“I don't want your piece of shit.” Vance throws out. “I'll pass.” I feel myself relax.
Dixon smiles then turns to the guy next to him. “See Zach, I told you he was a pussy.” Zach and all the guys around them laugh.
“Yeah, you were right,” Zach agrees with Dixon. They're trying to get under Vance's skin.
“You're a stupid fuck, Dixon.” Vance spits, “Didn't you learn your lesson?”
“It's easy to overpower a drunk guy. Let’s let our cars do the talking this time.”
“I think my fists spoke volumes. Get the fuck out of here,” Vance dismisses Dixon, whose eyes are still slits; this clearly isn't what he expected. It's not what I expected either, and I'm quite proud of my brother. Dixon moves closer to Vance, who remains on guard. “You'll be sorry,” Dixon hisses then continues walking past with his friends following behind, looking smug.
“Jeez,” I mutter.
“Yeah, that was intense,” Taylor agrees.
“Pussy? Me?” Vance laughs. “I love pussy, but I definitely ain't one.”
“Ew,” I whine and turn to look down at the lineup. I don’t see Chase's Z or the black Camaro, so I tug on Tay's shirt. “I think Chase is coming up.” I move towards the fence, allowing myself to see around the bend. Kyle's Camaro is about four cars back.
The car at the line begins to roar as if it were to take off, but remains in place. Smoke pours from the rear tires and within seconds the line is engulfed in gray smoke. The crowd cheers on as the driver continues to let loose and drive down the track; the smoke billowing out everywhere. The smell of burning rubber is inescapable. The track officials clear the track and start hosing it down.
With a little bit of time to spare until Chase and Kyle race, Taylor and I decide to move back to the group. Vance is occupied with the girl he has pinned against his car. Vaughn's arm is wrapped around another chick, and I can see his mouth forming words into her ear.
I lean into Tay. “This is like an opening of a bad porno.”
Taylor laughs. “Those girls may be your saving grace tonight.”
“How so?”
“They occupy your brothers and then you're free to be with your man.”
I grab her arm in excitement, “Oh shit, Tay. You are so right!”
She throws her blonde locks over her shoulder, “I know, I'm a genius.”
“You so are!”
“Are what?” Wes asks when we join him and Vin, along with some others.
“A genius.” Taylor smiles at Wes and leans into him.
He smiles down at her with a, “You are, baby,” and leans forward to capture her lips with his. And then there's tongue. Looking away now. So while they add to the whole ‘porno’ vibe, I move back to the fence to wait for Chase. I grab onto the chain-linking and once I reach it, a little Honda Civic, and a BMW 3 series lineup. I scoff. This is an easy win. Seconds later the BMW is off, but the Civic remains at the line. No way. I blink once and then the Civic is off; catching up the BMW easily.
“Whoa,” I whisper to myself. Watching the little Honda fly down the track and pass the beamer was insane! The numbers flash up on the board above. The Civic ran a low nine; quite impressive. I glance back down at the track as another set moves up. Chase is one set away. I turn towards the group and wave my hands to grab their attention. A small gust of wind rushes by as the next set of cars move down the track. Wes notices me first. “They're coming up!” I yell.
It takes him a few tries to get Vance to part from the girl he’s with. I cringe, but remind myself it's a good thing. I turn away when he pulls her back to his front, but not before I catch him nip at her ear.
The next two cars zoom by and Chase's Z moves forward, along with Kyle's Camaro. I bounce with excitement and a small smile spreads upon my lips at the thought of Chase racing. That's my man!
The group joins me at the fence just as they take off. It’s only seconds until they're off the line. Their exhausts are roaring as they press on the gas, only pausing as they shift gears. Chase is off the line first--giving him a good lead--but the Camaro catches up easily. The Z jolts as Chase shifts. He's losing ground but not by much. They're neck and neck as they zoom by us. Vance is yelling, “Yeah, baby!” The cars disappear until they’re specks, and then their times appear above.
“WHOO!” Vance yells.
“Damn, that is an awesome time!” Wes comments.
I glance back at them both. Vance is all smiles and Wes looks impressed. I think we're all shocked at how well the Z did. We all move to greet the guys, who pull up just as we make it back to our cars. Kyle comes bounding from his car as soon as he's parked. There’s a massive smile on his face; it's contagious. “That was fucking amazing!” He holds up the time slip. “I want to do it again!”
Chase exits his car and joins up.
“Did I win?” Kyle asks excitedly. It's pretty adorable; looks like we've nabbed another one. Vance moves towards Kyle. “Chase had you off the line, which gave him a better reaction time. That’s what you need.” Kyle's smile falters slightly, and he looks down at his slip.
“But I was faster?”
“In the end? Yeah,” I tell him, and his smile returns.
“Sweet!” he looks up, “I wanna go again. Who's with me?” He looks around and ends on me. “C'mon, V!”
“What? For real?”
“Yeah, I'll even let you win,” he says playfully, and I roll my eyes.
It takes me a second to answer. “Alright. I'm in.”
Kyle jumps up, and he takes off towards his car. I laugh at his eagerness. Taylor pats me on the back, and everyone else throws out words of encouragement. I allow myself to steal a glance at Chase, who gives me two thumbs up. I know that he’s mimicking me but he adds in his signature wink. Oh.
As soon as I get in my car and start the engine, my heart begins to pound. “You got this, V.” I repeat the words as I reverse out of my spot. Thankfully, I wasn't hurt when my car broke down, but it was extremely intimidating. That shit stays with you. Kyle's Camaro is idling ahead; he’s waiting for me to line up next to him. We move up into the queue line and wait. In my peripheral vision I can see a lot of movement, so I look to my right, thinking that Kyle is trying to get my attention. Nope. Kyle is full-on headbanging, and I burst out laughing. He smiles, and I just shake my head. This kid.
One by one we move up until we're next. I put on my face mask and then my helmet. I glance back over at Kyle who now has his hand out of the window with his pointer and pinky fingers up in the ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ sign. The cars ahead of us take off down the track. The officials motion us forward, so I give my car some gas and coast up until the front tires align perfectly into the duvet. Kyle moves a little too far up, and the guy waves him back. I giggle a little then get myself into focus. Deep breaths. In. Out.
Amber.
Amber.
Go!
Without thought, my hands and feet move on their own. My engine roars, and I slam it into second. It howls in each gear until I've hit my last. I focus ahead--even though I can see Kyle has the lead--I'm right on his ass. This is extremely satisfying.