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“Sure,” she said in a clipped tone, but her irritation was already fading as she fought to not smile.
“Thank you, darlin’.” Blake took the water from her, tucked it under his arm and then grabbed her face between both hands and smacked an exaggerated kiss on her cheek, leaving black grease fingerprints behind.
“Ick,” Tayia complained and Blake laughed deviously before running back to the garage.
“Make me a sandwich, woman!” He yelled over his shoulder, his laughter echoing behind him.
I sat there smiling at the two of them. They were really cute. I didn’t know what it was like to have a sibling, so it was fun to watch them interact. “Now, I’m going to need another shower,” Tayia grumbled as she made Blake’s sandwich, however, the small smile never left her face.
Tayia finished making the sandwich and carried it out to Blake. When she returned, she seemed surprised to see that I hadn’t left the kitchen.
“Harley, I’m sorry about my questions earlier. I didn’t mean to imply…” Her voice trailed off. “It’s just that Blake is--,”
“Your family. I get it.” I could still remember what it was like to care about someone more than I cared about myself. A memory that cut deep every time I thought about it.
“Ok.” Tayia smiled, her face returning to her usual overly chipper expression. I wasn’t all the way convinced that she was comfortable with me living there however I was used to people not liking me.
After Tayia disappeared upstairs, I wandered into the garage to hang out with Blake. He also had a performance shop that he ran from the garage of his house. This wasn’t a place where people brought their cars for regular maintenance, but for help with race car modifications. His garage was full of equipment. He had a blue Chevy Nova on a lift with the hood open. The only reason I knew the name of the car was because of the nameplate on the back. I knew nothing about cars, but I did know for sure that Blake was into drag racing judging by the tanks of nitrous against the wall and other telltale items I’d remember seeing in Mack’s garage. Blake also seemed to be the go-to mechanic for other people on the island as well. Another guy named Judge, came over a lot to have Blake take a look at his El Camino and it was clear to me that it was also a racing car. The big fat Hoosier tires and loud rumbling engine were a dead giveaway. There was a lot of car talk that sounded very foreign to me but seemed to make a lot of sense to the two of them. It made me wonder where the racing took place.
I knew that the sport was extremely dangerous and highly illegal. The races were always held in secret locations hidden away from the cops, business owners or anyone who would cause a problem. It was a dangerous sport because people sometimes got hurt, especially when traveling at speeds at upwards of one hundred and fifty miles an hour. If caught, they could end up with more than just
a speeding ticket. They were looking at jail time, suspended licenses and huge fines. It was the adrenaline and bragging rights of having the fastest car that made the risks worth it to them. I learned a lot about the mentality from Mack, who was arguably one of the best racers in the Carolinas. He also raced for money. Big money. And he made people pay, one way or another.
When Judge left the garage, I asked Blake about the racing.
“Nah, I don’t race,” he replied. “My car still isn’t ready. I’ve got a lot more to prove before I can get into the serious races.”
“Serious races?”
“Yeah.” He walked up to me while wiping his greasy hands on a towel. “You can’t just show up with your car to any race. You have to be invited.”
“How do you get invited?”
“You have to do some small-time races around the circuit so that people can see you. You also have to have the money ’cause the bets on these races are big. You have to be willing to throw down a few grand before anyone will take you seriously. I don’t have that kind of money right now,” he said as he sat down on the old couch next to me. “Plus, getting the car ready ain’t cheap either.”
“So, these serious races. How do they work?”
“There is a ranking system that is agreed upon and respected by the racers in our area. The guys at the top of the list have to constantly defend their position. The rules are that if they are called out they must either accept the challenge or forfeit their spot. Anyone directly below them on the list can come after them.” I felt my brows furrow at his words, so he continued to explain. “Alright, so let’s say you are number three on the list, number four can challenge you in order to move up but number four can’t challenge number one until they go through number three, then two on the list. Make sense?”
“Sort of,” I answered as my mind still tried to process the rules. I had no idea it was that organized. I thought they just raced whoever was brave enough to pair up. The fact there was a ranking system and a set of rules was still rattling around in my brain.
“How is that street racing? I was thinking it was more badass than that. Like impromptu racing on open stretches of road while hiding from cops and everything.”
“Nah, doing that can get people hurt. There are guys who drive around like that hustling for money, but it’s smarter to do it in a controlled environment. The point is to see who can drive the fastest on unprepped street, just rubber, and road. Not try to catch a manslaughter charge. That’s just dumb.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I replied although I knew for a fact that Mack would go out searching for races like the one Blake described and bet hundreds of dollars at a time. It was how he earned his money sometimes.
“Tell you what. Races usually happen on Saturday nights and there is one this weekend. Judge is on the ranking list and was called out, so I’ll see if we can tag along with him.”
“Sounds good,” I answered, feeling excited to go to one of these races. I’d only been to a few races with Mack and most of the time I was wasted out of my mind and had no clue what was happening other than Mack won every race. He just expected me to stand on the sidelines and look pretty for him.
“I would love to go to the race with you, Blake.” He gave me a grin and it warmed my heart. I liked being around him, just not in the way Tayia had suspected. There was someone else in front of him who was proving hard to get over.
Chapter Sixteen
Annette put me on the schedule permanently. Apparently, Anna had broken up with Petey for good and decided to stay in Beaufort. While I probably should have been ecstatic about having a steady job, I just wasn’t sure how I could keep facing Fox every day. I needed to think of a way to fix things with him, I just didn’t know how. I never tried to mend a relationship with anyone before.
Nearly two weeks had gone by since our argument. He hadn’t said more than a few words to me the entire time and it had all been work related. I missed the friendship I’d been building with him. I’d never had a real friend before. I’ve had people who I thought were my friends, but most of them wasted no time stabbing me in the back when an opportunity presented itself. I knew Fox wasn’t that type of person. He represented all the things I’d longed for in the past but had given up on ever finding. He was dependable and earnest. Not to mention he was skilled with his tongue and had the ability to blow my mind in bed. My heart ached at the idea of not being the girl he ended up with down the road. This was a new feeling for me and I didn’t enjoy it. Not one bit.
