“Hey man!” a voice barked loudly behind them. Kyle, just a hair’s breadth away from her lips, breathed out frustration through his clenched teeth. Her eyes flew open, in them the bewilderment of one caught in emotional limbo. He turned around. It was Gary, the guy he had just beaten. Great timing buddy, he thought, with considerable disappointment.
“Yeah, what?” he responded. Leigh folded her arms against herself, looking down.
“I guess you got braggin' rights this time,” Gary said, turning up a bottle of Rolling Rock beer. He wiped his mouth with his dirty sleeve. “You got a Mickey shifter in there?”
“Yeah.”
“Thought so. Won’t be easy from here on man.”
“We’ll see,” he responded shortly, attempting to give him the bum’s rush.
But it didn’t work. He stuck around talking long enough to ruin the moment. Unnoticed by Kyle, Gary graced Leigh with a wink and a toothless smile in the course of the conversation. It made her nauseous. As he droned on, she walked off a few paces and turned inside herself. Her level of excitement when he was about to kiss her had been off the charts, even more so than earlier today, and she now wondered if she could really control things. Would it still be just for fun after they kissed? Would he remain a simple infatuation to her? What if she wanted more?
As the guys talked and she pondered, the Camaro had beaten the Boss Mustang, and the 454 Chevelle lost to the driver of the Barracuda 440. Wade was in the process of starting his race against the 442 Olds. His 427 Impala sounded ferocious at the starting line, and both Kyle and Gary now turned to watch.
“That’s a bad machine ole Wade is driving there,” Gary said, then looked back at Kyle for his reaction to this statement. Kyle thought it was too, and that he would be very hard to beat, but his expression gave nothing away.
“We’ll see,” he responded.
“Well, you’re next man,” Gary said. “If you draw somebody other than Wade, you might hang in there. Either way, he’ll get you in the end, buddy.” He laughed and produced a loud belch, then walked away.
He turned back to Leigh, who was once again sitting on the hood of her car.
“Sounds like I’m done already, doesn’t it?” he said, chuckling and smiling that ever-confident smile.
“I think some of these guys talk bigger than they are,” she responded, returning his smile, displaying a perfect row of pearly white teeth.
“Well, one’s bit the dust already, so I guess I’ll just have to keep proving it, won’t I?” he said. He hooked his thumbs into his belt loops and leaned heavily back against the front of her car. She slid down off the hood, and stood beside him, their shoulders touching.
A moment of silence fell between them as they watched Wade pull back down the stretch from his successful race against the Olds. Kyle was glad, with some distance now between the overwhelming desire he had felt a moment ago, that they had been interrupted. What had he been thinking? Just today he had managed to check himself and keep things on track, but tonight, he had almost blown it. He had never wanted to kiss a girl so badly in his life; but how did he know for sure that he couldn’t seal the deal right now? Maybe she would fall in love with him. Maybe she was in love with him. The fact that she was even here indicated a major willingness on her part.
“You’re taking a chance coming out here, aren’t you?” he asked, breaking the silence.
“It’s one I wanted to take, Kyle, or I wouldn’t be here,” she responded sincerely, then softly bit her bottom lip. He looked quickly at her, raising his eyebrows. She stared straight ahead, immediately regretting her response, realizing it only served to add weight to their quasi relationship. But it had been a direct, honest statement, spoken unexpectedly and boldly from her heart.
Wade had now parked on the side of the road and climbed out of his car amidst a group of guys that were clapping him on the back and congratulating him on his win. Billy was, of course, right by his side, pumping his fist into the air. Wade opened a cooler that sat on the tailgate of a truck and tossed beers all around to the crowd. He popped one himself and drained it. Raised voices, laughs and shouts blended with the sounds of hot-rod motors idling loudly.
The wind was up; late March winds bringing in early April, as Kyle continued staring at Leigh, weighing her heart felt comment. She could see him watching her out of the corner of her eye, and she finally turned her head slowly into his gaze. Their eyes met and searched each others, an unspoken communication, both conveying that primal, ages old desire of man for woman, woman for man. I don’t know anything about him, she thought. But oh how I want to. Over his shoulder, she saw Wade heading toward them. He walked up, belching loudly, hat in hand.
