"Alright. You know the rules." A Hispanic man pulled a blunt from between his lips. "First one to cross the finish line wins. Anything goes. On my mark."
The drivers revved their engines, their headlights being the only illumination on the dark desert road before them. Chiko remained unintimidated, convinced that he could beat his amateur opponent with his eyes closed.
Easiest 6 bands I ever made. He smiled to himself, already mentally spending the money.
The kid behind the wheel to the right of him had fire engine red dreadlocks that touched his shoulders, and wore a permanent scowl, identical to the rest of the men that he arrived with.
The Grillos were decent. Better than most.
Chiko could tell that this one in particular would be a sore loser, hell, most of them were, but he didn't give a fuck. He was as good at whooping ass on the road as he was in the field.
And if that fails, well, no man was bulletproof.
Angel stood in the middle of the asphalt, a smirk playing on his bare face before he dipped his arms, signaling the start of the race. Dry wind whipped through his wavy hair from the cars' sudden movements, and the majority of the people on the sidelines cheered for the vehicle on the left.
The one that contained a notorious winner.
Side by side, they sped down the road and it wasn't long before Chiko stole the lead, much to the excitement of the wagerers in favor of his predictable victory. It was foolish to bet against either of the Fontaine brothers, but especially the oldest.
"Ha!" Chiko laughed at the young man's attempt to ram into the passenger side. He swerved off the road momentarily before regaining the upper hand and crossing the finish line.
"Let's go, baby!" Izzy whooped from the sidelines, his fist in the air.
ꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄ
"I don't see you!" Halle complained into the receiver, rolling down her window. "And why wouldn't you tell me that this was in the middle of nowhere?"
"Well, where else would an illegal street racing event be held? In someone's basement?" Sage rolled her eyes, standing on her tiptoes.
Vaughn eased his foot on the brake, bringing the vehicle to a full stop just a couple of feet behind a sizable group of people that were blocking the road. He was very skeptical of his surroundings, but he held his tongue, understanding that it wasn't his place to fill his boss's lady's with doubt.
Busy food trucks on either side of the street provided half of the lighting for the unsanctioned gathering, as well as a few pitiful streetlights spread far between each other. Many of the attendees wore glow stick necklaces and toted plastic cups of alcohol around, including Sage. Hers blinked bright red.
Intimidating leather jackets covered the shoulders of biker's as they posted up beside their two-wheelers, an unamused look on the majority of their faces.
"There she is!" Sameer pointed, guiding his older sister out of the drunken crowd, and with the tap of Sage's thumb, the call was ended.
The siblings power walked towards the snazzy Mercedes SUV that held their friend. The two of them were dressed similarly, cargo pants and graphic t-shirts. Sage's top was tight fitting and cut above the midriff, showcasing her abs while Sameer's drowned his long, slender frame.
Halle exhaled through an O-shape of her lips, mentally preparing herself to be perceived by a bunch of strangers. At this current point of her life, she didn't fit in here. That part was obvious. She'd fallen victim to the same old routine with the same old safe locations.
As long as I have Sage with me, I'll be fine.
"Don't worry about picking me up, Vaughn. I'll have a ride home." She met his eyes in the rearview mirror, and exited before he could contest or open the door for her.
The smell of marijuana greeted Halle first, followed by the fruity liquor on Sage's breath.
She winked at the corset top. "Damn, titties galore, huh?"
"Says the one without a bra," Halle returned, flicking her friend's left boob and Sage laughed, covering her own chest with her arms.
"Eww." Sameer scrunched his face. "Let's get back to the other side. I put some more money on the second rematch."
"Rematch between who?" Halle shuffled forward, averting her eyes away from the tall men staring down at her, and slipping her hand into Sage's.
"The Fontaine brothers and the Grillos. I gotta get my $50 from the idiots who thought that things would go their way," Sameer explained. "Shit, maybe I'll even get $100. Taz is getting smoked so bad, he's sweating out his dye."
"Ok," she simply responded.
Whoever they are.
He led the women through the crowd with Sage in the middle, and Halle released a sigh of relief when the air cleared of the motorcyclist's sweat.
Two sports cars rested a little down the road from them, the owners clearly in a one-sided, heated discussion. The guy getting the most worked up had veins popping out of his neck and if his skin weren't so melanated, his face would've been as red as his hair.
Halle recognized the other one as the man from the Froyo spot. He was dressed casually, with the jewelry around his neck and on his fingers being a true indicator of his financial status. Well, that and the new-aged mustang.
Chiko twisted a toothpick in his mouth, seemingly bored with the entire ordeal. "It's over. Run me my shit so I can get the fuck on."
"Man, fuck that! Let's go again! Triple or nothing this time," the redhead shouted, and his gang of four other men nodded their agreement behind him.
"You think third time's a charm, huh?" Chiko chuckled emptily, throwing the wooden pick onto the ground. "Alright, hold up."
