Chapter 15
"Wake up, bro," I hear a voice whisper in conjunction with a hand jabbing at my shoulder. I roll over yawning and catch the blurry image of the glowing green numbers from my alarm clock. It's two a.m., and Vince is standing over me.
"Get ready, we're about to leave," he tells me leaving and closing the door behind him. I sit up, rubbing my eyes, trying to regain my vision. I can hear everyone below me rustling around. I took a shower before I lay down, knowing that I would want to sleep up until the very last minute. I grab a pair of black pants and a white long-sleeved shirt, and slip them on quickly. I'm so tired. I actually slept tonight. Talking to Letty in the shop today helped me sleep for the first time in days. I look at my self in the mirror, and decide to just leave the 5 o'clock shadow. I slip on some shades, spritz myself with a little cologne, and grab my keys. I head down the stairs where everyone is either waiting in the front hallway or standing in the living room. I walk down silently, with my shades on, and I can feel everyone's eyes on me, because I haven't spoke. I pause at the bottom step, only causing more uncertainty in the group. Behind shaded eyes I check out Letty. She's wearing black leather pants that make her ass look stunning, and a black halter. Her hair is down, flowing long, and framing her face. She looks at me biting her lip. She doesn't know that I'm looking at her, because my head is facing another direction, but my eyes are all over her. I turn my head towards the door.
"Let's ride," I tell them taking off my shades. They all begin to filter out the door, as I stand waiting for everyone to get outside. I yawn and stretch as Jesse walks past me. Letty lags behind until it's just her and I left standing beside the door.
"You okay?" she asked, brow furrowed. I tilt my head to the side at her concern, and smile.
"Yeah...........just tired," I tell her softly. She nods and smiles. She sighs then walks out the door. I follow behind her, locking the door, then getting into my car. I ride alone out to the desert, following the team. I had planned on racing tonight, but I don't really feel up to it anymore. We ride for nearly an hour before we get to the deserted, isolated area. Lights and sounds come from the distance as we pull off onto a dirt path leading to the spot. We turn around the bend in the road and are greeted by imports, and a vast variety of people brought together for one reason. I get out of my car and fawning females and admirers instantly surround me. I look around for the team and as soon as I spot them they begin to make their way over to me. They stand around me in a semi-circle waiting for my command.
"What's the line-up for tonight?" Leon asks, letting his eyes follow the backside of a nameless female body.
"Letty's going for Carlito, right?" I look over at her, and she nods.
"Jess, is over on the blue strip............Vince, you're on the black..........and Leon......Leon!?" I yell to snap his attention back to us and not every ass that passes by.
"Yeah?.........I'm listening.." he says innocently as I roll my eyes.
"Leon, you're........Fuck......just hang out and take stats tonight," I tell him giving up on keeping his attention. He nods enthusiastically.
"Okay, be safe, have a good night........I'll see you guys back at the house," I tell them. We usually stay together at the street races, but at events this big we just pick a strip and meet back up at the house. I reach back into my car to get my jacket as I hear a protest coming from the group.
"Wait a second........what about you?.......where are you gonna be?" Vince asked confused.
"Around," I tell him smirking. I catch Letty's eye and she's smiling also.
"Around?...........what the hell?............you're not racing?" Vince asks again.
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"Don't feel like it," I tell him dryly. He looks at me, the perfect picture of confusion, mouth gaping open, and eyes squinted. I laugh. I turn to Letty as he shakes his head and walks away. The rest of the team begins to walk off to their awaiting victories as Letty and Mia stay.
"What time you racing?" I ask Letty.
"I don't know yet, I need to go check," she says raising an eyebrow looking off into the distance.
"I'll go with you," I tell her, hoping she doesn't mind that I just invited myself along. She nods and we start walking through the crowd to the boards. She runs a finger down the boards and finds her slot. She then runs a finger horizontally to see if any slots are open. She finds one and etches her name in with the attached pen.
" 3:45 it is," she smiles. I can tell she's nervous about the race, but trying not to appear uneasy. That's Letty. She and Mia start talking as I'm pulled away by Hector.
"Hey, man...what's going on?" he smiles extending a fist. We touch knuckles.
"Nothing much, bro........Letty's going for Carlito," I smirk. He laughs surprised.
