Racing Dirty

by J. Lynn Lombard

  I drop my phone to the ground as I remain slumped onto the floor, my world turning upside down. Ashley approaches and sits down next to me. I barely hear her talk to Mia because my mind is in shock. She disconnects the call and wraps her arms around my shoulders giving me a hug.

  “Hey, it will be OK.” She tries to reassure me. I nod my head in agreement, my body and brain are numb.

  Finally, after fifteen minutes of being in a catatonic state, I pull myself together and stand up. I snatch my suitcase from under my bed and start throwing clothes into it. Ashley is on her phone, booking my flight.

  “The first flight available leaves in three hours. Do you want me to go with you?" Ashley asks.

  I stop packing and turn to her, “No, I’ll be OK. Thanks Ash, you have a lot going on with your crew and I have to get to my dad. I don’t want to put you out. Can you drive me to the airport?"

  Ashley gets up off the floor where we were sitting after confirming my flight and grabs her keys. “You wouldn’t be putting me out, Izzy. You’re one of my best friends and I’m here if you need me. I know going home will be hard on you. Just one phone call and I’ll be out there.”

  “Thanks Ash. I’m so grateful for you coming into my life.” I wipe a tear that escaped and sniff my nose. I pull her into a hug and then finish packing my bag. Minutes later we’re out the door, heading to the airport.

  Ashley pulls into LAX Airport drop off an hour later and parks her car. Even at midnight, traffic on the four-o-one is excruciating. I don’t know how Ashley can drive in this traffic. I do, but that's her story to tell not mine. I’ll take my quiet little town driving over this any day. Ashley drives like she’s in a street race, cutting people off and getting up over ninety miles an hour in her shiny Mercedes in a blink of an eye.

  I’ve been texting Mia nonstop since we left our dorm room. But she hasn’t answered back yet. I gave her my flight information and told her I would be landing in Freeland at three a.m. Hopefully she’ll be there.

  “Here we go.” Ashley says, parking her Mercedes and getting out. I do the same. She offers me a bright smile trying to lift my sullen mood.

  “Your flight leaves in two hours, so you better get going. The ticket counter has your reservation. Call me when you land. I don’t care what time it is."

  She gives me a tender hug and hands me my bag. I hug her back and wipe a tear from my face.

  “Thanks.” I respond, my throat choked with grief. “I would have been freaking out and still sitting on the floor if it wasn’t for you. You’re a great friend, one of my best friends and I’m going to miss you.”

  “If you need me at any time, I’ll be there. I always wanted to visit your hometown anyways.” she says wiping a tear from her eye.

  “I might take you up on that, once I find out what is going on,” I tell her.

  I hug her one last time and walk into the busy airport. I force my way through the crowd, get checked in at the ticket counter and go through security.

  I’m sitting in a hard-plastic chair, my boarding ticket in hand, bag between my feet and pull out my phone, waiting for the attendant to announce my flight. Still no answer from Mia.

  I open my contacts and scroll down, my finger hovering over a name I haven’t used in five years, “X” is all it says.

  I never even changed his picture of the two of us. His arms wrapped around my waist, love showing in our eyes and body as his best friend, Nolan took this picture during our two blissful weeks we had together. He stole my heart completely and a tear drops onto my phone, blurring my vision. The attendant calls my flight as I type in a quick message to Xavier before I chicken out.

  Me: X, I heard about my dad. I’m on my way home. I won’t bother you, but I didn’t want it to be a shock to see me around. My flight lands at three a.m. Mia should be there to pick me up.

  xoxo-B.

  I hit send and immediately power down my phone. I have no clue why I felt Xavier needed to know, but I think somewhere deep inside I wanted to warn him so he’s not caught by surprise. Deep down I know I want to see him. I still love him even after all these years and he is the only one who captured my heart and I never took it back. I tell myself I won’t give in to him when I see him again, but I thought he should know I’m coming home.

  Yeah after five years I’m finally coming home.

