The Funeral of a Good Girl
By - TempestRaces
Chapter 2 – Of Workboots and Unlikely Saviours
"I guess you didn't meet Mia yet," Jesse said as he pointed at the girl in question, once they were standing in the door of the living room.
Mia stood up and crossed to the door. "Hi! I'm Mia and you must be Jesse's cousin."
"Yeah," she held out her hand. "Tempest." She sure is a bucket of sunshine, she mused about Mia.
"Nice to meet you." If Mia had anything to think about the unique name, she kept it to herself. "Jesse has told us a lot about you!"
"Most of it bad, I assume." She grinned. Jesse wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Just the truth cuz, nothin' more."
"That's not necessarily a good thing Jess."
"He didn't have a single bad thing to say, other than trouble seems to find you slightly more than it does other people." Mia smiled.
"He got that right, so I guess I can't complain."
"Understatement of the fuckin' century."
Mia shot Vince a dirty look for his statement.
"Sorry. How you doin' Mia?"
"Fine."
Tempest looked from one to the other. There were some not so subtle undercurrents there. So, Prince Surly just gets play where he can because the real object of his affections ain't havin' none of it. She watched Vince stomp off before turning her gaze back on Mia, who rolled her eyes with a long suffering smile.
"I'm Dom's sister, by the way. Letty's his girl, in case no one explained us yet."
"Just the bare essentials."
"I hear you're coming down to races with Jesse tonight."
"That's my plan. I just wish I had my car ready to go."
"Well, if we just put the spray in it, and maybe a cold air intake, and a chip, and bigger turbos—"
Tempest cut in. "Jesse! I don't have cash for any of that stuff." She thought a moment. "Well, maybe to get a direct port kit and some spray, but not for all that stuff. 'Sides, the car really should have cams, valve springs, rings, and a pulley kit and coil overs and strut braces, and struts and an exhaust, and a clutch and flywheel, and be chipped and programmed and dynoed. Not to mention it will get bigger turbos but it will also need a huge and expensive front mounted intercooler and frame mods to allow for it. And if I ever wanna get it stopped after I get it going that fast, it needs bigger and better brakes. We don't have time or money for all that stuff." She grimaced as Jesse's face fell. "When I get home and get sponsors I promise I'll phone you the second I confirm who I got and let you tell me what to get, ok? I had some interest from HKS and TEIN so I just have to confirm if the interest is still there."
"Promise?"
"I solemnly swear that you will be as involved in building my car as possible from over three thousand miles away."
"Sweet!"
Tempest smiled up at her cousin. It was really endearing how little it took to make him happy. Mia asked about how they had come to live in different countries and stay so close so Tempest told the story. By the time she was done and they ate supper it was time to get ready for the night.
Everyone headed for their respective rooms to get ready. Having never been to a true organized street race, Tempest had no idea what to expect. They did things differently where she was from. They didn't meet up at a certain time in a certain place. They just sort of found each other across the city and surrounding area and raced where and when they could. There was no set time. After dark was pretty much the only guideline. So she just changed into what she would wear for any other night of driving around in a car. She ended up in a brick red wifebeater and a pair of pale cream cargo pants. She slid her feet into her boots and considered herself ready.
Until she got to the living room where Mia, Letty, and the rest of the team less Vince were waiting. She took in the outfits on Mia and Letty with some trepidation. They were way more dressed up than she was, but in a heck of a lot less actual clothing. "So, when do we leave?"
"After you get dressed for races!" Mia said in reproach as she stood up. "You can't go like that."
"Why not?" Tempest looked down at herself.
"Because that's not dressed up enough."
"I'm going to watch car races, correct?"
"Yes, but girls wear—"
"A lot less clothes than that, Mouth," Vince broke in from the door.
"I ain't goin' to impress anyone. I'm just going to watch some cars race."
"You're going to feel way out of place if you wear that," Mia cautioned.
"I didn't bring anything all that much dressier than what I've already got on."
"Are those steel toed boots?" Mia asked in horror, looking at the girl's feet.
"Yeah. My boots are all I ever wear. They've come in quite handy for getting me out of the trouble I get myself into in the past. Funny how a kick has so much more authority when it comes with a steel chaser."
"You won't need that kind of help at races and you can't go in shop clothes and work boots," Mia tsked. "You're about my size so my stuff and Letty's will fit you. Let's go find you something more suitable to wear."
