Burn Out *18+*

Chapter 26

"Those tires look like something out of Mad Max," I commented. Sunday drives were thrilling with Dexter at the best of time. Seeing those aggressive studs on the winter tires made me think that this Sunday drive was going to be a little closer to frightening. There was not enough trust in the world to make me feel safe in a vehicle that was exceeding my own limits. "Are they new?"

"Yeah," Dex said, appreciation clear in his voice. "Apparently Zara got a lot of positive feedback from her younger subjects for supporting me so she's invested a little bit more money and covered my entry fee for the local race next week."

A jolt of surprise shot through me. "You're racing now?" Dexter nodded once. "After the awful snow storm we just had? There is going to be so much ice on all of the roads and if you're racing, it's just going to get polished!" Dexter only nodded his head again. I threw my hands up in exasperation. "Whoever threatened you was a god damn fool. You strive for bodily harm."

There was a loud chuckle at that, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he went. If it hadn't been twenty below outside, I might have felt some warmth just from the sound. Not that I needed to, because a moment later, his bare fingers were touching the side of my neck. Though they were freezing as they touched my warm skin, I still had to repress a shudder. When had the simple gesture of adjusting my collar become so intimate? When had I let it get this far?

"Come on, let's put our helmets and gloves on. I have some skills I want to work before the race and I think these are the perfect conditions for practicing."

Strapping into the car was quite the ordeal with the five-point harness, but each time I did it, I was reminded that I should not only trust the driver, I should also trust the car. Part of being Dexter's friend meant that some of our lazy Saturdays were spent watching international rally races curled up on the couch together. we had seen insane crashes that would have led to multiple fatalities in normal cars with normal seatbelts, but somehow, the occupants always walked away.

Still, trust often did not override the natural instincts that everyone had within their body. Or, more realistically, everyone but racecar drivers. Especially when we were going well over a reasonable speed, heading right into disaster.

"Dexter, that is a snow drift," I pointed out, trying to be as neutral as I could manage. Dexter didn't flinch, didn't say a word into his microphone. He kept his eyes locked on the path before us, one hand on his e-brake. "Dex," I repeated. Nothing, not even a blink. "Dexter!"

At the last second, Dexter turned the wheel and the car glided beautifully into the corner. But it wasn't slow enough. Wheels lost traction; the car slid sideways in a drift. The side of the car pressed into the packed snow. Instead of slowing down like a sane person, Dexter pressed down on the throttle. The tires spun, the engine revved, and the car used the snowbank to guide itself back onto the road, hardly losing any of the speed through the whole movement.

A couple hundred meters down the road, Dexter slowed to a stop. My shoulders were still bunched up to my ears, my hands trembling a little bit.

"Alright, so that worked out okay," he said to himself, his voice playing over the communication system rigged up into my helmet.

"You did that on purpose?"

"Of course! It's a really common tool. Risky, because you could end up in a snowbank, but common."

I slugged him in the arm. Hard. "You could have told me ahead of time!"

He just laughed out loud and beamed at me. "You know that I would never hurt you."

"False. You have hurt me a thousand times, like the time you convinced me to go biking, or the time you thought you wanted to try wrestling moves or the time—"

"Alright, I get it, I get it," he laughed.

"I trust you to never hurt me intentionally and I know that you will always say sorry," I amended.

"I guess that is all I can ask for." He gave the top of my helmet a gentle pat, still grinning like he had just won a world class event. "So, are you ready to try that again?"

We tried to same maneuver with various snowbanks for what felt like hours. Most of the time it was slow, but successful. Other times, we ended up with a buried car and I had to pull out the snow shovel to help get us out. Thankfully, it was all filled with laughter and the occasional squeal from me when he hurled a snowball at my back.

When we pulled back up towards the main parking lot, I was a little surprised. We still had a fair amount of gas and I had never known Dexter to be the type to quit before at least two hours of hard driving and maybe one or two mishaps.

"Oh, it looks like someone else is here to use the track," I said when I saw a tall woman walking away from her Subaru WRX. Her bright red racing overalls made her blonde hair seem even whiter and her teeth even pearlier when noticed my staring and smiled.

"She actually here for me," Dexter said, a pinch of awkwardness in his voice.

"Oh?" If I had even bothered to cover the astonishment in my voice, it didn't work.

"Yeah, she's one of the best amateur co-drivers out there right now. Penelope, the photographer, put me in contact with her. I invited her out here so we could put in a couple laps today. We need to build trust and stuff, it's complicated. But I'll be done soon and we can go and get coffees like we always do."

I put on the biggest smile I could muster without appearing frightening and climbed out of the car after disconnecting my harness. There was no need to be jealous. He was my best friend and he was thriving. She was just a piece that would help bring him closer to his goal. Besides, it's not like my goal was to be with him. We were two different people who led separate lives.

So why did my stomach knot up when I spied him laughing at something she said? Why did I want to hate this perfectly normal girl who was helping Dexter achieve things he had only dreamed of?

Under the cover of the Astro van, I pulled out a textbook, and forced myself to take three deep breaths. I could feel however I wanted to feel. The reality was that I was not meant to be with Dexter. I would not be with Dexter. If he fell head over heels in love with his co-driver who had the same passions, the same love for adrenaline, I should be nothing but the supportive best friend, helping him navigate every part of his new relationship.

Unfortunately, telling myself those things didn't stop me from wanting to commit minor arson or maybe run my key along the side of her car.

~~~Question of the Day~~~

Did you have a favorite teacher and why?

My favorite teacher was my English teacher in high school and my english teacher in middle school. One was a hippy type, the other was a kind soul with ADHD. Both of them fueled my love of writing.