Chapter 2

"When you think about the future, what do you see?"

"What do you see?"

"I'm serious."

Brian sighed. "I see you." He smiled and kissed Ashley as they lay underneath the stars.

Brian awoke. 'Damn' he thought again. He was starting to get tired of thinking about Ashley. He got up out of bed and threw on a shirt. He walked outside to the 85 degree weather. The sun was out and shining down. It was a beautiful day, just like every other in Miami. He walked over to the house that Tej and Jimmy stayed in. He walked in to see them all passed out in the living room. He walked over to the kitchen and got something to eat. Tej came walking in.

"Hey man. You still thinking about her?"

"Yea. I don't know why she's in my head all of a sudden. "

Tej gave him a pat on the back. "Man, maybe you should just go see her. If she's in your mind lately, maybe you should just go visit her. It wouldn't hurt would it?"

"No, but, I dunno, what if she doesn't want to see me?"

"Well, then you'll know that she doesn't want anything to do with you, and you can finally move on."

Brian just nodded. "Yea maybe. Thanks man."

"No prob, dude."

"Are we racing tonight?"

"Yea, midnight baby, be there."

Brian nodded and went to the garage. If he was racin tonight he would need to check his car. He grabbed his tools and popped the hood. He checked the oil, and any other normal things. He then went for the NOS. He would need to restock. He went over to the side and grabbed to NOS tanks. He took out the other two that were already in there. He hooked up the knew ones and tested to make sure they were working right.

Brian loved workin on his car. It took his mind off of everything. It was kind of like his safe haven, besides driving. He finished polishing his car and went back to the boathouse. He sat on his bed contemplating whether or not to go see Ashley. Was she still livin in Barstow? Of course she was. She was under house arrest. He knew she wouldn't welcome him with open arms. 'I can't go see her. It would end just as bad as before. But then, maybe we could work it out. Who am I kidding?' He took his shirt off and decided to sleep on it.

He woke to his cell phone. "Hello?"

"Yo man, you racin?" said Tej on the other end.

"Yea man."

"Then get your ass down here pronto."

Brian jumped out of bed and threw a shirt on. He went to his car and raced to the meeting place. The usual were there. People thinking that they could beat him. Brian had made a name for himself down here. He was the best and no one would say any different. He pulled up to line. He got out and was bombarded by people. He walked over to Tej.

"They got deep pockets?"

"Yea man."

Brian just smiled. He looked over to see Suki, OJ, and some other guy no one had seen before. He looked like the rich type to lose as many cars as he wanted and wouldn't be put out about it.

They through in their money and got into their cars. It was a tough race, but Brian won anyways. Everyone headed over to Tej's for an after party. The bass was going, and the booze was flowing. Brian was actually having fun. He hadn't had this much fun in awhile. The party died down around 4 in the morning. Brian went to bed with a mighty headache.

Brian woke the next day with a pounding headache. He shuffled to the kitchen to get some aspirin. He turned on the TV and watched some news. Carter Verone was making headlines, as usual. Some drug trafficker. What else is knew. He turned the TV. off and decided to take a shower. He got out and went to work on his car. It was pretty much an everyday thing. Get up, work on the car, take a nap, and do whatever in the evenings.

Brian went out that afternoon to get some lunch. He was still trying to decide on whether or not to go see Ashley. It had been bugging him for awhile. He made it back to the boathouse and decided to take a nap. He woke up at about 10 at night and decided to take another shower. When he got out, his cell phone rang.

"Yea."

"Yeah, man. You wanna race tonight?"

"Yeah, you know I could use the money."

"You got four minutes man."

"All right. I'll be there." Brian hung up and was out the door in less than 30 seconds. He started his car up and raced down the highway to the usual meeting point. As he showed up, there were tons of people as usual.

He revved his engine and everyone moved.

"Yeah, There's our fourth right there." Replied Tej.

"Shit. It's Brian." Said Suki.

He pulled up to the line and got out. He shook hands with a few people and walked over to Tej.

"What's up Tej?"

"What's happenin', dude?" They both pounded fists.

"Thanks for the invite."

"No problem at all, man. Just, uh, remember me when you wax, a'ight?"

"They got deep pockets?"

Tej chuckled. "Real deep." They both turned around to face the other drivers.

"What's up, Suki?"

"What's up, Bullet?"

"What do you say we kick it a nickel?"

"Nobody said nothin' about raisin' the stakes." Said OJ.

Brian walked over to him. "If that's the case, why don't you ask these nice people here to back off the line so you can go home?" Brian said with a smile.

OJ silenced everyone behind him as Tej came up. "Okay. Thirty-five large. Three cinco."

Brian walked back to his car as everyone put in their amount. Before Brian got into his car, he noticed a girl in the crowd.

"All right, back up. Back up. Let's go. Let's go." Brian's car shot flames out the exhaust pipe. "Yea, yea, back y'all asses up. Back up. Back up. Before you turn into barbecue around here. It's not a game. This is serious. All right. Back up. Back up. Get off the street. Everybody keep your hands real, real clear alright? Cause I got a surprise for y'all this evening."

"Ready. Ready. Ready. Ready. Go!" Everyone took off. Tires squealing and flames going. It would be awhile till they got back, but when they did, Brian came sliding through the winner. Suki turned up not much later.

"Tell me y'all saw that, man. Bullet and Suki sprayed the bridge, and I need to start making y'all pay to see this shit. I got over 10 stacks for my man right here, aight? That's what I'm talking about, man. Play with it. Smells good don't it?"

"Yeah, I'll buy that. Right there."

"Right. Y'all see this? Everybody take a real good look. This is what you call mutual respect. A'ight, let's clear out."

Brian saw the girl from the crowd and walked over to her. Maybe he could get a little action. She started walking away.

"Hey, where you going?"

"It's time to get out of here."

"Why's that?" He didn't get an answer because the cops came pulling in. He raced back to his car and took off. He was dead set to make it home free but was caught, his car slamming into a meter.

"Lemme see your hands!" the cops shouted. Brian put his hands in the air, awaiting what would happen to him next.