PowerShift: Skid Row Kings Series, #2

by Winter Travers

  “I thought maybe we could come back here and watch a movie.”

  “Um.” How to tell him the closest thing I had to a TV was Levi’s portable DVD player and no furniture to sit on. I had a list a mile long of things I needed to buy, but never seemed to be able to buy anything, but I sure did add things to it daily. “I think we should go to the movie theater. I haven’t been to one in years.” That was the truth, although it wasn’t like I was dying to go to one.

  “Hmm, but then I can’t do this at the theater.” He inched up the hem of my shirt and his fingers brushed against my skin.

  “Is this your way of distracting me?” I asked, shivering at his touch.

  “This is my way of finally getting my hands on you without being interrupted by a four-year-old.” His lips brushed against mine, and I felt my need for him all the way down to my toes. I wrapped my arms around his neck and tilted my head back. “I want you so bad, Scar,” he whispered against my lips.

  A soft whimper left my lips as his hands traveled down my waist and lightly grazed my butt. “I really wish I had a bed,” I whispered.

  Mitch laughed as he rained kisses down my neck. “We’ll worry about that after the race, Sparky.”

  “How long until we have to leave?” I was hoping he was going to say we didn’t have to leave at all.

  “We needed to leave ten minutes ago. Luke was texting me that they were all waiting.”

  “Dammit.”

  “We’ll pick this up after I win.” Mitch stepped back and ran his hand over his head. “The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can pick up where we left off.”

  “Hmm, you’re pretty sure of yourself.”

  “About the race or you?”

  “Both. But I can tell you right now,” I leaned in, my lips next to his ear. “I’m a sure thing.”

  ______________

  Chapter 21

  Mitch

  “It’s about fucking time you showed up. I had to all but bribe these fuckers not to start without you.”

  It had taken all my willpower to leave Scarlett’s apartment and not press her up against the wall and have my way with her. “We’re here.”

  Scarlett was standing by Violet and Leelee nervously wringing her hands together looking like she was ready to be sick. “We need to have a conversation about Kurt when you have time.”

  “Fuck me. Now, what the hell did he do?” Talking about Kurt was one of the last things I wanted to do.

  “He’s upped his game about being a complete ass to Leelee.”

  “She’s tough.”

  “Yeah, she is, but I don’t think anyone can take the way Kurt is acting and not be a little hurt by it. Violet said Leelee had been acting different lately.”

  “Different how?” I asked.

  “Like she’s trying to leave.”

  “What the hell does that mean? Has she said she’s going to quit?”

  Luke shook his head, and I was even more confused. “No. Vi said she just can see the way Kurt is treating her and that it’s changing her. Making her pull away or some bullshit.”

  “He’s trying to get her to quit.”

  “Yeah, but that shit isn’t going to work. The three of us can’t handle the shop anymore. I need to be in that office ninety percent of the time, so I need a set of hands to help you guys in the back. It’s Leelee, and I’m not going to fire her because Kurt has his head up his ass.”

  “He here tonight?” I scanned the cars that were lined up but didn’t see his.

  “Not yet. Although fucking AZ managed to show up again,” Luke scowled.

  “I had a run in with him at the Gas Go today. I walked in, and he was hitting on Scarlett.”

  “No shit,” Luke whistled. “He really is a special kind of stupid, huh?”

  “Yeah, and from the sound of it, he’s not done fucking with us. Aunt Bev, too.”

  Luke shook his head and sighed. “Doesn’t he have something better to do?”

  “Evidently not.” I glanced over at the cars that were lined up and saw all the drivers get in their cars. “I better get over there. Keep an eye on Scar for me, OK?”

  Luke nodded his head, clapped me on the back and headed over to the truck. Scarlett was standing next to Violet, nervously wringing her hands together. The closer we had gotten to the race, the more nervous she seemed to get. All the hard work I had done before of loosening her up had gone to waste, and she was a tight ball of nerves now.

