Beyond Trust

Part 41

A/N; Do you guys like Nando? (:
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  "Drivers are you ready?" my sister's voice blast through the intercom. "Start your engines!"
  I do just that.
"Go!"
We all pound on the gas pedal. Just as I hoped, racing is clearing my mind and silencing my head. No worries, no stress, and no voices. I finally get to have peace. I look over to my right and see Nando trying to pass me, like that'll ever happen. I make the turn before him and take the lead but before I knew it a blue car speeds right past me.
Joslyn.
I speed up the pace and catch up to her. We're neck and neck. She's a natural at this. Nando is no competition for me or Joslyn for that matter.

"And the winner is.." Ava says just before we reach the finish line. I won't let her beat me as I slam the gas and use and a trick I learned years ago.

"Tristan!"

Joslyn's the first to get out the car and come to me.
"How the fuck did you do that?" she asks.
   "I'll show you one day."

"He's one of the best drivers out there. He could do it professionally if he wanted." Nando says.
    "Really? You're not interested?" she asks.
"I've got to run the family business, I wouldn't have time to do that." I say with a smile. She sees it, she sees my smile isn't genuine but she returns it anyway.

"Joslyn's your name right? Damn ma, you're really good at racing."
   "Thank you, I learned from the best."
"Yeah well 'the best' learned from me."
    "What? You drive kind of slow, are you being serious?"

I loudly laugh at this. Nando wasn't always a slow driver. Ever since his 2 year old was born he's been more cautious. He loves his daughter more than anything, even racing, so he decided to slow down instead of giving it up.

"Trust me babe, I taught him everything he knows." Nando says. "T why don't you come over and say hi to Kat and my baby girl?"
"Do you mind?" I ask Joslyn.
"Not at all." she replies.
"As long as she's cooking her famous baked ziti."
"You're lucky, she is. I'll lock this place up and we'll go." Nando says as he turns around and leaves.

"He looks so young, how old is he?" she asks.
"Why?"
"Curious."
"He's been dating his girl for 4 years now."
"I'm not interested in him! I was just asking because he looks really young to have a daughter."
"Yeah he had Emma when he was 21 with Kat. That's why he drives slow while racing, he'd never want to leave his daughter without a father."
"Wow."
"Yup. Let's change, get Ava, then eat." I say.
  "Alright."
~•~•~•~•~
"T is that you? Ava!" Kat gives us both a big as she signals for us to come inside.

"Babe this is Joslyn, Tristan's ol' lady." Nando introduces.
"Old lady? He's older than me." Joslyn says.
"Don't take it literally doll." he chuckles.

"It's nice to meet you. Wow T, you picked a good one." she says.
"We're not really... dating or anything." Joslyn finally admits.
"Oh?" she looks at her, then me, then back to her. "Don't forget to invite me to the wedding." Kat laughs.
"Wedding?"

Everyone laughs with Kat except me and Joslyn. Instead we awkwardly look at each other then look away. Dammit, I feel like I'm back in middle school. Just as we sit down on the couch a little brunette runs out from the room.

"Daddy!" Emma yells as Nando picks her up.
"Emma! How's my baby girl doing?"
"Good!"
"That's great. Do you see Uncle T and Auntie Ava?"

Nando puts the girl down and she runs over to me. I pick her up and put her on my lap.
"Look how big you've gotten!" I say as I tickle her. Her laugh is contagious. Ava pinches her cheeks as I do this. I've missed this little girl so much.

"You need to come down here more often. Look how much Emma missed you two." Katty says. "Let me take the food out."

I look over at Joslyn and she's watching Ava. Oh yeah, she'd have to get used to a daughter if she's going to be with Jace. I pass Emma to her. She gladly takes her on her lap and plays with her.

"How old is Jace's daughter?" Joslyn asks.
"Five." Ava responds. "Kindergarten."

"Who's Jace?" Nando asks.
"My boyfriend." Ava answers.
"Woah woah boyfriend? Since when? We can't have any guy have our sister, T what's this guy like?"
"He's good, don't worry." I say.

Nando is like a brother to us. We basically grew up together and have the same interest.

"Come eat everyone!" Katty yells.

We all gather around the table and eat. The conversation is light and funny, just like the old days. This is what I miss most about Georgia. Leaving Nando and his family behind was hard and leaving again tonight will be no different.

"It was nice having you guys here again like old times. Come back soon and have a safe flight!" Kat says.
   "We'll miss you guys." Nando says.
Emma cries as we say our final goodbyes but we have to leave. We get into the car and it's quiet. The drive is almost half an hour. Ava falls asleep on the way but Joslyn stares out the window.

"You were really good with Emma. Do you want kids some day?" she asks me.
   "Some day."

The rest of the car ride was filled with silence.
~•~•~•~
We're in the hotel room staring out the window. The view couldn't be better.

   "I'm going to miss this." Joslyn says.
"Me too. Did you enjoy Georgia? You know, besides the..." bullshit with my parents.
   "I really did. Thank you Tris." she turns around and hugs me. "I'll never forget this."

I hug her back with one arm and play with her hair in the other. I'll never forget this either.

"Tell me what's holding you back Tris. What aren't you telling me?" she asks.
    "I told you, my life is all planned out. Why do you want to be with me after everything that's happened? My father shot a fucking bullet at your head for God's sake. My mind is completely fucked up and wants you for all the wrong reasons and on top of that–"
"Tristan." she says my real name.
     "My father warned me against it. You don't take a warning from someone like him lightly."

I refuse to tell her the full reason, I refuse to even think about it. I still have the small box he gave me in my pocket.

"Hey Tris?"
   "Hm?"
"Do you always follow the rules?" she moves my arms lower as she pushes me down on my bed. Nando's words repeat in my head. You've got a bad bitch. I do, don't I? She's so strong, brave, and so damn hot. All the more reason to follow rule 2. I won't break it but I will bend it, only for tonight. I'll make sure her last night here will be unforgettable.