Despite the look she shot Jesse, which clearly screamed 'rescue me' she still found herself in Mia's room, stripped to her underwear, vetoing outfit after outfit.
"It's too sheer," Tempest said, complaining about the slightly transparent red top Mia had made her put on. She was very grateful for the red bra she had already been wearing.
"It's fine. Now put this on."
"Mia, this is a skirt."
"Yes it is! Good for you. Put it on."
"I don't do skirts."
"You don't have horribly deformed legs, and they aren't hairy. Why wouldn't you want to show them off?"
"Because you can't get out of a car in a skirt without showing all and sundry your business."
"If Letty can manage so can you. Put it on."
Seeing Mia wasn't taking no for an answer she put on the leather skirt. It felt to a point not quite half way down her thighs and was pleated like a slightly more naughty take on the traditional school girl skirt. The length of the top she had been given combined with the cropped top felt like it left almost a foot of her stomach on display. "This isn't enough clothes. I'm from Canada. It goes to minus twenty and thirty there for like four months out of every year. I don't have enough tan to pull this off." She tried to tug the top lower and the skirt higher up her body than the spot on her hips where it now sat.
Mia gave her a withering look before straightening the hem of her shirt and settling the skirt right back where it had come from. "It looks good. But now you need footwear."
"My boots stay."
"No they don't. Not with a skirt. Be serious."
"That is serious."
"You can wear boots, but not those," Mia said with her nose crinkled in disgust as she looked at the discarded Caterpillar work boots on her floor. She went to her closet and came back with a pair of knee high, high heeled leather boots. "You don't have to drive so you can wear these."
"I'll fall flat on my ass."
"You can't tell me you don't own a pair of boots like these."
"Ok, I can't. I call them my hooker heels but they only come out to play on special occasions."
"Such as this."
With a sigh of defeat, Tempest pulled the boots on and zipped them up. She felt almost dizzy from her new height, which she figured had to be pushing five eleven. Mia led her back downstairs, happy as a pig in shit.
Tempest, she was anything but happy. She braced herself for the comments to begin. She was disappointed. No one said anything. Seemed her new look really was just status quo for girls at their races. That saddened her. She would a hundred times rather be happy in her cargos than uncomfortable and on display to make some oversexed men get their jollies off ogling her. But she was the guest, so she went along with it, against her better judgement.
She carefully slid into the passenger seat of the Jetta and did up her belt. She was glad to find out on the way that Jesse also would have rathered she kept on her own clothes. He didn't want to see quite as much of his cousin as he currently was.
When they got out of the car at the meeting place, she watched as all the guys were immediately circled by girls wearing even less than she was, and not afraid to flaunt what was barely covered either. She watched as Letty threatened to beat some heads together as girls hung off Dominic. They quickly dispersed after the Latina's threat. She watched as Vince, Leon, and even Jesse were surrounded by the same kind of girl. She snorted and turned her back on the scene. What a joke. So much for car racing. The main thing being bet and won around the scene this night was sex, and it was obvious.
As if to illustrate her point three guys of various race walked up to her and started talking at her. Not to her, because that would imply some interest in what she had to contribute to the conversation and they had none. They just wanted to try and wow her into choosing to hang off their arm for the night and into the morning as well, if she didn't miss her guess. She hoped her—what had to be obviously bored—look would turn them off, but it was like they just took it to mean she was an airhead and got even more impressed with her.
"So I just installed NOS in my whip," the middle guy said smugly.
It was obvious he expected her answer to be along one of two lines. 'Wow!' or, 'like, what's NOS?' and he was about to be disappointed. "Really?"
"Yeah baby." He nodded smugly.
She was at the end of her tether. "One, I ain't your baby and I sure as fuck never will be. I don't date posers. Two, you didn't just install NOS in your whip. You installed a nitrous system into your car. I don't care if you bought a NOS kit or some other kind, it's still not NOS it's fuckin' nitrous. Learn your terminology before you step to a person who's both a tuner and a technician and try to look like a big, smart racer man, a'ight?"
"What turned you into such a bitch?" the first guy sneered.
"Oh no you didn't," Tempest muttered.
"Didn't what?"
"Sign your own death certificate." On that note, she decided the time was as good as any to throw the first punch. She got lucky and got the second guy who'd talked the most game right in the bridge of his nose with the flat edge of her hand. The direct hit to the 'sweet spot' dropped him like a stone. The crowd went wild, which drew the attention of the rest of the team, who had basically forgotten she was there and new to the whole scene.
