Chapter One: At the Races.
"DJ (nickname given to her by her friend Andy, her full name was Damea Jo Summers), I need you to work today, Andy is racing, and he is very finicky about his bike, he doesn't trust anyone but you. Could you please come today?" Jerry, Damea's boss asked her. Damea, during the summers, would work for Jerry Carson as the team mechanic. She was very skilled when it came to mechanics. She new where everything was, and what they did. She really enjoyed it because all of the people that she worked with were fun. The only bad thing is that not too many girls were into this sort of stuff, so mostly, she hung around the guys. Andy was Jerry Carson's son; he was the coolest, and probably her best friend, along with Justin Smart, and Skylar Wilson.
"I don't know Jerry; I had a big night last night." She smiled as she remembered the party. Everyone was there. There was a cloud of smoke hovering over that house and a lot of alcohol, along with many drunken people. Someone brought a two liter bottle of vodka, which was downed in a half an hour between five, small girls. It was pretty nasty because there was puke everywhere. Damea didn't drink any though. She would have but she had to drive herself, plus two of her girl friends home. She was out until about one o'clock, and got in a little trouble with her mom. She came back to reality and finished her conversation with Jerry. "I was up late last night, I think I am just going to stay home today, if you don't mind." She finished and then yawned.
"Damea, Andy wants you to be there, he is really counting on it, and I am too, I will help you get that Honda you want." He said out of pure desperation. Damea had been trying to get the sponsors to buy her a 2002, 4-stroke, 125 Honda. It was really nice and exactly what she needed to win powder puff race at the end of the summer. She always did good and made it to nationals. But every time she would come in second or third. It wasn't as if she wasn't good enough, it was just her current bike is outdated. Not enough power to beat the others. The sponsors have been refusing her proposal for all summer, which was very disappointing.
"You will help me?" she asked just to clarify what she heard.
"Yes, I will talk to the sponsors and tell them that you would win if you have it, and then maybe they will get it for you."
"You promise you will talk to them?"
"I promise, as long as you come down here. I will even throw in a bonus for your paycheck." He knew he offering quite a lot, but her really liked Damea and was one of his best racers. She was even better then most of his male racers. He had a total of 12 racers working for him, one for each heat, that were all top quality, and Damea could beat every one of them except for Andy. He would have her race with the guys, but it wasn't aloud since they had woman's league. She always got first place, except for at nationals. He was lucky that he scouted her out before anyone else did and he wanted to keep it that way. He knew she would never betray him and go to another team; the whole Carson team was like a family. But he still had to be sure to keep her happy.
"I'll be there in a half an hour to service the bikes. See you then." She didn't even wait for his answer she just hung up the phone. She was ecstatic. She would finally get what she had been wanting since the beginning of the summer. She jumped in the shower, didn't bother with make-up or doing her hair, she never bothered with that too much anyway . She just threw it up into a quick mess bun, threw on a pair of old jeans and an old white t-shirt, and headed to the Jerry Carson's house, where they kept the bikes.
"Jerry, hey, okay what bikes are we taking today?" she asked in a cheery voice as she took a sip of her double espresso. She needed her caffeine, after all, he did call her at eight o'clock in the morning, she only got about five hours of sleep.
"Well, since there are only eight racers that are available, we are only taking eight bikes. It's these ones right here." He said as he pointed to the group of bikes moved over to the front of the garage. "Do you need any help, I can call Andy out to help you?" he said.
"Um, sure, go ahead, that way we can get this done by lunch time." He nodded and left to go get his son.
Not too long after that a tall, handsome, dark brown haired, seventeen year old came into the garage.
"Hey DJ," he said and then say her puffy eyes,"Wow you look tired."
"Well, however I look, I feel ten times worse. I went to the party at Sarah's last night. I got a total of five hours of sleep."
"Well, I guess if we hurry maybe you'll have time to take a nap before he head off for the race."
"By the way, what time are we leaving?" she asked hoping that she could do that.
"Well, the first heat is at five. So we are gunna leave at three. That gives us about six hours, we can have this done by one, so you should have time."
"Thank god, I won't survive the day with out it." She said and yawned again. "Your gunna have to test them because I will crash two seconds into it. I'm too tired to concentrate."
"That's fine. So lets get started, you wanna go get the tools?" he asked and she nodded her head lightly and stalked off toward the tool bench to grab the utility box.
