I Only Have Eyes For You

by Khardine Gray

  “Lives in Okinawa.” He bit the inside of his lip and glanced at her out the corner of his eyes.

  “She’s alive?” Her mouth dropped again.

  “Yes, but if you saw her in real life, you’d think she looks nearly deceased. Sometimes. Mostly when she’s not wearing makeup.”

  “Hiroshi, that’s a terrible thing to say,” she scolded, although she couldn’t stop herself from laughing, it was kind of funny. “And you would have had me believe your house was haunted if I didn’t bring it up.”

  “Well, I don’t have the privilege of seeing you that much, Savannah,” he stated. Her cheeks warmed at the comment. “Anyhow, it’s me who should be annoyed.”

  “How do you figure that?” Her lips parted in surprise.

  “You only came to see me because you wanted info on car racing. If I didn’t know anything, or was completely stupid, then I wouldn’t see you at all.”

  She laughed again, noting how easily he made her laugh. He gave her an injured look, his lips tightened, turning down at the ends. “And there I was thinking we were friends.” For added effect, he rested his hand on his chest.

  Savannah wanted to laugh but held back, as she didn’t know if he was being serious. “We…are friends.”

  The alluring grin returned to his face instantly. “I’m messing with you again. But it’s good to know.” His eyes contained a sensuous flame.

  She smiled at him, liking his sense of humor and that jovial way about him that made her feel at ease. “Are we going to see any of your racing friends tonight?”

  “Friends, and enemies. Make sure you stay close to me, okay.”

  “Okay.” She had no problem with that, but was curious as to what enemies he might have.

  “It can get a little rough. We’re nearly there.”

  She looked ahead at the cars before them, and the bright glow that came from the street lights. The traffic seemed more dispersed now than it was earlier.

  “What’s Ebi Katsu like?” That was where he’d told her they were going. It was located in Fukushima.

  “The Ebisu Circuit,” he laughed. “Ebi katsu is Japanese fried shrimp, which tastes amazing.” He looked across and smiled at her.

  She brought her hands to her cheeks and laughed lightly. “Oh gosh. I’m so sorry. I’ll get to grips with my Japanese soon.”

  “You will, you haven’t even been here a full week yet.”

  “It kind of seems longer because I’ve been doing so much.”

  “Well, I think you’ll enjoy this. Ebisu is actually one of the biggest drift-based tracks in the world, but they hold other motorsport events there. It has seven tracks including the mountain pass, my personal favorite. Tonight we’re going to Minami, the south track. We call it Drift Land. During the day you’ve got your standard drifting. But at this time,” excitement lit up his eyes. “At this time, and on a night like this, you’ll have all sorts of racing, and the serious drivers who want to do all kinds of wild stunts.”

  “Wild stunts?” It sounded fascinating. She started to imagine what she might see.

  He nodded mischievously and she remembered what Sakiko had said about him jumping a car over a lake. So she guessed wild for him meant something like that.

  “You’ll see. I wanted you to see pure, creative, race car driving without all the rules and drawbacks, and in a fun environment, like how it began.”

  At that she smiled, appreciative of the thought. “Thank you. I can’t wait to get there.”

  There was that wink again, which he seemed to do out of habit. He’d done it a few times now, and each time it had the very same effect. Making her feel all girly weak and sending off a whole nest of butterflies in her stomach.

  She glanced out the window to steady her nerves and thought about the amount of things she’d done just this past week.

  This time last year, Savannah was still at the Bay News. She was preparing to do that stupid run of pet food and supplies stories which they wanted her to focus on right up to the end of autumn.

  Lifestyle and culture was her area, and she still couldn’t quite figure out how pet food and supplies snuck its way into that niche. It was more of the fact that you got stuck doing what you were told. They weren’t the best at listening to new ideas, either. It was suffocating for her to be there.