He turned his back to the men to speak with Izzy, who watched his brother's back all the while.
Sameer sucked his teeth. "I already know how this is gonna go. I'll be right back."
He slinked away, leaving the women chatting amongst themselves, and the rest of the audience bumbling with anticipation as both groups of racers privately discussed the details.
"So now he and his dad are talking again." Sage sighed. "I'm so happy for him."
"Good for Brez!" Halle exclaimed. "It's always nice to work things out with family."
"I know right." She smiled. "Since he's been on this whole inner work thing with his therapist, he's healed a lot of trauma that his folks caused, and our relationship has been damn near... perfect. I can't wait until he gets home."
"Honestly, I've been thinking a lot about seeing a therapist myself. I need to learn how to be more... independent. I rely on Ro too much emotionally, I think."
"Oh, girl please." Sage narrowed her eyes. "If you're talking about being rightfully upset because he's always flaking on you, then cut it out!"
Halle offered a closed mouth smile, but kept her words to herself. Sage never understood Rowan's actions and she didn't care to pretend like she did. Unlike Halle, who always tried to hear him out even if he wasn't saying anything.
"He always finds a way to make you feel like you're wrong for caring, and that's fucked up," Sage rambled on.
"Well, well, well," a familiar voice sang, and the phrase sounded different coming from his mouth. Halle didn't know whether or not to be thankful for the interruption.
Karter walked in front of them, his shirt completely unbuttoned, his lips decorated with a smug smile. "Rowan doesn't know you're here."
"Maybe, maybe not. It's none of your concern, really." Halle furrowed her eyebrows, running her palm along the goosebumps on her arm.
She wasn't cold.
"Oh, that wasn't a question." He tipped his head back to drink from the glass corona bottle. "I wonder what he'll think. Seems like he worked hard to get you out of places like this and you've come crawling back. I'll admit, it took you longer than I expected."
"Karter," a woman with platinum blonde beach curls and too much lip filler cooed into his ear, wrapping her hand around his bicep. "The race is about to start. I don't want to miss it."
"Hmm, ya know, Vi asked me about you and I forgot to text her back. Let me just..." Halle pulled her phone out from her back pocket and unlocked it.
"There's no need for all of that," Karter groaned, and Halle paused her typing.
Gotcha.
"We've already spoken a couple of hours ago. Besides, do you really want to be the one to stress a pregnant woman out?"
"Whatever. Stay out of my business and I'll stay out of yours," she firmly stated.
"Touché." He tipped his head back again, allowing himself to be pulled away.
Poor Vi. Halle shook her head. There was no telling what lie Karter had fed his wife.
"I love when you actually pop yo' shit," Sage commented, glaring at Karter's shiny scalp in the distance. "Especially to his bald-headed ass."
This time, Halle's lips curled up genuinely. It wasn't often that she outsassed anybody, especially Karter Steele. Still, it wasn't enough.
Swiping out of Violet's text thread, she decided to send Rowan a quick message to ease her nerves. Try as she might, she couldn't shake the seed of worry that his best-friend had planted.
Today 9:38 PM
Hey, I decided to chill with Sage and Sameer tonight. Don't wait up.
Love you.
Ro-Ro
👍🏽Have fun, Hals. Love ya
[You loved "👍🏽Have fun, Hals. Love ya" ]
Halle briefly closed her eyes before locking her screen and pocketing the device, relief pumping through her system.
At least he replies fast.
"Okay." Angel cleared his throat, lifting his arms above his head and regaining everyone's attention. "Here we go again. On my mark."
Engines roared at the drop of his limbs, and several eyes in the crowd widened as the cars covered great distance at an impeccable speed.
Sameer hurriedly found his way back to the women, a roll of dollar bills into his fist. He shoved it into his pocket and grabbed both of their wrists. "Come on!"
"Aren't we gonna stay to see who wins?" Halle whined, struggling to not roll her ankle as she was forced through the sea of bodies.
He sucked his teeth. "Hell nah. Sage hand me your keys since you couldn't stay away from the vodka sodas."
"Whatever," his sister muttered under her breath, but obliged and tossed him her car keys. She didn't really care where they were going, only that she was finally going to sit down.
Halle, on the other hand, was having a hard time accepting their abrupt departure. "But why?"
The path became darker as they traveled farther away from the event, and the doors to the wolf gray Kia clicked as Sameer unlocked them with the press of a button. The three piled inside, and Halle's question remained unanswered even as the wheels started rolling.
"What's going on?" She pryed again, draping her arms around the front headrests while she leaned forward.
Cheers erupted from the gatherers' mouths as the race was completed. Halle craned her neck to look out of the rear windshield, but couldn't make out who had earned so much praise.
Suddenly, Sameer's foot slammed on the accelerator, knocking her backwards and before any more words could leave her mouth, gunshots rang through the air.
~
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—Who do you think won the race?
Vote and comment!