The day went by fast, since Damea and Andy always have a good time together. All the bikes were in were in top shape, and it only took them three and a half hours. It was about twelve thirty when Damea went home to clean up. She kind of woke up as the day went on and no longer wanted to take a nap.
When she got home, she took a long hot shower, washing off the dirt, oil, and gasoline. She scrubbed her body endlessly until she smelled like sweet vanilla and raspberries. She threw her hair into a mess bun to keep it out of her eyes. She was going to a race, so she didn't want to dirty any of her good clothes, so she threw on a old, torn pair of jeans, and her usual 'Carson Racing' shirt with 'Summers 99' on the back. Of course you should already know that her last name is Summers but her racing number was always 99, and she didn't have it any other way.
Damea and Andy had made a deal to meet up for lunch. They were also going to be accompanied by Justin and Sky. They had their own little group, and always hung out together. Justin was the same age as Damea, sixteen, but Sky was seventeen. They had all decided to go to Davison Coffee Shop as a pre race celebration. Roger Davison owned the café, and was the sweetest seventy year old guy you would ever meet. He always would come out and talk to the foursome when they would show up, which was pretty often, and give them a free chocolate shake. It was a small, quaint little shop, with the best hamburgers you could get. They ate there all the time and became their little place to be away from everyone else, because they were the only ones below the age of fifty that ever went there. That is another thing that made the shop appealing. Everyone their loved to see young faces and were always polite.
"Hey Justin, where's Sky, I thought he was coming with you?" Damea asked as she and Andy walked in and spotted Sky there in their usual corner booth.
"Oh he did, he spotted a little fox, quote unquote, and ran off to talk to her. He should be here in a couple of seconds with a hand print on his face." They all chuckled. Sky was one of those guys who was always chasing after girls, but never succeeded. It wasn't as if he was ugly, as a matter of fact, he was quite handsome, but he came on to women a little to forward. Justin was the exact opposite. He was handsome too, but never came on to women. He was almost kind of shy, which attracted most intellegent women, and he often had long relationships, but not too many. Andy on the other hand, has had many girlfriends. But they never last long. Some of them dumped him because he spent too much time with Damea. They thought that it was strange to always see him with her. He didn't deny it, he loved her, but not as a lover, and more as a brother. They never dated, and never will date, they were too close.
"And here he comes." Damea said as Sky walked in. He was strutting sarcastically, and was smiling like a maniac.
"I got a number." He said and then smiled, if possible, wider.
"Congratulations Sky, what's her name" Damea asked. She didn't have a problem with the boys dating. In fact, she found it amusing see all the girls that the boys went through.
"Rachel. Isn't that a great name, Rachel, it just rolls off your tongue. Rachel" he repeated.
"Well, what can I get for your guys today, the usual?" asked Florence, the waitress that always tended to them if Roger himself didn't.
"Yep, and can I get a hot fudge sundae with extra fudge and cherries when we are done eating?" Damea asked. Damea was a fanatic about chocolate. She ate it like she inhaled air.
"You sure can dear, we'll have that out to you in about fifteen to twenty minutes. You off for a race today?" she asked as she noticed they were all wearing there jersies.
"Yep, all the guys are racing, I just get to sit and watch." Damea said.
"Oh, that's too bad, well; I'll be back pretty soon with your food." Florence said.
"Thanks." They all said in unison.
"So, do you think we will podeum today?" Andy asked.
"We might but my money's on Anderson Racing for first. They got that new guy, shit, I forgot his name. I think that it is like Ryan Thomson or something." Justin said.
"Ryan Thomas." Andy said with a sneer lurking in the corners of his mouth. For some odd reason, Andy had a grudge against Ryan.
"Oh yeah, Ryan Thomas, I met him once, he's from like Tucson or around that area. He's not the best though. Jordan beat him in the last race." Damea said. Jordan was another racer. He raced with the 250's. He was one of the better people in Carson Racing.
"How did you meet him?" Sky asked. All the boys were really protective of her, like a brother was to a sister, along with a fiery temper when it came to boys mistreating her. It didn't bother her too much because she really wasn't into the whole dating thing. Guys make much better friends then boyfriends.
"Oh, well we started to talk at the last race. You know, when you guys totally ditched me and started to talk to those trophy girls." She said teasing them about the last race. All the boys took off and tried to chat up some girls. Damea didn't really mind, she had work to do and they were just a distraction, but she liked to make them squirm.