"Damn, that girl always goes for what she wants...eh?"
"Yeah, tell me about it......"
"So who you gonna put out of house and home tonight?" he asks smiling from ear to ear. I know he's not gonna like my answer and everyone here is gonna give me shit for not racing tonight.
"Nobody, actually.........I'm just here to watch the team." His mouth drops then he starts laughing. He thinks I'm joking.
"I'm serious, bro........look, Letty's up in a few, so I'm gonna go, you gonna check her out?"
"You know it.......I gotta see Carlito's face when she kicks his ass," he smiles. We begin to walk off to the strip where Letty is sitting in her car. I walk up to her window, and she's sitting silently in her car.
"Hey," I startle her. She jumps slightly.
"Hey," she sighs, looking at me then past me, as if she were expecting someone else.
"I'm up in a second," she says, her eyes darting in a million different directions. I don't know why she's this nervous. I lean closer to the window, and squat beside the car.
"Letty, you got this thing.........it's in the bag, babe.......relax," I try to calm her, whispering. She shakes her head.
"Don't say that, Dom........I could easily lose this.......lose my car," she whispers back, turning to me. Her eyes are full of an uneasiness that's unlike her. I wish I could kiss her, make her nervousness fade for a moment. Instead, I just stare into her eyes. She stares back with a frown and a furrowed brow. We hear them call for her.
"Okay, wish me luck," she sighs. I stand up and lean down to her window. I take a risk and kiss her on the top of the head. She responds with a smile.
"You don't need it," I tell her walking away. She smiles at me again and lines up with the others. She's up against all guys, as usual. No one she can't take, but the only person she has to beat is Carlito, to keep her car. If Carlito loses to another car, she won't have anything to worry about either, besides her ego, but all she has to do is either beat Carlito, or hope to God, someone else does. I walk over to the quarter mile finishing point with the other spectators. I spot Mia on the other side, standing with her arms folded. I look back at the starting point, saying a silent prayer for Letty. They line up, arms drop, and it's on. Letty gets off the line before anyone else, but Carlito, and some Civic are close behind her. They all speed towards us, and my heart rate increases as I see Carlito beginning to pull ahead of her. As they get closer she faintly gets even with him. I hold my breath as she shoots past him and over the line. Holy fucking shit! She won. She played with him. She let him think he was gonna get her then she fucking nailed him. I walk over to Mia and we start towards Letty's stopped car. Letty jumps out with the biggest 'shit eating' grin on her face, yelling.
"Get out of my car!" she smiles at Carlito. He gets out smiling. He walks over and hugs her.
"You got me, girl," he laughs at her. He pulls the keys out of his pocket and hands them to her.
"Good job, chica," he smiles at her again. She takes the keys and hugs him. She looks so marvelous when she's that happy. She smiles and turns to Mia. She hugs her tightly, even picking her up briefly. I want in on the action too, so I begin to walk over to her. I stop dead in my tracks as some unknown figure comes up behind Letty, and places his hands on her hips. She turns in response to his touch and they hug. She pulls back from him and smiles big. They begin talking like they know each other. Who the hell is he? Mia hugs him too. She's met someone else already. That's why she was okay with us just being friends now. She's already over me. I sigh and walk away, hurt beyond words. My mood quickly turns to anger as I hear some asshole noticing my crippled pride.
"Ohhh, Dom............Ain't that your girl over there?" he smirks with a crowd forming around us. Just keep walking Dominic. He's only trying to get a rise out of you.
"Who's that guy macking on her..........his hands all over her?"
"Fuck off," I tell him dryly, trying to push past him and his punk friends. People are always looking for ways to mess with me. I guess it's cause they think I'm so untouchable, or cause they see me as thinking I'm too good for everyone. They always want to get a piece of the "Race King". I walk past them with only one destination in mind, home.
"Looks like he can't keep his dick in his pants either.........Poor Letty," he spits smugly. I stop with my back to them, as I can hear them laughing. Every pint of blood in my body begins to rise and my ears and face become flushed, showing my anger. Every inch of my skin begins to tingle and my mind goes blank. All I know is that when I stood up, there was blood everywhere, and people screaming. I look down and the..........the "punk" is cover in the red liquid and gurgling the word 'help'. I back away and I can feel Vince come up behind me.
