A Restored Man (34 page)

Cole crossed his arms and sighed. "I wanted to stay in bed with you."

"And I wanted to take you somewhere special."

"But you won't tell me where," Cole said.

"Because it's a surprise. Stop pouting. I'm not caving on this."

"I'm not pouting," Cole said with a scowl. "We've been driving for a while and now we're out here in the boonies."

Ty's heart began to pound heavily the closer they came to the last turn in the road. If Cole hadn't realized where they were by now, it would hit him at any moment. But even if he figured it out, there was no way in hell he'd ever guess what Ty had planned for him. He wanted to do something special for Cole. Something Cole would remember for some time.

Cole straightened in his seat and looked over to Ty. "Are we going where I think we're going or are you just going to do a drive by and torture me?"

"I'm not going to torture you. I prefer to do that in bed," Ty said, looking over to give Cole a daring glance.

"Oh, I like this side of you," Cole said with a wicked grin. "Teasing, challenging, and giving me surprises like this. I'm already turned on." He hunched his shoulders to get a better view out the front of the window. The Homestead Miami Speedway seemed to grow as they neared the turn. "There aren't any events going on, how are we going to get in?"

Ty smiled as he made a left onto the road and drove across the vacant lot. He watched Cole restlessly look to the right, then the left, not wanting to miss a single detail. He drove up to a small security gate and waited for the guard to exit.

"Hello, Mr. Calloway. It's great to see you again," he said with a smile. "It's been a while."

Ty nervously gripped the steering wheel, rolling his hand back and forth. "Yeah, Jack, too long. Do you know if everything's in place?"

The guard nodded. "Last came in about ten minutes ago." He waved to Cole in the car then stepped back to open the gate.

Ty waved then drove along the service road down through the tunnel. He glanced over and Cole was practically bouncing in his seat. They emerged from the surrounding darkness directly into the pit section of the track. He followed the service road to the designated area, glancing over at Cole who couldn't stop looking from side to side.

"That's Drayton's rig we just did," Cole said, pointing to the right at the fenced area.

"Yup."

"What's that other one?" Cole asked, pointing to the long, black car transporter parked in the neighboring lot.

"You'll see."

He followed the curve in the road and occasionally glanced at the track that surrounded them. Regardless of how many times he'd been here, it still left an impression. He remembered the first time he came to the speedway for an event and the excitement and awe he felt. He wanted to give Cole that same experience.

"It looks so different when you see it like this?" Cole said, the reverence evident in his tone.

"Have you ever been to a track?"

Cole shook his head. "It was too expensive for my parents to take the whole family when I was a kid. I've always wanted to go to a track or a race…I just never got around to it." He craned his neck, the wonder evident in his tone.

"Tell me what you're seeing," Ty said, wanting to relive it through Cole's eyes.

"It's huge. It's just…I've…I don't even know how to describe it. I've seen it on TV but being here, the grandstands are so high, and the track really sits on a slant."

"You don't feel the slant when you're driving the track," Ty said.

Cole had the biggest grin Ty had ever seen. "My heart feels like it's going to come out of my chest," he said, then turned to look out the passenger side window. "Is there any chance at all we can go around the track once?"

"Maybe."

Cole's gaze snapped back to Ty. "You said you weren't going to torture me."

Ty chuckled. "I wouldn't do that," he said, reaching out to grab Cole's hand. "You okay over there?"

Cole nodded quickly, worrying his lip.

"You're quiet."

"I don't want to fuck it up, whatever
it
is," Cole whispered.

Ty laughed.

They finally arrived to the area where Drayton's rig was parked. They exited the car and walked over to a row of six exotic cars parked along the exterior wall of the pit area. He looked over to Cole who silently walked beside him, following Ty's lead. Cole had never been so quiet.

A smile tugged at the corner of Ty's mouth. He couldn't wait to see the smile on Cole's face when he knew what Ty had planned for the afternoon.

