PULLING UP A few feet away from the where the races were taking place on the deserted US-27 highway, Jason turned off the engine and dropped his head on the steering wheel. His crew should be there any minute now but he was already in such a rotten mood for being stood that he didn’t want to wait for them.
Taking the keys out the ignition, he stepped out of the car and walked the rest of the way towards the crowd of drunks, half naked girls and arrogant jackasses who bragged about their victories against other crews.
Jason wasn’t one to associate himself with anyone in this crowd except for his crew; them, he could actually trust but the others that he raced against were little weasels. They cheated, lied, stole and cheated some more. Either way, Jason always got his winnings when he beat his opponents in the races no matter what. On several occasions his crew would get into fights with others who thought that they were brave enough to test them.
They learned quick.
He walked through the crowd looking for somebody who he deemed worthy of a good challenge. Just as he was ready to give up and settle for a mediocre challenger he spotted Carter and his girlfriend Sierra sitting on the hood of a custom silver and black Audi R8. Jason's brows went up in surprise. The car wasn’t even on the market yet but Carter drove it.
Perks of being a sellout.
He and Carter used to be close friends in high school and started racing together along side Drake, Victor and Brandon until Carter became greedy and joined another crew whose leader was ruthless and of course, loaded.
Nobody knew what he actually did as a day job but he exuded so much power that other racers were scared to mess with his crew… all except Jason and his friends who were known for testing the top dogs of Miami’s underground racing scene.
Before Jason could get within five feet of Carter, he found himself surrounded by Carter’s posse. They all sported an angry scowl in hopes of intimidating him but they quickly realized that it was pointless when he didn’t even bother to acknowledge them. His sight was set on Carter and he was going to get a race out of him whether he wanted to or not. Fortunately, Jason was sure that Carter would agree to his offer. He couldn’t resist a race or a chance to prove he was better for the life of him.
Jason walked right through the crew and stopped in front of a smirking Carter.
“Why if it isn’t my old friend Jason. What can I do this honor boy? You finally changed your mind about joining my crew?” Carter got up from the hood of the car and stood toe to toe with Jason.
“One, don’t call me boy. Two, thanks for the offer but again I'm good! I'm only here for a race… right now.” Jason bit out.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold your horses little buddy. You know the rules to racing me. Watchu putting on the line… boy?” Carter knew what ticked Jason off the most and he reveled in pissing him off. He smiled widely and cocked his head to the side. Jason should’ve been on his side and racing with him but instead he and his brother made the stupid choice of walking away from what they joined the racing world for in the first place: the money.
Jason felt his fingers balling up into a fist. If there was one guy he couldn’t stand, it was Carter. The greedy asshole always wanted something. It was a wonder how he ever became friends with a sellout like him.
The more he thought about it, the more irrate he became. Where was his brother and the other? They should've been here by now. Just then he heard some girls whispering –very loudly- about a few members of his crew. Looking back he saw four cars pulled up side by side and a smile tugged at the side of his lips.
They always had the perfect timing and always made the flashiest entrance, after Carter’s crew that is. He was never a fan of show boating but he always let the guys have their fun.
They each stepped out of their custom car decked out in the group’s respective color…black. They spotted Jason and walked towards where he stood in front of Carter.
Drake stopped next to Jason and frowned at Carter. “What’s going on with chocolate thunder over here?” He asked his brother.
Jason cut to the chase. “I want a race. He wants a bet.”
Drake turned to his brother. “Ok. Well you seem to be in no mood to be convinced otherwise so what will it be?”
Jason thought about it for a minute and said “…New drifter.”
“What?! Fuck no! I just finished it this week. I am not putting it on the line already just for some little whim you got going on because you got stood up.” Chico, the Latino of their crew shouted. He'd spent two months and thousands of dollars customizing that car. Jason understood where he was coming from and he wasn’t going to lose it already but he might run hood big mouth brother over with it.
He glared at Drake and sent him a death glare.
“What?” Drake tried not to laugh but failed miserably. “It was funny and they ask so I told the fools.
“Wait! You got stood up?!” Carter boomed out while laughing loud and hard. "That's new for you ain't it?"
“Shut the hell up!” Jason snarled at Carter. “Chico I got this. Let me race it.”
“Damn! If you lose I’m kicking your ass Jason! Trabajo al disco duro para esto!” He muttered the rest of his sentence in spanish.
“All right. Car for car it is. IF I lose then you can have my baby here," Carter said with a hint of confidence in his voice as he pat the hood of his Audi.
Jason smirked. “Deal! Brandon give me the keys to the drifte,” Brandon threw the keys to Jason and he caught it while walking towards their cars. He stopped in front of the black and burnt orange 2010 Nissan GTR that was powered by a monster of a turbo charged V6 engine which delivered a whopping 530 horsepower. The muffler and tires were custom made and put in by Chico.