“Hey man, time to draw again,” Wade announced loudly, breathing hard. “Did you see me blow that Olds away?” He held the hat unceremoniously out to Kyle, and the remaining winners walked up to draw as well.
“Didn’t notice,” Kyle answered nonchalantly, with a cocky smile that Wade wanted to wipe off his face more than anything.
“Well, you will if you draw me,” Wade sneered, now flanked by his faithful cohort Billy. Leigh watched this exchange with amusement. Male testosterone in action, she thought. Kyle drew, and the rest followed.
“You get Rusty!” Billy exclaimed enthusiastically. “He’s got the Cuda. Don’t guess you’ll get to race Wade. Too bad! Rusty’s the fastest around here, besides Wade of course!” Wade laughed and clapped Billy on the back.
“You know it Billy,” he said. He looked back at Kyle, pointing. “You’re up, bud.” With that, he and the group walked away.
Kyle turned back to her, and she was shaking her head.
“What a bunch of goofs you guys are!” she exclaimed, laughing.
“Present company excluded, of course,” he replied smiling. He dug his keys from his pocket. “Guess it’s time to do it again. Stick around, beautiful, I’ll be right back.”
“Good luck Kyle,” she replied.
“Thanks,” he replied, “but luck has nothing to do with it. Skill and preparation wins.”
“Excuse me,” she replied. “Break a leg, then!”
“That’s more like it!” he responded, laughing.
He got into his car, and rolled slowly to the starting line. A guy approached and leaned in his window.
“Hey, you want to bet on yourself man?” he asked.
“Sure,” Kyle responded, opening his wallet and producing a Ben Franklin he’d brought for just this occasion. “Easy money. Can you cover?”
“Done,” the stranger replied, laughing and running over to the group surrounding Rusty. He revved his engine in bursts, and it sounded powerful. Kyle stomped his own pedal, and the roar was just as loud and impressive. Rusty gave thumbs up to the guy who had placed the bet, then looked over at Kyle and turned his thumb down. Kyle didn’t acknowledge the gesture, turning away from Rusty and training his eyes on the guy standing between them who would start the race. He rubbed his hand across the knob of the shifter. The Cuda would be a little harder to beat. A guy named Tony Gress drove the same model back home, and it could fly.
Leigh was watching all of this intently when a black Jaguar suddenly sped out of the darkness, braking quickly and coming to a screeching halt behind her Porsche. It was Gene, and in a blink he was out of his car, slamming the door hard, and marching toward her in a huff. Her heart jumped in her chest. What is he doing here? she thought wildly. How did he know where I was? She saw the flashlight rise and come down, and heard the deafening scream of the engines as they tore off the starting line. She braced for the confrontation as Gene stormed up to his errant fiancé, his face flushed and red.
“What are you doing out here, Leigh?” he hollered above the noise, stopping directly in front of her. His hands were on his sides, and his eyes, full of confusion and anger, were earnestly searching her face. She stared at the ground, not wanting to see his anger, not wanting this scene at all. He stuck his hands out, palms up, shrugging his shoulde
rs.
“What?” he shouted. “Why?”
But she continued staring down, mute, in a state of shock that he had somehow found out where she was.
“Answer me, Leigh!” he demanded. “What are you doing out here with these...these hoodlums?” He swept his hand across the entire area.
Halfway down the stretch, Kyle and Rusty were neck and neck. Kyle had already thrown into overdrive. He had it floored, dumping all the gasoline he could to the carburetor, but the Cuda wasn’t giving ground easily. Then, with about a hundred yards to go, he felt the surge and he pulled a quarter - length ahead. When they crossed the finish line he was a hundred dollars richer. He laughed and smacked the dashboard.
“Alright! Good job girl! ” he hollered. ZZ Top proclaimed, "...I’m Bad, I’m nationwide...” out of his car’s speakers as he tapped the gas pedal, lurching back down the stretch. He couldn’t wait to get back to Leigh. She had heard Kyle and Rusty finish their race, and the cheers that erupted. She wanted to watch, even now as her fiancé confronted her. Finally, her paralysis broke enough to speak.
