Unwanted (bxb)

Chapter 12

There were four gangs competing that night, and each had brought in its best drivers. Eight different cars were racing in total. We drew to find out which gang would compete against which, and we had two separate brackets. There would be three races per bracket until one was left, and that person would race the winner from the other bracket. That made six races in total, not counting the final.

And I was going to be in that final.

Since I'd started racing five years before, my team had always won. Aggie respected me, but I knew he'd fuck me over if he ever got the chance. I was from a good family, I wasn't in it for the money, and that got to him. He needed the cash — needed it to buy drugs and keep the guys in his gang in line. It was one thing to throw money around, another to play with the one thing that seemed to matter to him. If he lost his car, I'd need to be ready for trouble.

I ran a hand along the roof of my Ferrari. I loved that damn car; it was perfect, the fastest, the best purchase I'd ever made. I only let people I trusted drive it. My car. My rules. That was the deal. Driving it was a privilege. Everyone in my gang knew that.

"Kyle's gonna be mad, bro," Logan said with an awkward expression. After the drawing, we'd decided how to divvy up our guys. The four gangs were equally represented in both brackets. I knew Kyle had been gunning for Greg, the guy I'd be going against, but sorry — I was driving in this race myself.

I looked over at Logan. I was glad he was there that night. He was my best friend. I'd met him in one of the worst periods of my life, and we'd been inseparable ever since. I was the one who'd introduced him to his girl Jenna. She was the daughter of oil execs and had grown up in the same development as me, and we'd known each other since we were kids. She was about to enter her first year in college. She wasn't like the other daughters of millionaires — she was special, and I cared about her a lot. Logan had been hung up on her from the first moment he saw her.

"Fuck Kyle," I said. Logan probably thought that was over the line, but he didn't say anything. He knew when I wasn't in the mood for bullshit. And just then, I definitely was not in the mood.

"The second curve is tighter than the first, so brake early or you'll skid off the road," he told me as I got in the car and put it in gear. From fifteen feet away, people were already shouting euphorically, anxious for the race to begin. Two girls were holding the fluorescent flags, ready to motion for us to take off.

"Got it," I said. And I couldn't help but add, "Keep an eye on Justin." I squeezed the wheel tightly as I realized he was still stuck in my head. I couldn't help it; I needed to know someone was taking care of him. This kind of party was dangerous for a guy like him, and Logan knew that better than anyone.

"Don't worry, Jenna's all over it." That eased my mind. But then I looked where he was looking. There, with a fluorescent bandana tied around the upper arm, as though he were a member of my gang, was Justin, arms locked with Jenna, smiling radiantly. He was euphoric. Drunk and euphoric.

Dammit.

"See you at the finish line," I said, the way we always did when we raced.

The flags came down, the engine roared, and the wind in my face made me forget those honey colored eyes and that masculine body.

—-————-

We'd won all the races so far. Elsewhere, on the other sand tracks, all the competition had been eliminated. Just Aggie was left. No surprise there. My guy Kyle was good, but Aggie was one of the best.

The final was going to be tough, and I was nervous about the outcome.

I still had twenty minutes to go, and I was leaning on my car drinking a beer and smoking a cigarette. Justin was with Jenna. They were living it up, as far as I could tell, dancing, drinking, just having fun. I got it — Justin probably thought he could drink away the memories of his ex-girlfriend. I kept an eye on his every movement.

"You're being weird tonight," a familiar voice said from behind my back. I turned to Katie when I felt her warm breath on my neck. Just like me, she had changed. She was wearing a skimpy dress that revealed her huge boobs and thin legs. She was gazing at me with desire. We always looked at each other that way.

"It's not the best night," I said, trying to get her to understand she shouldn't expect any sweet nothing — Taylor's Version — from me.

"I could make it a lot better," she said, sidling up to me and giving me a view of her cleavage.

"All you've got to do is come with me," she added seductively.

I had fifteen minutes left till the last race. And the truth was, I could use a little release with Katie in the back of my ride.

"Make it quick," I said, dragging her to my car.

Fifteen minutes later, we went back to where everyone was standing, waiting on the finale. Sex with Katie had helped me clear my head. I could have whoever I wanted — but there was no need to get all hung up on some eighteen-year-old.

And then I saw him.

Everyone had moved from the starting line to the finish. Normally Logan and Jenna always stayed behind. But there wasn't a trace of them.

I saw just one thing before my black Ferrari took off without me: the brown hair of my stepbrother in the rearview mirror.