  Chapter 4

  Xavier

  My phone chimes with a text message as I sit in the hospital waiting room with Mia and my parents. Her small body is shaking from crying so much. Her short brown, blue and black hair is spiked all over her head. I want to console her, be there for her like she has been for me, but I don’t know how.

  My dad is sitting in the hard chair next to me and my mom is sitting next to Mia. She’s comforting her, they’re both crying softly. The doctors still haven’t come out and told us what is going on and it’s been over four hours. I have a suspicion, they won’t reveal anything to us until Izzy is here but I don’t know if she is coming or not. Mia just told me she called her and told her to get here right away and that was it.

  My phone chimes again breaking the silence in the room and my dad glares at me, assuming it’s another hook up trying to get a hold of me. Little does he know, I’ve had no hook ups since Izzy and I broke up five years ago. I take it out of my pocket to power it down when I read the screen. It’s Izzy texting me and my heart sinks to my stomach. I open the message with shaky hands, anticipating what she said:

  B: X, I heard about my dad. I’m on my way home. I won’t bother you, but I didn’t want it to be a shock to see me around. My flight lands at three a.m. Mia should be there to pick me up.

  xoxo-B.

  I check the time and see her flight lands in about two and a half hours. I nudge my dad and nod my head to the doors leading outside. My heart is thrashing in my throat and my palms are sweaty. I don’t want my mom to know what I want to do if she does she’ll have a fit. He nods his head back and whispers to my mom. I step out into the corridor that leads outside, waiting for him to follow me. We walk between the automatic doors that lead outside.

  “Xavier, what’s going on?” James asks, concern in his tired voice.

  “I got a message from Izzy. Her flight lands at three and she said Mia is supposed to pick her up.” I gesture to Mia and mom through the window, still crying. “I don’t think she’s in any condition to drive. I’ll go and get Izzy."

  James’s face takes on an impassive look. “Why don’t I go and get her, and you stay here. I’m worried about you. Austin is like a second dad to you and I don’t want you to get into an accident. Add the stress of seeing Izzy again, I don’t want you pushed over the edge."

  “Nah, Dad. I’ll be fine. I can’t just sit here anyways, it’s driving me nuts. I need to be doing something, anything and picking Izzy up is no big deal.” I tell him, shrugging my shoulders. It is a huge deal, but I’m not going to tell him that.

  I school my features as he watches me for a minute, searching for any proof that this idea is stressing me out. Not finding what he’s looking for, he nods his head.

  “Alright, go ahead and get her. Just please be careful. Something tells me this was no accident." His words catch me off guard. I have been considering the same thing but have been too afraid to say it aloud.

  I step out of the hospital entrance doors, the warm night breeze caresses my overheated skin, and I head to my dark green Dodge Charger SXT. I turn back and look through the tall windows. I see my dad approach my mom. He rests his hand on her shoulder and she glances up at him. I can see him say something to her and Mia. They both look out the window, my mom shakes her head, warning me to be careful, and Mia is grinning at me through her tear streaked face.

  She has constantly been by my side after Izzy left. We became close, like brother and sister, in the last five years and she’s always telling me to pull my head out of my ass and go get Izzy. Well Mia, I’m finally going to get her.

  Chapter 5

  Xavier


  I have about an hour before I need to get Izzy, so I decided to drive back to the race track. All the lights are still on in the pits and I pull my Charger down the dirt drive. The cops are still milling around Austin’s race car, taking pictures and talking to each other. There’s yellow crime scene tape around the area they towed the car to as I pull up next to them.

  I shut my car off and get out. Chills race down my spine as I walk over to Austin’s car. It’s a crumpled wreck. The hood is pushed all the way up toward the windshield, folded like an accordion. The engine’s damaged beyond repair and the driver’s side door cut open where the EMT’s needed to pull him out. The rear of the car is covered with black soot from where it caught on fire when he struck the barrier in turn four. One cop sees me approach and he stalks over to me.