  But, look at her now. Her earnings might not be steady, but if she’d stayed at the Bay she would never have gotten the chance to write for Traveler or go to all the fantastic places she’d traveled to in the past year, Japan being her favorite so far. She was happy, and just hoped she could make a lasting impression. Fingers crossed she would.

  She looked back to Hiroshi, not wanting too much silence to filter its way in. “How did you get into racing?” The question had been on her mind.

  A dark smile crossed over his fine features. He loosened his hold on the steering wheel and looked over at her. “Wrong place, right time.”

  “Really?” She leaned back into her seat, eager to listen.

  “I went to Princeton. In my freshman year my frat brothers dared me to steal a race car and compete in a race. So I did.”

  “What happened?”

  “I got absolutely battered and came last, but it gave me a taste for it. That summer when I came back to Japan, I got into drifting and drag racing. It just kind of took off from there.”

  She noticed that whenever she spoke to him he revealed bits of information about himself that made her want to know more. It felt like reading a good book that you couldn’t put down until you got to the end, and even then you still wanted more. She’d first felt it on the plane when he talked about climbing Mt. Fuji.

  “Is there a big difference between drifting and normal racing?”

  He looked at her like she’d just said something completely bizarre. “Is the grass green?”

  She giggled. “Okay, so there’s a big difference.”

  “This is standard racing.” He sped the car up so fast she had to grip on to the edge of her seat.

  “Oh my gosh,” she shrieked. Excitement and fear filled her at the same time.

  “And this is…” He looked about them, checking that there weren’t any cars in the way. “This is drifting.” As they approached the corner of the road he purposely oversteered, and it felt like there was a loss of traction in the wheels. She stifled a scream swearing that they were going to slide right off the road. But, they didn’t.

  He skillfully embraced the corner with precision, slipping the car out to an angle and holding it there for a few seconds before he brought it back in smoothly, maintaining complete control. It had the same thrill as being on one of those crazy fairground rides, but it was so much more.

  “That was amazing,” she gasped. The adrenaline that rushed through her made her palms sweat. “Oh my gosh.” She pulled in a breath.

  “You okay?” He slowed the car back to its normal pace.

  “I’m fine. I think if I did something like that with my car back home the wheels would probably fall off.”

  He laughed that deep, hearty, warm laugh that attracted her to him even more. “Normal racing is about how fast you can get your car to go. Drifting requires a different set of skills, and you have to trust your instincts, and trust your car. It’s like you’re the same entity.” His brown eyes flickered with passion.

  She was impressed with the avid way in which he spoke and the excitement he sparked within her. Car racing wasn’t something that would usually interest her, but he made her eager to see what it was all about.

  “Sounds amazing.”

  He nodded. “It is.”

  The scenery changed around them, and more of the vast, open countryside came into view.

  “Okay California girl, much as this music has been interesting to listen to, we’ll be laughed to scorn if we turn up with, who is this?”

  She smiled. “Frankie Lee.”

  “Right, we can catch up with him on the way back.” He switched the radio to some hip hop stati
on and turned up the music. This was definitely his style of music. It went with his look, the car, and cool edge.

  “We are here,” he announced.

  She was about to say something, but a flash of bright purple light in the sky took the words out of her mouth. She looked ahead and saw it again as it mingled with flashes of electric blue, fluorescent pink and neon red. They all flickered spasmodically then disappeared, blending into the night sky. She was so busy looking at the lights that she didn’t notice straight away that a host of cars had gathered around them. From the stylish look, the energy, and music that blasted from them, she guessed they had to be heading in the same direction.

  She gazed ahead again with keen curiosity and saw the entrance to the circuit as they approached. A mesh gate rose at least thirty feet high and ran across a large expanse. At its center were four entrance points under a massive white concrete archway with Japanese writing. She guessed it was probably a welcome message, similar to what was displayed in most stadium-type buildings.

  They drove through one of the entrance points and continued up onto the drifting stadium where they plunged into the immediate sound of shrieking engines, music, and vibrant colors. There were people everywhere, probably hundreds lively in the crowd.

