Page 10
CHAPTER 10
ROSALIE
It was an early morning for me. I quickly said morning and bye to Kordell as I grabbed my stuff and walked out the door. Checking my phone to see what car wash we were all going to meet up at, I slipped into my Viper and threw my stuff in the passenger seat. I put the address into my GPS and took off.
I couldn’t wait to go to this meet. It was obvious just from our clients these past two weeks that the cars were going to be awesome there! I hummed along to the radio while I drove. “It Was a Good Day” by Ice Cube was playing, which was super ironic and a little weird, considering I just felt like today was going to be special and I couldn’t pinpoint why.
I pulled into the car wash, where Tyler was already past the wash stage and was drying his car off. I parked in the bay next to him and got to work. Thank God I’d remembered to wear something different at the start of the day and bring a change of clothes for the meet because by the time I finished washing my car, I was soaked. But it was totally worth it when I saw my Viper was clean and glistening in the morning light.
Freddie and Hank Jr. had shown up while I was scrubbing my car, and they were still washing as I dried my car off and cleaned out the inside as well.
My phone buzzed in my pocket just as I was reaching to wipe the dash down. I sat back in my seat and saw it was a text from Dad.
Dad
What are you driving today?
Rosalie
I’m bringing my Viper! It’s been too long since she was out, so it’s her turn!
Dad
Nice! Are you guys going to be showing up soon? I have some spaces marked out for you and your friends.
Rosalie
Yeah, we’re almost done here, just waiting for Freddie and Hank Jr. to finish their cars.
Dad sent me a thumbs-up, and I slipped my phone back into my pocket and cleaned the last few spots inside the car. Tyler walked up to me just as I was putting my cleaning bottles into my trunk.
“Hey, Freddie and Hank Jr. said to just go over without them. They still need to grab a bite to eat.”
I nodded and shut my trunk, being careful to not slam it.
“All right then. I’m ready to go now. Are you done?” I glanced over at his car, which looked GORGEOUS.
“Yeah, I’m ready to get out of here. I’ll follow you,” Tyler said as he walked back to his car.
I got into my Viper, and the two of us drove over to the parking garage where the meet was taking place. There were already at least a couple hundred cars parked and more filling in as Tyler and I made it to the level Dad and his friends were parked on.
I pulled into a space close to a pillar so I could have a little privacy on one side while I changed. And since Tyler parked on the other side, if I reclined my seat and I was quick about it, no one should be able to see anything. I hunkered down and slid off my shoes and pants first, grabbing my fishnets before I pulled them on, then slipped on my jean shorts to where they were at least over my butt. I’d button them when I stood up. Then was the quick-change part. I placed my fresh shirt on my lap and yanked my shirt over my head. But when I did, I saw a shadow out of the corner of my eyes, and I threw my arms over my boobs to hide them as best as I could.
But his familiar chuckle filled my ears as his form leaned in by my driver’s side window, which was rolled down, his amber eyes shining at me.
“Damn, baby girl. I thought you were still mad at me. Now, you’re giving me a striptease?” He chuckled.
I blushed at AJ’s words.
“I-I am not giving you a show! Please turn around and let me finish changing!”
“Why? It’s nothing I haven’t enjoyed before.”
I rolled my eyes and sighed loudly. “Please!”
AJ chuckled but turned away from me. Instead of watching, he walked to the front fender of my car and gently leaned against it. I realized he was blocking me from a few guys who were across the way, admiring one of my dad’s friend’s cars. I pulled on my shirt and fixed my hair before opening my car door and slipping on my Air Force 1s. I grabbed my old clothes and stuffed them into a small duffel bag before tossing it into the trunk as well. As I closed my trunk, I caught AJ glancing back at me. He turned to face forward again as I took a deep breath and walked over.
“Thanks for covering me from those other guys. I didn’t even realize they had walked up,” I mumbled as I shifted from foot to foot next to him.
“Don’t worry about it.”
I pushed my hair behind my left ear. “So, ummm, I didn’t expect to see you here. I mean, I guess I should have. You have a nice car. Why wouldn’t you be here? But you're not planning on… you know, borrowing anyone else’s car today, right? Forget I asked that. It’s not really my business anymore. Well, you enjoy the meet. I'm going to go hang with my friends. See you.”
