like watching through molasses as they come close enough I can see the rage in Bryan’s eyes. The blue muscle car corrects and screams out as it works to make up the inches it lost.
I watch every single gear change, every emotion that passes through Bryan’s intense eyes. The nose of the Mustang sits in front of its opponent’s the whole time. Barely, only inches ahead, but a win is a win, and I imagine crossing the line first is all Bryan cares about.
Two-hundred yards to go, and my palms sweat. I’m imagining bakeries, cinnamon, icing powder. I’m imagining Bryan’s strong hands, and what kind of life I could have if I was simply brave enough to say no to my daddy.
Two words, so simple.
A no for my dad.
And a yes for Bryan Kincaid.
George Blair may be arrogant, he may even be a little too blunt and offensive, but he’s right on the money when it comes to my smarts.
For a girl who does pretty well in school, it takes until Geo’s strong arms wrap around my stomach and fling my long legs into the air before I realize how stupid I’ve been. How I’m stupidly standing on the start line, which doubles as the finish line. How I force Bryan to drive right at me, because the other guy would have anyway. How I force Bry to win, for fear of the other guy getting to me first and potentially obliterating my existence with one single miscalculated jerk of the steering wheel.
From molasses to sharp reality, the terrifying roar of engines and shouting people turn to individual screeches of excitement and worry.
But it’s Geo’s voice in my ear that runs loudest. “You fucking idiot!” He swings me around barely a second before the cars pass. As the wind off Bryan’s fender blows my hair back with a single powerful whoosh! “Are you suicidal? You fucking halfwit! He’s gonna kill me.” Geo runs me back to the VW just like Bryan did, but at the same time, not at all how Bryan did it. “He’s gonna kill me, then I’m gonna kill you!” He slams me against the bus and clutches at his chest. “Are you insane, Nelly? Why would you stand there?”
I’m in shock.
I’m naïve.
“I wasn’t thinking.”
“No! You weren’t! Fuck me, Nelly!” He thumps the side of my head with his thick fingers. “What the hell have you got up here? It’s not a fucking brain, that’s for sure!”
“I’m sorry.” The adrenaline and realization of what I’ve just done crashes over me and sends tears to my eyes. “Oh my God. I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry!”
Pressing me against the car, he steps back and thrusts his hands into his hair. “Sweet fucking Jesus, woman. I almost had a heart attack.”
“I’m sorry.”
He runs a strong hand over his leg, a leg I know was covered in a cast not so long ago, and though I’m sorry, and shaking, and devastated that I could be so stupid, it’s nothing on the way my throat closes when Bryan strides toward us like a restless warrior in the night.
Rage simmers barely checked. His eyes glint like the tip of a gun in the moonlight. Fisted hands and long strides that eat up the fifty yards that separate us, and when I swear he might hit me, he spins on his unaware best friend and slams a closed fist into the side of his face.
Geo’s head snaps around dangerously fast. He drops to a bent knee, shock passes in less than a microsecond, and with a hand cupping his jaw, his light eyes watch Bryan as he steps away and grabs my hand.
“I’m sorry, Bry.” Surprising me, Geo doesn’t jump up and defend himself. He stays down and bows his head. “I’m sorry.”
Spinning with my hand still in his, Bryan uses the other to jab a dangerous finger in his best friend’s face. “Her death would’ve been on your hands, George! You think about that next time you want fast and loose.”
“Bryan, no. It’s not–”
He tugs me along. “Not a word. Give me twenty seconds, Bert. I’m begging you.”
“But Bryan!” I turn away; I turn back to Geo apologetically, but Bryan doesn’t release me. “It wasn’t his fault.”
“Twenty seconds, Nelly. A man in my position deserves twenty fucking seconds.” He drags me through the parting crowd until we reach his Mustang. He wrenches the door open and tosses me in. “I swear to God, get in, belt on. Don’t move until I’m back.”
“Where are