  And cars. Her eyes zoned in on the cars. Cars that looked like they’d come straight from the set of a film, but as with everything in Japan they looked above and beyond reality, and bordered on fantasy-like.

  She was no car expert, but from what she could name you could take your pick from an assortment of Ferraris, Mustangs, Porches, Lamborghinis, and a range of other super mind-blowing sports cars. Savannah could only look in complete amazement.

  Hiroshi drove over to the parking lot and eased to a stop. “You ready?” he asked, switching off the engine.

  “Yes.” She beamed, eager to see what was happening all around them.

  When she got out of the car she took a moment to take in the energy and liveliness. It really was like a massive party.

  Hiroshi stood next to her. “Welcome to Drift Land.”

  “There’s so many people here.”

  “Saturday brings out the whole of Japan.” He chuckled. “We need to get to the top of the stadium. You get the best view there.” He pointed over to the stadium area that was totally packed with people.

  “Is it like watching a musical?” She thought she’d do a little teasing of her own. “Like Wicked?” She smiled up at him.

  “Hey. I was practically forced to watch that, completely against my will.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes,” he replied with that feigned-innocent look again, his jet black hair gleaming in the lights. “Come on.” Hiroshi leaned closer to her as they walked, brushing against her elbows and scattering her nerves.

  “These here are getting ready to race,” he told her, motioning his head towards a bunch of cars that had gathered on their left. Savannah looked over and could also see that people were casting bets.

  There was a blend of all kinds of people and cultures here, so even though the language being thrown around was predominately Japanese, she could hear other languages, too. Like English, French and Spanish. It was very cool, and she noticed that Hiroshi looked right at home here with everyone else. Completely within his element.

  Powerful sounding engines roared to life in a distance and grew closer. The crowd watching from the stadium and sidelines went wild as a white Honda sped past, triggering an alarm. More engines sounded, rippling through the sound barrier. She watched eagerly to see a couple of cars speeding in. A blue one, a red one, a black one, and another white one with a blue stripe going down the middle. The crowd screamed again, and some of the people that had been around them rushed closer to the sidelines to get a better view.

  Hiroshi touched her elbow lightly, urging yet protective, and steered her closer to him. The contact of his hand spread warmth across her arm and radiated through her entire body. She gazed up at him to find he was already looking at her.

  “Don’t want to lose you.” There was something in his tone and the way he looked at her that held her attention. “Let’s go this way.”

  “Okay,” she replied, allowing him to usher her where he wanted.

  “I’m seeing a ghost, right?” a voice said just ahead of them as they approached a bunch of slick-looking cars.

  They stopped as a Spanish-looking guy with black hair on one side and blonde on the other got out of a black car and smiled at them.

  “Not tonight, Ignacio,” Hiroshi replied. Another three guys, all Japanese, emerged from their cars with broad smiles on their faces. They were slightly shorter than Hiroshi but had the same sort of style.

  “This can’t be Fujita, he looks like he’s gained weight,” one of the guys commented.

  “Come closer and say that to me.” Hiroshi smiled.

  They all looked extremely happy to see him. He left her and moved closer to them where they greeted him with that one-shoulder hug thing most guys did.

  Savannah was lost as they all spoke Japanese. She’d forgotten her phrase book, and probably wouldn’t have thought to bring it along anyway for fear of looking un-cool. She was hoping that she would be able to say a few things and understand more conversation by the end of the month. Yumi had offered to help her learn, and she’d gladly accepted.

  She knew they were talking about her when they all looked at her, but she didn’t know what they were saying.

  Hiroshi moved back to her and smiled. “Guys this is Savannah. She’s a…California girl.”

  She looked up at him and grimaced.

  “Hey, California girl.” Ignacio laughed.

  “Hi.” She raised her hand in a short wave.