"Let's get out of here," he whispers nervously, staring at the bloody mess before us. I turn to walk away and I can hear, the guy's girlfriend, I guess, letting out a blood-curdling scream at seeing him first. I cringe as Vince walks me back to my car. The entire team, except Letty and Mia, soon surround us as we reach our cars.
"Holy shit!......What the hell happen!?" Jess exclaims looking at my shirt. I look down and I can't even tell that my shirt was once white.
"Where's Mia and Let?......we're getting outta here," Vince asks looking around.
"Shit, Dom........Is some of that yours!?" Leon asks wincing, referring to the blood blanketing almost every inch of me. I shake my head feeling nauseous.
"I don't know," I whisper, feeling the bile rising, burning my throat. I turn away, behind my car as my stomach convulses violently. I can hear Vince yelling for Mia and Letty to hurry up.
"What's wrong?..........what?....." I can hear my baby sister asking oblivious to my sins.
"Where is he?..........Where........is he okay?" she asks again her voice shaking, thinking the worst. I can hear her walking over to where I am.
"Dom?.........Dom are you okay?" she starts. I can't let her see me like this again.
"Mia, don't..............get in the car with Letty and go home," I tell with my back to her.
"Dom, what's going on?" she asks beginning to cry.
"Mia, just get in the car with Letty, and let her take you home......please," I tell her calmly wiping my mouth with a clean bit of forearm. I can hear her hesitate for a moment and then turn and walk away. Vince comes up.
"Is she in the car?" I ask Vince.
"Yeah," he tells me. I get up disgusted with myself wanting to crawl into a hole and never come out. What the hell came over me? I thought I had better control over my temper now. I look up and I'm met by Letty's hurt eyes and slightly open mouth.
"Are you okay?" she asks softly cringing. I can't even look at her right now, it hurts so much. I look down and nod.
"Take Mia home, for me."
"Okay," she answers softly reaching a hand out to touch my blood-splattered face. I pull away and get in my car. I crank it and pull off watching Letty, watching me, in the rearview mirror.
"Wake up, bro," I hear a voice whisper in conjunction with a hand jabbing at my shoulder. I roll over yawning and catch the blurry image of the glowing green numbers from my alarm clock. It's two a.m., and Vince is standing over me.
"Get ready, we're about to leave," he tells me leaving and closing the door behind him. I sit up, rubbing my eyes, trying to regain my vision. I can hear everyone below me rustling around. I took a shower before I lay down, knowing that I would want to sleep up until the very last minute. I grab a pair of black pants and a white long-sleeved shirt, and slip them on quickly. I'm so tired. I actually slept tonight. Talking to Letty in the shop today helped me sleep for the first time in days. I look at my self in the mirror, and decide to just leave the 5 o'clock shadow. I slip on some shades, spritz myself with a little cologne, and grab my keys. I head down the stairs where everyone is either waiting in the front hallway or standing in the living room. I walk down silently, with my shades on, and I can feel everyone's eyes on me, because I haven't spoke. I pause at the bottom step, only causing more uncertainty in the group. Behind shaded eyes I check out Letty. She's wearing black leather pants that make her ass look stunning, and a black halter. Her hair is down, flowing long, and framing her face. She looks at me biting her lip. She doesn't know that I'm looking at her, because my head is facing another direction, but my eyes are all over her. I turn my head towards the door.
"Let's ride," I tell them taking off my shades. They all begin to filter out the door, as I stand waiting for everyone to get outside. I yawn and stretch as Jesse walks past me. Letty lags behind until it's just her and I left standing beside the door.
"You okay?" she asked, brow furrowed. I tilt my head to the side at her concern, and smile.
"Yeah...........just tired," I tell her softly. She nods and smiles. She sighs then walks out the door. I follow behind her, locking the door, then getting into my car. I ride alone out to the desert, following the team. I had planned on racing tonight, but I don't really feel up to it anymore. We ride for nearly an hour before we get to the deserted, isolated area. Lights and sounds come from the distance as we pull off onto a dirt path leading to the spot. We turn around the bend in the road and are greeted by imports, and a vast variety of people brought together for one reason. I get out of my car and fawning females and admirers instantly surround me. I look around for the team and as soon as I spot them they begin to make their way over to me. They stand around me in a semi-circle waiting for my command.