  “Scarlett,” I called. Her eyes connected with mine and a small smile spread across her lips. She gave me a little wave and tucked her hair behind her ear. I motioned for her to come over and she looked around.

  I shook my head and made my way halfway to her before she started walking. “Everything OK?”

  “Yeah, just wanted to talk to you before the race.”

  “Oh, OK,” she mumbled.

  “Scarlett, you look absolutely terrified. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

  “It’s just a lot to take in, Mitch. Plus, everyone knows I’m here with you so it’s like they’re all judging me.” She wrapped her arms around herself and looked around the crowd.

  “Hey,” I said rubbing her arm. “Don’t worry about anyone here.”

  “Easier said than done,” she laughed. A group of girls walked by us, and I could see what Scarlett meant when she said everyone was looking at her. The four girls looked her up and down all the while they whispered to each other.

  I grabbed Scarlett by the arms and pulled her to me. She buried her face in my neck and breathed a sigh. “I’ll be back in ten minutes,” I mumbled into her hair, “then we’ll swing by to say night to Levi, and then we’ll head back to your place to watch a movie.”

  “You’re trying to distract me, aren’t you?”

  “Is it working?”

  She nodded her head yes and pressed a kiss to my neck. “Go get em, speedy,” she laughed. She wandered back over to Leelee and Violet, and all I could do was watch her.

  I needed to get this damn race over.

  ______________

  Scarlett

  “Did he make you give him a good luck kiss?” Violet asked as I sat on the tailgate next to her. Leelee was sitting on the other side of Violet, talking to Luke and some guy I had never seen before. I heard talk of transmissions and ratios and knew that whatever they were saying would just go straight over my head.

  “No. He wanted to know if something was wrong.”

  “And is there?”

  “Well,” I hesitated. “Not really. It was just… that there…”

  “Spit it out, Scarlett,” Violet laughed.

  “There’s a shit ton of people here, and it feels like they’re all staring at me which is ridiculous, but that’s what it feels like.”

  Violet giggled and put her arm around me. “I know exactly what you mean, and it all has to do with the men we are dating.”

  “Huh?”

  “Before you and I came along, the Jensen boys were legends around here. Now with two of them off of the market, we’ve become enemy number one to all of the girls here. Plus, with Luke and Mitch taken, the fight for Kurt is on.”

  “But, I’m not even dating Mitch.”

  Violet looked at me like I was crazy and shook her head. “You’re dating, trust me. From what Luke has told me, you are going to have a hard time getting rid of Mitch if you even tried.”

  “Are we talking about the two boys you girls have wrapped around your fingers?” Leelee asked, crossing her legs and batting her eyes at us.

  “Yup. Scarlett doesn’t like all of the attention she’s getting.”

  “Well, the only way that is going to go away is you and Mitch breaking up, and I know that ain’t never going to happen.” How in the hell did everyone know or think that Mitch and I were never going to break up? We had barely been together.

  “Have you two been drinking?” Violet and Leelee both shook t
heir heads no.

  “Although, I did bring my cooler.” Leelee leaned back and grabbed the same red cooler she had brought the last.

  “Oh, hand me one,” Violet replied as Leelee opened the cooler.

  “You gotta be fucking kidding me,” Luke bit out. “Fucking late to the damn party.”

  We looked down the road and saw Kurt’s yellow Camaro parting the crowd and making his way to the other cars that were lined up.

  “Is this a regular thing, cars showing up late?” I asked Leelee.

  “No. Normally everyone is here early before the crowds. It just looks like AZ and Kurt like to cause a scene.” Leelee rolled her eyes and handed me a beer. “He can’t even show up to work on time anymore either.”

  “I think you both need to lay off of each other,” Violet said trying to calm down Leelee.

  “She’s right, Princess. This whole past week he was an hour late, and he always cut out early.” Luke added.

  “You didn’t tell me he hasn’t been sleeping at the shop. Where does he sleep?”

  “Kurt’s never had a problem finding a place to sleep.”

