"Well, what do we have here?" Mikey, the owner of the Camaro, strides up to us. He's got black hair, a kink in his nose, and his thick neck is enclosed with a barb-wire tattoo. "Is the infamous duo back again to get their asses kicked?"
I roll my eyes. "You beat us once and that was by default due to a flat tire."
His face pinches as he takes in my shirt, tank top, and curled hair. "What the f**k happened to you?"
Chandra, his girlfriend, sputters a laugh. Her dress is so tight that her curves bulge out of it and her stilettoes make her almost the same height as me. "Holy shit, she like turned into a little princess or something."
Micha squeezes my shoulder, trying to keep me calm. "So who's up first? Or has no one decided yet."
Mikey eyes Micha's Chevelle and there's a nervous look in his eyes. "You think you can just walk in here and play the game after sitting out for nearly a year?"
I mouth to Micha, a year?
Micha shrugs. "What? You were gone. Why the hell would I want to race?"
"Again, you need to move on without..." I trail off. Mikey will use what I say against Micha, so I have to watch my mouth. "We want to race Benny."
Mikey's laughter echoes the night. "You and what army?"
I point at Micha's Chevelle parked near the road. "That army right there."
Mikey shakes his head and shoos us away. "That thing don't stand a chance against the GTO. Now run along and come back when you got something bigger."
He's testing my control. A lot.
"As opposed to yours?" I retort, getting into Mikey's face. "Because that thing's all looks and no go."
Micha directs me back by the shoulders and a trace of amusement laces his voice. "Easy there, tiger. Let's try not to get our asses kicked tonight, okay?"
Benny hops off the hood of his car, flicks his cigarette to the ground, and leaves his buddies to join us. "What's up? Did I hear someone wanted to race me?"
Benny's the kind of guy that everyone respects because they're afraid of him. When he was a freshman he got into a fight at school with a senior twice his size and beat him up pretty badly. No one knows what the fight was over or what happened, but it was enough that everyone became cautious of Benny.
Mikey points a finger sharply at me. "Princess right here wants to challenge you to a race in that thing."
Benny's eyes wander to the Chevelle as he cocks his shaven head and crosses his muscular arms. "Micha, isn't that your car?"
Micha pats my back and winks at me. "Yeah, apparently she's my spokesperson."
Benny deliberates this and then turns to Mikey, who's glaring at me. "I don't see what the big deal is. I have no problem with Micha racing. In fact, it might be kinda nice to have a challenge for a change." Benny slaps Mikey on the back kind of hard and then pounds fists with Micha.
"Thanks man," Micha says with a respective nod. "Are you and I going to line up first then?"
Benny bobs his head up and down, nodding as he stares at the road pensively. "Yeah man, I think that'd work."
They chat a little bit more about the rules and what not, while Mikey continues to scowl at me like an angry dog. Once they're done talking, Micha and I walk back to the car, while everyone else scatters toward the starting line located right in front of The Hitch.
"So what's your plan?" I ask. "Because beating him won't be easy."
"You're my plan." He opens the passenger door for me. "With you in the car, there's no way I won't win, otherwise you'll never let me live it down."
Tucking my head into the car, I drop into the seat and then look up at him. "I won't make your car go any faster."
He grins, slamming the door. "Sure you will." He slides across the front of the hood and climbs into the driver's seat.
"You're such a show off," I remark.
He starts up the engine and it thunders to life. "That's like the pot calling the kettle black."
I slump back in the seat and fold my arms. "I may have been a lot of things, but I was never a show off."
He hooks a finger under my chin and angles my head toward him. "Taylor Crepner's graduation party two years ago. You were standing on the roof with a snowboard strapped to your feet, telling everyone you could make the jump. I think that's pretty close to showing off."
I make an innocent face. "But I did make the jump, didn't I?"
"Yeah, but not without breaking your arm," he says. "And that's beside the point."
"You're right," I admit, touching the small scar on my arm where the bone broke through the skin. "I was showing off and you had to drive my dumb ass to the hospital, then sit in the waiting room while I had surgery to put my arm back together."
His finger traces a line down my neck and to my chest bone. "I was there because I wanted to be."
"You missed a performance because of me."
"I don't care - never have."
My gaze involuntarily flicks to his lips. Suddenly, I want to kiss him, like I did that night on the bridge. It makes me uncomfortable because the feeling owns me. I lean away, putting space between us. Sensing my transfer of attitude, he revs up the engine and spins the tires, fishtailing the car to the startup line.
He shoots me a smug look, cocking an eyebrow. "Now that's showing off."
Shaking my head, I restrain a grin. Benny lines up the front of his GTO with Micha's Chevelle and his girlfriend struts up between the two cars. She's wearing jeans and a short t-shirt that shows her stomach. She flips her dark hair off her shoulder and then raises her hands above her head. People line up along the road, watching, and placing bets on the winner.
I spot Ethan and Lila toward the front, chatting about something, and Lila is doing her flirty hair flip thing. "When did they get here?"
Micha ignores me, eyeing Benny through his rolled down window. "To the baseline and back?"
Benny's arm is resting casually on top of the steering wheel. "Yeah, man. First one back wins."
They look away from each other. Benny waves at his girlfriend and she nods her head.
"On your mark. Get set. Go!" Her hands shoot down and screeches cut the air. A trail of dust engulfs us as we race off. The trees on the side of the road are a blur, and the sky is one big streak of stars. I keep silent as Micha shifts the car over and over again, but something inside me awakens from a very deep sleep.
Benny pulls ahead and makes a sharp swerve right in front of us. His red tail lights are blinding in the night and his exhaust is puffing out thin clouds of smoke. Micha speeds up, inching the front end toward the rear of the GTO.