  “I’m Ignacio and these punks are Sadu, Tetzu, and Cornflakes.” He pointed to the others.

  “Cornflakes?” She had to ask. To her surprise Cornflakes pulled out a mini-sized pack of Kellogg’s Cornflakes from the inside of his jacket pocket causing everyone to laugh.

  “We can’t get him to stop.” Hiroshi shook his head. “Although he doesn’t look like much, Cornflakes here is the current Grand Prix D1 champion.”

  “I’ve won four years in a row,” Cornflakes bragged. Savannah noticed that his voice sounded more cultured, like he rarely spoke English. “I win a lot of races here most nights, too,” he continued to brag.

  “Yes, because I’m not here,” Hiroshi interrupted.

  “Oh please, I can beat you straight up.” Cornflakes looked at the others for support.

  “Sorry man.” Tetzu shook his head and laughed. “I don’t think you actually can.”

  “We might have to test it,” Sadu suggested. “You can borrow the Porsche.” He gestured to his car.

  “Yeah, you, me on the track. You can eat my dust,” Cornflakes challenged, balling his fists and putting them up in a fighting stance.

  Savannah looked up at Hiroshi and wondered what he was going to say. It would be cool to watch him race.

  Her skin tingled as he put his arm around her in a possessive gesture and pulled her up to him. Her breathing suspended, and she couldn’t have been more stunned as she heard him say, “Guys please. Look at this beautiful girl with me, you expect me to leave her to go race with you? Hardly.”

  Her eyes widened, and a closed-lipped smile spread across her face as she tried to remain cool. It would have been a lot easier if her lungs hadn’t tightened up, or if her heart hadn’t been beating so fast that her blood felt hot.

  This was like one of those moments when you knew someone was talking about you but the shock of what they were saying made it seem like they were talking about someone else. Had he seriously just made his friends think that they were together? As in, him and her together, and not simply her coming here tonight to watch the car racing so she could write about it?

  She observed his friends, not expecting them to believe him, because in all seriousness she didn’t exactly look like the glamorous models and high-fashioned girls sh
e’d seen attached to his arm in pictures.

  When Ignacio shook his head she thought he was going to make some comment in line with her thoughts, but he didn’t. Instead, he said, “Clearly we don’t, so we’ll let you enjoy your date with California girl.”

  “At some point we’ll race, Fujita,” Cornflakes added. “And I want my Mustang back, too.”

  They actually believed him.

  “Dream on, man. I won that car fair and square. Get over it.” Hiroshi smirked.

  “You don’t just get over a Mustang,” Cornflakes retorted.

  Sadu and Ignacio started to laugh at him while Tetzu shook his head.

  “We’ll catch you later,” Hiroshi told them.

  “Good to meet you all,” Savannah told them, releasing the breath she’d been holding onto.

  Hiroshi kept hold of her as they walked away. When they got to a reasonable distance he lowered his head, leaned closer to her and said, “Sorry to put you on the spot like that.”

  She turned to face him, accidentally brushing her cheek against his and bumping into him. He steadied her, keeping his grasp around her.

  “It’s okay.” She pulled in a breath to clear her head and control her nerves.

  A soft smile inched across his firm, sensual lips and stayed there. “They can’t accept that I don’t race anymore. They would have been suggesting all kinds of things to get me out on the tracks, and we’d be there all night. I had to tell them something believable.”

  She’d started to wonder why it was he didn’t race anymore, but the thought was eradicated from her mind the minute he said he had to tell them something believable.

  “Believable?” she stuttered.

  Maybe it was her lack of being around men in general for the last couple of months, or most likely her lack of never being around guys like him that made her act this way. She gazed at him as they stopped behind a group that had gathered to proceed up the stairs to the stadium.

  A lascivious glint flickered through his eyes as he beamed down at her, making her nerves tingle again. His hand remained around her, lingering for a moment too long.

  “Yeah,” he replied with his trademark wink, moving his hand to the small of her back.