Making it to the location, she put the car in park, watching the sun was slowly lower itself into the ground. It would be time to start soon.
The actual place wasn't nearly as bad as she thought, granted it was still seedy and trashy looking, but Bass, she finally knew his name from the tag on his shirt, made it sound like Crack Town, USA.
Duncan's face appeared in her peripheral vision as she rested her head against the back of the seat. As soon as Duncan turned her car off, Charlie got out of hers, meeting at the driver's door, "wasn't too sure you'd make it."
"Why? You thought your lackey friend would stop me?"
It came out more accusatory than she meant, but Duncan didn't seem fazed.
"No I knew he wouldn't get anywhere with you. In fact I told him that. The only person more stubborn than you is him."
Content with her answer, she leaned on the hood of the car as Duncan stalked away to meet some of the other people trickling in.
Sun almost fully faded from the horizon, brought darkness upon them as people started coming out of the woodwork. She was almost 100% positive Bass's warning applied to the people, and not the place, she remembered that now. And she couldn't say it was unwarranted.
They looked eerily creepy, haunted, like they had nothing to lose and nothing to stop them from going over the edge. A lot of them were tall, lanky men, few with shit eating grins plastered on their face upon seeing Charlie.
She recalled Bass' outburst, confessing he was one of those people. It sent a pang to her heart to think of him in that manner, and she didn't know why. But for some reason, she couldn't picture him having anything in common with them. They looked hopeless and lost, maybe she was more like them than she realized. Maybe Bass was right when he called her out on being angry and mad at the world.
She tried to pretend like their lingering gaze didn't affect her, but it put her on edge. Yes, she was used to men leering at her, but that was almost always for her body. These people had a different look in their eye. An involuntary shuddered passed through her body.
Turning her back on them, she went towards the direction of her car to move it to the procession lineup where everyone else's was parked. For the second time that night, she stepped out of her car, more confident this time. She knew everyone was watching. She couldn't let them see any sign of weakness.
Duncan met her halfway, "they're racing for pink slips."
Her feet skidded to a halt, "what?"
Duncan sighed, keeping her chin up, "I told you it was high stakes and very risky. You chose to come remember?"
"I thought you meant risky like a lot of money. Not risky like idiotic and crazy," she deadpanned.
"Just don't lose," that was the great Duncan's word of advice.
Just don't lose. Well, when you put it like that, it sounds fucking easy. Charlie mentally rolled her eyes.
Gritting her teeth in anger, she spun on her heel, digging around the glove box until she produced the slip of paper everyone else had already offered up into a pile. She couldn't back down now. She was already there, plus Jason Neville came sauntering over, confident smirk etched on his stupid face.
Reluctantly, she dropped it down, never taking her eyes off of it. She couldn't lose before because asshole was there, but now, she really couldn't fucking lose.
As she headed back to her car, she saw a face she didn't think she'd see in a million years charging towards her at a slow, but determined speed. He didn't stop at her side, instead continuing on to where people were still huddled in a circle.
"Ah, Bass, here to join in the fun? It's been, what, almost 8 years now? I hear you're doing good, good for you man."
He sounded anything but glad to hear he was doing well. She looked between the two of them, but neither paid any attention to her darting eyes.
Bass's face remained blank, but she could see the veins in his neck subtly tensing, "just here to watch. Nothing more."
"You came out of hiding to just watch? Nah I'm not buying that shit," the guy's eyes remained fixated.
"You're right I'm not here to watch. Don't you think you're a little old to be taking money and cars from kids who don't have the sense enough to say no?"
Charlie's lip curled up into a snarl at his not so subtle diss.
The guy humorlessly laughed, "You've never had a problem with it before. As I recall, you quite enjoyed talking money and cars from 'kids who don't have the sense enough to say no.' Besides, it's been years and you're just now riding in on your high horse?"
Looking for some indication as to Bass' mysterious presence, his eyes flickered over to where Charlie was aggressively drilling holes at Bass.
