Page 40 of Full Throttled

Zoey asks, “Do you know what you’re doing?”

Worry and uncertainty laces her tone, but I can’t help but smirk at her. She has no idea that this is my high school dream come true. “Yep, just like I always wanted to.” I may not want to scare her off with words like ‘I love you’ again, but I’m making sure the whole damn place knows she’s mine…finally. Once we reach my family, I feel Zoey tense beside me. She’s clearly worried about what they will say or react to her, but she really shouldn’t be. My family is really relaxed about most things. We step up to the circle my uncles and dad are standing in. “Hey guys, y’all remember Zoey, right?”

They all nod and wave. Jovi steps forward and gives her a quick hug. “Welcome back. I hope my dumbass nephew over here is treating you right,” Bowie teases her.

Zoey laughs. “He’s been alright.” I always loved how quickly Zoey could adapt to anything. She can throw comebacks as good as she can receive them.

Ace chuckles. “Don’t let him hear you say that, his ego will become unbearable.”

“Like it isn’t already?” Jovi chimes in, nudging Ace. They both fall into laughter.

“Yeah, yeah,” I tell them sarcastically, trying to shut down this roast fest they’re all about to have at my expense with Zoey in the front row seat. “So, what do we know about the line up?”

Jagger lets out a low whistle with a slight shake of his head. “It’s going to be a long ass night with lots of money tossed around. First up, each of us are going to race another racer. Those winners will go against one another. The winner of each takes the money and respect.”

It takes me a moment to piece what he’s telling me together. “Wait, that means we’ll probably end up racing each other the second time around.”

My father’s eyebrows rise. “Yep.”

“Oh no, this is going to be interesting,” Zoey mumbles beside me. She’s not wrong. I scan the area for a familiar face that Zoey could hang out with until the races are done. I hate to leave her standing on the sidelines alone in the middle of our date, but with the smile that’s on her facehas methinking she doesn’t mind.

Luckily, though I finally spotRansomand Calibur. I holler out to them and theymake their way over to us. “Zoey, you knowRansom, but I don’t think you got formally introduced to Calibur.” I watch as Zoey’s eyes flash with uncertainty. I understand why.Ransommight be incredibly tall, almost giant level at six feet seven inches. Calibur six feet, six inches and massive. The man is nothing but pure hard muscle, almost like The Rock. His medium brown hair is cut short to his head in a military type cut and even under his fully trimmed beard you can see how square his jaw is. He seems intimidating but the truth is he’s one of the best people I’ve ever met. When Jules left, he really helped me pick up the pieces.

“Hi, I’m, Zoey.” She extends her hand out to him. He takes it and smiles at her. I have to bite back the chuckle at how tiny her hand is in his.

“We’re about to race. Do you mind keeping Zoey company?” I ask.

“Oh that’s not necessary,” Zoey replies quickly.

“We’d love to,”Ransomsays, before she can say another word. “We’re also calling the club because if all of the James boys are racing then they are going to want to be here. It’s been too damn long.”

Calibur nods his head. “You can say that again.”

Ralph walks over to the group which has been growing within the last ten minutes as some of the other guys from Sons of Sin have shown up. I want to laugh it off, but really, it makes me feel special, to know that I’m a part of something like the club, an extended family that means as much to me as my actual family does. “It’s time to line up for the first round.”

I turn to Zoey and give her a kiss. “For good luck,” I tell her, when she seems a little dazed and caught off guard. She laughs. I turn to make my way back to my car when a hand slaps me across my ass.

I turn around to see Zoey wink at me then bat her eyelashes and shrug her shoulders innocently. “What? It’s for good luck. That’s what they do in sports, right?” I chuckle, and shake my head at seeing her feisty, playful side come out. This is the Zoey that’s hard to say no to and too damn easy to love. I take one more look back at Zoey, before I get behind the wheel of the car and see her head back in laughter as she jokes with some of the guys. It makes my heart beat a little faster because I can’t stop what I feel for her and that’s damn scary.