“I thought you were working late!” she blurted out.
“I put it off to spend some time with you!” he exclaimed, exasperated, “but surprise, surprise!”
“How did you know I was here?”
“Wasn’t that hard to figure out,” he retorted. “I called Mindy, looking for you. She said you were going to the races.”
“How do you know about them?” she asked.
“Everybody knows about them!” he exclaimed. “It’s been going on for years! But it’s illegal, Leigh! To participate or watch!”
She was trying to be careful with her choice of words. She knew there was precious little she could say right now to placate him.
“I just needed some fresh air,” she explained.
“Couldn’t you have gotten that somewhere else? I mean the people out here aren’t exactly part of our scene! They’re a bunch of derelicts! It’s not our turf, Leigh.” She ignored his sermon.
“I stay cooped up inside all day, you know,” she responded. “Someone invited me, so I decided to come and see.”
“Who invited you?” he shouted, now thoroughly enraged.
“Oh, just one of the employees at Falstead, Gene!” She was now becoming irritated as well. “It’s no big deal, okay? I just went on a lark.”
“Will I have to fear turning my back on you when we’re married?” he asked with consternation. “Is that how it’s going to be?”
He fumed. He looked hard at his wife to be, and for the first time noticed her provocative attire.
“And what about the way you’re dressed! Who are you trying to turn on?”
He was livid, trying to wrap his mind around this place she had come to, and the way too short skirt she was wearing. She had behaved questionably before, when they were teenagers, and her occasional forays into flirtation then had caused him some concern. She’d had a bit of a wild streak, and back then he had wondered more than once if he could hold onto her. But all of that had ceased when her father died. After that, she had clung tightly to him for support, their relationship deepening through the college years and her long period of mourning and recovery. There had been no episodes that would cause him any pause for a long time. Until now, that is.
Leigh had endured his angry tirade, dutifully accepting what she figured was rightfully coming to her. But the more she was subjected to it, the more indignant she became. Maybe he had the right to go off on her some here, and be upset that she hadn’t told him where she was going. But he was over the line with this outburst. She had noticed this excessive dominance in his nature for some time, and she had put up with it for some reason, even as it grew stronger after their engagement. It was true that she was enamored with Kyle; but she had done nothing wrong, other than not tell Gene where she was going. Certainly nothing that rose to the level of justifying this verbal thrashing!
There was a time when things were different; when another, younger Leigh, one more independent and willful, wouldn’t have allowed him to berate her in such a way. He would not have assumed such liberties then, would have been more respectful in his treatment of her.
That was the girl she was before her father had passed away, and although she wasn’t aware of it, that version of her, like the phoenix, was slowly rising from the ashes. She was awaking from a passive, emotional stupor, one induced by her need to lean so heavily on someone so familiar and close to her in order to survive the heartache of her loss. He started to speak again, but she would hear no more.
“Stop it, Gene!” she said sternly. He looked at her with shock and surprise, her strong tone entirely unexpected. “You’re treating me like a child and I don’t appreciate it! I don’t have to beg your permission to breathe, got it?” She was squared in front of him, her hands on her sides. She was now furious herself. “I came out here, like I told you, at the invitation of a friend. You were working late, again, and I was simply bored at home waiting for you to end your never ending workday!” He stood wide-eyed and speechless, his mouth hanging comically open. It had been a long time since she had asserted herself like that.
Over Gene’s shoulder, she saw that Kyle had returned. He got out of his car and walked over to the guy who had approached him before the race, and she saw him put money into Kyle’s hands. So he won, she thought. Good for him. It dawned on her that he might come over. There was the chance he might realize the situation and stay away, but she gave that idea little merit. Given the general atmosphere of the evening, she thought it more likely he was charged enough to push the envelope, and Gene was angry enough to push back. She had to get Gene out of there to prevent the possibility of a collision. Things could get messy.
“I’m leaving,” she told him abruptly. “If we’re going to continue this argument, we’re not doing it out here.”