Jason turned around and noticed that the crew had follow him.
“Wooo! That baby looks hot! Only thing missing is a naked girl in the passenger seat and I’ll be in heaven,” Victor exclaimed.
“That looks good but the one that I’m fixing looks hotter. Wait till you get it on the road,” Dennis shouts out.
“Man stop playing. You know you’re not even close to reaching my level much less being better than me,” Chico defended.
“Alright shut it up guys. Time to race. Jason do your thing, win that car and don’t lose ours or you will be in some deep shit with us. You picked this race so it’s your problem. The rest of you all will not get involved unless we absolutely have too and knowing Carter, we probably will so keep a heads up. Jason watch your ass with the cops," Drake instructed like he always did before a race. Everyone nodded their head in agreement. Drake was the leader of their crew and they didn’t mind it much because he was so lenient.
Jason slid into the driver’s seat and inhaled the smell of new leather that was always euphoric to him. He grabbed the steering wheel and looked around the black and orange interior of the car. “Oh hell yeah. Chico definitely has outdone himself with this,” he muttered to himself.
Rolling down the window Jason revved up the engine and drove to the starting line where Carter was already waiting for him and Sierra stood with two twin race flags in between the two cars. He looked out his window and stared at Carter’s face which held a huge smirk that Jason just wanted to punch off.
“Alright boys you know the rules but I’m going to remind you anyways.
One- no short cuts
Two- Don’t get caught by the cops or killed, either way you lose
Three- Win! Simple shit. Do you guys understand?” She questioned loudly. She had the checkered flag in each hand and nodded at each racer.
They both responded with a nod of their own.
“Ok. Rev up your engines.” She held both hands up with the flags hanging in her grip. They both started to rev up their engines.
“When I say go!” She shouted
“1” Jason played his foot on the gas pedal.
“2” Carter tighten his grip on the steering wheel.
“….GO!” Sierra dropped both of her hands and the cars peeled off on both her sides.
Jason felt the adrenalin rush in his veins as he sped pass Sierra and gunned down the highway at 97 miles per hour. The drifter was perfect for the empty road as he maneuvered around each turn. Carter was right there with him but he felt no intimidation. There was a sharp curve up ahead that Jason knew oh so well and he slowed down a bit just in case a cop was there waiting to arrest somebody. When he marked the coast clear he noticed that Carter somehow passed him and was gunning further down the road. Jason pressed down on his gas pedal and flipped the switch on his dash board. The exhaust accelerated the car to its full speed and he caught up then sped pass Carter. As they were getting near to the finish line Jason caught Carter driving too close for comfort in his peripheral vision and tried to inch his car away from Carter’s but the Audi followed and stuck to his side.
Jason revved up one more time and skid around the upcoming turn almost crashing into the barricading short wall on the highway. Carter stayed right on his tail trying to get pass Jason but Jason nailed it and drifted around the last tight turn leaving Carter behind a few yards away. Jason kept up with his speed until he passed the finish line and slammed down on his breaks. He skid through the screaming crowd and the car quickly came to a halt.
Feeling good but exhausted Jason lean his head back onto the head rest and took a deep breath. The rush of drag racing was like a drug to him. He felt at his best when racing a car but winning was like the ultimate high for him. He wasn’t fond of drugs so the only way to get his adrenalin rush was by racing.
“Mills!” He heard Carter shout. Lifting his head he saw Carter coming up to him and sighed. The man barely lost but when he did, he was the biggest sore loser of them all.
Jason reluctantly stepped out the car and leaned on the hood. Staring at Carter he said “You owe me a black and silver Audi. Fork it over.”
“Hells no! You cheated. What type of high tech turbo shit do you have in that car? That shouldn’t be allowed!”
“What we do ain’t allowed and we still do it anyways so stop bitching, accept your loss and move the fuck on.” Victor piped in before Jason could say anything.
Jason would rather fight then argue so he would always let his boys handle the bullshit until he received his winnings then he would drive off before the groupies came onto him. He didn’t know when the rest of the guys showed up but they all stood behind him and stared at Carter and his crew who showed up also.
“A deal is a deal Carter. Give us the keys.” Drake said with a bored look on his face.
“Carter you know if you give them the car the boss will kick your ass right?” A guy from Carter’s crew said worryingly.
“Shut up Eddie!” Carter looked worried for a second but then walked over to his car, pulled the keys out of the ignition and threw it at Jason’s feet. “It’s yours.” He stalked off with his crew right behind him. Yes, his boss was going to have a fit but he really didn’t feel like fighting tonight. He would have to deal with the repercussions later.
