Wow. It was the only word I could find to describe my reaction when I saw Everest walk in through the front door of the house. She was wearing a spaghetti strap black bodycon dress that hugged all of her breathtaking curves with a pair of black Doc Martens and a leather jacket wrapped around her waist. Everest's hair sat perfectly curled below her elbows and surprisingly this time she wasn't wearing any makeup.
It didn't matter though, she looked just as beautiful without it.
Her eyes searched the room until they landed on me briefly. Peyton whispered something in her ear before she walked away and Everest nodded. She turned her gaze towards me and once our eyes met for the second time her lips curved into a smile.
Everest walked towards me, I was with O'Connor near the staircase with some of the girls from Kappa Kappa Delta house, but I met her halfway. "I thought you weren't going to show Ev."
"I wasn't planning on it," Everest chuckles. "Peyton insisted on celebrating tonight's win but I would rather be celebrating somewhere else. Other times I put up with it, but today I don't feel like partying." I honestly don't blame her, don't get me wrong I love parties, but after a while, doing the same thing every week gets kind of boring.
"Do you want to get out of here?" I suggested out of the blue, I didn't have anything planned, but I was certain that it wouldn't matter where we ended up.
When Coach Jennings told me around a month ago that I had to help Everest train for the start of the season I wasn't as amused. Before our training sessions started the only civil conversation I had with her was the one at the party at the house on our second week of class. Even though we were on the same team, we had never spoken a word to each other. Everest has always been a mystery to all of us, to me. And the more time I got to spend with her the more eager I was to figure her out because if you asked me, she was a mystery worth solving.
The quiet, shy, opinionated at times girl that swam in lane four and sat at the end of Emerson's class was so much more than just that. There are so many layers to her that you don't even know to exist. "I honestly thought you were never going to ask."
I give Everest a smile before I followed her outside to the entrance of the house. "I know I suggested that we get out of here but I don't have an idea on where to go exactly any suggestions?"
Everest's face instantly lights up. "I may have an idea, but that involves you trusting me. Think you can do that Matthew Connery?"
She teases making me chuckle. "I can actually, I'm not the one with the overbearing trust issues."
Ev's mouth dropped and I snorted with laughter. She always tried to find a way to tease me but it never worked because every time she tried I always responded with a sassy comeback. "It's the rude attitude for me." Everest rolls her eyes. "Can we take your car?"
I knew she was going to ask. Everest has been loving driving around in my car lately, I of course drive every single time. I wouldn't for a second let Everest drive my precious car, have you seen her driving skills? The other day it took Everest half an hour to parallel park. Those thirty minutes included a very embarrassing moment with a Karen because Everest almost hit her car while she was trying to park hers. "Sure, that way we won't have to wait an hour for you to successfully park your car wherever it is that we're heading to."
"Are you ever going to let that go?" No. I laugh. "Parallel parking is a skill, which I currently don't possess. It's hard and many people can agree on that."
I open my car and we both get in. "Then explain to me how was it that you passed your road test exactly?"
"I failed two times," Everest shakes her head in embarrassment. "I guess that for my third try the poor man was tired of seeing my face so he let me pass."
That explains a lot. "Your poor driving skills now actually make sense."
Everest glares and I laugh. While we were driving to our first spot of the night Everest tried to teach me Columbian slang and I failed miserably. She also was playing her famous Spotify playlist which lacked a little bit of taste, but I didn't dare to speak my mind on this one. Besides the fact that she looked awfully cute singing along to her favorite songs, I actually wasn't planning on getting punched today. God knows that the last time I ended up paying for speaking my mind with a bruise on my shoulder.
My phone began to ring in my front pocket and I pulled it out. O'Connor was calling. Shit. I thought to myself, I had completely forgotten about our plans tonight. "Hello,"
"Connery where the fuck are you?" O'Connor asked clearly pissed. "Maddox is asking for you. You are supposed to be racing today."
Everest looked at me confused. The volume on my phone was way up so she could probably overhear my conversation with O'Connor. "I forgot about our plans, I'm with Everest."
"Bro, you never miss a race." O'Connor sighs. "And I suggest you don't make this one your first, you don't want to piss Maddox off."
"I won't, I'll be there." I hang up.
"Is everything okay Connery?" Everest asks concerned.
"I have somewhere to be and I had completely forgotten about it." I heavily sigh. This wasn't Everest's fault but I was being hard on myself because I knew I should've stayed back at the house. "O'Connor is pissed."
"You can drop me off back at the house," Everest suggests but I shake my head. "Don't be stubborn Connery, your plans do sound important."
"I can't drive you back to the house, I'll never make it on time," I tell her. "Do you mind tagging along?"
"Not at all," Everest smiles.
I pushed the brakes and I turned the car around heading towards Laguna Seca. Laguna Seca is an abandoned dock where illegal car races are held. O'Connor, Dant, Becker, and I have always loved cars and the adrenaline that comes along with it when you're driving at almost 100 miles per hour. We had never heard about the races in Laguna Seca, but in our freshman year, our friend Tommy Scott took us there. Nobody really knows about the place and since it's a secluded area we don't run the risk of getting busted by the police.
Everest was the first person I was bringing to this place that was outside of our circle and it terrified me for a number of reasons. But I'm going to list the two that I consider that are the most important ones. First, Laguna Seca was filled with bad crowds and it's not really a good place for her to be at. Second, I didn't know how she was going to react. Everest was working at a law firm and even though we don't run the chance of getting busted by the police she still ran a pretty big risk of jeopardizing not only her job but her record as well. But I didn't have a choice, I had to keep my end of the bargain. I needed to race tonight or I was screwed. You can't go back on your word with Maddox.
"I have to explain a few things before we get there and you lose your shit," I say bluntly.