* * * * *

At some point, Ty had become a master at the torture and tease. Cole didn't have a clue what he was going to be doing other than staring at six sexy, new exotic cars—the same models he had seen in a magazine as scheduled for release in the next year.

"Just give me a few minutes. I need to square away a couple things and I'll be right back," Ty said then turned and walked over to the guys sitting on the back of a white pickup truck.

Cole watched as Ty exchanged a few words with the men. They then handed him something and went into the truck and drove away, leaving them alone on the empty track with six sexy beasts. His mind raced faster than usual and his chest rose and fell with each breath. He started pacing to burn off some of the nervous energy thrumming through his body. He absently chewed on his thumbnail, waiting for Ty to walk back to him.

Ty finally stood by him with a silly grin on his face.

Cole stopped and pleaded. "Tell me what we're doing please?"

"Each one of these," Ty said, moving his hand in a sweeping motion toward the cars, "is scheduled for release this next model year."

"I know. I read the report in the magazine last month."

"I've got Drayton's new electric exotic and some new models AvantiTrak was commissioned to test. They sometimes call me when they need preliminary tests on cars that haven't been track tested yet by Research and Development." Ty handed Cole a box with six sets of keys. "That's what you're doing today."

Cole could swear his heart stopped. He stared at the mix of keys and key fobs. The sun reflected off the metal as if winking, mocking him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Fuck
! He wanted to scream.

He looked up at Ty, barely able to speak past the pressure in his throat. "I can't. I'm not supposed to drive until I get out of the halfway house," he said with a strangled voice. It was one thing to get pissed off and take the car during a storm when his head wasn't on right, another to deliberately drive cars on a racetrack. There was no way Aidan would let this slide. And he damn sure wasn't going to disappoint his mom, Julian, or Matt.

This was cruel and unusual punishment.

Ty reached out and brushed his thumb along Cole's cheek. "I already checked with Aidan before talking to Drayton and AvantiTrak about reserving the track. Since this is a private event on a closed track, and you will, technically, be working, you can't even get a ticket in here as long as you stay on the track. He was kind of pissed off that I found a work-around. I've already got the waivers signed and we're good to go."

Cole looked up at Ty and lunged forward to grab him in a bear hug. His heart beat so fast he wasn't sure how the hell he was going to steady himself enough to survive the day.

"C'mon, you've got a lot of driving to do so let's get started," Ty said, leading Cole over to the first parked car. Ty unlocked the door and withdrew a helmet and a remote headset. "Two conditions. First, you must have the seat belt on at all times. Second, you have to wear a helmet."

Cole immediately grabbed the helmet and put it on.

"It looks good on you," Ty said, tugging the lower part of the helmet.

"If you want, later on tonight, I'll wear this and nothing else for you."

Ty laughed as he put the headset over his ear and adjusted the mouth piece. "Can you hear me?"

Cole nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. "Is it a one way thing or do you hear me too?"

"I can hear you clearly. Here's what we're doing today," Ty said. "I need you to drive the standard oval four-turn track first a few times then we're going to the full road course with fourteen turns. I need you to check speed, handling, braking, the works. If you feel anything really good or something that doesn't feel right, let me know so I can note it for the test report. Got it?"

It was official. He must have passed out at some point during their marathon sex night. There was no way this was actually happening.

"Cole, any questions?"

He looked around the track and at the cars. "What if I hit the wall? How much trouble will I be in?"

Ty smiled. "Test cars are insured. Not a problem. But I need
you
to be safe."

If he hadn't passed out, he must be dead. There was no other way he could explain it.

"C'mon, get in the first one and let's get started."

Cole walked toward the first car and immediately slipped into the driver's seat, turning to see Ty walking away. "Where are you going?"

Ty stopped and turned. "I'm heading to the tower where I've got a better view of the entire track."

Cole took off his helmet and exited the car, walking over to where Ty stood. "Wait! I'm driving alone?"

Ty nodded, hiding a smile. "If that's okay with you."

Cole closed his eyes. "I think I just came in my pants."