*
After packing some clothes from her apartment and changing into a light blue dress for dinner with Mason, Machayla made her way to the elevator. As she entered it, she gasped. “Damn I forgot about meeting up with Jason.” She said to herself. She frantically looked for her phone in her hand bag but it wasn’t there. ‘Did I leave it?’ She thought.
She stopped the elevator on the fourth floor and raced to the stairwells where she ran back up to the sixth floor, to her apartment. Unlocking the door she went straight to her bedroom but the phone was nowhere to be found. She looked in her bathroom, living room, kitchen but it was just gone. The last time she saw her phone was when she placed it on the sink counter in her bathroom, where could it have- “Mason! Fuck!”
He took her phone. She should’ve realized that sooner. Taking a deep breath she dropped her body on the living room couch. “What did I get myself into? I should have just turned into a lesbian.”
A bruised and battered Machayla met Mason when she was 20 years old at a college party that she was forced to go to by her sorority sisters. It was a must for LAMBDA THETA PHI and other sororities and fraternities to be there. Mason dad was the Dean at the university so whatever he wanted to do, he could do and he wanted to be at that party so he was. He was 22 at the time and in his last year of college; he partied more then he studied and still got away with it.
Machayla was chatting with a few of her sorority sisters when he included himself into the conversation without as much as an invitation. Of course none of them but Machayla minded because apart from being the Dean’s son, he looked mouth watering delicious. His skin was a mocha color which was complimented by his black low cut wavy hair, long eye lashes and a great physique.
Feeling irritated by his rudeness, Machayla moved away from the group and went to sit in a dark corner. She really didn’t want to be there but what options did she have? The sorority helped her with her scholarship that she so badly needed to stay in the University. She had no home and no family to go back too. The dorm was her only home and unless she found a job so she can start saving up for a place after college, she was screwed.
Suddenly she felt a presence sit next to her. She turned to see a pair of chocolate eyes staring back at her and she frowned. Mason was nothing but a spoilt brat who was born with a rich silver spoon in his mouth. As she got up to walk away from him, he slipped his hands around her waist and stopped her. “I’m not going to bite. I just want to talk girl.”
She crossed her arms under her breast and without turning back to him asked “About what?”
“Nothing in particular. Just need some good conversation and beautiful company.”
She huffed and made a weird face but sat down anyways. Two years later she would regret ever speaking to him at that party.
He was the sweetest guy she’d ever met, until she moved in with him eight months ago. He became demanding and abusive in every type of way possible after two weeks of living with him but she couldn’t do anything to prevent it. He called her every name in the book, broke a few bones and treated her like his property instead of his girlfriend.
She finally had enough when he came home drunk one night and raped her till she was close to blacking out. The next day while he was at work, she packed her things and went to a hotel. She quit her job at the Hospital she was working in the same day and threw her phone away. She had the money saved up from college to buy herself an apartment which she never had a chance to touch and money saved up for the day she grew balls big enough to leave him. He never knew about her secret accounts and she was happy that she was slick enough to hide it from him.
Now a month later, he has found her. She wondered how but suddenly the answer became very clear. Last night she told her old sorority sisters where she was staying… huge mistake on her part because Mason still talked to a few of them.
‘Damn!’ She thought. If only she didn’t bump into them last week, they would’ve never been able to ask her to go out with them last night and she would’ve never told them where she lived.
Putting a hand through her hair she sighed. “I have to get away from him.” She told herself. She got up to grab her purse when the door suddenly swung open.
“Why the hell are you still in here?!” Mason boomed with an angry scowl on his face.
“I was looking for something.” Machayla said in a small voice. She looked down at her pumps to avoid eye contact with him.
He stared at her for a few seconds with a furious look before speaking again. “Change of plans. Change into something sexy. We are going to a race. You’ve got five minutes. Take a second longer and I’m snatching you up!”
She nodded and walked into her bedroom. Her jaw was still painfully throbbing so she had no other choice but to follow what he said or suffer another injury. Make-up could only cover so much.
She grew comfortable living on her own, going to work at the clinic and not having to worry about coming home to someone who would beat her and verbally abused her till he was satisfied. She grew too comfortable actually. She should’ve known better then to have hopeful thoughts for a good life. Her mother died a month after she was born from sickle cell and her father was killed while she was in her first year of college by a his girlfriend's husband. Her father didn’t know that she was married and the jealous husband obviously blamed him for the whole affair and took to solving the problem into his own hand.
“Machayla hurry your ass up! You have three minutes!” Mason cut into her thoughts and she jumped.
She searched for a pair of shiny black tights with a black leather jacket that showed off the bottom half of her slim waist and black leather combat boots to match. She hated going to the illegal races Mason loved so much. She was treated like a trophy for him to flaunt around and she couldn’t stand his friends or the lustful looks that they gave her.
