Vaughn's charcoal gray VW pulls up and Veronica's dark blue RSX follows. I'm nervous for her. Vaughn is a sore loser and winner.
From my view, you can't see the lights. It's only seconds...both their cars slightly lift as they take off, their exhausts whining out as they hit the rev line. V managed to get an awesome time off the line, but so did Vaughn. They're neck and neck. Vaughn's car is backfiring. Pop. Pop. Pop.
"Go. Go. Go," I whisper to myself, bouncing on my feet. They speed past us, and they are right on top of each other. This shit is intense. My heart is pounding.
"GO, V!" Taylor yells out.
"WHOOOOO!" Vance yells. "This shit is close!" The farther they move down the track, the harder it is to see who's leading. Veronica's car swivels a bit, and my heart drops.
"Oh no!" I hear Taylor gasp.
"Shit!" Vance says, "Shit!"
"No!" Vin yells.
White smoke is pouring out of V's car. Her car loses speed and stops dead at the end of the track. Vance pushes off the fence and runs down towards the time slip booth and the rest of us follow. The tow truck races on the track to remove her car. Track officials run onto the track. Veronica throws them a thumbs up, indicating that she's okay. She did awesome keeping the car straight and on the road. This is a huge blow for any car enthusiast, but it happens all the time.
There's a trail of fluid left behind as the tow truck removes her car. The track scrubber is already on the task of cleaning up the fluids. The tow truck pulls her car to the lot at the back of the track and has her unhooked and off by the time we get down there. Vaughn is standing there with his hands on his head. He runs to her as she gets out. Vaughn squeezes her, "Are you okay? I am so sorry, V."
V's face is bright red, either from the heat or anger. He holds her at arm’s length. "I'm fine, Vaughn. This is your fault, you--” She stumbles on her words, “--fart sucker!"
Taylor runs to her side and wraps her arms around her shoulders, hugging her from the side.
"Dammit!" Veronica yells. Taylor squeezes her.
"We'll fix it!" Vaughn tells her. I want to go to her, comfort her somehow. I want to wrap my arms around her and hold her, but I can't. "I'll call AAA," Vin says as he pulls out his phone, walking away from the commotion. My feet are moving me forward before my head is registering what I'm doing. I grab her, pulling her away from Taylor and crush her to my body. Her arms wrap around my waist, her head nuzzles into my chest, and I lower my head next to her ear. I hear her sniffle. "It'll be okay, V. This is fixable. You did so awesome out there," I whisper.
I look up and all eyes are on us. Well, not everyone’s. Vance and Wes are at the front of Veronica's car, Vin is on the phone with his back to us, but Taylor and Vaughn are watching us thoroughly. I pull her away quickly. "It'll be okay!" I tell her, pat her head, and walk away. Vaughn's eyeing me carefully. I look at him.
"What?" I ask, "She looked like she needed a hug, and not from an asshat like you." I laugh, nervously. I head over to Vance and Wes at the front of the car. "What're you thinking?" I ask both of them.
"It's hard to tell, and it's too hot to open the hood yet." He lays down on the ground about a foot away from the bumper. I look up. Vaughn is standing in front of Veronica blocking her from my view, but Taylor is staring at me, her eyebrow arched up with a wide smile. She winks and then turns her attention to V. Vin joins us, "They say the tow truck will be here in about an hour, so I'm guessing we have two." He nods at Veronica's car. "What you thinkin’, Vance?"
He shrugs, "Radiator. Probably more. Definitely radiator fluid leaking. We'll take a good look at it tomorrow.
"V!" Vin shouts. She peeks around Vaughn, but they all look our way. "Have the driver take it right to the garage. We'll take a look at it in the morning." V nods. Vaughn puts his arm around her and guides her to his car. They get in and drive up towards our spot. The rest of us walk. A sleek black lowered Honda drives up next to us, "Yo! Wes! We gonna do this or what?"
"Yeah, as soon as you pop your hood," Wes tells this kid, who I've never seen before.
"Nah, we don't have time for that shit."
"No-go then." Wes' composure is calm as he walks with his arm around Taylor.
"Don't be a pussy, man!"
Wes shakes his head. "Don't be a dick, Ryder."
"You're just scared you're gonna get your ass handed to you."
"Move along now." Wes waves his hand in front of himself. Ryder revs his engine and peels off, kicking up dirt and rocks from aside the pavement. We all jump out of the way.
"Fuckin' prick!" Vance yells. Ryder's hand goes up, along with his middle finger. "Fuckin' prick." Vance mumbles again, under his breath this time. We all keep walking in the grassy area until we reach our spot. Veronica is sitting on Vance's trunk. Vaughn is nowhere in sight.
"Where's Vaughn?" Vin asks.
"He went to get me ‘I'm sorry’ food," Veronica smiles wide and kicks her feet out. The move makes me smile and I can’t help but think how cute she is. Taylor jumps up next to her and moves her legs open as Wes stands in between them. They do it without thinking, just something so natural to them and I find myself...envious. Wes is animatedly talking to Vin and Vance. Taylor wraps her arms around his shoulders, resting her head on the top of his.
My eyes move to Veronica. She's listening to them talk, yet her eyes are also on her best friend and boyfriend. She bites her lip, as her face softens. Her eyes flicker to me like she knows I'm staring at her. She releases her lip from her teeth, "What?" she mouths. I shake my head.
Vaughn walks up at this moment, carrying a tray full of food. As the guys crowd him, all attention on the food, I make my move. Nonchalantly moving towards Veronica, I lean against the back fender facing my body towards hers.
I hear, "No!" followed by a loud whack, "Get your own, you leeches!" Vaughn yells. Vin shoves a pile of fries into his mouth, as Vance rubs his hand. Vaughn moves to place the tray in between V and me, causing me to move back. He grabs the burger off the tray and takes a large bite and with his mouth full he says something completely incoherent. Somehow, V seems to know exactly what he says. "Thanks, bro!"
I spot deep-fried Oreos and quick swipe one from the little carton they sit in.
"Hey!" Veronica protests. I take a bite and wink, "I'll make it up to you."
Like Dessert
If we weren't surrounded by people, in the middle of the track's parking lot, I would so jump Chase right now. My stomach is swirling with butterflies. I don't know why, but when he throws me a wink, it just does something to me. I find it incredibly sexy. I'm still staring at him as he eats my deep-fried Oreo. If it were one of my brothers that shanked one I'd smack it right out of their hand, but I'm sitting here just watching his beautiful mouth chew MY Oreo. I'd give him another one just to watch his mouth if I didn't love food so much.
I've been silently questioning his actions. He hasn't come out and told me he's into me, but there's no doubt about it. He wants me as much as I want him. I think back to his embrace, and supportive words after my car broke down. I was so consumed with my car, his actions didn't seem like much until now. All this fills me with joy and anxiety. Chase has been Vance's friend since middle school. He's seen me in my awkward stages, so I can't fathom why he would be interested in me. I used to follow them around all the time. They'd tell me to get lost and I'd cry, then mom would make them hang out with me.