Page 9 of Full Throttle

“Yes, indeed, Colby.” He licked his lips as if she were a tasty treat. “And lovely.”

“There’s nothing about me that’s infamous. But,” Colby straightened her back and held his gaze, “if you had heard anything about me at all, one of the first things you would have learned is that only my real friends call me Colby. Since we’ve only known each other for a few minutes, I can’t say we’refriends.”Colby pointed to the name printed on her coveralls.“Therefore, you can call me what everyone else does, Ms. James.” She pivoted, turned, and walked toward the booth.Jerk. Give me my respect and say my name.I’ve worked too hard to be reduced down to a little lady!

Asher called out after her. “So, it’s like that?”

“Yep. It’s exactly like that.” Colby kept walking but yelled over her shoulder. “One last thing . . . for future reference, my friends also know that the stands are the absolute last place I’d ever want to be.”

Asher wasn’t used to women dismissing him the way she had. His only explanation was that she had to be a lesbian. “Her loss,” he said underneath his breath.

Asher walked over to where Gonzo stood with the car. The engine sounded good. He quickly put Colby’s rejection out of his mind, put on his helmet, and got inside the vehicle.

“What was that all about?” Colby’s dad asked when she made her way to the booth.

“Nothing.”Absolutely nothing she hadn’t dealt with her entire life. She placed her headset on and glanced down at the board. It was lit up like a Christmas tree. It noted everything to do with the car from tire pressure to RMP to fuel levels and everything in-between. She could also communicate with the drivers so that they could adjust their driving to the performance of the car.

It had been a while since Colby had been shoulder to shoulder with the crew. She let her eyes drift closed and soaked in the moment. The roar of the engine and the smell of the octane-unleaded fuel was heady. There wasn’t anything better except for maybe being behind the wheel. Moving at speeds of more than 200 mph made a person feel like they were flying. Ben was right. No matter how much she wanted to escape, racing was in her blood.

“I’m calling it today, Colby,” her father said.

The sound of his voice broke the spell. She nodded. “I didn’t expect anything less.”

Asher revved up the engine as he waited for the go signal.

Electricity began to flow through her veins.

“Weather’s perfect. Track is warm. All systems go for a practice lap, McKay,” Cyrus said into the headset.

Asher stepped on the accelerator, and the car began to move. Slowly, at first, then gaining in speed. He hit 0–100 in 2.5 seconds and seemed to handle the car beautifully. For the most part, Asher was taking the turns easily enough. However, it was a practice lap.

Once around the track, Zander dropped the black flag, signaling the practice was over. Asher picked up speed, topping out at over 195 mph. Cyrus coached Asher through the headset.

Lap one, everything was working exactly the way it was supposed to. Colby’s eyes squinted as Asher came around a turn. Her forehead wrinkled. She muted her headset and leaned over to speak to her dad. “Asher’s a little rough around turn two.”

“Mmhmm.”

“If he downshifts in that turn, he might gain more speed.”

Cyrus agreed and muted his own headset. “I’ve mentioned that to him. The boy doesn’t listen. He just wants to go go go.” Cyrus unmuted himself as Asher started lap three. “Looking good, McKay.”

He leaned in and asked Colby, “Tires?”

“Psi is 23.”

Cyrus nodded. “Good.”

Gooddidn’t last very long. As Asher headed down the straightaway of lap three, the coolant gauge on the board began to drop, and the engine started to overheat. They could see white smoke from the exhaust.

“What the fuck?!” Asher could be heard yelling into the helmet.

Cyrus responded. “Bring her in. I think it’s the gasket.”

“No shit, Sherlock!”

Asher drove back to the pit, got out, and snatched off his headgear. He threw it haphazardly, barely missing Gonzo. Asher immediately started screaming. “I thought you said it was going to be ready?! This car is a piece of shit!”

Tom tried to calm him down. “We’ll take care of it. It’ll be in tip-top shape by tomorrow.” Tom turned to Cyrus for backup. “Right?”

Cyrus nodded. “Yeah. We’ll have it together by tomorrow.”

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