"What's the line-up for tonight?" Leon asks, letting his eyes follow the backside of a nameless female body.
"Letty's going for Carlito, right?" I look over at her, and she nods.
"Jess, is over on the blue strip............Vince, you're on the black..........and Leon......Leon!?" I yell to snap his attention back to us and not every ass that passes by.
"Yeah?.........I'm listening.." he says innocently as I roll my eyes.
"Leon, you're........Fuck......just hang out and take stats tonight," I tell him giving up on keeping his attention. He nods enthusiastically.
"Okay, be safe, have a good night........I'll see you guys back at the house," I tell them. We usually stay together at the street races, but at events this big we just pick a strip and meet back up at the house. I reach back into my car to get my jacket as I hear a protest coming from the group.
"Wait a second........what about you?.......where are you gonna be?" Vince asked confused.
"Around," I tell him smirking. I catch Letty's eye and she's smiling also.
"Around?...........what the hell?............you're not racing?" Vince asks again.
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"Don't feel like it," I tell him dryly. He looks at me, the perfect picture of confusion, mouth gaping open, and eyes squinted. I laugh. I turn to Letty as he shakes his head and walks away. The rest of the team begins to walk off to their awaiting victories as Letty and Mia stay.
"What time you racing?" I ask Letty.
"I don't know yet, I need to go check," she says raising an eyebrow looking off into the distance.
"I'll go with you," I tell her, hoping she doesn't mind that I just invited myself along. She nods and we start walking through the crowd to the boards. She runs a finger down the boards and finds her slot. She then runs a finger horizontally to see if any slots are open. She finds one and etches her name in with the attached pen.
" 3:45 it is," she smiles. I can tell she's nervous about the race, but trying not to appear uneasy. That's Letty. She and Mia start talking as I'm pulled away by Hector.
"Hey, man...what's going on?" he smiles extending a fist. We touch knuckles.
"Nothing much, bro........Letty's going for Carlito," I smirk. He laughs surprised.
"Damn, that girl always goes for what she wants...eh?"
"Yeah, tell me about it......"
"So who you gonna put out of house and home tonight?" he asks smiling from ear to ear. I know he's not gonna like my answer and everyone here is gonna give me shit for not racing tonight.
"Nobody, actually.........I'm just here to watch the team." His mouth drops then he starts laughing. He thinks I'm joking.
"I'm serious, bro........look, Letty's up in a few, so I'm gonna go, you gonna check her out?"
"You know it.......I gotta see Carlito's face when she kicks his ass," he smiles. We begin to walk off to the strip where Letty is sitting in her car. I walk up to her window, and she's sitting silently in her car.
"Hey," I startle her. She jumps slightly.
"Hey," she sighs, looking at me then past me, as if she were expecting someone else.
"I'm up in a second," she says, her eyes darting in a million different directions. I don't know why she's this nervous. I lean closer to the window, and squat beside the car.
"Letty, you got this thing.........it's in the bag, babe.......relax," I try to calm her, whispering. She shakes her head.
"Don't say that, Dom........I could easily lose this.......lose my car," she whispers back, turning to me. Her eyes are full of an uneasiness that's unlike her. I wish I could kiss her, make her nervousness fade for a moment. Instead, I just stare into her eyes. She stares back with a frown and a furrowed brow. We hear them call for her.
"Okay, wish me luck," she sighs. I stand up and lean down to her window. I take a risk and kiss her on the top of the head. She responds with a smile.
"You don't need it," I tell her walking away. She smiles at me again and lines up with the others. She's up against all guys, as usual. No one she can't take, but the only person she has to beat is Carlito, to keep her car. If Carlito loses to another car, she won't have anything to worry about either, besides her ego, but all she has to do is either beat Carlito, or hope to God, someone else does. I walk over to the quarter mile finishing point with the other spectators. I spot Mia on the other side, standing with her arms folded. I look back at the starting point, saying a silent prayer for Letty. They line up, arms drop, and it's on. Letty gets off the line before anyone else, but Carlito, and some Civic are close behind her. They all speed towards us, and my heart rate increases as I see Carlito beginning to pull ahead of her. As they get closer she faintly gets even with him. I hold my breath as she shoots past him and over the line. Holy fucking shit! She won. She played with him. She let him think he was gonna get her then she fucking nailed him. I walk over to Mia and we start towards Letty's stopped car. Letty jumps out with the biggest 'shit eating' grin on her face, yelling.
