The Third Grade

3.1

That night, Dylan rides with Letty and Mia to the race. A smile is present on Dylan's face as she looks around at all of the different cars. As Dylan gets out of the car, she sees Dom with his arms around two blonde racerchasers, causing her smile to turn into a frown.

"No. Uh-huh," Letty says as she shakes her head while standing in front of a frowning Dylan, blocking her sight of Dom. "You are a beautiful bad ass bitch and ain't no bimbo gonna mess with what is yours."
"He doesn't even like me like that, Letty," Dylan says with an eye roll, though they all knew it was a pathetic attempt to avoid the truth.
"Bull shit," Mia retorts quickly while glaring at her best friend, causing Dylan to look at her in shock because Mia very rarely cussed.
"Now go get your man before I do it for you," Letty slightly threatens as she shoves Dylan towards Dom, causing Dylan to look at Mia for help. Mia just smiles and gives Dylan a nod of encouragement because she would love for her brother and best friend to admit their feelings for each other.

"Woof," Dylan barks, causing Dom and the racer chasers to look over at her, as she gains her confidence before she sniffs the air. "I smell bitches. Why don't you girls move along, before I start popping all that work you've had done?" One girl rolls her eyes while one wraps an arm around her fake breasts before they quickly walk away while Dom looks at Dylan in slight shock.
"D, I was just talking," Dom tries to explain since he feels bad for making her jealous even though deep down he was enjoying the fact that she had been jealous.
"Yeah. Whatever," Dylan says with an eye roll as she walks to stand beside Dom before glancing over at Mia, who gives her a thumbs up.

"Okay, Hector," Letty says as she sees the man walking over to them.
"Yeah? What's up, girl?" Hector asks as he shakes her hand.
"Yo. What's up?" Edwin says as he walks over to them. "How we doing this tonight?"
"One race. $2,000 buy-in. Winner takes all," Dom answers him before handing his cash to Hector. "Hector, you're going to hold the cash."
"Why Hector?" Danny asks as he and Edwin hand their cash to Hector.
"Cause he's too slow to make away with the money," Edwin jokes, causing the crowd to 'ohhhh'.
"Okay. Good luck, guys," Dom says as he wraps an arm around Dylan before he goes to head to his car. A small smile appears on Dylan's face as she slightly blushes. Vince glares at Dom until he sees the smile on his sister's face.

"Hey, wait. Hold up," Brian calls out as he rushes over to them. "I don't have any cash. But I do have the pink slip to my car." Dylan shakes her head at his stupidity since no one has beaten Dom in years.
"You just can't climb in the ring with Ali, 'cause you think you box," Jesse says as Dylan nods in agreement.
"He knows I can box," Brian says as he points at Vince, causing Dylan to hold back a laugh at the glare Brian earned. "Check it out. It's like this. I lose, the winner takes my car. Clean and clear. But if I win, I take the cash, and I take the respect."
"Respect?" Dom asks with a raised eyebrow as the crowd laughs.
"To some people, that's more important," Brian says as he glances at Mia.

"That your car?" Dom asks as he points towards a car, causing Brian to nod before they all walk over to it.
"I see a cool air intake. It's got a NOS fogger system and a T4 turbo, Dominic," Jesse lists as he looks under the hood. "I see an AIC controller. It has direct port nitrous injection."
"Yeah. And a stand-alone fuel management system. Not a bad way to spend $10,000," Dom says with a little respect as he wraps an arm back around Dylan.
"You see that shit? He's got enough NOS in there to blow himself up. Period," Edwin adds as he also takes a look, causing Dylan to shake her head.

"So, what do you say? Am I worthy?" Brian questions with a smile before everyone looks at Dom.
"We don't know yet. But you're in. Let's go," Dom answers before he and Dylan start walking over to his car.

"Not that you need it but good luck," Dylan tells Dom as she pats him on the chest before walking over to the sidelines. Dylan is standing with Mia and Letty beside Hector, as she notices Brian drive past the starting line, having to back up. Dylan gives Mia a teasing smile, causing Mia to roll her eyes. Hector gets the all clear from Leon, causing Dylan to smirk at Hector. "I got this." Dylan steps away from the crowd as she raises her arms into the air getting all of the driver's attention. "Go!" Dylan drops her arms before the cars are off. Dom arrives back first having won with two other drivers behind him but no sign Brian.

"Here's what you won, right here. There you go," Hector says as he hands the money and pink slip to Dom. "You were racing a bunch of skateboards. Know what I mean?"
"My sister holds the money. Count it," Dom says as he walks over to them before handing Mia the money. He turns to Dylan, who is chatting with Letty before picking her up, causing her to gasp in shock. "And you're my trophy." Dylan giggles as her cheeks heat up. Their eyes stay locked as he sets her down before moving some hair out of her face as Brian finally shows up.

"Was that fun?" Jesse asks as he walks over to the smoking car. The others gather around as Jesse opens the hood and smoke goes everywhere.
"What are you smiling about?" Dom asks as he notices Brian smiling and shaking his head.
"Dude. I almost had you," Brian says while pointing at Dom, causing the crowd to laugh.
"You almost had me?" Dom asks him sarcastically. "You never had me. You never had your car. Granny-shifting. Not double-clutching, like you should. You're lucky that 100-shot of NOS didn't blow the welds on the intake. Almost had me?" Dom walks around the car with the crowd cheering him on. Dom comes back to stand beside Dylan.
"Now, me and the mad scientist got to rip apart the block and replace the piston rings you fried. Ask any racer. Any real racer. It don't matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Winning's winning," Dom says as Dylan lowers the hood of the car while the crowd cheers.
"Oh, shit! We got cops. Cops! Cops! Cops! Go!" Leon yells from where he is sitting in his car. The crowd quickly takes off running. Dom sees that Dylan is about to be swept up into the crowd before he grabs her arm, pulling her to his car. After they get in, Dom takes off as he dodges the cops before he pulls into a parking garage where he stashes his car.