Chapter Three

Trixie stormed away from Speed and Dallas. "I'll kill 'em both, I swear!" She reached the threshold of the Racer kitchen. "Take a deep breath...calm down." She forced a smile as she entered the room. "Hi everybody," she said, trying her best to sound happy.

"Trixie, hello dear," Mrs. Racer said as she rose to greet her. Both men at the table also stood. Mom turned towards her new neighbor, "Mr. Maverick, this is Trixie. She's Speed's girlfriend." Mom put a heavy emphasis on the last word.

"Howdy, ma'am," he said with a smile. "Pleased to meet ya."

"Likewise, I'm sure." Trixie face was set in stone. The man bore a striking resemblance to the girl with Speed, right down to the accent.

Dallas entered the kitchen, still holding firmly to Speed's arm. Mr. Maverick smiled. "This here's mah daughter, Dallas," he motioned towards the blond.

"Daddy, Trixie and Ah have already met. We're practically old friends. Aren't we?" She had that sickening smile on her face again. It was obvious she meant nothing of what she said.

"Oh yeah, old friends," Trixie said sarcastically, under her breath she added, "Like a snake and a mongoose."

Mrs. Racer heard her. She was pleased that Trixie could see right through Dallas' phoniness, she just wished her son could.

Speed made his way around the far side of the table. He sat down next to Mr. Maverick. Trixie quickly sat next to him. Poor Dallas, she wouldn't be able to sit next to Speed.

But, Dallas had other ideas. "Daddy, would you mind moving? Ah want to sit next to Speedy; he's going to tell me all about the excitin' races he's been in."

"Sure, Sweet pea," Mr. Maverick said as he moved to the other side of the table. "Anything for mah little girl."

Dallas looked at Trixie as she sat down. "If Ah sat next to you, Ah'd constantly be leanin' over to talk to Speedy. We have so much in common. You'd be bored to tears, Ah'm sure."

Trixie didn't respond. "I wonder if I'll go to hell for the hateful thoughts I'm having right now," she said to herself.

The kitchen door opened and Spritle and Chim-Chim bounded in. "Is dinner ready, Mom? Chim-Chim and me are starving!" the youngest Racer exclaimed.

His mother crossed her arms. "Where have you been all day?"

Spritle shrugged. "Hangin' around and stuff. Me and Chim-Chim was playin' traffic cop." Grinning like a Cheshire cat, he gave a long side-ways glance at Speed, who was too busy fawning over Dallas to notice.

"Well, from now on I want to know where you are and what you're doing. I got worried when I called Delicia and she said she hadn't seen you."

"Aw, you don't hafta worry about me, Mom, I didn't get into mischief once all day." He again looked in his brother's direction.

"Fine," Mom said, not wanting to create a scene in front of Mr. Maverick. "Now, go wash up, dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

"Okay, Mom. C'mon, Chim-Chim," he said as he headed towards the bathroom.

Trixie turned to Speed. "Speaking of washing up, weren't you going to take a shower?"

"Um, yeah, I was," Speed replied. "But, Dallas said she didn't think I needed one."

Trixie raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Earlier you were complaining about how grungy you were feeling."

"Oh no, not grungy," Dallas interjected as she lightly touched Speed's arm, "not grungy at all. Ah think the rugged scent of sweat just adds to a man's masculinity."

"Rugged scent…That's not what I'd call it…" Trixie muttered.

"You say something, Trix?" Speed asked.

"Nothing worth repeating," she answered.

Dallas leaned across Speed. "Trixie, Ah notice y'all are still wearing the same outfit from this morning. Don't tell me you didn't follow your own advice about showering."

Trixie was astounded by Dallas' gall. "I didn't feel I had to shower since I wasn't the one driving around the boiling track in a race car."

"Ah know that. Still...Ah would think that, as a woman, you'd want to shower and change into something more...feminine...for your man." She shook her head as she took in Trixie's attire. "Ah guess some girls just don't care about their looks or their boyfriends." She placed her hand on Speed's knee and moved so close that their bodies were touching. "Don't you agree, Speedikins?"

"Well…uh... yeah," he said through quivering lips. He wasn't even sure he comprehended what she'd said. Right now, it was all he could do to control himself from his desire for Dallas.

"WHAT?" Trixie cried angrily. "You're agreeing with her? I don't need this…" She stood up and quickly left the room.

Pops and Mr. Maverick stared at here. They had been too engrossed in their own conversation to pay attention the goings on between Speed and the girls. Mom, however, had witnessed the exchange. She followed Trixie, who had run into the bathroom.

Mrs. Racer lightly rapped on the door. "Trixie, dear, please let me in."

The door slowly opened, Trixie peered out at her, tears glistening in her eyes. "I'm sorry I made such a scene back there…It's just that she…she…and then Speed…" She wasn't able to finish the sentence.

Mom put a protective arm around her. "I know, I know… Speed was wrong. As for Dallas…"

"She's a horrible, awful person, that's what she is. Why doesn't Speed see that?" Trixie asked.

Mrs. Racer sighed, "I'm afraid he's too enamored with her looks to notice. I'm sure that soon he'll see her for what she really is." Softly, more to herself than Trixie, she added, "At least I pray that he does."

"I can't sit there and listen to her insults anymore. I think maybe I should leave."

"Do you really want to do that and give Dallas the satisfaction of knowing she drove you away?"

"No, I guess not," she said through her tears. "But, I'm such a mess. My make-up is smeared; my eyes are red."

'That can be fixed. Wash your face with cold water; I'll get your bag so you can fix your make-up. I'll hold dinner until you're finished."