"Ah," he said as though everything clicked, "you're here for her. You have to be, there's no way you'd show your face here with us, what did you call us again? Brain dead, cracked out, junkies who get off on the thrill of the kill…right?"
"You're paraphrasing," Bass commented dryly, "but more or less. And I'm not here for her, I'm here to watch you."
Words, sharp like a knife, sliced through the tense silence as neither refused to blink first. Bass looked like a scary ass, tough dude, but she never imagined him to be this deadly.
Cackling like a hyena, the guy shook his head, "yes, but you're here to watch me, because of her. And I don't blame you," his eyes roamed over Charlie's body, "she is one fine piece of ass."
Bass had to physically refrain himself from slitting the guy's throat for just looking at her in that way, undressing her with his eyes.
The guy licked his lips, eyes going back to Bass', "Well this will be one hella race then, I can guarantee you."
Crowd dispersing, everyone went to their separate cars. Charlie said nothing, twisting her shoulder away from his body as she went to pass him.
His hand shot out with an astounding amount of speed, latching on to her elbow, "hey, watch yourself out there."
When she rolled her eyes, his grip tightened, "listen to me."
His commanding voice made her pay attention, "I won't be able to see you until you come around the final bend and cross the finish line. They talk a lot of shit, but they're even worse driving. They won't hesitate to knock your car around and fuck with you. They don't give a shit. Don't let your guard down for even a fraction of a second."
He didn't let go of her elbow until he was confident she understood. She nodded her head, gently removing her arm from his grip, "I'll watch my ass. I got it."
Before she could close the door to her car, his hand shot out again. Pulling her face inches away from his, his eyes instinctively went to her lips, then back up, "watch your ass, but make sure to win."
Her mouth twitched up into a smirk watching him walk away, gaze lingering on his ass.
Closing her door, she waited for the horn, and as soon as she heard it, she left every other thought behind her.
The only thing that mattered now was getting Sally across the finish line; she couldn't let her down twice. Not after she fucked her over the first time.
These guys were no joke, of course Charlie never held back, but she wasn't used to this kind of reckless and carelessness.
Swerving in and out between cars, only in an attempt to sandwich them in between another car or a wall. They were brutal, relentless. Charlie could understand, do whatever it takes to win. She got knocked around a few times in the beginning, but was able to get ahead of a bunch of them.
When she could almost see the illumination of the white banner reflecting off a headlight, she kicked it into overdrive, careful not to strain Sally. But she didn't have to, Sally apparently had a mind of her own, and she wanted to win as bad as Charlie.
There were three cars behind her, Jason directly at her 2 o'clock, and another guy in front. She managed to squeeze herself into a small gap, enough to line up parallel with the guy from earlier. If looks could kill, that guy would've been dead…twice.
She paid him no attention, keeping her head and eyes directly in front of her. That didn't mean she couldn't feel his probing stare as they battled, side by side.
"Fuck," she bellowed when he slammed into her car, shoving her roughly into a pole, clipping the car's left side.
He put up on helluva fight, but at the last second Charlie got the upper hand, urging her car forward at snails pace until she was in the lead. She just had to keep this up, just for a few more seconds. She could almost reach out and touch the finish line, it was that close.
Finally, the front end of her car barely crossed over the line. She was home free. She fucking won.
It wasn't until she felt a hard bump on the back of her car Bass's advice came to mind. Don't count yourself out of the game until your opponent is dead on the ground basically.
Then it was too late, she didn't see it coming, but she sure felt the guy's car merging forcefully into hers, hitting it with the force of a battering ram. Sally was tough, but not invincible, and she was taking a pretty nasty pounding when Charlie felt the car tipping onto the side.
Letting go of the wheel, she placed her arms over her chest, holding her breath as her car flipped once, rocking back and forth on the hood. When she opened her eyes she was upside down and dizzy, obviously there wasn't enough momentum to flip her car upright.
Dust from the dueling cars gathered in the wind, creating a barrier, leaving Charlie with zero visibility as to what was going on in the outside world. She could hear muffled voices and shuffling feet from her cracked window.
