It felt like forever that we were sitting there at the line, long enough to get me jumpy again at least. I wasn't looking to get picked up by the cops or anything, but sometimes it seemed like Leon waited a lot longer for them to be sidetracked than he needed to.

After I finally got sick of just sitting there feeling my guts flop around, I turned up the music, took a few deep breaths, and gave myself one last mental run-through of what I was going to need to do. As long as I didn't fuck anything up, this race was mine. The other guys weren't running anything spectacular under their hoods, and we all knew it. My Silvia wasn't all that tricked out either, but I'd put in enough wrench time to know every inch of her. Plus I had the benefit of learning from Tony, so it wasn't really a fair competition to begin with.

Eventually I settled down into it, just on the edge of impatience, fingers drumming against the steering wheel. And then, just when I thought I couldn't stand waiting anymore, the chick moved out between my car and the next one, grinning at everyone like she was doing something special.

"Christ, could your ass be hanging out of that skirt any more…?" I bit out, shaking my head. I don't know why, but I was always surprised by just how skanky most of the other chicks at the races were.

I shook my head and focused on the race, my adrenaline jumping again as soon as the chick dropped the flag, my car jumping forward as my foot slammed on the gas. My car fishtailed a little, and I shook my head again, making a mental note to check my tires the next time we were in the garage.

I never liked to jump to the front right at the start of any race. It was better to hang back, see what the other guys were gonna do. Plus, there wasn't really anything better than blowing past somebody who's just decided that you really are just a stupid chick who thinks she can race. Nothing better outside of the bedroom, anyway.

So I laid off at first, staying just close enough to the rest of the pack to keep myself in it, letting them all fight for position. And then, just when they'd all probably counted me out, that's when I laid on the gas again, started moving up.

I passed one car, an orange Civic driven by somebody from Hector's crew, one of the younger ones that I didn't know. One last shift into a higher gear, and that was all it took. The third car, a dark green Camaro, flew by in a rush, and I couldn't help laughing. "See ya!" I crowed to myself, a grin spreading across my face as I crossed the finish line a good length, length and a half ahead of them.

I took my time after that, getting turned around and heading back to the crowd, wanting to savor every second of victory. It didn't hurt any to let my car cool down some, either, before she'd just be sitting there for who knows how long, waiting for everything to wrap up. Sure, some nights the cops showed up and we'd have to pack it in early, but other times we'd just be out there on the streets for hours, socializing with everybody before we headed back to the fort for the after-party.

Finally I got out of my car, grinning at everyone standing around me. It was different, though, from when Dom or one of the guys would race. Not nearly as many people were crowding around me, for one thing. Of course, none of the skanks were there trying to get a piece of me, but none of the guys came too close either. Either it was just too much of a ball-buster, losing to a chick, or Dom was too intimidating, I didn't know which. I guessed it didn't really matter too much, though. The important people were there – Mia to take the money, Vince to give me a high five, Leon to do his little victory dance in the background as Dom lifted me off my feet. It was a perfect night, and it wasn't nearly over yet.