AJ didn’t say a word in reply, but I could feel his eyes following me as I jogged over to Tyler, who was talking to some guys a few cars away. He looked over at me as I came to a stop beside him.
“You feeling all right, Rosalie? Your face is all red.”
Wow, thanks, Ty. Way to be subtle. My thoughts were a little flustered as I quickly rubbed my cheeks and thought of my excuse.
“Yeah, I was just running around for a minute grabbing things for Dad, but I’m good now!”
“Sure… talking to your ex is totally an errand for your dad.”
Gosh dang it, Tyler Maverick! Remind me to give you coal for Christmas this year!
“I was not talking to him—well, I mean, technically, I said something to him, but it’s not like that. He was just passing by.”
Tyler’s friends snickered, and I narrowed my eyes at them.
“Whatever you say, Rosalie.” Tyler threw his hands up in surrender and changed topics.
Thank God.
We sat there and chatted for a bit, and eventually, Hank Jr. and Freddie pulled in. When I looked back at my car, which they’d parked a few spots down from, AJ was nowhere to be seen.
But if I thought running into AJ was going to be the biggest shock of the day, I was sadly mistaken when I saw Freddie get out of his car with another guy, and he kissed him before they walked over to the group.
“Hey, guys. So, I want you to meet someone.”
“I KNEW IT!” I exclaimed excitedly as I clapped my hands together.
I had always had a feeling Freddie was gay! He had girls hit on him here or there in high school, but he turned them down, and told us he just wanted to focus on school. But I thought I had seen him walking out of the empty eleventh-grade math classroom a few moments after one of the football team guys did our senior year. I’d wondered, but now, we all knew.
“This is Sam. He’s my boyfriend,” Freddie said as he grabbed Sam’s hand and wound their fingers together.
We all introduced ourselves to Sam, and then he and Freddie walked off to go look at the cars together. Then, the three of us turned toward each other and started chatting about what we’d just found out.
“I just don’t get it. Why be into a dude when you can fuck a girl?” Hank Jr. said.
I had known he would probably be the one in shock the most. Hank Jr. used to give the outed students at school a little shit when he passed them. He wasn’t truly mean about it; he just honestly didn’t understand. He was a little closed-minded when it came to it. But maybe Freddie being openly gay would help Hank Jr. get it. I thought it was awesome.
“I mean, you can’t help loving who you love, Hank! Maybe one day, you will actually have a girlfriend who makes you happy!” I stuck my tongue out at him. As I stood there with my friends, I had a feeling like I was being watched again.
When I looked around, I saw AJ a few rows away, walking alongside a car, and our eyes locked for a minute. He put his finger to his lips and shushed me before he looked away and kept making his way through the cars.
Which Tyler totally noticed.
“So, what’s the deal? Are you back with him now?” He jerked his head toward AJ and I blushed.
“Umm, no! I’m still very much with Kordell. I’m not interested in dating AJ again—ever.” I might have said that last part a little louder than I’d thought because AJ’s head cocked toward my direction, and I saw his eyebrow rise. I turned away from him to hide my face.
“Damn, here I thought you were finally gonna tell us you dumped that asshat,” Hank Jr. said as he took a bite of his breakfast sandwich.
I shook my head quickly. “C-can we talk about something else besides my dating life, please? We’re at a car meet. Let’s go look at the cars!”
I started speed-walking away from the two of them, knowing they would follow and catch up. We began to look at the different cars on this level. My smile grew as I passed by JDM after JDM car along one row. I was a little sad I hadn’t brought my Skyline for a moment as I looked at all the Japanese Domestic Market cars through the space. Then, as I walked back down the row of sports cars, I saw how perfect my Viper looked, parked by all the other cars in this area, and quickly pushed that thought to the back of my mind. My first car would always be one of the most special cars to me. I did a quick swing by my car and opened her hood so people could see the wild engine she had. I’d won street races in her, so she was a beast.
I walked over to Dad, who was just across the way, chilling in a chair with a few of his friends. I said hi to everyone, then turned my attention back to Dad.
“Hey, I was going to go check out the other floors. Do you want anything from the food vendors? Because I’m getting hungry!”
