Page 43 of Tandem

Speaking of Dad, he came running over and picked me up, laughing. “THAT’S MY GIRL!” He spun me around and set me down. Now, I couldn’t help but laugh, too. He handed me my money, and I looked up at him. His eyes filled with pride and his smile was a mile wide. “Who would have thought my biggest competition would be my own daughter one day? She’s gonna keep me on my toes.”

I shook my head. “Oh, I’ve got a longway before I’m anywhere near as good as you, Dad!” We hugged again, and Dad jogged back over to his car. He was in the next set of racers and needed to get to the line.

Suddenly, AJ appeared by my side, his eyes filled with a smoldering intensity. Without a word, he pulled me into his arms, his lips crashing down onto mine in a hard, deep kiss. When he finally pulled away, his voice low and seductive, he murmured inches from my lips, “Rosalie, you never cease to amaze me.”

I blushed and tucked my hair behind my left ear. “O-oh, thanks, AJ.” He sat me on the hood of my car and walked between my legs. Staring at me with his intense eyes, I wondered what he was thinking.

“I want to show you a part of me, too, part of who I am. But if I do, you can’t rat me out, and you’re along literally for the ride. You down?” I sat there, nervous but excited. AJ wasn’t one to share intimate details about himself easily, so I nodded.

“Y-yes! My lips are sealed! So… show me?” I asked nervously. He kissed me hard again, this time slipping his tongue in, and then he pulled away.

“Park your car up and meet me toward the back left side of the parking area.” I nodded and as he walked away, I parked my car. I quickly thanked my friends and escaped to find AJ before too many more people came up to me, and when I found him, I knew exactly what he was about to show me. He had tugged ona half-skull mask, and his hood was thrown up over his head, hiding most of his face. And I wasn’t sure if I was ready to know it, but there was no turning back now.

CHAPTER 25

AJ

I watchedher walk over toward me. It was now or never. This is one of the ways I made my living. I didn’t know if we could fully move past it—not until I showed her, not until I made her understand.

While she raced and I watched her, I also roamed the rows of high-performance sports, JDM, and muscle cars, each a masterpiece of engineering and speed. As I assessed my options, my eyes fell on this fully modded Mitsubishi Evo, its custom bodywork and aggressive stance drawing my attention like a magnet.

Rosalie walked over to me, pausing as I looked at her. “AJ, what are you going to do?” Her voice shook a bit, and I pulled her into my body. She tipped her head up to look at me, and I smirked.

“I’m going to make my living, baby girl. Are you going to scream and warn everyone? Or keep quiet and watch me do it?” My voice was steady, like my hand on her waist, unwavering in my intent to do my job.

Rosalie looked back up at me for a few moments before glancing at the car. “You’re gonna steal it?” I nodded, and she stood there thinking for a minute. “What do I need to do?” sheasked me quietly. I reached over and opened the door. I had already unlocked it and made it ready to hotwire before she came over.

“Get in.” She looked at me one more time, and I thought for sure she would run. But she surprised me, my good girl. She looked around, and when she saw no one was looking at us, she slid into the driver’s seat and climbed over to the passenger’s side.

I lowered myself into it as well and reached down, pulling the wires out a bit, sparking them together as I turned the car on. “Rosalie, hold on.” I threw the car in drive and took off through the meet and out the garage doors.

The powerful roar of the Evo’s engine echoed through the dimly lit streets as Rosalie and I raced away from the drift meet. The adrenaline coursing through our veins was further fueled by the stolen car beneath us. I glanced over at my girl. What did she truly feel about this whole thing? Did she hate me? Would she never want to be around me again? Fuck, I guess if she didn’t, oh well. I was doing just fine before I met Rosalie Wells. I would be just fine if she weren't in my life anymore. But what I saw on her face wasn't fear or disgust, it was excitement as she looked back at me.

“AJ, this is crazy!” she breathed out, her fingers fumbling with the seat belt.

I reached over and grabbed her hand, pulling it to my mask and kissing it through the material. I grinned, my hands expertly guiding the Evo through the winding streets.

“That’s the beauty of it, Rosalie. Sometimes, you have to embrace the chaos, break some rules.” Fuck, her little laugh made me think this might be all right.

“I still don’t know if I can get behind stealing someone’s car… I’d be so upset if someone stole one of mine…” She looked pretty, even when she was thinking about something that made her sad.

I reached up and stroked her cheek. “Look, you know how you pink race for cars sometimes, right?”

“They’re pink slip cars,” she replied quickly.

“Well, when you pink slip cars,” I began with a chuckle. “If you know your car is going to smoke someone else’s before you even start the race, isn’t that stealing in a way, too?” I could see her thinking. The great thing about her was that while Rosalie was smart as shit with car things, she didn’t have the most street smarts, so I might just get away with this.

“I mean… I guess you’re kinda right, huh?” she said after a few minutes. Fuck, it actually worked.

“Exactly. See. You and I, your friends, and your dad and his crew aren’t so different now, are we?” I asked, flashing her a smirk beneath my mask as I kept driving farther from the drift meet.

She slowly shook her head. “I guess we really aren’t… But no more stealing from Dad’s car meets, okay?”

I chuckled and shifted the car into another gear. “For sure, baby girl.”

We tore through the city’s streets, leaving the industrial district and going through the ghetto areas toward the main freeway. The urban landscape casting fleeting shadows as we passed quickly under streetlight after streetlight. The car responded to my every command, and I could feel the power this car had as we weaved through traffic with precision and grace.

But just as the rush of freedom and excitement was making me relax a bit, a flash of red and blue lights erupted behind us. My eyes shot to look into the rearview mirror. Fuck, a police cruiser was in hot pursuit of us.

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