Fighting (15 page)

I
stood up when I was finished and looked at Brooks.  "Do I get a gold
star?"

"Even
better," he said.  He held open his palm and there was a set of keys
sitting in it.  "You get to go to driving school."

"Driving
school?"

"We're
pretty secluded out here but all the roads around us are nice and paved.  Want
to learn some evasive driving maneuvers?"

My
eyes bugged out and I turned to Ethan.  "Is it my birthday?"

He
grinned and shook his head. 

"I
take it that's a yes?" Brooks asked.

I
swiped the keys from his palm.  "That's a
hell
yes."

We
all followed Brooks outside to the garage and huddled near a sleek, black four
door car. 

"Okay,
so Ethan will show you the ropes," Brooks began.  "You're already
proficient at stick shift, so it won't be too difficult for you."

"How
do you know that?" I asked, knowing it was a stupid question but asking
anyway. 

"I
followed you home a few times from the book shop."

I
blinked at him.  "That's kind of creepy, Brooks."

"That's
doing my homework, Alex," he returned.  "So anyway, he'll cover the
basics in evading.  After you master these skills, tomorrow you'll race each
other.  Sound fun?"

I
was almost shaking with excitement as Ethan and I climbed into the car.

"So
first, let's drift around some curves," he said, rubbing his hands
together.  Even he was excited.  Seemed everyone loved cars.

"Like
in the video games we play."

"Exactly. 
Why do you think Brooks let us play those violent games all the time?  It gets
our minds in the right space for actually doing this stuff," he said. 
"Except this is much more . . . painful when you wreck."  He looked
over at me.  "So don't wreck."

Okay,
then.

"Have
the others learned all of this?" I asked.

"Just
me and Spencer.  The others are too young.  Okay, get up to a good speed and
the first sharp curve we come around, I want you to brake with your foot and
keep control of the vehicle, just so you get a feel for the turn and then we'll
start drifting with the hand brake on the next curve," he instructed.

As
excited as I was, it still took me some time to ramp up the courage to go all
out.  Around the sixth or seventh sharp curve was when I actually did exactly
as he said, throwing caution to the wind.  I shouted the whole time, unable to
keep a lock on my adrenaline and nerves.  I put all of my focus on controlling
the car with my hands and feet, so there was no brain power left to control my
reaction, thus the yelling.  It just made Ethan laugh. 

"So
now you know the technical aspect of it, the steps to take.  Now it's time to
take it to the next level.  On the next curve, put your hand on the handbrake
and I'll help you get a feel for it," he said.

I
floored it and watched avidly as the next curve approached quickly.  I put my
hand on the brake and then felt his hand on mine.  I gripped the brake tighter
and had to fight not to stare at our combined hands.  His fingers aligned with
mine and we both ignored each other like two awkward fifteen year olds on their
first date who refused to look at each other as they held hands.  Only we
weren't awkward, just very focused on the road so we wouldn't wreck. 

As
soon as we entered the curve, his hand jerked up on mine and the handbrake was
pulled.  I was still yelling around the curves and his free hand held onto the
handle by his door like it was a life raft.  His hand quickly released mine so
I could use both hands if I needed to and as soon as I returned it to the
brake, his hand reappeared too.  He didn't remove it, even when I had a long
straight road to speed down.  My poor heart was beating out of my chest from
adrenaline, but also from touching him.  It was strange, being that nervous
just from touching someone.  I'd never really felt that before.  Not that
intense, at least.

I
jumped up and down in my seat.  "Fuck, yes!" I shouted, invigorated.

His
hand pulsed around mine.  "That was great.  Let's do it twenty more
times," he smiled, just as pumped as I was.

"Yes,
Boss," I saluted him.

He
smirked at the name and helped me with a few more turns, his big, warm hand
connected to mine, and then he let me do some curves on my own.  I was excited
to try it on my own, but I regretfully mourned the loss of our almost-hand
holding.  God, he made me feel like I was fourteen, hoping for reasons to touch
him and get away with it.  I kind of hated that he was totally unaffected
whereas I had to keep from pulling over to the side of the road and mauling
him.

"You
need to
feel
it to know exactly when to brake.  The more you do it, the
more you'll get a feel for it," he said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

He
was right, and the more turns I made, the more control I had and the less
yelling I did.  The tires were squealing and throwing smoke the faster I went. 
Ethan didn't even bat an eye, so I assumed that Brooks bought tires by the
case.

"Excellent! 
You're really getting the hang of it," he smiled. 

Sure,
I was getting the hang of it but I was in no way a pro yet.  By the time I was
drifting with confidence, it had already been almost two hours.  Ethan was an
excellent teacher, but it still took time to learn this shit efficiently.  We
hadn't turned off the main road yet, and I had no idea where it led. 

"There
should be a stop sign intersection in a few miles.  Take a right there, and
we'll find an empty parking lot.  I want to go over using the handbrake to turn
and come to a complete stop."

"You
are the coolest person I know," I told him.

"I
know that's the adrenaline speaking, but I'm pretending like you really mean
that," he said on a laugh.

I
turned into an abandoned grocery store parking lot a few minutes later and came
to a complete stop.  It felt strange being stock still after ramping up to
speeds near one hundred miles per hour on the open road.  I was still pumped,
eager to learn another aspect of driving.

"Okay,
so now I want you to speed up very quickly, then pull up the handbrake, then
turn the wheel and come to a complete stop, all within seconds."

