Chapter 19

"Do something!" Mom Racer pleaded with her husband as she watched Speed heatedly walk away from them and, perhaps, out of their lives for good. "You've got to stop him!"

Pops shook his head. "Let 'em go, he won't survive a day on his own. Mark my words, he's gonna come crawling back to us, begging for our forgiveness."

"No, he won't," Mom sobbed. "He's leaving with...her. That witch will see to it that he never speaks to us again." She watched with angry tears as her middle son walked away, Dallas by his side. "I hate her," she whispered bitterly, "I never thought I'd say that about another human being, but I truly despise that girl."

Speed strode purposefully away from his parents, head held high, eyes straight ahead. His mother's anguished sobs assaulted his ears. For a moment he wanted to turn around and run into her arms, tell her that he was sorry and that he would go home with her and Pops. But, that was something a child would do and he wasn't a child anymore; he was a grown man. A fact he couldn't deny as he felt Dallas' body close to his, and the physical reaction he had to her. He did love his family, but his desire for the Texas beauty was stronger than that love right now.

She felt his arm tighten around her and smiled. "Oh, darlin', you really can't resist me, can you?" she thought.

She leaned up and kissed him with so much passion he thought he'd burst. Her hand lightly rubbed his inner thigh, causing a white light of pleasure to shoot through him. Chills went through his body, he didn't want the kiss to end. It had to, though, as a more pressing issue nagged at him. "That was wonderful, honey...But, it's not going to help me figure out where I can spend the night. I can't go to The Pines, not with all those reporters waiting to ambush us."

She pulled away. "Sweetpea, you can stay with Daddy and me, Ah know he won't mind," she said, shooting a glance at Mom Racer and grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Thanks," he replied wondering what his folks would think of his living right next door-with Dallas!

They waited for Paladin, who had gone to get the car. Out of the corner of his eye, Speed could see Mom crying in Pops' arms. He felt remorse for making his mother cry and anger towards his father for causing all this grief. "If he hadn't taken the Mach Five away from me, none of this would have happened," he said furiously.

---

Sparky carried the box of mementos that had been left next to the door by Racer X. "I'll give this to Speed when I see him," he said to Trixie who didn't say anything, though the expression on her face left no question as to what was on her mind.

"Be sure to pour everything in it over his head," Janine commented.

"Whoa! What's going on?" Sparky wondered as they left the building and witnessed a weeping Mom Racer being consoled by her husband as Speed and Dallas walked away from them; arms around each other.

"Looks like they had a fight," Trixie remarked. "Mrs. Racer is really upset."

"No doubt Golden Boy and the bimbo are at the root of this," Janine said venomously. "She is evil, just pure evil. She's gonna screw Speed over really good, and I just hope I'm around when it happens."

Sparky shook his head. "Man, I don't know what's come over him. He'd never let anybody control him the way Dallas does. It's like she's brainwashed him or something."

Janine watched in disgust as Dallas kissed Speed. "No…he's not brainwashed…He's just blinded by lust."

"I can't watch this," Trixie said, as she turned away from the scene and ran back inside the complex.

"Damn him. Your friend doesn't care who he hurts, does he?" Janine said accusingly to Sparky before running inside to tend to Trixie. "He's the most selfish human being I've ever met."

Sparky watched her as she left, thinking it was better for him to wait outside. He watched Speed as he got into Paladin Maverick's Lincoln followed by Dallas. "Buddy boy, she better be worth all of this," he said wondering if Speed even realized all that he was losing because of his involvement with the young woman.

---

Pops pulled his sedan into the driveway. He went to the passenger side and helped Mom out of the car. Her tears had slowed, but he could tell she was still very upset. "C'mon inside, I'll get you a nice cold glass of lemonade."

"Okay, I'd like that." She was starting to trudge up the walk when she saw the Maverick's car pull in the driveway. "Oh, Speed…" she whispered.

"Never mind him," Pops grumbled.

Mom felt her tears begin anew as she watched Speed emerge from the backseat of the vehicle. Their eyes met for a moment and she could see sympathy in his. He looked away, but not before shooting his father a malevolent glare. She started to slowly walk towards him. "Speed…wait!" she called.

Dallas looked right at her, scowled, and like a hawk snatching up its prey, grabbed Speed's arm and quickly ushered him inside.

Mom stared after them in defeat. "Why? Why is this happening?" she wailed. "My boy…I've lost my boy…" She wiped her eyes, then took a deep breath and went into the house.

"Why don't you go sit on the couch and relax," Pops said, trying to sound cheerful as he reached out his hand to her.

"No," she answered refusing his touch. "Speed's going to need something besides that suit to wear. I have to bring his clothes over to him." Her voice sounded oddly flat and far away. She ascended the stairs without saying another word while her husband stared at her.

---

Speed looked around the spacious foyer of the Maverick's house. "Funny, I've lived next door to this place all my life, and I've never been inside," he commented. "The previous owners weren't exactly the most congenial neighbors."

"Well," Dallas said, wrapping her arms around Speed's neck. "Ah think you'll find that the new neighbors are very friendly." She kissed him deeply and smiled.

"Hmmm… Definitely friendly, I can vouch for that." He took her face in his hands and gazed at her. "God, you're so beautiful…" He returned the kiss, his hands slowly moving down her back.