Everest gives me a confused look. "Where are you taking me exactly?"
"We're going to Laguna Seca," I pause. "I know we've only been friends for a short period of time, but what I'm about to tell you, you can't share it with anyone Everest. We can get into serious trouble. I'm serious Ev."
"You're scaring me, Connery, what are we going to do at the docks?"
"I have a race to win."
"A race?" Everest asks and I repeat myself. "A race as in illegal racing Matthew Connery?"
"Yes," I reply.
"You can't be serious Connery," Oh, but I am. "What are you idiots thinking? If you get caught you can go to prison. Prison."
And that's what I was afraid of. She was losing her shit. "I'm completely aware of it Ev."
"Than explain to me why the fuck are you guys racing?" And she lost it.
"I don't have time for this Ev, at least not right now." I sigh. "You can ask me anything you want to know and I will answer you with complete honesty later."
"Trust me, we will have a conversation about this. I'm not letting this one slide." Everest says crossing her arms across her chest.
"Great," I sigh in relief. "Now, can you keep it together? At least for the next two hours."
"It's the overbearing trust issues for me," Everest says and I can't help but laugh.
We arrived at Laguna Seca sooner than I expected, part of the reason was that I was driving over the speed limit but Everest didn't seem to mind it that much. The place was filled with cars, a lot of people, and a lot of half-naked girls. Everest wasn't too fond of it, the half-naked girls I mean. But the cars were a different story. Her eyes lit up just like they did when she got into my car the first time.
"What is she doing here Connery?" Dant asks in a serious tone. "She's not supposed to be here, she can't be here."
"I can handle myself, Dant," Everest says bluntly. "And you don't have to worry about anyone finding out about your late-night extracurricular activities, I'm not a snitch."
"Are you sure she can handle herself, Connery? This is no place for girls like her." O'Connor asks concerned. "We don't want unnecessary trouble with Maddox."
"Have a little faith, she may end up surprising you," I reassure O'Connor.
I left Everest with the guys whilst I went to search for Maddox besides from letting him know that I was here, I needed to pay for my half of tonight's race. Maddox was lying against the hood of his car talking to Dean Richards. "Connery, I'm glad you could make it on time."
"I had some problems I needed to deal with, but I'm here as promised," I say handing him my half of the race.
"As you should be, you know I don't like surprises," Maddox says in a serious tone. "Who's the pretty girl you arrived with? I've never seen her around before."
I clenched my fists as I thought about all the things that were going through his mind. "She's off-limits."
"I see, I get that you don't like to share." I don't. "It's a shame but I respect it. The race starts in twenty."
I nodded and I turned around walking over to where the guys were at. My eyes searched for Everest but I couldn't find her in the crowd. "Dylan, where's Everest?"
"She was just here a second ago." I started to panic.
"Well, she's not." I sigh in frustration. "I told you to keep an eye on her, you idiot."
"I'm not a babysitter Connery," Dylan spits and I restrain myself from punching him in the face for his stupid comment. "She can handle herself."
I called out her name as I moved through the crowd but I didn't get an answer until I heard two people arguing. "You're a piece of shit, did your mother forget to teach you how to respect women?"
Everest. She was arguing with Tommy. That wasn't going to end well. "Stop being a bitch about it, she's fine. Now get out of my face before I do the same to you."
I definitely wasn't expecting what happened next. Everest threw Tommy a solid punch to the nose. "Fuck, that hurt." Everest cursed whilst she held her right hand.
"Everest, what has gotten into you?" I ask while I grabbed her from behind. She didn't look like she was done with him.
"What has gotten into me?" Everest said mocking me. "I'm teaching this asshole how it is that you respect women because his mother apparently forgot to."
"Connery control your girlfriend or I will," Tommy warned whilst he held his bloody nose. I think she broke it. "I'm this close to loosing my shit. And I won't hesitate to make her regret ever laying a hand on me."
"Calm down Tommy," I warn. "Go get help, you're clearly in need of it."
I grabbed Everest's hand and I pulled her away. "What?"
"Everest, you can't just go around punching people in the face." I scold. Although I must admit, she looked incredibly sexy and badass when she punched Tommy. "At least not in here, what were you thinking? I told you to stay with the guys, this place is not safe for you to be wandering all alone."
"You didn't see it did you?" I shake my head. "He slapped that girl in the face for no reason, he had it coming Connery. Someone needs to put him in his place and if no one dares to, I will."
"Connery the race is about to start, you have to get going." O' Connor says walking up to us.
"I have to go," I tell Everest. "I'll see you after. And please don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."
"I make no promises, good luck out there," Everest smirks. "Be safe."
I walked over to my car and I drove it to the starting line. Today I was competing against Xavier Lowe, I considered this race a little more personal than the other ones I've competed in. But I didn't have time to think about my problems with the guy, I had to focus on winning. I needed to win, I couldn't afford to lose. Not when Maddox was betting on me.
Xavier stopped his car next to mine and he rolled down his tinted windows. "I'll see you on the other side Connery."
I kept my eyes focused on the road ahead, looking through the windshield looking far ahead. One of Maddox's girls stood in the middle of both cars. "Are you guys ready?"
The crowd started screaming and cheering us on but I blocked out the noise because before I knew it Xavier and I were speeding off for the race of our lives.
A/N
I'm so excited that you guys finally get to read this one, I enjoyed writing it so much! Were you expecting the guys and Tommy to be friends? Major plot twist. What kind of trouble could Connery be in? It was the race of his life. Leave your comments, I want to know what you guys think.
Also, I wanted to thank you so much for the love and support I have been receiving from you guys! Thank you so so much, we have reached 400 reads ✨ It's a small milestone but it means the world to me.