She applied pink lip stick, tied her hair up in a high pony tail and finished off with a diamond stud in her ear.
She walked out into the living room just as he was about to get up and said “I’m done.”
Looking her up and down he nodded.“Good girl. Lock up.” He said as he walked out of the apartment. She passed his inspection.
She felt like crying again but held in her tears. There was no way she would ever want to look weak in front of him again.
“Mason?” Machayla asked as she sat in the passenger seat in his obviously brand new BMW.
“What?” He growled out.
“Where’s my phone?”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t find it and I know you have it.”
“So what?”
“I need it.”
“For what?”
Machayla sighed. There was no way he was giving her the phone. If Jason texted or called her while Mason had it, he probably knew about their plan to meet up with each other which wouldn’t be good for her at all. One thing he was was possessive. ‘Damn!’
Mason’s phone went off and he answered. “Yeah?... What?!... You lost it?!... To who?!... I’m on my way! Make sure they don’t leave with that car you stupid son of a bitch!” And he hung up.
Machayla sunk into her seat. Whenever he was mad, she would turn into his punching bag. ‘Double damn!’
They pulled up into a crowd of half naked girls running around with guys slapping and fondling their assets, drunks acting… drunk and arrogant racers with smirks on their faces for whatever their reasons were. Ugh!bShe was disgusted.
A group of guys which Machayla recognized as Mason’s racing crew hurried towards them the minute they spotted Mason’s BMW. He stepped out the car with a murderous look on his face and Machayla’s heart rate sped up a bit faster then it was already beating. He was going to hit somebody. She could see it in his eyes.
She stepped out the car and immediately wished that she hadn’t. Heads started to turn her way and almost every male had a lustful look in their eyes. She even spotted some girls biting down on their lips while staring at her body.
She started to feel even more uncomfortable and was about to head back into the car when a hand stopped her. She felt like a piece of meat, put on display around hungry lions.
“Oh no baby.” Mason said with the sweet voice that he always used with her while in public. “Stay out here with me.” He was smiling but his eyes were hard and held a knowing look. She understood that he was threatening her without uttering a single word and she regretfully obeyed.
He returned his attention to his crew and said “Now, explain to me how you lost my car Carter! And before you open that big mouth of yours, think wisely!”
Carter looked scared but Machayla didn’t blame him. Mason looked like he was going hop into his BMW and run Carter over…twice!
“I… Some asshole challenged me to a race and like everybody else he bet off his car and so did I. I thought he was going to be like the others and not go through with it but he did… and he won.”
“And you actually gave him the keys to the car?” Mason asked calmly. Too calmly Machayla thought.
Carter shook his head yes and was suddenly backhanded across the face by Mason. “You stupid little shit! I don’t pay your sorry ass too lose my cars! You’re supposed to beat the pieces of craps that you race and bring me their cars. Not lose mines!” He screamed. By now everybody who was in the crowd were watching with wide eyes.
Carter spit out blood from his lip that was just busted and Apologized. “Sorry Mason but he had some type of high tech thing in that car.”
“Who?” Mason asked. He was curious about the person who had enough balls to actually go through with a bet and win even though Carter barely ever lost a race to begin with.
“Jason.” Carter answered.
Machayla frown at hearing the name. ‘Naw. It couldn’t be him.’ She thought.
“The same guy you’ve been trying to recruit?” Mason asked.
“Yeah him.”
“Where is he?”
Carter started walking and maneuvered his way around the crowd that had gathered to watch his boss man-handle him. He led Mason to where Jason was sitting on the hood of the Audi he just won with his booted feet propped up listening to his crew constant ranting behind him.
When Carter stopped in front of Jason and his friends the conversation they were having came to a halt.
“So I finally get to meet the daring Jason.” Mason Said.
Jason looked up into Mason’s face and cocked an eyebrow. “Daring? Why is that your choice of word?” He asked.
“Because you’re one of the few who challenged my crew, beat them then actually took one of my cars.”
“Our car now.” Drake spoke up.
Mason stole a glance at Drake and returned his attention to Jason. “…Right. Look, here are your options. Join us Jason or give the car back.”
“I won it fair and square so umm no.” Jason got off the car calmly placed his hands into the pocket of his jacket with a straight stance.
Machayla who was left behind, finally got through the curious crowd but was suddenly pushed by a random girl and went flying into what felt like a hard chest.
“I’m so sorry!" She groaned as she tried to balance herself. She looked up at the face of the stranger and realized that he wasn’t so much of a stranger as she thought. Her eyes went wide as she stepped away from Jason.
‘Triple damn!’