Chapter 8

"So, tell me," I said while leaning back in my plastic chair, letting my freshly cooked food cool for a second. "What got you into cars?" I asked as I stared across the table at the enigma that is Han Seoul-Oh.

"I had a neighbour when I was growing up, he was a mechanic and owned his own shop- he let me help out when I got older." Han replied while studying my face like I was him. I smirked with a raised eyebrow in surprise.

"I expected a more dramatic story surrounding the mysterious Han Seoul-Oh." I replied teasingly as I took a bite of my food. Han chuckled and shook his head.

"I can give you a dramatic story another time princess, I have plenty of those." Han replied while drawing a circle with his index finger on the table cloth.

"I'm sure you do, man of mystery." I flirted lightly with a teasing smile. Han replied with a smirk of his own.

"You know, you're not exactly an open book either," Han retorted and leant back in his seat to study me some more. "What is it that you like about cars?" He asked while locking eyes with me. My smile disappeared from my face as I thought back to a memory that will forever be ingrained in my mind.

"What isn't there to love about cars? The purr of the engine underneath your fingertips, the adrenaline of going faster than you can remember..." I whispered while looking at the bright city of Tokyo- lost in memories that I didn't want to revisit. I looked back at Han and was surprised to see a strong intensity in his eyes as he stared at me with an unreadable expression.

"When I was younger- 11- I had an older friend, who entered a race against a rival from his high school. He took me with him," I started to say before taking a gulp of my water. "Luke was confident, having only won another race the day before. I was young and excited about the racing world that only recently claimed Takashi's attention, so I begged him to let me ride passenger for the race." I paused as the memories overwhelmed me and I blankly stared at the glass of water on the table as if it held all the answers. I suddenly felt a hand touch mine and I broke out of my daze to see Han looking at me in concern. I weakly smiled at him as I continued with my story.

"We got to the second to last bend, the finish line was in sight, but umm… our bumper got knocked from behind- Luke lost control and the car rolled about 5 times before it came to a stop. I hit my head hard in the roll and could barely make out Luke who sat next to me above the smoke coming from the car, suddenly hands reached in and pulled me out and away from the car, we were only about 10 feet away before it went up in flames," I stared into Han's eyes for the first time since the story started.

"They couldn't get Luke out; the steering column trapped his legs and I watched him burn through barely conscious eyes. I got taken to the hospital and found that I had a concussion, a broken arm and 2 cracked ribs. As soon as I was discharged from the hospital I was on a plane to Hong Kong." I finished explaining. I always tell people that I was sent to Hong Kong to study because I couldn't face the fact that I was sent there because I was too much trouble for Uncle Komoto. I even started believing the lie of going to Hong Kong for studying myself.

"What happened to the other guy? The one who bumped you?" Han asked for the first time since I began telling the most tragic part of my life.

"His torso was found in a dumpster not far from where we crashed, the rest of him was scattered across the districts." I replied without batting an eyelid.

"Is that why you don't race without reason?" Han asked, and I nodded in confirmation- we were letting our food get cold.

"I think I win the contest of most dramatic story." I teased with a smile reappearing, lightening the air again. Han mockingly bowed his head and I chuckled at his silliness.

"Why are you in Tokyo?" I asked curiously. The question that had been burning me up inside since I met him.

"This is my Mexico." He answered simply.

"You're running from something." I stated curiously. Han shrugged nonchalantly.

"Isn't everyone running from something?" He retorted, trying to avoid the conversation like always. I smiled, deciding not to pry. Han will tell me about his past when he's ready.

"I remember nearly running from you, the first time we met." I joked with a teasing smile, changing the subject and lightening the mood.

"I recall, am I really that scary?" Han replied with a chuckle, it seemed like forever since that night.

"You were then, I had just back into town and a racer decided to drift circles round me when it was late at night." I told him, thinking back to that night. Han let out a rough chuckle as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well in my defence, I didn't know you had just arrived and you looked lonely." Han explained with his hands raised into a half bothered 'surrender' pose. I laughed and shook my head in disbelief.

"Come on Han! You approached fast and couldn't even see my face!" I retorted with a wide smile, catching Han out on his lie. "You only stopped because you saw my legs in my short skirt, admit it!" I demanded with a grin.

Han laughed looked away from my face for a moment as if he was mulling the idea over in his head. He nodded his head and looked back at me, giving me all the confirmation, I needed.

"Ok, fine I admit it," He said, and I shot him a victorious smile- I couldn't stop smiling around him. "But just for the record- I'm glad I met you."

I paused for a moment and saw in his eyes that he genuinely meant it.

"I'm glad I met you too." I reciprocated while holding Han's gaze for a moment before we were interrupted by the waitress that cleared our table full of now empty plates.

"Ready to go?" Han asked. I nodded in response and we both began to rise from our chairs and thank the staff before leaving. It was a quiet walk to the car but when we reached the RX-7, I was pleasantly surprised when Han opened my passenger door for me.

"I didn't know that you were capable of being a gentleman." I commented with a raised eyebrow as I sat down.

"I'm capable of many things princess." Was all he said before closing my door. He soon jumped into the driver's seat before we sped off. The silence in the car was deafening, there was a heavy tension in the air that I didn't recognise, and it put me on edge.

