Page 38 of Feint

Dad stepped next to me. “Mmm, it’s a good change. It fits you, hon. So, while your paint is drying, want to do a few practice runs in mine against Hank? He’s been dying to get out on that track, and I’d bet, now that you know it's there, so are you.”

He held out the keys to his Hellcat, and I took them quickly.

“Only if you’ll be the best copilot a girl could ask for!” I smiled at him and walked over to the driver’s door as he chuckled and walked over to the passenger side. But when I opened the door, I saw there was only the driver seat in the car, and I quickly glanced up at Dad, and he was smiling a mile wide.

“Can’t really be a copilot in a car like this. They are built for one driver. But I’ll be there at the starting line with you, cheering you on. You got this.”

Dad gave me a thumbs-up, and I got inside the car and got giddy as she roared to life beneath my hands.

Gosh darn if that wasn’t one of the coolest things to experience in my life so far. Drag racing Dad’s best friend was exhilarating. It took a couple of passes for me to get even remotely used to the feeling of this monster of a muscle car. It was nothing like my Viper or Skyline. It had completely raw power in the back end. It almost felt like we were going to pop off the road! I flew down the strip, the finish line coming up so much faster than you would expect. But all too soon, it was time to take it back to the hangar. Other people would be showing up any moment, and we both needed to be ready.

And he wasn’t wrong. Soon, a steady stream of cars started to flood into the hangar and then even filled the parking lot when the interior filled up. The noise level was way up now, and Dad had an assortment of food trucks here too! I was grabbing some food with my guys, who had all stood around in shock for a solid five minutes, taking it all in, when they first got here.

Dad came over. “Hey, mind if I borrow Rosalie? I need to go over one more thing before the events kick off.”

He smiled at my friends and then waved me over toward the drift track. I brought my food with me and followed him. We stopped at a spot in the drift track, and Dad turned to face me and then gestured to the track.

“This is where you’re going to learn a new drift move.”

I looked at the course, a little confused. “Is this like a figure-eight drift?” I asked, trying to figure out the shape of this particular space.

“It’s a feint flick.” Dad’s smile grew.

“Oh, for real?! Dad, you’ve only barely mentioned this before! How does it work?”

I quickly shoved the last bite of my burger into my mouth as Dad got to explaining how the maneuver works. It didn’t sound too hard to do, but that was the tricky part in reality!

“Okay, so basically, it reconnects over here then?” I walked over to another section of the course, and Dad nodded. “Then, all right! I’ll do my best! Can’t let down the best drifter around, now can I?!”

I giggled and jogged over to a stop by Dad, and he ruffled my hair.

“Darn right! My girl is always making me proud. Now, let’s go back and get this show on the road! Drift races start first, so go get your car ready.”

Dad gave me a gentle shove toward the hangar, and I laughed and walked inside as he started to make announcements over a speaker system from the middle of the parking area. Dad was literally the coolest. I even saw Mom there next to him while he talked. I looked around, hoping to see Jayden. But I hadn’t seen him yet. I hoped he’d show up eventually.

I started to get my car ready for drifting, and Hank Jr., Tyler, and Freddie walked over, finishing their food.

“Hey, Rosalie, is your…boyfriendcomin’ tonight?” Hank Jr. asked as he looked around to see if he could spot him.

I shook my head. “Not that I’m aware of. These things aren’t really his style.” Which sucked. I had thought since he took me to see the drag bikes, he would be down to come watch me tonight. But he’d said cars weren’t his thing and passed. I missed having a guy to do stuff like this with.

“Good. No offense, but I think he’s a piece of shit,” Tyler growled out.

I turned to look at him as I pulled on my gloves. Dang, he was pissed-looking.

“We don’t think he’s that good for you, Rosalie, is what Tyler’s trying to say,” Freddie said as he handed me my second glove.

I glanced between all of them. “And do you two agree with him?” I asked, bracing myself for the answer I knew was coming.

“I hate him myself. I don’t like the way he treats you from what I saw,” Hank Jr. stated directly as he shrugged.

“I agree too. I think he’s possessive and jealous,” Freddie said as I tightened my glove strap.

“Well, look, I know you guys got off on a rocky start with him, but once you get to know him, Kordell is pretty cool! I’ll have you all over sometime soon so you can meet him again—properly this time!” I tried to give them my bestIt’ll be okaysmile, but none of them looked convinced.

I pulled my helmet over my head, feeling the weight of the moment settling on my shoulders as I tightened the strap. As Dad finished his announcement, I could feel my adrenaline start to crank up. I gave my friends some high fives, and we all got into our cars. Dad had the crowd make way while about forty of us drove slowly over to that part of the event space. Dad walked over to my car as I rolled to a stop in the lineup.

“All right, you’re up first, kiddo! Go knock them dead!” He tapped my helmet and gave it a jiggle.

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