Ty leaned in for a kiss and Cole immediately wrapped his arms around Ty's waist and pulled him closer. He devoured Ty's mouth, running his hands through his hair to hold him in place. They finally pulled away from the kiss, gasping for air.

Ty brushed his thumb against Cole's cheek. "We'll pick this up later. Get your ass in the car and let's get started. We've got the track until six today so you better get moving."

Cole ran back to the car and readied himself to begin. He inserted the key and took a deep breath. He hadn't sat in a car like this in years—three years and four months to be exact—when he boosted a Ferrari Enzo. Dumb, arrogant prick shouldn't have trusted a guy to be a valet just because he wore a black vest. He smiled at the thought. That was probably his easiest boost ever for one of the most high-end rides he'd ever driven. He loved sleepers because they mirrored him so well. On the outside, they fooled people by appearing to be of little value. He didn't kid himself, his quirks and mouth gave people the impression he was a few clowns short of a circus and he didn't mind playing that up to his advantage at times. But exotics, they were breathtaking and captured the essence of everything he loved about cars—their sleek design, the non-traditional line and slope of each angle, and their undeniable power. To him, it wasn't about the status symbol, it was about the ability to have control over that much unmistakable power that drew him in the most. He closed his eyes and turned the key, letting the roar of the engine filter through his body. The growl from this beast vibrated the seat as if angry that Cole was sitting still rather than gunning the engine.

"Get your ass moving, Mr. Renzo," he heard Ty's voice through the helmet.

He pulled the car out onto the track and slowly completed one run at a leisurely pace to familiarize himself with the gearbox, clutch, and pedals. A few seconds was all he needed but he didn't want to rush this. Every car was different and the initial honeymoon phase with this one was about to end the moment he made that last turn. He turned onto the straightaway, back at the point where he had begun. "Let’s see what you can do," he said, not realizing at that moment Ty could hear him talking to himself.

He sped along the track with ease and effortlessly shifted between gears, never once feeling the slant in the track that had seemed steep before.

"Does it shift smoothly?" Ty asked.

"Like fucking butter."

The revving of the engine screamed in rebellion as he drove along the straightaway and quieted to a dull hum when he downshifted.

"I need to know if you're redlining," Ty said.

Cole glanced at the tachometer. "Not yet. I'm at five thousand rpms. She thinks I'm teasing her." The grandstands sped by in a blur as the speedometer registered over two hundred miles per hour. The g-force had him pinned to his seat and a permanent grin etched on his face for sure. He drove around the track a few more times, pushing every part of the car he thought needed to be pushed then finally drove in slowly to return her to where the other cars were parked.

"You want to take each of them on this track first then run the full road course?" Ty asked.

"Yeah. I want to get the rush of speed out of the way first," Cole said, entering the next car in the row.

He followed the same process, pushing each car to its limits just as he had the first, making sure to relay statuses to Ty. Each car handled differently and each made him want to giggle like a schoolgirl at the power radiating around him. He could feel the adrenaline coursing through his body and he loved every single second of it. He completed the second turn on the track with the fifth car and something didn't feel right so he downshifted.

"What's happening?" Ty asked.

"Something's not right." He accelerated the car again, matching the last speed and rpms he had reached and felt the change again. "At one twenty and forty-five hundred rpms, something's off." He shifted into gear after clearing the third turn and the car spun out of control along the straightaway.

He heard Ty yell his name in his head or maybe he was yelling at him in the helmet, Cole wasn't sure. He was too focused on visualizing the road in front of him and straightening out the car in time to avoid hitting the wall. His heart was racing but his focus was channeled on every detail of the car, slight shift in sound, and tiny adjustment necessary. He jerked the wheel, avoiding the accelerator and brake to straighten out the car. The fourth turn was approaching and he heard Ty desperately call out his name.

"Ty," he said calmly. "I've got this, trust me." He shifted the car and turned the wheel in the opposite direction, letting the car drift slightly, carefully timing the approach of the fourth turn. A few seconds before reaching the corner, he turned the wheel and downshifted, gently pressing the accelerator and straightening the car again on the track.