  It’s still surreal to see Austin’s car like this. He is one of the safest drivers on the track, and deep in my gut I can sense that this is no accident. I was watching the race when he lost control of his car and slammed into the wall.

  I didn’t hear the squeal of his brakes as he attempted to make the curve in turn four and I knew something was wrong. I heard his tires screeching and metal hitting concrete.

  I was one of the first people on the scene. I flew across the track as fast as I could, not caring about the other cars swerving around me trying to avoid hitting me.

  I reached his car with my heart in my throat, his helmet muffling his words before he passed out. He was trying to tell me something, but I couldn’t make out what he said. I saw the sparks coming from the back of his car, so I raced back to the winner's circle, in the center of the track and snatched the fire extinguisher. I put the fire out in the back of his car before it reached the gas tank and by that time the EMT’s were extracting him from his car.

  The fire department cut a hole in the side of his door and they had him loaded up on the stretcher. They cut his jumper off and started an IV in his arm. I remember thinking Izzy couldn’t lose him, like she lost her mom. They removed his helmet carefully and had his head in a brace. He wasn’t moving, but then I noticed his chest rise and fall and relief filled me.

  A police officer stands next to me crosses his arms and shakes his head, snapping me out of my memory of this horrific night.

  “It’s a damn shame this happened. How is he doing?” The officer asks me, his tone not giving anything away.

  I look at the officer and take in his features. He has on his dark blue uniform, his gun strapped to his right side and a walkie on his left. He turns his walkie down as he speaks to me.

  “I don’t know. The doctors didn’t come out yet when I left. They took him back into surgery as soon as the ambulance got there, and the nurses are tight lipped about telling us anything. My mom and dad along with Mia are still there. Izzy is on her way back. I’m heading out to get her at the airport.”

  The officer writes something down in his notepad he pulled out of his breast pocket and closes it. He turns to look at me, his brown eyes etched with worry. He scratches his head in concentration before he speaks, his voice gruff.

  “Here is my card. I have all of your information and if you will have Izabella contact me tomorrow, I can tell her what I’ve found."

  I take the card from his hand and look at it. Officer Christian Iverson, it reads. I nod my head, taking in Officer Iverson’s features. Jealousy hits me hard and fast.

  There is no way in hell I am letting her talk to him alone. His military cut hair, muscles bulging under his uniform, manly charm, and southern drawl must make the women crazy. Nope, not gonna happen.

  I shake his hand and walk back to my car, leaving him standing there glaring at me. I start it up and drive off to the airport. It’s just me and my memories of Izzy as I drive into the night.

  I shake off the pang of jealousy at Officer Iverson and Izzy. She isn’t mine to claim anymore. If she is interested in southern boy, I can’t stop her, but I’m going to do my best at reminding her how good we are together. How explosive we are when we are together, and how perfect she is to me.

  Everyone keeps telling me I screwed up five years ago one drunken night, but I don’t remember it and I won’t make that same mistake again. I’ve changed a lot in that time. I quit drinking, fucking, and only concentrated on being the best racer in the history of Michigan.

  The sacrifices I made once I lost Izzy has paid off. I’m in first place in my division of Super Late Model UMP’s. Which is a step up from Austin and my dad. Sponsors are coming out of the woodwork to put their names on my car. I focused all my time, effort, and money in hand building my car, using the specs Izzy made for me during the two weeks we were together.

  She was always extremely talented at designing race cars and the graphics for it; I had to use them to be close to her somehow, to remind myself how much I lost that one drunken night. Call it self-torture if you will, but it helped me deal with the aftermath of my mistakes.

  Lost in thought, I pull into the quiet airport terminal and park my car. The lights in the parking lot are bright. I shoot my dad a quick text, letting him know I made it to the airport, and that I spoke to Officer Iverson. I have a half hour before Izzy’s flight lands and shut my car off.

  I take a sharp breath, get out, lock up my car, and steel my nerves as I stroll through the main entrance of the airport. The automatic doors open and cool air brushes against my hot skin as I walk into the quiet terminal. I pass through security and look for her flight on the screen. Mia texted me her flight number while I was driving, and I find which terminal Izzy will come from.