“Leigh, wait…” he implored, but she quickly got into her car, started it and pulled off with a screech. Totally perplexed, he stood still and looked around the area for a moment, wondering who her “friend” was. Male or female? Several people were staring at him, and he couldn’t have felt more out of place. He went quickly to his car and gave chase.
Kyle watched as they drove off. He had seen Leigh with a man when he drove back down, deduced it was her fiancé, especially when he noticed the Jaguar, and stayed away. He knew she was leaving quickly to avoid any confrontation, and he imagined her fiancé’ had been plenty upset to discover his bride to be out here with the undesirables.
The racing was done for the evening, as Wade had blown a head gasket, preventing the showdown between them. They agreed to get it on as soon as his Impala was ready to roll again, Wade hurling predictions to anyone that would listen that Kyle didn’t stand a chance. He climbed into his car and drove away, and on the road back to his apartment, he imagined all of the hoops her beau would jump through to hang onto her. But what man wouldn’t? Yes, he would do everything to keep her. And, smiling, Kyle knew he would do anything to have her.
CHAPTER 7
The lights were turned down low, and music played softly on the stereo in Gene’s spacious downtown apartment. He was at the wet bar, preparing two glasses of Dom Perignon champagne. He glanced over at Leigh, who was on the couch with her knees tucked up, her arms folded around them. Her head lay back as she stared at the ceiling, her long hair spilling over the edge, cascading down the backside of the sofa. He stopped in mid pour into the second glass, admiring her great beauty from his vantage point. As he corked the bottle, his mind wandered back to the events of the prior evening on Summerville road. He had been so angry with her, and had really lost his cool. After a high speed chase he had caught up with her at home, and had gotten quickly out of his car to approach her, but she would have none of it. She had shot into the house like a bullet, slamming the door and leaving him standing alone in the driveway. If that’s how you want it! he had spitefully thought at the time, growing angry all over again and squealin
g the tires as he sped away.
But this morning, he had awoken with a sinking feeling in his stomach, and he had called her as soon as possible, begging her to meet with him this evening. Leigh’s anger did not subside through the night, however. After leaving him on the sidewalk, she had gone straight to her room. There, lying on her bed, she thought long and hard about the events of the exciting, tumultuous day long into the night. She was surprised with herself, and somewhat pleased, that she had not allowed him to steam roll her. Something inside of her had clicked, and the look on his face had been priceless! But why had he gone so far over the line? When had he assumed it was okay to unload on me like that? she wondered. She knew if they were going to make it from here, some things had to change. There was no way she would put up with that kind of behavior when they were married.
lt was 2 am when she had finally fallen asleep, and she was awakened by her phone ringing at 10 am. It was Mindy calling about their planned trip to the bridal store. Leigh had entirely forgotten about it, but not that Mindy had blabbed to Gene about where she was last night. She begged off, and they rescheduled for the following Saturday. Gene had called soon after, and she’d promptly hung up on him. But on the second call, he was pleading intensely, and she listened.
“Leigh, I’m sorry, okay?” he had begged. “I was just shocked, thrown a curve ball, swing and a miss.” This was greeted with silence from Leigh.
“Are you there?” he asked.
“I’m here,” she responded flatly.
“So what do I have to do?”
“If you have to ask…” she replied, sighing heavily.
In the end, he had said enough – which with him, as always, was a lot - to convince her, and that’s why she was here. And she was aware that she was not entirely innocent. Although nothing of consequence had happened between her and Kyle, it was only because of interruptions. She knew that, in her current state of vulnerability - for whatever reason that was; she was still working on it - a kiss, at least, could and would happen if she spent any more time alone with him. She also understood that, given her weakness for him, she would have to avoid Kyle from this point forward, no matter what it took, if she was going to make her relationship with Gene work. She had put considerable thought into her feelings last night and today, and she had decided she was not going to throw away all she and Gene had been, and were, over her passing infatuation with Kyle or Gene’s explosion. But Gene had to change, and she felt she owed him the chance to prove that he could. It was something they could work out, he had said earlier today, and she sincerely believed that was possible.
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