The first guy came at her, clearly not caring if she was a girl or not once he'd seen her drop his friend. Before he could reach her, something big and broad blocked her view of his advance. She groaned. The cavalry had arrived. And there she was, still needing the physical release of kicking the snot out of someone.
"You sure you wanna go there?" The question was an angry growl.
Tempest looked up in shock. It wasn't Jesse who had decided to play her saviour, but Vince. She looked at his back quizzically. She would have figured him for the first one to want to see her get her ass schooled after the day they had.
"Shit, sorry Vince. Didn't know she was with you."
"Now you do," he snarled.
Clearly doesn't care he's lying. She leaned around Vince and watched the two guys still standing pick up their third friend between them and carry him off, muttering about 'broads with too much attitude' under their breath as they went.
"You ok?" Vince asked.
"Fine. I was taking care of things. I didn't need any help."
"It was three on one. You woulda."
"It was two on one. I knocked the first one out already by the time you got over here."
"You're gonna get yourself in serious shit, doing stuff like that down here."
"Stuff like what? Like refusing to let three guys talk to me like I'm some sorta bimbo because I'm a girl? I race better'n over three quarters of these people and I put in all my own wrench time, but I'm supposed to act like some airhead because all they want is to see shit blow up and find a piece of ass for the night, in that order."
"It's not like that where you're from?"
"Fuck no. And if I knew it was like that here I woulda stayed home."
"Well, it don't help you let Mia dress you up like she did, and you arrived in someone else's ride, not your own. Girls that arrive in the car of a guy and then don't hang all over that guy they came with are fair game."
"Not my choice. Not any of it. I'm just tryin' to play nice, play by your rules. But if they include letting a bunch of bucaiolo talk game at me and treat me like an easy slut than I'm out."
Vince shook his head slightly in puzzlement. "Where'd you learn Italian?"
"I know some people. Why?"
"I've never heard anyone interject the Italian word for asshole into conversation before."
"First time for everything."
"Listen, just stay with Mia and Letty and no one will think that you're available, ok? If they know you're with us, they won't start shit with you."
"Fine," she answered before she left the area, walking over to Jesse's side and stopping there with a huff.
"You were gonna fight three guys all by yourself?"
"Hell yeah. I'm kinda pissed I didn't get the chance."
"You would'a got the shit beat out of you."
"Doubtful. I'm pretty good with my hands."
"I can't wait to have you prove or disprove that statement to me."
The statement was growled into her ear, on the opposite side of Jesse, so he wouldn't hear. She looked up in shock. How does he keep sneakin' up on me? "You again? You still think you're gonna get some play outta me?" she asked with her eyebrow cocked in disbelief.
"Sooner or later you ladies all bow to the inevitable."
"Sooner or later all the race hos you're use to bow to not picking up someone better. I'm not one of those hos."
He slapped a hand to his chest. "Bull's-eye. Straight through the heart."
"Not my fault you never learned the distinction between trash, which is the kind of girl who'll have you, and class, which is me, and the kind of girl who won't."
"Sounds like someone's finally ready to admit who's too much for the other to handle."
"I admit nothin'. I just don't want to leave you a broken man. Once you had me you'd never be able to move on again. Never be able to go back to your 'skanks' as you guys call them, and I'm only here for two weeks." She turned to face him fully and wrapped her arms around his neck and forced a pout to turn her mouth down at the corners. "You're so young, have so much of your life ahead of you. I wouldn't want to ruin you for any other girl so early in your years." Still forcing her self to look sad and pouty she brushed a hand over his hair in mock tenderness.
He grabbed her hips and brought their bodies into full contact. "I think I'd be willing to risk it. Go ahead, break me."
His eyes flashed with teasing, or maybe something else she couldn't put her finger on. The way he kept rising to her challenges instead of backing off was infuriating. Normally when she made her outlandish challenges, those on the other end didn't take the bait. Normally she was able to make them realize backing down was the only option. Vince had to keep rising to the occasion.
Oh well, he asked for it!
