Page 75 of Fast

Holy shit.

Zara has never looked so gorgeous.

I stare shamelessly as she locks the door behind her and walks up to my car.

I’m so taken by her short dress, with a corset top that pushes her perfect tits together, and an A-line skirt that caresses her creamy thighs, that I almost fuck up even more.

Thank fuck, I manage to come back down to Earth and run out of the car to open the passenger door just in time.

“Hey.” I smile.

“Hey yourself.” She says softly.

I’m dying to kiss her, but I want to do this date thing properly. I don’t want her to think that I asked her out just to jump her bones the second we’re alone.

Not that I’m not going to try my luck if the date goes well, but the night has just started and I want to earn the right to kiss her.

Tonight is just the two of us, no Chance and his family, no other friends to distract us from each other.

I’ve been conflicted about where to take Zara for our first date. At first I thought that a slightly more upmarket place like Morelli’s could be the perfect option. But in the end I decided to go to Joe’s, even though it’s on the pier. We would have run the risk of running into everyone we know if it was the weekend, but on a Monday night, I think we should be safe.

The conversation flows easily during the short drive down the hill toward the coast. We talk about our first day of classes and the upcoming rush events this weekend.

Once I’m parked, I take her hand as we stroll down the boardwalk feels completely natural.

“You haven’t been to Star Cove until you’ve tried Joe’s burgers and his world famous fried pickles.” I say, as we stop in front of the saloon-style restaurant.

The advantage of going out on a school night at the end of the summer is that we have the place almost to ourselves; we don’t have to wait to get seated, and a waitress immediately comes to take our order.

We’re at a booth, but I decided to sit next to Zara, rather than across from her. I’ve been dying for an opportunity to have her undivided attention, and I don’t want her to have any doubts about my intentions. I never really did the dating thing before, because I hadn’t met anyone who held my interest beyond a hookup. This is just the opposite; I want to know everything about Zara.

“Do you miss the East Coast?” I ask when she comments on how campus looks like most of the colleges back East when it comes to architecture.

She thinks about it before answering. “Yes and no. I don’t miss the strict rules we had at boarding school. But I miss having New York just one hour away. Things here in California are a lot more spread out.”

I smile, enjoying how animated she gets when she talks. “So you’re a city girl.”

Her soft chuckle is adorable. “Maybe, I don’t know. I mean, Star Cove is pretty, and I love living right on the beach. But there’s something about a big city that never sleeps. New York has an energy, a pulse that’s constantly running. Here everyone knows each other, and that’s nice in a comforting way. In New York you’re just one of millions of souls and leaving your mark, getting people to know your name is that much harder.”

I consider her words. “That’s true. Is that what you’re looking for? Do you want people to know your name?”

Zara’s gaze grows wistful as she answers my question. “I don’t know. Growing up, my dad was always in the spotlight. People knew who he was, and that had advantages, but also caused a lot of problems. It’s like when you’re famous, you lose the right to have a private life. I don’t think that’s exactly what I want. I guess I want to pursue greatness, no matter what I do. That’s the kind of recognition I want. Like, you know, people will think about my name when they think about whatever it is I decide to do.”

I get that. “Like they think about John Fields when they think about motorcycle racing?”

Her smile lights up the room, her green eyes shining with passion. “Exactly like that. It isn’t even the destination that’s important to me. It’s the thrill of the journey, that fight to be the best.”

That energy is what makes Zara irresistible to me. “Do you know what the thing you want to chase is?”

That pretty smile dims a little at my question. “When I was a kid, I wanted to be like my dad. I followed him everywhere. He was my myth. My mom used to joke that they should have called me John Junior, even if I wasn’t a boy. But you’ve seen the way she is. Since she and Dad separated, she’s been doing everything in her power to keep me away from Dad and his world.”

I ask the question on the tip of my tongue. “Is this why you were dating Fox two years ago?”

Her lips twist with displeasure at the mention of her ex. “I guess. Isn’t that a little pathetic? I’m the poster child for daddy issues.”

I take her hand into mine, rubbing slow circles on the space between her thumb and her index finger in a soothing way. “Hey, I’m not gonna judge you. We all have hangups and issueswe do our best to work through. My parents wanted me to see a therapist after what happened to Atlas. She dug deep into a lot of things and do you know what she told me? That my parents’ constant absence in my life is why I was never looking for anything more than a hookup. That going from one woman to the next was my way of proving to myself that there was nothing wrong with me if so many people wanted me.”

I’ve never admitted that to anyone.

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