  Too anxious to sit down, I pace the waiting area, my racing boots making a clicking noise against the pristine tile floors. There aren’t many people here, but a woman and child catch my attention. The little boy is watching me with deep green eyes as I pace back and forth. I give him a little smile and he waves his tiny little fingers at me.

  There’s a pang of regret in my chest when I see those green eyes looking back at me. My heart aches while I think about what I undoubtedly missed. I wonder, while glancing at that boy, if I didn’t screw up would Izzy and I have a kid already? Would he have green eyes like her or would we have a precious little girl, with Izzy’s blond hair?

  Shaking my head at my wayward thoughts of something that will probably never happen, I keep pacing. I wonder where these thoughts are coming from when I hear the announcer come over the PA system.

  “UA flight 5102 from LAX to MBS is now unloading.”

  My heart rate picks up and sweat is forming on my brow. I’m nervous as fuck at how Izzy will react to me being here to pick her up. I watch and wait as passenger’s unload and make their way to the baggage claim.

  Finally, I spot her walking slowly towards the waiting area and my breath catches in my throat. The California sun has kissed her skin, giving her a dark glow. Her blond hair is even blonder, and her body is even more toned than when she left. Her hips are perfect in her ripped jeans, showing parts of her long toned, tanned legs and her delicate feet are displaying a white pair of sandals. Her tits are even more full than what I remember in her white tank top. She is all woman now and my dick stirs alive at the sight of her. Her sleepy green eyes look up from her phone and collide with mine.

  She stops walking and just stands there, mouth open in confusion. I approach her and stand face to face with the woman of my dreams. The girl who stole my heart and I swear I will get her back. One way or another, she will be mine again.

  Chapter 6

  Izzy

  I’m checking my phone as I make my way out of the terminal entrance, hoping for a reply from Mia. I kept turning my phone on and off on the flight, hoping for an update of some kind on Austin.

  My nerves were getting the best of me on my flight and I wasn’t great company to the man sitting next to me. I kept my eyes on the pitch black sky, reflecting on my past with Xavier and wondering what I would say or do if I ran into him.

  Mia would give me updates throughout the five years
I was away on how he was doing, but I found it hard to accept he would change his behavior. Once a playboy, always a playboy.

  Right?

  I’ve watched it countless times out in California and why would Xavier be any different? Nope, I’m sticking to my guns and not falling for him again. I’m here for my dad, not to rekindle my relationship with the love of my life. The only man who touched my heart the way he did since we were kids. Oh, who am I kidding? One look at the man and I’ll be right back to where I was before.

  While I shuffle down the runway, after powering my phone back on, I’m reading an extremely vague text message from Mia telling me I would be picked up when my flight touched down.

  I look up from my phone and my heart skips a beat. Xavier’s shiny, jet black messy hair is covered with a baseball cap, deep blue eyes, and a body to die for is standing in the waiting room entrance watching me, waiting.

  My eyes automatically scan down his toned muscular body. He is wearing tight black jeans that hug his leg muscles perfectly. A dark blue form fitting t-shirt with my racing logo on it and black racing boots complete his outfit. There are new tattoos snaking down both his arms and stopping at his elbows, peeking out under his t-shirt. My heart starts to race, and I wipe my shaking hands on my jeans, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

  I watch Xavier as he approaches me. The dimple I’ve always loved is showing as he smiles, my finger’s yearning to touch it. I’m still frozen in place and can’t make my brain function to set one foot in front of the other. He moves close enough to me I can smell him, and memories flood my mind, my heart races hard and fast in my chest. Memories of his hands on my body, his lips caressing mine, the way he felt inside of me as we made love for the first time.

  He raises an eyebrow at my flushed face. It’s like he can read my thoughts as he reaches down to take my bag. Our fingers touch and sparks shoot through me right to my stomach, causing my breath to snag in my throat.