My god, he's hard everywhere, she mused as she was pressed against his chest, thighs, and stomach. Yep, everywhere. Not bad. When she made that realization her eyebrow rose skyward for what felt like the millionth time. She really had thought it was all a fun game. All teasing. That wasn't teasing. But was his reaction really to her, or to the fact that she really did give off an impossible to attain, disdainful vibe? Was it her, or the chase which had him interested? With a minute, feline shrug she decided to test out the situation. Fisting both her hands in his shaggy hair she forced his face down the few inches needed and pressed her mouth to his.
Given the millisecond pause before he thought to respond to her overture, she figured that it was the feeling he would never have her that had been making him want her. But when his mouth engaged hers it didn't take long for his hands to leave her hips and find her ass.
Typial, she mused with a mental smirk.
"Now that's something I didn't see coming," Jesse said to Leon, giving him a poke in the ribs before pointing toward where Vince was still molesting his cousin.
"Damn dawg, are they really doing that in front of the entire place, like I think they are?"
"Yeah. That's my baby cousin Leon!"
"She looks all grown up from where I stand."
"Maybe, but I never did get to tell her that Vince is into Mia. Never thought it'd be an issue. What if she thinks there could be more between them than, well, what obviously comes next when two people practically crawl down each other's throats in front of about five thousand people?"
"Better school her on how it is the second we get back to the fort, by the look of that."
"I'm gonna do better than that. I'm gonna go break it up now."
Before Leon could veto his plan, Jesse headed toward the couple.
Vince might have been the biggest Neanderthal she'd ever met, attitude wise, and was confirming that opinion with the grip he still had on the cheeks of her ass, but he couldn't be faulted for how he kissed. At least, that was how she was justifying it to herself that she was allowing his man handling of her to go on for so long, in public no less. He released her mouth and licked her lower lip. Her head fell back, half in disappointment in herself for allowing things to go so far and half in a blood slowing reaction to what he was doing to her. The beginnings of the beard which was growing on his face tickled the side of her neck next, before his teeth not so gently scraped her skin. She fought a moan.
"Umhum," a throat was cleared beside them.
As ashamed as she was of the fact, she couldn't find it in herself to care, or look to see who it was. Vision would just complicate the world of sensory perception she found herself living in—and enjoying. Vince nipped the side of her neck particularly hard before licking the same place gently as if to sooth the hurt. She didn't react in time to make sure the gasp that came to her lips died there. It escaped breathily from her. Pure electricity slid from the small wound on her skin and skittered to many other places along her nerves.
"Um, guys?" Jesse tried again to break things up without being more overt. He watched as his friend pressed his lips to his cousin's mouth again, one hand leaving her ass to allow him to wrap his arm around her waist and bend her back in a bow over it with the force of his kiss. Her hands twined with more strength into the hair on the back of Vince's head. It was easy to see the world had ceased to exist beyond the feeling of him on her... Point not taken, he sighed.
"What the fuck is goin' on here?" Dom asked, voice low and irritated.
Jesse spun around to find Dom right behind him, and not looking too pleased.
Dom's voice was finally enough to break through the red haze of desire which had made him forget he was at races, in front of a huge crowd of people, including all his friends. But damn, he sure hadn't expected her to start kissing him like that. He allowed her to stand back up with a sigh, wishing they were anywhere but where they were. Maybe he shouldn't mess around with Jesse's cousin, but he didn't hear her complaining, and she sure was grown. He looked down into her face. She had removed her hands from his hair, letting go slowly, a grip he had barely realized that she had maintained, but she hadn't opened her eyes again yet. Vince spared a glance for Dominic. He's seriously pissed.
He happened to glance back at Tempest as her eyes flickered open. The black centers almost totally hid the light green colour. She looked just as dazed as he felt.
She licked her lower lip unconsciously, feeling the swelling his attentions with lips and teeth and tongue had brought. His gaze watched it intently and he hungered to see how much more swollen he could make her lower lip before it could get no fuller. She broke into his thoughts when she spoke. "So, do you feel broken and unable to continue with your life yet?"
"No, but you're still here, so it doesn't count yet," he chuckled.
"True. The truth of the experiment won't be known until I leave, I suppose."
"Guess not."
"Ok then," she trailed off, going out of her way not to look at Dominic.
"I think we might need to do more research later, just to be sure." He leaned back down toward her. When he was a mere breath away from kissing her again, Dom spoke.
"Do you intend to make an ass of yourselves all night, or can we go back to what we came here to do?" Dom growled.