We arrived at my apartment in record time, the comfort of Han's smooth driving relaxed me so much so that I nearly fell asleep. Han turned off the engine of his car and unclipped his seatbelt, I copied the action. I was tired, it was now very late, and I couldn't wait to slip into my warm bed.

"Hey, Ava," Han said, I turned my head to look at him and suddenly felt the light press of his lips on mine. A hand of his came up to gently cup the back of my head in support. My mouth responded before my brain could even think about what was happening. He tasted sweet, like all the candy he constantly eats. "I've been wanting to do that for a while." Han declared once we pulled away.

"You're playing with fire." I whispered, thinking about my family who would never approve, I was unable to look away from Han. Han brought his hand up to brush his fingers along my cheekbones lightly.

"Well maybe I like the way it burns." Han replied before giving me another chaste kiss on the lips. My lip twitched into part of a smirk.

"Mmm Goodnight Han." I announced, pulling back from his after breaking the kiss.

"Goodnight Ava." Han replied in kind before I climbed out of his low car and hurried towards my building. Shooting one last glance at Han before I couldn't see him anymore.

The next day I arrived at Han's garage in my RX-8 straight from school. Han's head rose up when he heard my cars engine. I carefully stepped out of my car, making sure that my skirt hadn't risen too much. I could immediately feel Han's eyes on my legs, trailing up towards my short school skirt. I rolled my eyes as Han unashamedly looked at me like a shiny new toy.

"Is Sean and Twinkie not here yet?" I asked surprised, when I realised they weren't anywhere to be found and that Han was here by himself.

"No, probably went to get food." Han replied with a smirk, not keeping his eyes off me once. I smirked back when I remembered the night before and knew it was killing Han inside that he couldn't touch me.

"Ok, I'm going to get changed in your room." I declared as I walked past him, smirking as I heard him shift on the couch. I walked into Han's room and shut the door before getting my change of outfit for tonight's races out of my bag. I had just taken off my sweater and tie and had started to unbutton my blouse when I heard the door opening. I froze for a moment before I recognised Han's familiar scent that I had become accustomed it.

"This isn't a peep show." I said while turning around to face him. He stood a few feet away from me in silence. Noting my unbuttoned blouse that was just about covering my bra.

"It's my room." He simply replied while taking a step closer to me.

"I thought you were a gentleman." I commented with a teasing smile, in remembrance of our date last night. Han took another step closer to me and wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me to him. I placed both my hands on his chest, feeling the soft beat of his heart underneath my palms.

"I never claimed to be one princess," he replied softly while lowering his face closer to me. I smiled in happiness before placing my lips on his. He tasted just as sweet as before and I could not get enough of him. We eventually broke for air but remained on keeping our faces close together.

"You enjoy teasing me." Han commented after a moment. I laughed and ran my hand through his hair affectionately.

"I enjoy keeping you on your toes." I corrected with a smile before giving him one last peck on the lips and proceeded to reluctantly wriggle out of his warm, comfortable hold.

"I need to get changed." I stated with a raised eyebrow at Han who remained standing in the middle of the room.

"Don't let me stop you." Han replied with a grin as his eyes latched onto my legs again. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest, unintentionally pushing my breasts up so that they were visible from the unbuttoned part of my shirt. I realised this when Han's grin became bigger and I growled in annoyance before dropping my arms back to my side.

"Sounds like the boys are back, you better get out there before they break anything." I commented after a pause, we both soon heard the loud clunking of metal.

"Yeah, it's Sean's big race against Morimoto tonight," Han remembered with a reluctant sigh. Han turned to leave before pausing for a moment and then walked back towards me, pulling me into his arms again while his thumb stroked my cheek affectionately.

"Ride with me tonight." Han proposed while staring deeply into my eyes. I immediately wanted to say yes but then I remembered my brother.

"But my brother- "I hesitated before Han cut me off.

"I can handle Takashi," Han declared before placing his forehead against mine. "Please." He said after a moment. I bit my lip in indecision before I found myself nodding. Han's smile made a reappearance before he let me go and headed outside to the garage floor.

It took me a minute to realise what I had just agreed to. Takashi was going to kill me, or more accurately- he would kill Han. No one 'handles' Takashi.

The rest of the afternoon went by with a tense atmosphere. Sean and the rest of the team were doing last minute tinkering's to Sean's Evo for his race tonight with Morimoto while I was nervously walking around- I couldn't keep still. Han was trying to calm me and proceeded to pull me onto his lap at every opportunity, no one at the garage even raised an eyebrow- I guess our 'relationship' hasn't been that secret after all.

When it came time for us to leave, more than an eyebrow was raised by the others when Han guided me to his RX-7 with his hand on my lower back.

"Takashi is NOT going to be happy tonight." I heard Twinkie comment with a low whistle as he, Sean, Reiko and Earl watched me sit down in the passenger seat of the car. There were murmurs of agreement that did not settle my nerves. As far as I am aware Han has NEVER turned up to a race with a woman before. He's taken them back to his place sure, but never takes them to the races with him. That fact made me feel both special and scared.

The journey to the usual parking lot was silent between Han and me. It was only when we were a street away that I asked the burning question.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked Han concerned. Han glanced at me for a moment before putting his eyes back on the road.

"Everything will be fine, Princess." Han said as he took my hand and squeezed it gently.

2 Chapters in one week! you are a lucky lot

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