Ben and I parted with the crowd so Lauren could pull her car out. Dinah came up to stand beside us, but for some reason, I couldn't look at her.
As Lauren climbed in and started her engine, the girls around us started jumping and squealing. Papa Roach blared at a deafening level from his speakers. He revved the engine a few times to get the crowd going, a playful grin on his lips.
The Boss 302 pulled up onto the track, and I realized I almost felt like leaving. Lauren and I had dreamed about being here together to race, and now I was on the outside looking in. She was living this without me, and I hated that I was being left out.
Roman had just pulled up in his Pontiac Trans Am. Even though his 2002 car was considered ancient compared to Jared's, it stood an outstanding chance of winning. The amount of work and options Roman had added to his vehicle made it a formidable machine. Unfortunately, Derek Roman didn't rely simply on his skills as a mechanic to win. There had been many injuries out here when he'd raced in high school.
"All right!" the Race Master announced. "Clear the track for the main event of the evening."
According to dinah , the Loop only has a few races per week during the school year as the college kids have gone back to school, so this was a light night with only two races.
Laurens music filled the air, and I saw her take something from her hand to hang it on the rearview mirror. I couldn't make out what it was, only that it was bulky and looked like a necklace.
The same girl who set off Madoc and Liam came to stand in front of the cars, shaking her ass as she walked in front of their headlights.
The smell of fuel and tires permeated the air, while the engines' rumble coursed through my legs. Lauren stared ahead, wearing a stone face, waiting for
the call.
"Ready?" Little Miss Look-At-Me called.
"Set?" The engines roared.
"Go!" Her arms fell hard to her sides, and the cars zoomed past her, kicking
up dust and rocks in their wake. I darted onto the track with the flood of people to watch from behind, more afraid than excited this time.
As much as I hated to admit it, I was worried. Roman would do something shady and hurt Lauren . Even after everything, I didn't want to see her hurt.
The cars' taillights got smaller the closer they reached the first turn. It was four lefts, and the race would be over. The turns were sharp, and this is where a drift racer might be better for the Loop. The track was small, these cars were big, and the turns were hell. For this reason, no cars were allowed to park on the perimeter of the turns.
Lauren took the gentleman's route by slowing down to make the turn after Roman, while the latter plowed ahead. Roman would either win or kill them both. Both cars skidded around the turn, sending a cloud of dust into the air, much to the delight of the onlookers who screamed relentlessly. Forging ahead, Lauren caught up to Roman and they proceeded head to head.
Come on, come on. I clasped my palms together to my chest, fingers entwined so tight that my skin felt stretched. I rotated my body to follow their progress, seeing Lauren pull back patiently each time to let Roman take the turns first.
My heart pounded, and my stomach felt tight from the nervousness.
Coming up on the last turn, Lauren pulled back behind Roman, but she wasn't slowing down. As Roman rounded the last corner, he skidded further to the edge while Lauren took the inside. Both cars recovered and were neck to neck as they neared the finish line.
The crowd cleared the track in a mad rush, and watched as both engines thundered past. The cars were so close that I couldn't figure out who'd won.
As both cars slowed to a stop, everyone rushed them in a clustered mess of pushing and yelling. No one seemed to know who'd won.
I twisted my neck around, searching for the Race Master guy. He appeared to be deliberating with a couple of other people, probably trying to come to a decision.
"So did you see who won?" Dinah asked, looking confused as we walked up to the cars.
"No. You?"
She shook her head.
"There you are!" Ben sidled up next to me and grabbed my hand. "I guess they're not sure who won. Awesome race, huh?"
I let out a laugh. "My nails have been chewed into oblivion."
"Come on. Let's go see Lauren." Dinah grabbed my wrist, and the three of us trekked up the track.
Approaching the cars, I noticed that the drivers were nose to nose between the vehicles. Their mouths were tight, and they were too close. They looked like they were about to turn the event into a fight.
As we pushed closer, I heard what they were saying.
"You were pushing into my lane!" Roman gritted through his teeth. "Or maybe you just don't know how to handle your car." His black hair was slicked back, and his jeans and white t-shirt made him look like a 1950's reject.
"There are no lanes on the track," Lauren snickered. "And let's not talk about who can't handle their muscle."
Roman pointed his finger near Lauren's face as he spoke. "I'll tell you what, Princess. Come back after you've grown some balls and taken off your training wheels. Then you'll be good enough to race me."
"Good enough?" Lauren pinched her eyebrows together like that was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard. Turning to the crowd, Lauren held her hands out to her sides, palms up. "Good enough?" She asked sarcastically.
The trampy brunette from Lauren's party, Piper, walked up and plastered herself to her like a snake. She cupped her cheek with one hand and grabbed her ass with the other. Plunging her tongue into her mouth, she kissed her slow and deep, putting her entire body into it.
The fucking crowd couldn't scream any louder.
Heat shot out of my nose, ears, and eyes before I looked away.
She'd kissed me like that only two days ago.
Fuck her.
I peered over at Dinah, whose eyebrows were raised in surprise.
"Are you okay?" I asked. Did I really care? Probably not, but at least it took
my mind off the ache in my chest.
"Fan-fucking-tastic," she snarled. "Liam just saw that. Awesome."
I almost laughed, realizing that the only thing she was pissed about was
Liam's reaction. If Liam didn't think that Lauren was serious about Dinah, then he wouldn't feel threatened.
She didn't give a damn about Lauren . That was for sure. And that made me
feel a little better about kissing her behind her back.
"Okay!" The Race Master cut through the crowd. "Out of the way, out of the
way."
His eyes swept the crowd, waiting for them to quiet down. Piper peeled
herself off Lauren and retreated back to her friends, wiping her off her lips as she stumbled.
"Listen up. We have some good news and bad news. The bad news is that we're calling a tie." Moans and expletives sounded around the crowd. Bets had been placed, and people were upset. "But, the good news is," he continued, "we have a way to solve the stalemate."
His smirk scared me. I let go of Ben's hand to inch closer, now standing at the inside of the crowd. Lauren and Roman were both frowning.
"A rematch?" Lauren asked.
"Kind of." The Race Master looked a little too amused. "If you boys want to settle this, then your cars will race again, but . . . you won't be the drivers."
Murmurs could be heard around the crowd, and my eyes darted to Jared to see his stunned expression.
"Excuse me?" Roman inched closer and questioned.
"We know you're exceptional drivers. The race was close enough to prove that. Let's see who has the better machine."
"So who's going to drive the cars?" Lauren all but shouted, her face gone pale. The Race Master's face puffed out as he grinned. "Your girlfriends."