  “Maybe he has a girlfriend,” I suggested.

  Violet, Leelee, and Luke turned to look at me, shocked. “I guess I never thought of that,” Violet pondered.

  “Whoever she is, I feel sorry for her,” Leelee muttered and then chugged her beer.

  Kurt’s car rumbled by us, and he didn’t even turn his head to look at us. I may have only known Mitch for a few weeks, but I could tell you there was some major family drama when it came to Kurt.

  Kurt pulled around the cars, circled around and stopped next to Mitch. Kurt’s windows stayed rolled up, and he didn’t turn his head to look at anyone.

  Leelee pulled another beer out of the cooler, popped the top and swung her legs nervously. “You ok?” Violet asked.

  “Yeah. I’m good,” she scoffed. “You know how I get for races. I’m just pumped to see Mitch annihilate everyone.”

  Violet glanced over at me, and we both knew there was more to what she was saying. Kurt and her bumped heads like crazy, but no one knew why. “Hmm, are you sure your nerves and bouncing legs have nothing to do with that fact that Kurt just showed up.

  Leelee rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything.

  “Princess, you gonna talk the whole time?” Luke asked.

  Violet rolled her eyes and leaned into me. “There is something going on between those two, and you and I are going to figure it out.”

  “Me?” I asked, pointing a finger at my chest.

  “Yes, you.” Violet held up her pinky. “You and I. We’ll totally be Nancy Drew.”

  “Um…” She grabbed my hand, wrapped her pinkie around mine and squeezed tight.

  “Starting tomorrow, we get to the bottom of this.” She turned back around, her eyes going to Luke, who was looking at us suspiciously and all I could do was shrug my shoulders. I had no idea what the hell had just happened, but I knew the next couple of weeks were going to be pretty interesting.

  _____________

  Chapter 22

  Mitch

  I couldn’t believe that Kurt had shown up. He had told me earlier at the shop today that he wasn’t going to race. Now, here he was pulling up next to me like the Pied Piper acting like he was something special. I was hoping he would have rolled his window down, but the fucker didn’t.

  I tore my gaze off of Kurt and tried to calm down and get a grip. Going into the race pissed off wasn’t going to help me win. This was probably his game all along.

  The flag girl walked in between our cars, her hips swaying as she walked. I used to live for this shit, and now I just wished she would hurry the hell up and get the race going. She walked to the front of our cars, her gaze falling on each driver, giving them a slight nod, making sure we were all ready. She raised her arms up in the air, her shirt barely covering her tits and all I could do was shake my head. She raised both of her arms over her head, and my hand gripped the steering wheel. I held my breath, waiting for what seemed like forever. Her arms dropped, and I stepped on the gas, releasing the clutch and rocketed off of the line.

  Kurt pulled out in front, with AZ falling behind him and then I managed to squeeze in between Crank and Kesson. The one good thing about street course racing compared to drag racing was that it didn’t matter if you were last off the line, you could still win. I power shifted into fifth, my foot not leaving the gas and managed to pass Crank before the first turn. I slipped in behind AZ, downshifting into third and skidded around the corner, taking it wide while AZ tried to keep it tight in the corner.

  I stomped on the gas out of the turn, neck and neck with AZ. He swerved at me, trying every way possible to get me off of him. “I ain’t going anywhere, fucker,” I mumbled under my breath, speed shifting into fourth, my foot only coming half way off the clutch as I slammed through the gears, flying down the road. It was a short course tonight that we would need to do two laps on till the end.

  Kurt was more than five car lengths ahead of us, and I knew it was going to take everything the ‘Vette had to catch up to him.

  After three more turns of grinding gears and slamming on the breaks, we were at the start line again, and I roared past the crowd, everyone cheering on their favorite driver.

  AZ swerved at me again, and I knew he was getting impatient. Usually, I didn’t mind swapping a little paint for the sake of racing, but not when it’s just AZ being an ass. I steered to the left, dropped down into fourth and managed to roar past AZ and slid in front of him before the next turn.

