by Korry Smith
I grabbed the belt loops of his jeans and yanked his hips towards me. “It made you horny too.”
Alex bowed his head down, faintly trailing his mouth along my jaw and up to my ear. He spoke softly, causing the tiny wisp of hairs on the nape of my neck to stand up on all ends. “You’re the one who makes me horny. It doesn’t matter if you’re stealing tape, shooting my gun, or doing the laundry. I’ll be there watching you and fighting the urge to bend you over.”
My lids closed as he nibbled on my ear and pulled the lobe into his mouth. “Why are you such a tease?”
“Did I tease you today?”
Alex was a master of getting me off with his fingers, but I always wanted more.
“No,” I breathed, his hands gripping my breasts hard as he thrust into me. He was pinning me against a wall, and the rough concrete was putting deep impressions into my back. “You tease me in other ways.”
“How so?” Alex nipped the skin on my neck.
Sliding my hand in between us, I rubbed the front of his pants and felt his growing bulge. He grabbed my wrist and pulled it away, proving my point.
“You see what I mean?”
“I’m not trying to be an asshole, Mad,” he said, taking a step back and running his hands through his hair. “I’m not used to this.”
“Used to what exactly? Having a girl touch you?”
“No, used to this!” He waved his hand at me. “You! Us! Having to be conscious of someone other than me and making sure that their needs are taken care of before mine.”
“Alex, it’s just sex.”
He glared at me. “It’s not just fucking sex.”
“Fine. It’s not just sex, but it’s not some space shuttle launch either.”
He smirked.
“It’s because I’m seventeen, right? And you can’t fathom that someone like me would have any life experience.”
He did a combo of nodding and shrugging.
“Okay. Let me see if I can understand this. I’m old enough to boost cars, and maybe or maybe not steal a roll of tape, but I’m too young to have sex with you?”
“Woman!” He growled. “I didn’t fucking say that.”
“What is it then? My virginity? Are you afraid it’s contagious?”
“No.”
“I’m not attached to it if that’s what you’re worried about, okay? I’m not one of those girls who sees it as something valuable or worth keeping until marriage. It’s not like this is the sixteen-hundreds, and my family will get an extra goat for it. If anything, it’s a pain in my ass. No one seems to want to take it.”
Alex pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jesus, kid.”
“Don’t call me a kid.”
He looked up at me wide-eyed and hurt. “I’m not saying you’re a kid. It’s just what I call you.”
“Don’t call me kid,” I repeated, and forcefully brushed past him. “Take me home.”
I stormed down the street, passing a few guys who wanted to approach me, but I wasn’t tipsy and giggling drunk. They knew that they had no chance, and sensed if they tried to mess with me, I would cut their stupid dicks off. The one guy who did have a chance with me refused to pull the trigger.
My anger was boiling over, and my frustration was at its peak, but not necessarily all having to do with Alex. It was just everything. Why was I always reminded that I was too young for him? When did it not become an issue?
In a few years, our age gap wouldn’t be a big deal. There was a shit load of couples with fifteen to twenty years between them. I couldn’t understand why Alex was focusing on something that wouldn’t matter in ten days.
The parking garage was packed wall to wall with cars, and it took me a second to find the Chevelle. It was a relief to see her. All I wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed. This night did not turn out like I hoped it would.
When I glanced back to look for Alex, he was a few strides behind me and coming fast. My heart sped up, and my breathing ceased. God, I loved pissing him off. The fury that tensed his muscles, tightening his fists, and hardening his features was sexy as all hell.
“What the fuck are you doing to me?” He shouted, and it echoed off the concrete walls.
“Hello? I’m trying to jump your bones every two seconds.”
“I should have fucked you by now,” he grumbled to himself, frantically pacing and running his hands through his hair.
“You know what? You keep saying that,” I said, and waved a hand over my body, “but here I stand, still fully dressed and un-fucked. Soo…what?”
Alex’s head snapped up, and the manic pacing stopped. His hand reached out for mine. “Come here.”
“What?” Stubborn as ever, I folded my arms over my chest and refused to give in to him. “No.”
Alex didn’t look at me; his eyes trained on something lying in the distance. He shoved his hand more forcefully at me and grunted. “Come on.”
“Fine,” I growled, pushing myself off the car and taking his hand.
He was pulling me through the garage, speed walking and glancing around every few seconds. When I asked where we were going, he just shushed me.