****

I’m sitting in my car, Motionless in White, blaring through my speakers. That adrenaline that starts to churn in my gut before moving through my veins, mixing with my blood, causing my heartbeat to speed up. I’m lined up along with my uncles and dad on one of the side streets. The other six racers lined up across from us. One car at a time moves to the main street, side by side, until the flag drops and the gas pedals of the car are pushed to the floorboard. From where I sit currently, I can’t see who leaves the start line first, but I can clearly see who crosses it. I watch as Jagger, Ace, and Bowie easily cross the finish line at least five seconds ahead of their opponents. My dad pulls up to the start line and I hold my breath because I know my mom isn’t a huge fan of the dangers that come with racing. Apparently, my dad didn’t race for years because it worried my mom so much but that’s a whole other story.

My stomach clenches as my dad shoots off from the start line. I hold my breath the entire time that his car is gone from my sight. I can’t imagine something happening to any of my family but my dad…well the idea of how that would break my mom is unbearable to me. Finally, headlights come into view and sure enough it’s my dad. He crosses the finish line with ease. My muscles relax only to go on high alert again. It’s my turn. I pull up to the start line. Looking down the street I see cars pulled along the side and people gathered everywhere. The streetlights above give the asphalt just enough light. I rub my palms along my jeans to remove any moisture. Gripping the steering wheel, I rev the engine of my Mustang. I can hear the roar of the crowd beyond. I roll the windows down with the press of a button. The cool night air swoops into the car, cooling my skin on contact. I take a deep breath. My adrenaline hits the all-time high as the bass from the song courses through my car, hitting me square in my chest. The cheers from the crowd around me causing my eyes to laser focus onto the road ahead. Visualize the win, I chant over and over in my head. Gut check time is approaching fast. I can feel it building.

My eyes quickly swing back to the girl about to drop the flag. Shock mixes with the adrenaline in my body. Zoey stands between us, flag raised over her head, and a smirk on her face. Damn, if she doesn’t look good. She winks at me before doing the countdown. I avert my eyes back to the road. Just before the flag drops I gut check myself. I press the gas pedal to the floorboard as soon as the flag hits the ground. Tires screech, smoke bellows, and engines accelerating mix with the crowd and music. I’m thrown back into my seat as my car takes off.

The night air drowns out everything except for the pounding of my heart. I navigate the road easily, occasionally checking to see where Damon is behind me. I’ve established a good lead, if I can just hold it. As we come around the ocean side, the salty air hits my nostrils and I take a deep breath, letting it soak into my bones and calm me. I shift up one more time as the finish line comes into view. I cross the finish line with a two point five second lead over Damon. Coming to a stop I swing the car door open and climb out. My eyes instantly scan the growing crowd surrounding me and my car for Zoey. I spot her in the midst and the smile breaks out over my face. I nod and mumble thanks to the crowd as they congratulate and pat me on the back. I reach Zoey and pull her into my arms, lifting her feet off the ground and claim her mouth like it’s the prize I just won. The crowd hollers and whistles. When we pull away from one another, we’re both laughing and she shakes her head. “Are you staking your claim Drake?” she asks, with a quirk of her eyebrow.

I smile and wag my eyebrows back at her. “I’m always staking my claim with you darlin’.”

Thirty-Three

Zoey

Drake’s celebration is short lived because he’s back in the car and lined up again for the second round of racing. As predicted, each of the James boys won their race with ease. Now they have to go against one another. First up, is Axell and Bowie, with Bowie taking the lead early and keeping it until the finish line. Jagger and Ace were next. They’re race was incredibly close, but Ace managed to win by just an inch. Finally, Jovi and Drake pulled up to the start line. My stomach fluttered as I thought about him racing again. I always understood why Sadie didn’t like the idea of Axell racing. It was something that could end a life in an instant, but Drake loved racing, that much I was sure about.

The girl with the flag walks out, between the two cars. She turns to face them and it’s like every other person in this crowd fades away. All I see is Drake and his Mustang. I watch as his eyes never leave the flag in her hand. His hands flex on the steering wheel and heat soars through my body as I think about how good they felt when he picked me up and kissed me in front of this crowd. My cheeks heat with a blush.

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