She felt around for blood anywhere on her body, but she wasn't banged up, it was just one flip luckily. There was soreness in her arms, and a few cuts on her face, but Sally was a tank.
Coughing as dirt infiltrated her lungs, she yanked hard at the seatbelt, trying to pry it apart when a large hand knocked hers out of the way.
Her eyes flittered, open and close, against her will as Bass's face came into her line of sight. One firm jerk from his well toned arm and she was loose, his hand shooting out to catch her around the waist before she took a nosedive into the steering wheel.
Hearing her groan, Bass's voice instantly softened to a tone she had never heard come out of his mouth, "it's alright. I've got you."
He kept her body close to his as he pulled her from the wreckage, "but don't think I'm not going to say I told you so."
Charlie groaned even louder, but not out of pain this time. At that Bass smiled, standing her upright on her feet as he slipped his arm beneath her rib cage, avoiding her chest.
"Fuck, what about my car," her mumbled voice came out low, and only half coherent.
"I took care of it. We're going back to the shop and she'll be there when we get there."
Dropping her gently into the passenger seat of his car, he was grateful to see color rushing back to her cheeks as he turned the last corner before the shop.
The whole way there he kept mindlessly babbling to her, making sure she stayed conscious, asking her questions about her life or just little things. Occasionally she would open her eyes for a split second, but they fluttered shut again, each time eliciting fear from Bass.
"Charlie, Charlie, hey," he lightly shook her arm, fear dissipating when she opened her eyes. "Just stay awake a little while longer okay? Can you do that?"
She nodded a couple times, fighting her eyelids to stay open.
Throwing the car into park jolted her awake enough to fully open her eyes as she turned her head, searching for her car.
Bass chuckled, helping her out, "I told you she's coming. I'll make good on the promise, but first let's make sure you don't have a concussion or anything."
"You got some sort of special mechanical tool that can detect that?"
He snorted, shaking his head, "no but I live upstairs above the garage."
Content with his answer, she allowed him to lead her through the door and up a narrow staircase until she was in his place.
It wasn't at all like she expected, it was tidy, clean, and very minimalist. There was a bed to the side, a large TV mounted on the wall, and a few other little pieces of furniture. It reminded her of a place her uncle would live in, except he wasn't clean at all.
"It would've taken too long to go back to your house. Plus, I wasn't really paying attention last night," he lazily lifted one shoulder up in a half shrug, sitting her down on a barstool in the kitchen.
Lifting her head too quickly, she almost slid off the stool, but Bass' arm steadied her, "fuck, sorry. Didn't expect you to topple over," he nervously chuckled, waiting for her to regain her equilibrium.
When she sat up taller in the chair, he removed his arm, cupping her cheek with his hand.
Turning her chin towards the light, she was able to get a better look at him now that she was lucid. He was the most beautiful thing she had ever beheld. The smooth contours of his face offered a nice contrast to the passion burning in his crystal blue eyes. He looked a little worn, but there was this ruggedness to him
"See? I'm fine, nothing a few days of rest won't fix. Can I go check on my car now? I'd rather cry about it now than wait any longer," she bitterly laughed. Truthfully she didn't want to see her car at all, not after that fucking douchebag played bumper cars with it.
Speaking of him, "hey what happened to that guy?"
Bass's hand moved from her face suddenly as his body tensed up. He didn't say anything for awhile, and Charlie chalked it up to another answer she wasn't gonna get out of him. He surprised them both when he spoke, "I may have gotten a little out of hand. Beat the shit out of him, but he deserved every hit he got," he justified.
A warm smile formed on her face, but it vanished when fury returned to his eyes, "I told you it was a fucking bad place and that you had no business being there. Next time, just listen when I say something. I don't know you, but I didn't have to, I know them—"
"Right," she interjected, "because you were them."
She snorted, shaking her head, "you aren't them. You never were. Maybe at one time you thought so, but you weren't."
He already started shaking his head fiercely, "you have no idea who I am or what I've done."