"Get out of my car!" she smiles at Carlito. He gets out smiling. He walks over and hugs her.
"You got me, girl," he laughs at her. He pulls the keys out of his pocket and hands them to her.
"Good job, chica," he smiles at her again. She takes the keys and hugs him. She looks so marvelous when she's that happy. She smiles and turns to Mia. She hugs her tightly, even picking her up briefly. I want in on the action too, so I begin to walk over to her. I stop dead in my tracks as some unknown figure comes up behind Letty, and places his hands on her hips. She turns in response to his touch and they hug. She pulls back from him and smiles big. They begin talking like they know each other. Who the hell is he? Mia hugs him too. She's met someone else already. That's why she was okay with us just being friends now. She's already over me. I sigh and walk away, hurt beyond words. My mood quickly turns to anger as I hear some asshole noticing my crippled pride.
"Ohhh, Dom............Ain't that your girl over there?" he smirks with a crowd forming around us. Just keep walking Dominic. He's only trying to get a rise out of you.
"Who's that guy macking on her..........his hands all over her?"
"Fuck off," I tell him dryly, trying to push past him and his punk friends. People are always looking for ways to mess with me. I guess it's cause they think I'm so untouchable, or cause they see me as thinking I'm too good for everyone. They always want to get a piece of the "Race King". I walk past them with only one destination in mind, home.
"Looks like he can't keep his dick in his pants either.........Poor Letty," he spits smugly. I stop with my back to them, as I can hear them laughing. Every pint of blood in my body begins to rise and my ears and face become flushed, showing my anger. Every inch of my skin begins to tingle and my mind goes blank. All I know is that when I stood up, there was blood everywhere, and people screaming. I look down and the..........the "punk" is cover in the red liquid and gurgling the word 'help'. I back away and I can feel Vince come up behind me.
"Let's get out of here," he whispers nervously, staring at the bloody mess before us. I turn to walk away and I can hear, the guy's girlfriend, I guess, letting out a blood-curdling scream at seeing him first. I cringe as Vince walks me back to my car. The entire team, except Letty and Mia, soon surround us as we reach our cars.
"Holy shit!......What the hell happen!?" Jess exclaims looking at my shirt. I look down and I can't even tell that my shirt was once white.
"Where's Mia and Let?......we're getting outta here," Vince asks looking around.
"Shit, Dom........Is some of that yours!?" Leon asks wincing, referring to the blood blanketing almost every inch of me. I shake my head feeling nauseous.
"I don't know," I whisper, feeling the bile rising, burning my throat. I turn away, behind my car as my stomach convulses violently. I can hear Vince yelling for Mia and Letty to hurry up.
"What's wrong?..........what?....." I can hear my baby sister asking oblivious to my sins.
"Where is he?..........Where........is he okay?" she asks again her voice shaking, thinking the worst. I can hear her walking over to where I am.
"Dom?.........Dom are you okay?" she starts. I can't let her see me like this again.
"Mia, don't..............get in the car with Letty and go home," I tell with my back to her.
"Dom, what's going on?" she asks beginning to cry.
"Mia, just get in the car with Letty, and let her take you home......please," I tell her calmly wiping my mouth with a clean bit of forearm. I can hear her hesitate for a moment and then turn and walk away. Vince comes up.
"Is she in the car?" I ask Vince.
"Yeah," he tells me. I get up disgusted with myself wanting to crawl into a hole and never come out. What the hell came over me? I thought I had better control over my temper now. I look up and I'm met by Letty's hurt eyes and slightly open mouth.
"Are you okay?" she asks softly cringing. I can't even look at her right now, it hurts so much. I look down and nod.
"Take Mia home, for me."
"Okay," she answers softly reaching a hand out to touch my blood-splattered face. I pull away and get in my car. I crank it and pull off watching Letty, watching me, in the rearview mirror.
