Page 32 of River & Crown
"You gon' grab the blindfold or keep fighting me?"
Sucking my teeth, I grabbed the scarf and then listened to Crown as he told me to hand him my glasses and tie the scarf around my eyes.
He continued to drive for another thirty minutes, then I felt the car come to a stop. Without speaking, he got out and then came over to my side to help me out.
"Hold my hand tight so I can make sure yo' clumsy ass don't trip."
"Fuck you," I spat but held on for dear life.
The walk wasn't long, but the closer we got to wherever we were, the more I began to hear sounds that felt like home. Engines roaring in the distance cruised through my body, vibrating against my skin. The smell of burnt rubber brought a smile to my face, halting my footsteps.
"We're almost there, Four, come?—"
"Where are we, Crown?" I asked, refusing to walk further.
"Man, we're almost there. I don't wanna tell you 'cause this is some shit you have to see."
"Okay."
Crown led me to our destination, then stopped to speak to someone in a hushed tone. The two shared a few words before pulling me along.
"Are we there yet?" I asked.
"You're so fucking impatient, but yeah, we're here. Take it off, Four."
With shaky hands, I untied the scarf, not thinking twice before letting it drop to the ground. My heart pounded in my chest as I put my glasses on, then spun around wide-eyed and at a loss for words. The racetrack stretching out in front of me in an endless blur stole the show. This was far from the chaotic pulse of the streets where strangers chanted my name, and my tires bruised the pavement. This was professional racing, where fear didn't live.
Turning back to the man of the moment, I locked eyes with him. "You... you brought me here?" The question was stupid, but it was all I could muster as the emotions weighed heavily on my chest.
"Don't start crying, Four." He smirked, pulling me into him. The second my face touched his hoodie, the tears began to fall.
"I... I... just?—"
"You don't gotta say much, Four, I already know. Here, you have no worries, no traffic, no cops, nothing is in your way. You can go as fast as you want here."
"Why?"
I was sure Crown didn't have a clue why I was so in my feelings about this. Street racing had always been a thing between Sincere and me. He was the one who taught me everything I knew. When I raced, I did so to hold on to the lastpiece of Sincere that I had left. Together, he and I built my car from the ground up. Racing felt like lying on his chest as he ran his fingers through my hair. It deepened our connection even in death. Once Crown started riding along during my races, things changed. The connection between racing and Sincere became stifling. With Crown in the car, I was cheating on Sincere and erasing his memory. At the same time, parts of me wanted those memories gone. I was stuck in the middle of a tug-of-war. Crown had his hands on one half of my heart, and Sincere had his ghostly hold on the other. However, here... none of that mattered, and the holds didn't exist.
Lifting my head, Crown took a deep dive into the windows of my soul. His stare was so intense that I almost shied away, which was a first.
"I wanted you to feel what it's like to race without limits." Crown's voice was low and thick, with something that sent a shiver down my spine.
Is this man in my head?
"You must really think you know me," I teased, overwhelmed with how well he did.
"I do know you. The problem is you think I don't." His expression tightened into an unreadable glare. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, feeling small under his gaze.
"Are you racing too?"
At the exact moment, two Mustangs, one navy blue and the other gray, came pulling up beside us.
"Fuck you think?" He grinned, then pecked my lips.
"Here you go, Mr. Gravehart. You and the missus can follow me. We'll get the two of you changed into your racing gear. I'll give each of you an overview of your cars, and then you both will be free to run the track."
"Sounds good. Give me five minutes," Crown said, and the attendant nodded before walking off.