"That's all in the past, and it's best left there, not weighing heavily down on your shoulders. Today," her voice grew fainter, softer, "I saw a different man than those people. A man who stuck his neck on the line for some idiotic, impulsive girl who hates the world and is just," she took a deep breath, "so damn angry about everything."
Those words, his words she was using to describe herself broke his goddamn heart. When he said it that night, he didn't mean it to come off as harsh and rude as it did. He just, for some reason, cared about her and didn't want her to go down the same path he went down.
"And I don't need to know you to be sure of that," her melodically soft voice rang through his ears.
Giving her no time to process, he leapt forward, crushing his mouth to hers, roughly pushing his tongue into the hot crevice of her mouth.
Stunned was an understatement. She let him take control, probing and running his tongue along every nook and cranny of her mouth. Finally after a few seconds she responded eagerly, gripping the front of his shirt in between her palms.
Every reaction has an equal an opposite reaction. Nothing could've summed them up better. Every time he pushed her back, she shoved forward just as hard, molding their bodies together until it wasn't clear where his ended and hers began.
With one arm around her back, he effortlessly lifted her up onto the counter as she wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him in closer.
As soon as she could feel his straining erection against her, she broke the kiss to let out a guttural moan. His lips continued their onslaught down her neck, stopping right at her collarbone, alternating between nipping at her delicate skin and sucking.
Moving her hands to his shoulders, she clenched on for dear life as his lips moved further down.
He took the hem of her shirt, flung it over her head, repeating the motion with his own. In that length of time, Charlie kicked off her boots as they thudded to the ground. She got her pants halfway down her legs when his hands took over and tore them off her body.
Tugging at the fabric of her panties, he ripped them apart, and ordinarily she would've been pissed, but lust clouded her vision.
Suctioning his mouth back to her neck, her hands trailed in between their bodies, shoving his pants down. And she would've succeeded in ridding him of his boxers, but his lips attached to that sensitive part behind her ear. She was putty in his hands.
Aware of this state, he took the liberty of releasing his own painful erection, letting out a hiss when she used her heels to bring their bodies together.
He didn't have to do anything further. Her hand gripped him securely, lining his dick up with her throbbing center, slowly easing into it.
Letting her adjust to his size, he placed light kisses along her collarbone, his hands wandering all over her body until she rocked against him.
He took that as her demand to continue and pick up the pace. To both of which he fervently complied.
Dipping his mouth down, he latched one to one of her breasts, alternating between light nips and lavishing the mark, while his other hand kneaded her soft, round mounds. Switching, he continued worshipping her breasts until he had to break for air.
His breath came out in short gasps against her skin as her forehead rested on his shoulder. His low, husky voice in her ear made her even wetter as he all but slid out of her, ramming back in with full force.
His thrusts were steady, but hard, shoving so deep inside she could feel his pelvic bone grating against hers.
As soon as she could feel her orgasm approaching, she tilted her head towards the ceiling, letting her hair drape across her back. Her hands drifted to grope his ass roughly. With one more animalistic plunge, her nails sank into his ass as she let out a deep whimper, walls clenching around him.
Riding out her wave of immense pleasure, she could feel his thrusts becoming more erratic as his hand delved into the soft tresses of her dark hair. When she sultrily traced the outside of his ear with her tongue, and tugged his lobe into her mouth, he barely had time to pull out before his hot seed came flowing out. His throat emitted a low, animalistic growl in appreciation.
Gripping her hips roughly, he controlled his ragged breathing, coming down from his high as he let some of his weight fall into her embrace. Flexing his hands, he kept them firmly positioned on her waist, but loosened his hold.
Moisture from his hot breath collected on her sticky skin, but she was too thoroughly fucked to care. His dick softened, but he couldn't bring himself to pull out of her heat.
"So do I?"
Abruptly, he picked his head up from her shoulder, looking at her in confusion "do I fuck like I drive?"
He grinned, "yep, just as bad."
Cheekily, she impaled her hips, smirking when she felt him growing hard inside of her, "just wait, this was only the first lap."