight!’
    His two mechanics had reached the end of their tethers. Charlie faced Barton and, grabbing him by the front of his overalls, he peered into his face, puce with anger.
    â€˜It was your bloody fault, Jake. You drove into the back of him in your haste to get past. You had no room for such a manoeuvre, and you know it! The car’s a write-off, all because of your obsession. All our hard work for nothing!’ He pushed the man away from him. ‘Well, from here on in, you’re on your own. Bert and me are leaving!’
    â€˜What do you mean, you’re leaving?’
    â€˜We’ll find work for another driver, one who wants to win races,’ Bert said. ‘A professional, not some fucking madman!’
    The two men walked away leaving Barton speechless.
    After the prize-giving, Sam saw his car safely loaded. He removed his overalls, took Connie by the hand and walked her to his motorcycle. ‘It’s time to celebrate, sweetheart,’ he said and kissed her.

Eight
    John Baker watched as Sam drove away with Connie on the pillion of his motorcycle. Having watched the race, he had to admit the man was a superb driver, but he couldn’t help the feeling of jealousy as he thought this weekend would have been the perfect opportunity for him to take Connie to some hotel room and enjoy her young firm body. He couldn’t help but wonder if that was where the two of them were heading now – to some discreet place to make love. He climbed into his car and joined the queue forming to leave the racetrack.
    Sam drove as far as Banbury before stopping at a small country hotel, and as he climbed off the bike and removed his helmet, Connie saw how tired he looked. Why wouldn’t he be, she thought. After all, the race was not only a long one, but the