I
did it over and over again, sliding into different parking spaces all over the
lot.  It was intense and just as fun as drifting.  After I'd done it to his
satisfaction, he got out and popped open the trunk and pulled out some orange
cones.  He lined them up strategically and had me align the car to them as
straight and close as I could without knocking them over.  I decimated them the
first few times, but a while after that, I was so precise that they were
touching or nearly touching the door but not bent in the slightest. 

An
hour later, he directed me into a populated town and had me drive along
discreetly and then suddenly slide into a parallel parking spot, two different
times.  The first time, there were no other cars near us parked on the street. 
The second time, I squeezed in between a truck and a car that were parked two
spaces away.  If I messed up, I wouldn't have hit them, but it was still added
pressure.

On
the way back to the compound, he taught me a few other tips and tricks that
would come in handy either in racing or evading. 

"The
idea is to stay below the radar, but if somehow you're spotted and they start
chasing you, the jig is up and you need to get the hell out as fast as
possible.  Eventually, if you stay calm and drive smart, you'll get to a place
where they've lost you, and that's when you calm your movements and blend in
with the other cars or transfer cars.  Nothing will sell you out faster than
driving erratically in a nest of slow moving cars.  They'll zero in on you and
you'll either have to play the game all over again or you'll be caught.  And
that applies to more than just driving," he said. 

I
was still pumped when we climbed out of the car, but it was super nice to
stretch my legs after hours of driving around.  Ethan climbed out of the car
and met me in front of the hood.  He laughed at the excited expression that was
still painted on my face.

"Thanks
for the lesson," I said.

"Yeah,
babe," he said, his eyes warm on mine.

My
expression changed as I felt that interesting tingly feeling skitter through my
body again.  I handed him the keys and he hung them on a hook by the doorway. 
I knew he was just an affectionate kind of guy and he didn't have feelings for
me, but I loved that he called me that.  I didn't share that, though.  I just
kept walking toward the kitchen because it was dark by the time we got back and
the others were eating supper inside the house.

"So! 
How was it?  Was she a terrible driver?" Spencer asked.

"Funny,
Spence," I deadpanned.

"She's
a fast learner," Ethan said in my defense. 

"I
bet she took to it like she did the knives," Oliver said.

"She's
in the room, guys, "I said.

I
made a plate and sat down beside of August. 

"Ollie's
right.  She's a natural," Ethan winked at me.

I
smiled in appreciation and started in on my food, practically salivating over
Gwen's steak and potato dinner.  Ethan focused on me as everyone else chattered
amongst themselves.

"So
you think you're good?" he asked me from across the table.

He
was baiting me, but this time we were on the same page, so it was fun and no
egos were damaged.

"You
trying to psych me out, Boss?"  He shook his head.  "I think I'm
good," I said swiftly.

"You
think you can take me on?" he asked, referring to the next day when we
were set to race.

I
put my fork and knife down and leaned toward him a little.  "I think that
logically, you have more experience," I said.  "But I think that
personally, you might be giving yourself a little too much credit," I
whispered tauntingly.

"Is
that so?" he asked.  "Care to make it interesting?"

I
raised an eyebrow in interest and question.  "Name your terms."

"I
win, you become my fighting partner."

"We
don't have partners here," I said.

"I
know."

It
meant something to me, that he thought I was good enough, or that I had the
potential to be good enough to fight by his side.  And it felt really fucking
good to be chosen by him in any capacity.  I also wouldn't mind being his
partner, so even if I lost, I wouldn't really
lose.
  I didn't share
that, though. 

"I
win, you have to sit through any romantic comedies I want to watch for a solid
month," I said.

He
made a face of mild disgust but said, "You're on."

It
was at that point that I realized that we were leaning into each other over the
table so much that we were less than a foot apart.  My eyes widened and I
hastily leaned away, slicing a glance through the others to see if they
noticed.  No one was looking at us but I definitely caught Ollie smiling into
his potatoes.  When I glanced back at Ethan, his eyes were calculating as he
took in my swift retreat but he didn't say anything about it. 

I
had to be more careful about that.  I knew Ethan didn't feel the same way about
me, and I didn't want him to pity me when he realized how I felt.  I was going
to do everything in my power to lock it down.  I decided then and there that we
needed boundaries, so I wouldn't slip up and I don't know, kiss him or
something. 

Because
damn it, he had really kissable lips.

*****

I
walked down to the garage and Brooks and Ethan were already leaning against a
car, waiting.  That's when I got nervous.  What if something happened to one of
us or the cars? 

But
more importantly, who would win?

I
asked Brooks about the cars and he said, "The cars are replaceable and
you're not, so you always come first.  As far as the cars go, try not to crash
into each other or the trees.  They're replaceable and we're not poor, but it's
still a hassle."

Brooks
got into the car with me and I followed Ethan out to the road.  Ethan was to
our right, so he was sitting next to Brooks when we stopped near the driveway. 
They both rolled down their windows.

"What's
the objective?" Ethan asked.

"Be
the first to arrive at the Morrison Vineyard just outside of town," Brooks
said.

"What
if the cops catch us?" I asked.

"That's
when the real race begins," Brooks said.

"Don't
get caught," Ethan added darkly.  Then he smirked at me and rolled his
window up. 

"What
if I do get caught?" I asked Brooks, letting my nerves shine through. 
"I've never done this before!  I don't know everything there is to know
about this!"

"Fastest
way to learn is to throw yourself into it.  Learn as you go.  Watch and learn
from Ethan, too.  You won't make the same choices.  He's been exposed to this a
lot longer, so he'll probably win."