"DJ, I'm sorry, I promise it won't happen again." Justin said honestly.
"Yeah." They all said in unison.
"It's okay." She said smiling. Her smile showed them that she was just joking around with them.
"So what did he say?" Andy asked.
"Oh, he's pretty... cocky. He thinks he's god's gift to women, pretty damn far off in my opinion." She said.
"Why, did he come on to you?" Justin asked as he stiffened up.
"He might of, I blew him off before he could get past his name." all the boys nodded.
Nothing really happened on the way to the races, unless you count Justin spilling hot pizza all over Ashley. Ashley Preston was one of the sponsor's daughters. She was the biggest ditz that you could ever meet. She caked makeup on, put so much hairspray in it was a fire hazard, and wore cloths that showed more skin then it covered. She only came to the races because of the boys. She would always flutter her eyelashes, flip her hair, and stick out her chest. None of them went for it, they weren't that shallow.
When they arrived at the race track, everyone went their separate ways to do their own job. Damea's was to do one last check up on the bikes. When she was finished with that, she went to go get water.
"Look at this piece of hot fresh meat." said a voice from behind her. Damea turned around and saw Ryan Thomas, the new guy with Anderson Racing. He was looking her up and down and licking his lips.
"I thought I smelled a pig." She said with a look of definite distaste on her face.
"Oh, you hurt my feelings." He said sarcastically and grabbed her waste.
"Get your fucking hands off of me." She said menacingly and whipped out of his embrace, and stalked off in the other direction. Ryan just sat there, eyeing her retreating back.
"Hey Andy." She said exasperatedly as she reached her friend.
"Hey DJ, you wanna test Justin's bike while I test mine, he's a little busy at the moment."
"You bet." She said and started up. She popped a wheelie and went off. When she started to ride, she felt like she was home. She felt the wind sweeping through her hair, caressing her scalp. She felt the world melt around her. It was just her, the bike, and the ground. She was in her haven. When it came to bikes, Bianca was a tom cat. She felt the need for speed. Nothing could stop her. She zipped through the trail like a flash of lightning.
After about fifteen minutes of riding, they stopped back at the truck.
"It's running good." She said with a smile on her face. It was always the same smile when she was done riding. It was the way some one would smile if they had just returned from a vacation to heaven. Andy laughed. He always got a thrill to see how much she loved the bikes.
"Andy your up" Jerry called as he ran up to his son. "Now remember, stay to the outside. That Thomas guy will cut you off. Start out slowly, stay to the back, until the final lap, then pick up and get to the front. Everyone out their goes fast at first until they are ensured first, then they slack off, that's when you come in. Now go and bring me a trophy." Andy nodded, putting his helmet on. Jerry always gave a pep talk to the upcoming rider. It was always good information, and it helped them win many races.
You can probably guess what happened during the race. Andy started off and stayed right behind the last person. When they were on the second lap, he picked up and went to about the middle. On the last lap, he was tied with Ryan Thomas. Ryan was trying to cut Andy off, but unsuccessfully. Andy was one pace ahead of Ryan. At the finish line, Andy came in just a split second before Ryan did, winning the trophy.
Carson Racing had one more victory to add to the book. Everyone had placed either first or second. Justin, Andy, Sky and Jordan were all first place. Everyone else was in second. They still did better then everyone else. Damea couldn't stop smiling at the boys, she was very proud of them.
While everyone was packing up, Damea was going to buy them victory drinks. While she was walking up to the concession stand, she felt someone grab her arm, and pulled her behind a building. When Damea finally had the sense to look up, she saw that her capturer was Ryan. Before she could scream at him, he had his lips violently pressed against hers. She was terrified. She was a good at self defense, but he was too strong, and she was too shocked. He had her held with arms pressed to her side, and was pushed up hard against the wall. As he kept her mouth occupied with his, he went to her shirt. He started to go up the back and undo her bra. Suddenly, the wind picked up. It was a nice, calm day, but a fierce, bitter cold wind struck the back of their necks. Damea didn't notice this. Her mind was occupied on the violent hands that were wandering where they shouldn't be. As she was getting weaker and weaker by fear, the wind kept on getting stronger and stronger, until it was almost unbearable. He lifted his face to sweep the sand and dirt from his eyes, which gave her a chance; she threw a punch at his face, and another in his gut, then she shot off toward to truck. At that second, the wind died instantly. Ryan was left behind muttering under his breath.