  I wrenched the wheel to the right, the tires losing traction as I careened around the corner. I felt my back tire rub against the curb right before the tires gripped the pavement out of the turn and I shot down the second to last straightaway.

  I power shifted into fifth, listening to the car and transmission as I kept my foot on the gas and slammed up the shifter. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to beat Kurt, but there was no way in hell that I was going to lose to AZ.

  AZ was weaving in and out of my rearview mirror, trying to find a way to pass me, but his car didn’t have the horsepower to match me. We slid around the last curve. AZ was trying to slingshot past me, slipping into my tailwind, but it didn’t help. He was coming in third again no matter how badly he wanted to win.

  The finish line and the massive crowd came into sight, and I pressed the accelerator all the way to the floor, maxing out the speedometer as I inched away from AZ. I crossed the finish line, the crowd going by in a blur and I glanced in my rear view mirror to see AZ slamming his fist on the steering wheel. I downshifted into fourth, pulling off to the side to give him room and he flew by me, headed straight for Kurt.

  Kurt swung his car around, pulling a U-turn and headed back to the finish line. AZ was headed straight for him. They both managed to slam on their brakes, inches from smashing into each other. The crowd surged down to the end of the road where Kurt and AZ were both getting out of their cars.

  The crowd parted as I pulled up and jumped out. Kurt and AZ were toe to toe, yelling in each other’s faces. “This looks fucking familiar,” Luke said from behind me. “Next thing you know AZ is gonna wanna run for pinks.” Luke crossed his arms over his chest but didn’t make a move to interfere. Scarlett, Violet, and Leelee were lined up behind Luke looking scared.

  “I want a fucking rematch!” AZ shouted.

  Luke rolled his eyes and shook his head.

  “Why don’t you get a better fucking car and then we can talk about a rematch. Just looking at that car I know I’ll whip it every time,” Kurt taunted.

  “Looks like someone is a sore loser,” Leelee whispered as AZ grabbed Kurt by the collar.

  “I can beat your ass any day of the week,” AZ sneered.

  Kurt knocked AZ’s hands off of him and wiped off his shirt. “Then it must have been an off night when Luke beat you twice, Mitch beat you last week, and I sure as hell beat
your ass tonight. I think you might want to turn around with your tail tucked between your legs and get the fuck out before you make an even bigger fool of yourself.”

  AZ pointed his finger at Kurt. “Next week, I’ll beat you and your fucking brother.”

  “Good. Maybe next week you’ll bring a car that can actually keep up,” Kurt called at his retreating back. AZ stormed over to his car and roared off, speeding into the crowd that was diving to get out of his way.

  “What an asshat,” Violet said. She came forward to stand by Luke, and he put his arm around her shoulders. “Who the hell does he think he is? Dale Eureka?”

  Luke, Leelee and I both looked at each other trying to figure out who the hell she was talking about. “Um, who the hell is Dale Eureka, Princess?” Luke asked.

  “That super famous race car driver. The one who hit the wall a while back and died?”

  “Oh,” Leelee said. “You mean Dale Earnhardt.”

  “Where the hell did you get Eureka from?” Luke asked. Violet shrugged her shoulders and giggled.

  “Hey,” Scarlett whispered, standing next to me.

  I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her to me. “You doing OK?”

  “Yeah. Although I have to say, you guys have more drama than a bus full of teenage girls.”

  “I have to say I can’t disagree with you on that one.” I watched Kurt, wondering if he was going to come over to us, but he just disappeared into the crowd.

  “I’m sorry you lost,” Scarlett whispered, looking up at me.

  “You letting me come over?” I asked.

  “Um, I thought that was the plan.”

  “Then I didn’t lose, Sparky. I’m the luckiest bastard here tonight.”

  ______________

  Chapter 23

  Scarlett

  “Um, thank you for stopping to let me see Levi.”

  Mitch laughed and toed off his shoes by the door. “Coming between you and Levi is the last thing I want to do.”