Dad leaned back and tilted his head. “Hmm… maybe just a small iced coffee if you find the drink vendor.”
I gave him two thumbs-up as I walked backward down the row. “You got it! Be back in a few!”
I wandered away from my friends and went down the levels of the parking garage. There were different vibes on each floor, with the bottom floor being the stragglers and food trucks. I ran into a few familiar faces along the way. The Bōsōzoku guys from over a year ago were here, and this time, they each had a girlfriend who had their own Bōsōzoku cars too! We chatted about their builds excitedly, and I parted from them to walk down the rows of lowriders on the floor right above the bottom floor. I knew I would see his car here, and sure enough, the purple Lincoln with white pinstriping stood out in the crowd to me. But I was surprised to find AJ was nowhere around on this floor.
I hope he isn’t off stealing someone’s car right now. I so won’t cover for him again this time! That was a one-time thing, so if I see him doing it, I’ll go straight to Dad.
I stopped and said hi to a few people whose cars I had painted over the years at the shop. It was nice, seeing them out and about in the daylight. I took a few photos as I walked through the rows of cars—from the JDMs to the lowriders to some completely illegal street cars that could outpace a cop in about ten seconds if they had to. This meet was full of crazy builds and sleeper street racers. I bet a lot of the Flywheels members here were hoping for Dad to announce the next racing meet at the end of the night. Secretly? So was I.
I made my way to the bottom floor and through the food trucks, settling on a burger and fries. I chowed down at a bench while I quickly checked my messages and social media posts before going in search of the coffee vendor. When I found him, the line wasn’t terribly long, so I could see the menu when I was waiting. I knew exactly what to order when it was my turn.
“Two medium iced coffees, please! Can you add cream and vanilla flavoring to one of them?” I asked the man in the coffee truck.
He went to work on my drinks, and I snapped a few pics of cars that looked super cool to post on my social media later. I typed their social media tags in the Notes app to include on the posts.
“Wells! Coffee for two!”
I turned and walked over and grabbed both coffees, leaving a nice tip because it was a hot day and they were stuck working away in a tin trailer all day. And at Flywheels meets? We treated everyone who took part as a vendor like gold! Our best referrals came from the people who worked alongside our community—after current clients, of course!
I made my way back up the different levels of the parking garage, straight to the floor Dad was on. But when I handed Dad his coffee, my eyes took notice of something funny, so I turned my head and gasped. Where, an hour ago, my perfect and beautiful Dodge Viper sat in all her glory now stood absolutely nothing. I blinked a few times, not believing what I was seeing.
“Where is my car?” I said, staring at her empty parking space.
Dad glanced over and frowned. “Wait… you didn’t drive it somewhere? I thought you took it out to the rooftop for some photos with a couple of your friends?”
I shook my head. I panicked. My mind was racing, and I felt like I was suffocating. I gripped my jacket with my other hand over my chest, tugging it away to breathe easier.
Someone has my car, and it’s not me! No, no, no, nooo. This can’t be happening.
Dad set his iced coffee down and gripped my arms, turning me to face him as he tried to calm me down.
“Look. It’s okay, Rosalie. Breathe. Someone must have seen someone drive out of here with it. We will find it, I promise… Rosalie?” Dad stopped talking and pointed across the front of me, and I followed his movement with my eyes.
I gasped as I saw my car idling at the end of the row. And the driver’s window was rolled down.
You have GOT to be kidding me right now.
AJ was sitting in my car, and he was gesturing for me to come over like it was the most normal thing in the world.
In about two seconds flat, I went from feeling panicked to being royally pissed. I pulled out of Dad’s grip and stormed away from him.
“Rosalie, wait!” Dad called out from behind me.
But, no, there was no waiting. I was going to give AJ a piece of my mind. How DARE he take my car?! He knew what that car meant to me! If he thought he was going to take it literally, he had another thing coming.
Eyes followed me as I marched through the row of cars toward AJ. Obviously, they had heard Dad yelling after me and wanted to know what was going on. I came to a stop at the side of my car, and I could see his eyes giving away his smirk under his skull neck gaiter face mask.
His smooth voice cut me off before I could speak. “Hey, baby girl. Hop in.”