"Hey you two!" Paladin's voice boomed as he entered the house. "What's going on in here?"

Speed quickly jumped away from Dallas. "I'm sorry, Sir. I know I should have been doing that. It'll never happen again, I swear."

Paladin laughed heartily. "Don't worry, son, Ah was just kiddin' with ya. Dallas is a grown woman, she can do whatever she wants, so longs as it's legal," he said winking.

"Yes sir, but still…I shouldn't have been kissing her like that in your house," Speed said apologetically.

"Nonsense, son. Mah house is your house. Besides, like Ah said, Dallas is an adult. Heck, she turned twenty-five on her last birthday, so Ah certainly can't treat her like a child anymore."

Speed's eyes lit up. "Twenty-five? Wow!" he said to himself. He couldn't believe that a woman of Dallas age was interested in him. After all he was still a teenager, though for not much longer. Aloud, he said, "It's refreshing to see a parent accept the fact that their child's grown up. Too bad I can't say the same for my folks…"

"Don't worry, son, they'll come around. Now…how about Ah show you to your room?"

"Sure!"

Dallas blew him a kiss. "Speedy, Ah'll wait right here, then we can continue where we left off," she purred.

Speed's grinned widened. "I'll be back in a flash," he said before following Mr. Maverick.

While she waited, Dallas looked out the window. She grinned wickedly as a familiar figure made her way up the walk carrying a shopping bag. She opened the door before the bell could be rung. "Mrs. Racer, Ah didn't expect to see you here after what happened today."

"I brought over some clothes for Speed. He only has his suit and…"

Dallas cut her off before she could finish her sentence. "How sweet. But, Ah'm gonna take Speedy shoppin' tomorrow, so he really doesn't need anything to wear."

Mom tried her hardest to be pleasant. "That's very nice of you, dear. But, I also put in a pair of his pajamas. He'll need them tonight."

"He will?" Dallas asked, acting surprised. "That's funny, when he's in bed with me he never wears anything."

Mom's face reddened. "Well, just give them to him anyway." Knowing that Dallas wouldn't take the bag from her, she dropped it on the porch and was about to leave when she saw Speed standing in hall, his back to her, talking to Mr. Maverick. "Speed!…Please let him know I'm here, I need to talk to him."

"No!" Dallas said sharply before slamming the door in her face.

Speed's mother stood, mouth agape, unable to believe the utter audacity of the younger woman. She glanced down at the bag, heaving a great sigh as she picked it up. "I'm not even going to hope he'll ever get this."

---

Speed returned to the foyer, Dallas was still standing where he had left her. He broke into a huge smile. "I missed you," he said, grabbing her and planting a kiss on her lips.

She grinned. "Silly boy, you were only gone ten minutes."

"It felt more like ten hours," he said as put his arm around her, loving how her body felt next to him.

"You're too sweet, angel," she said as she led him into the living room and stood in front of him. "You know, darlin', we're gonna have to take you downtown to buy some new clothes. It just won't do for you to wear that suit all the time."

He nodded. "Yeah, it's not the most comfortable outfit to wear," he said loosening his tie and feeling sweaty, "especially in this heat."

"Then it's settled, tomorrow we spend the day shopping."

Normally, the thought of a whole day going from store to store would be considered a form of torture to him, but for some reason, the idea of a shopping with Dallas was exciting. "Great! I've been needing to buy new stuff to wear. Besides, I don't think it's such a good idea to go to my house to pick up some things, at least not so soon after that blow up with my parents .

"Speaking of your folks…" Dallas said, concocting what she hoped would be a lie convincing enough for Speed to believe. "While Daddy was showing you your room, Ah called your mother and asked if she could bring some of your clothes over. Do you know what she said?"

"I'm not sure I wanna know," he replied. "But, I guess you've gotta tell me."

"She told me it would be a cold day in hell before she'd ever see you again and that she was embarrassed to be your mother. Ah tried to tell her that Ah didn't think it was proper for her to talk about you that way. That's when she told me to mind my own damn business. After that, she hung up the phone on me!"

Speed's faced registered shock. "My mother… Did she really say that?" Dallas nodded. He sunk to the couch. "I can't believe it…Sure, Pops I can see talking like that…But, Mom?" He turned his face away, not wanting Dallas to see the tears that filled his eyes. He couldn't fathom that his mother could ever be so angry with him that she'd practically disown him.

Dallas sat next to him and put a comforting arm around his shoulder. "Ah'm so sorry, sweet pea. Ah didn't even want to tell you…That's why Ah suggested the shopping trip because I didn't want you to know what she said. Ah guess, though, you're better off knowing how she really feels."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Speed said, his voice achingly sad. "I know Pops is really pissed off at me. But, I never thought he would go so far as to turn my own mother against me." He stood up and angrily exclaimed, "Well, they can go to hell for all I care!" He stormed from the room, vowing never to speak to his parents again.

Dallas smiled as she watched him go, pleased with herself for being able to so effortlessly turn Speed against his parents. "That was almost too easy," she said. "He's such a gullible boy and way too trusting for his own good. It's such a shame that Ah'll probably have to ruin his life in order to get what Ah want."