"Are you happy now?" I asked Tommy sourly as he finally reached the place where I was standing. He just shrugged.
"Give my ego a little boost, Jude. Admit that I was good." Tommy stated on a chuckle as I rolled my eyes before turning to walk away. He grabbed me by the arm.
"I'm sorry." He remarked softly as I just looked over my shoulder at him warily. We were not doing this again.
"You tend to say that a lot lately." I replied quietly as he just perused me a moment closely. I could see Kwest shaking his head at us from the corner of my eye, and I pulled away from Tom only to have him grab me around the waist firmly in order to lift me over the fence. What the…
"What the hell are you doing?" I cried out as I stomped on his toe once he put me down. He winced but didn't cry out. I was angry enough to hit him right now. Seriously. Kwest just snorted before turning to walk off the track. Why did Tom have to prove Kwest right? I wanted to call out for Kwest to come back, but Chris was still somewhere on the tracks, and I didn't want to draw attention to Tom and I. Jesus!
"A little feisty this afternoon, aren't you?" Tommy asked as I just stomped on his other foot. This time he swore and I grinned. Shaking his head, Tommy pointed gingerly over at his racecar.
"Want to see what it feels like?" Tommy asked as I just stared at him in disbelief. Was he asking me if I wanted to go around the track with him? Okay, that sentence didn't even sound right in my own head much less the minds of people who think a little bit dirtier than I do. I just shook my head.
"I don't think I care to know what going over a hundred miles an hour feels like." I stated simply as he just raised a brow at me. He knew my penchant for danger. He gave me that 'you know you want to do it' look and I rolled my eyes again.
"One time, Jude." Tommy muttered as I looked over at the car as if I were drawn by the sudden idea.
"It's a major adrenaline rush. I don't want you to view this as anything but a friendly gesture, Jude. I'd ask you to do it even if you weren't with Chris. I don't want to lose our friendship." He remarked slowly as I just gazed at him a moment in silence.
"I don't either, Tom, but the fact is you wouldn't ask me to do it if I weren't with Chris because we wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for him." I replied caustically as Tommy shrugged.
"Point taken, but I still want you to go with me. Just for the fun of it. How many people get that chance?" Tommy asked as I looked behind him over at the tracks—making sure that we were pretty much alone. He had a point. What the hell?
"As friends." I stated firmly as he smiled before leading me over to the car and handing me a spare helmet. I fitted it over my head before climbing in in order to let him adjust the harnesses across my chest. His fingers brushed against sensitive areas as he worked, and I felt electric tingles spread outward throughout my body. I closed my eyes in order to ignore it.
"Ready?" Tommy finally asked as I nodded before he shifted gears—driving out onto the track before glancing at me one more time. I held my breath as he shifted again before roaring into action. I screamed as he accelerated—laughing as much as I was terrified as he flew through the turns. My heart pounded as everything blurred past my vision. How the hell did Tommy know where he was going? My breathing even stopped occasionally as we spinned, and I was almost light headed as he finally pulled to a stop what felt like only seconds later. Oh my God! No wonder they loved it. I jerked the helmet off, my chest heaving as I looked over at him with a smile. He pulled his off too before grinning widely at me.
"Addictive isn't it?" He asked quietly as I gasped—still trying to catch my breath through the laughter that bubbled up into my throat.
"That was amazing. God, my heart is going insane!" I stated wildly as he chuckled. I felt like a free spirit—soaring.
"Now you know how I feel." He said softly and when I looked into his face, I knew he wasn't talking about cars. No, Tommy! I caught a glimpse of Chris near the fence and I shoved my helmet back on. I didn't need any of this right now.
