Page 42 of Tandem

“Heck yes,I am! This is my…ournight!” My dad laughed.

“Dang, my own daughter is coming for my title already?” I blushed a bit, and Dad winked at me. “Try your best!”

As we exchanged quick words of motivation, I couldn’t help but feel a rush of admiration between me and my dad and my friends too. We were a tight-knit crew, and tonight was a testament to our dedication and skill.

Just then, I saw AJ approaching us with a smirk out of the corner of my eye. His broad shoulders stuck out from his sleeveless hoodie, leading down to his perfectly muscled arms covered in tattoos. He continued to walk right up to me, his arm wrapping around my waist. He leaned in to give me a deep kiss, a mischievous glint in his eyes. I saw my dad’s expression change out of the corner of my eye as AJ pulled away from the kiss. I could feel Hank’s, Tyler’s, and Freddie’s eyes burning into the back of my head.

Dad walked over, clearing his throat, his voice tinged with a little apprehension. “Rosalie?” I glanced nervously at my father, then back at AJ, who seemed completely unfazed by the situation.

“Dad, this is AJ. We met a couple of months back at one of the car meets. He’s ummm…” I didn’t know what to call AJ. Actually, we never really talked about labeling what we were.

AJ pulled me tighter against him, his confident smirk growing wider as he looked at my dad. “I’m her boyfriend.”

My dad flicked his gaze between me and AJ, his eyes narrowing slightly. “I didn’t know you two knew each other. Not going to get my girl in trouble, are you, AJ?” Dad asked as I stood there looking from him back up at AJ. AJ chuckled.

“Only the good kind.” He gestured around the warehouse with his free hand.

I never thought that Dad might know who AJ was. I looked between them, surprised by my dad’s response.

Dad glanced from him to me and sighed. “We will have a little chat soon, Rosalie. Don’t distract her too much. Rosalie needs to be on her toes tonight.”

AJ gave him a small nod, and Dad walked back over to his car, where his other friends had been watching us. AJ kissed me again as Tyler, Freddie, and Hank walked over.

“Yo, when did you start datin’ someone?” Hank's southern drawl came out slightly. AJ looked at him and I felt his arm flex. Both Freddie and Tyler just stared at us.

“Who are these guys, baby girl?” His tone was full of dominance as he staked his claim over me with his pet name.

I blushed and then went around my friends, pointing to each one when I said their names. “Hank, Freddie, Tyler, this is AJ, my boyfriend. AJ, these are some of my school friends. We go way back.”

AJ’s hand caressed my cheek gently until it was at the back of my neck, pulling me in as he bent in to kiss me passionately. Time seemed to slow down as our lips met, and the roar of the engines in the neon-lit warehouse and the world around us faded into the background. All that mattered in that moment was us.

We finally pulled away with a sharp whistle from my dad, followed by my name. “Rosalie, you’re up!”

I could feel my racing heart match the rhythm of the engines around us as I tried to catch my breath. “Go show them what you’re made of,” AJ whispered, his voice filled with desire left over from that kiss. My cheeks feel like they are on FIRE.

“I-I will!” I barely said as he chuckled and leaned away. He opened my Skyline’s driver door, and I slid in. Then he walked away toward the track, admiring cars as he passed them.

The engine rumbled to life beneath me as I threw her in drive and rolled toward the starting line. The other racer was already there, his engine growling in unison with mine. The warehouse seemed to shrink around us, and the neon lights above cast an eerie glow on the marked track.

Dad walked between the cars, taking money from each racer. He got to me, and I nervously handed him mine.

He lingered for a moment. “Honey, you’ve got this. Just watch for the ramp, it has a bump on the upward one. But yougot this. After all, you’re a Wells. And you’re my daughter.” He winked at me, which helped ease my nerves a bit and I started to focus more on the race at hand. This was my moment to shine, to prove myself not just as Kayden Wells’s daughter but as a real drifter in my own right.

My mind raced with the twists and turns of the track, the thrill of the drifts, and the precision of every maneuver I was about to do. The sound of my heart pounding in my chest was almost smothered by the sound of engines. I glanced at my competition, his face determined and focused. The countdown was about to begin, and the anticipation was making all the hairs on my skin come alive. I knew I belonged here, and I was ready to prove it.

Then, to my surprise, my mom, dressed in her shorts with fishnet stockings, skintight black tank top, and a red leather cropped jacket, walked up between our cars into the road in front of us and turned. No way. Dad had convinced Mom to come down tonight. As the countdown reached its final seconds, my grip on the steering wheel tightened, and I revved the engine, my Skyline ready to launch into the heart of the race. Mom dropped her hands quickly.

With a thunderous roar, we launched off the starting line. My Nissan Skyline GT-R surged forward, the tires gripping the concrete with fierce determination. We sped down the straightaways, each moment filled with the exhilaration of pure speed, the neon lights flashing past us like streaks of color.

As we approached a section of the track that went up a floor, my heart raced with anticipation. I pushed the accelerator, and my Skyline’s engine responded with a powerful surge of acceleration. The incline steepened, and I felt the force of gravity pulling me up. With precision timing, I yanked the handbrake, sending the car into a drift as we ascended. The tires screamed in protest, smoke billowing from them, but I maintained control,just barely. The adrenaline coursed through me as I felt the car’s weight shift, the world seemingly tilting on its axis. And I felt a laugh build in my throat. This was where I belonged. This was my home. And I loved every single second of it.

At the peak of the ramp, my Skyline hung in midair for a moment before gravity took hold once more. It hit the ground with such force I could see sparks reflect on the other driver’s car. The car’s rear end slid gracefully as I descended to the lower level, the tires gripping the surface with a perfect blend of power and finesse. It was a move that required split-second precision, and I executed it pretty much flawlessly. Which was crazy for my first time racing a track like this.

The race raged on, each turn and drift pushing me to the limits of my skill. The other racer was relentless, his engine roaring and his maneuvers precise. At one point, he even overtook me, and I had to do everything I could to retake the lead, even by a few inches. As we approached the final stretch of the race, I could see the finish line in sight. The other racer was hot on my tail, and victory hung in the balance. I couldn’t afford to make a single mistake. The neon-lit track blurred around me as I pushed my Skyline to its limits, every fiber of my being focused on the win.

In the end, it came down to a matter of split-second timing. I crossed the finish line just ahead of the other racer, our cars mere inches apart. The crowd erupted in deafening applause, and my heart pounded with the sweet taste of victory. I had won! But just barely. It was a testament to the fierce competition of the underground racing world, where every victory was hard-fought and every race a test of skill and courage.

As I stepped out of my car and jumped, I whooped for joy! The cheers of the crowd washed over me, and I knew that tonight, I had proven myself. My name was Rosalie Wells, and my name would be one to beat, just like my dad’s.

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