Tempest allowed herself to look around the area. There were very few people around not watching them. She fought blushing. She didn't blush. She had made out with guys in public before. Maybe not quite so thoroughly, and maybe in a crowed dance club while loaded, not in the street sober, but it wasn't a first.
"If I pick continuing to make a spectacle, what happens then?" She could only blame her discomfort with the situation for her response. Given what Jesse had told her about Dom, she knew better than to say things like that to him.
Vince wrapped an arm around her waist from behind. "Let it go," he growled into her ear.
"You can walk home," Dom said, fighting to keep himself from roaring. What went on in his house was one thing, but what went on in public in front of everyone was another. "Now."
"Ok, point made," Tempest conceded, though it was the last thing she wanted to do.
Dom walked away, shaking his head.
"Asshole," she muttered at his retreating back, scratching the bridge of her nose with her middle finger.
"What did I tell you about pushin' him, cuz?"
"Sorry," she sighed. "It wasn't intentional. I told you I'm use to sayin' whatever pops in my head." She cocked her head to the side. "Think he'll get over it?"
"Yeah, he'll deal," Vince answered before Jesse could, and used growling his answer directly into her ear as an excuse to nip at and suck on her earlobe.
Jesse rolled his eyes.
"Not if you don't lay off he won't, fool. Give it a break!" She broke the hold he had around her waist almost angrily. She found herself angry at her lack of control and her amount of response to something that had started out teasing. Damn it, he wasn't supposed to be able to make me want him back. "Come on Jess. Let's go for a walk."
"Ok," Jesse answered. It was just the opportunity he needed to talk to her about Vince. They walked away from where Leon and Vince were still standing, Jesse tossing an arm across her shoulders. "I just gotta warn you cuz, don't take this the wrong way, but Vince isn't looking for a commitment."
"He's into Mia, yes I know. I figured that out back at the house."
"So what are you playing at?" Jesse's tone showed the fact he clearly wasn't sure if he should be upset with what had happened, or angry with her.
"I was teasing him and it got out of hand. Don't sweat it Jesse. I know he's not the forever type. I know what I'm getting into, if I even decide to get into it."
"You haven't decided if you want to get into it, but you let him put his hands all over you? In a huge crowd no less?"
"I know. I got caught up in the moment. Not like you haven't."
"I guess not. I just don't want to see you fall for him and end up heart broken."
"Won't happen cuz. Eyes wide open on this one."
"Ok, now just stop pissin' Dom off and life is good."
She laughed. "I'm in shit there. Everything about me pisses Dom off. The noise I make when I breathe pisses Dom off. And I don't really care because Dom pisses me off. But I still just don't know if I know how to stop pissin' Dom off."
"Better find a way."
"I'll try to avoid him."
"If you can't stop back talkin' to him that might be for the best."
They headed back to where the rest of the team was standing. Tempest was very aware of the fact all eyes were on her now. It wasn't pleasant to feel like she was living under the microscope. It wasn't malicious, just a speculation, but she still didn't like it. Dom finally got challenged to a race, the event they had been waiting for to get the night really rolling, Jesse confided. She and Jesse decided to go to the finish line to see the end of the race. As Jesse went to pull the Jetta out of its spot, someone got in the back seat.
Something told her she knew who it was and she didn't even bother to look. Sure enough when Jesse parked the car at the end of the quarter mile strip and she got out of the passenger seat, Vince was getting out of the back seat from her same side of the car. Jesse pulled a Nextel off his belt. "Ok, we're here."
"But I can't see a damn thing," Tempest complained, gesturing at all the people in front of her with a wave of her arm. Vince walked in front of her. "Yeah, that makes it all better."
He crouched down. "Get on. I'll lift you up so you can see."
"That's not necessary."
"Sure it is. It's your first race. You wanna see Dom win, don't you?"
"You're that sure it's gonna be Dom?"
"Of course it's gonna be Dom," Jesse answered.
With a shrug Tempest climbed onto Vince's offered back and allowed him to lock his arms under her and lift her up. She gained an extra few feet of height from her new position and she could see the road.
"It's on," Leon's voice came across the Nextel in Jesse's hand a moment later. Ten seconds after Leon called the start of the race, Dom's red car streaked over the finish line. He pulled a u-turn and headed back for the warehouse. They got into the Jetta and followed him back. They watched as Dom got handed his winnings and handed them to Mia to count before turning to Letty and kissing her.
"Party at our house!" Dom called, knowing those who were welcome would know who they were.