Trixie forced a smile. "Mrs. Racer…Thanks. Speed doesn't know how lucky he is to have a mom like you."

Mom returned the smile. "He doesn't know how lucky he is to have you for a girlfriend. After he gets to know what Dallas is really like, he'll realize it."

"I hope so," Trixie said as Mrs. Racer left the bathroom.

---

Trixie returned to the table. This time, she ignored Dallas and Speed. Instead, she listened intently to Pops and Mr. Maverick as they cut a business deal. Mr. Maverick had decided to use Pops' engineering genius to create new cars for his racing team. While she hated the thought of Dallas living next door to the Racers, she was happy that Pops would finally be able to put Pops' Motors in the black, thanks to Paladin Maverick.

"So, tomorrow we'll have our lawyers draw up the papers and then we can get started," Pops said.

"How about we shake on it for now?" Paladin Maverick stuck out his hand, Pops shook it.

"I'll have Sparky work on the new designs for your team ASAP."

"Ah'm looking forward to meeting him. Ah'm sure he can teach mah pit crew a thing or two."

"More coffee, Mr. Maverick?" Mom asked holding the coffee pot over his cup.

"No, thank you, and, please call me Paladin." He said as he moved the cup away.

Dallas squeezed Speed's arm. "And you can call me Dallas, sugar."

"He already has, you twit," Trixie muttered as Speed's mother poured coffee into her mug. Mrs. Racer giggled, if only Dallas had heard that insult.

Paladin rose. "I think it's time Dallas and Ah left. We don't want to overstay our welcome. Come along, honey."

"Okay, Daddy." Dallas relinquished her hold on Speed. "Remember, darlin', Ah'll see you at the track tomorrow morning."

"Sure! I'm looking forward to it." Speed said with a huge grin.

Trixie had to fight the urge to punch him in the side. She decided to make him pay for his actions in other ways.

Dallas turned to her. "Ah do hope I'll see you tomorrow, Trixie." Her voice was so saccharine that it could make a person swear off candy for life.

"I have plans. I hope you won't be too disappointed, Dallas, dear," Trixie replied in the same fake-nice tone of voice.

"What a shame, I'll miss you," she said, once again meaning not one word of it. "But, don't worry; I'll take good care of Speedy."

Trixie gritted her teeth in a supreme effort to keep from hauling off and belting her. It wouldn't be easy, but she'd keep her composure and let Dallas reveal herself for the snake in the grass that she was.

---

Later that evening, as the Mach Five roared along the highway, a freezing rain started to fall. The temperature inside the car was even frostier than outside. The only sound that could be heard was that of the windshield wipers as the moved back and forth, back and forth, over the windshield.

Trixie stared out the window into the black night. Her emotions ranged from blinding rage to a raw pain of a kind she had never experienced before. She blinked back the tears that threatened to fall.

Speed stole a glance at her. He wished he could think of the right words to say. But, he was afraid anything he said would just worsen the situation.

Finally, the car pulled in front of Trixie's place. Just as she was about to open the door, Speed spoke, "Uh…listen, about tonight…I'm sorry for the way I acted."

She wanted to scream at him, tell him that she didn't accept his apology. She wanted him to know what a jerk he was, inform him that if he preferred shallow bimbos like Dallas, then he deserved any grief he received. Instead, she said softly, "Whatever, Speed…."

"Are you coming to the track tomorrow?" he asked, staring straight ahead.

"Like I told your friend, I have plans," her voice was as cold as the rain that continued to pour down on them. He leaned over to kiss her goodnight. "You're kidding, right?"

"No …" he said, wondering why he'd try to do something so stupid as to kiss her.

She opened the door and stepped out. "Goodbye, Speed."

The finality in her voice sent a chill down his spine.

---

Pops lay in bed; he had a huge grin on his face. "This could be big, you know that. A man of Paladin Maverick's caliber asking me to design a fleet of cars for him..." his smile broadened, "We'll be rolling in dough."

"I hope so, dear." His wife wasn't quite convinced. She finished brushing her hair and joined him. "I don't know about Dallas, there's something about her…Did you see the way Speed looked at her?"

"What do you expect? She's a very pretty girl. You know how much Speed likes pretty girls."

"It's not just that. It's..." she shook her head. "I don't know...It's the way she kept flirting with him. How she kept calling him a man."

"Er...dear, if you think about it, she's right. Speed's nearly twenty. He is for all intents and purposes, a man."

"Do you have to remind me of that?" she groaned. "Maybe, physically, he's a man, but emotionally, he's still an innocent boy...I'm worried about him. Worried that he's going to ruin what he has with Trixie. Worried that Dallas Maverick will break his heart."

Pops put his arms around her. "I know you worry about Speed, I do, too. But, we have to let him go, he's not a child anymore. He has to learn from his mistakes and, hopefully, grow from them."

"But, must he get hurt along the way?" she asked, her voice trailing off.

---

Speed wearily pulled into the driveway. "What a day… Thank God it's almost over."

He got out of the car, noticing that the rain had let up a bit. He was about to go into the house when light coming from one of the Maverick's windows caught his eye. It seemed to beckon to him; he walked towards it, hypnotized by the warm glow. He gazed inside, Dallas moved gracefully in front of a full-length mirror, carefully watching her form. Her workout attire was skin-tight and so skimpy it left little to the imagination.

Speed watched her; enthralled. "She's so beautiful…" he whispered. The rain had picked up again he was becoming drenched. He didn't care. The only thing that mattered right now was Dallas, and the intense longing he had for her.

Dallas turned towards the window, stretching. She looked right at him and smiled in her seductive way. Strolling over to the window, she winked as she slowly closed the curtains.