Finally, we reached the other side and Alex came to a halt. He pointed to the far back corner. “There.”
“What am I looking at?” I asked, scanning the cars, but not seeing anything fancy or special.
“That’s your boost,” he said.
“My boost?” My brows knitted together in a skeptical bunch as I stared up at him. “I thought we were waiting until I was ready.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “You want to go from zero to ninety in a day? Well, I’m having you steal a car that can go from zero to ninety in three-point-six seconds.”
“Are you kidding?” My heart raced. “Well, what car?”
He bent down and wrapped his arms around my body. “The black one in the corner.”
I squinted, searching in vain for that car, but everything stopped when I realized which one he wanted me to steal and I forgot how to breathe.
“Oh, my God. What is that?”
He smirked and led me towards it. “That’s a Lamborghini, kid.”
Chapter Six
They called her Gallardo.
There were no words to describe how beautiful and jaw-dropping she was. The paint was black as a moonless night and shined up like a mirror. Her sleek lines accentuated her flawlessness. Clear plexiglass covered the V10 engine that sat securely in the back of the car. Half of a million dollars was within ten feet of me, and I wanted her—badly.
“Is this car even possible to steal?” I asked, my voice dripping with doubt.
Standing a safe and reasonable distance away, she still intimidated me. My stomach twisted into tight knots as the sheer size of what we were about to do hit me full force. The anticipation and excitement coursing through my veins flushed my skin and tinted it red. I felt hot…too hot. Sweat soaked my shirt and rolled down my forehead.
Alex, on the other hand, was composed, and his eyes were everywhere: on the ceiling, at the exits, on the cars next to it, and the wall opening that led over and out into the street below. He was taking in all his surroundings.
“Yeah,” he said, sliding his hand along the side of the car and down towards the back wheel. He looked down at the end of the garage briefly before his eyes flashed up to mine. “This might be a bait car.”
“Shit,” I whispered, holding my hand out to him. “Let’s go then.”
He ignored me and continued his hands along the side, casually bumping his hip against it. The car moved slightly, and I prepared my legs to run.
“No alarm. It must be a silent one,” Alex said, rechecking the garage for people before dropping to his knees. He looked under the car, clicking his tongue in displeasure. “No LoJack, either.”
I counted them. It failed three out of the six criteria’s.
Rising to his feet, he wiped off the smudges he left on the car with the bottom of his shirt. He grabbed my hand, and we
quickly strode back to his Chevelle. He didn’t try to unlock the doors or get in; we just stood outside with our asses pressed up against his back bumper.
“We’re not leaving?” I asked, confused.
He shook his head slowly. “We are going to sit here for a minute and see if anyone comes to check on it. If there’s a silent alarm, they’ll be heading this way. I need a moment to fucking wrap my head around this.”
My guy felt uneasy about a Lamborghini sitting there with no alarm, primed and ready, and practically begging for someone to steal her. It was too good to be true. Any car thief, no matter how amateur or idiotic, would either take a pause or run away as fast as they could.
Alex chewed on his lip ring as his thoughts consumed him.
I smiled, so madly in love with how predictable and cute he was in his habits. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m wondering why the car’s parked up here? Why didn’t they go through valet? Look around, kid. There are no cameras in this garage or security guards on watch. There’s no alarm. No LoJack—well, then again, that don’t mean shit. LoJack’s are a poor man’s security system, and you’d be better off with the fucking Club. Nah. These cars have some new high-tech gadget GPS embedded underneath the engine.” He wasn’t even talking to me anymore. “And no one has passed through this garage in the last ten minutes. It’s deserted.”
Point after point, the list he held up to standards, Alex checked off his list, but it was missing the most important criteria: The risk factor of the boost. If it rated over a five, it was a no-go. This car and with these circumstances was off the charts in the risk department.
“It could be a bait car, which is very, very likely, and we could end up spending ten years of our life behind bars if we get caught,” he said.
That didn’t sound appealing.
“Or,” I hedged, sensing another possibility.
He looked down at me. “Or this could be our lucky night.”
I laughed. “Yeah, well, in that case? It’s definitely a bait car.”
Alex dug into his pocket and pulled out a quarter. He crouched and held George Washington’s face up to me.
“Heads, we say fuck it and steal it. Tails, we bail,” he said with an impish grin. “Wanna play our odds?”
Glancing back up at the car, I imagined a bright neon blinking sign over it that said, ‘Steal me.’
“Sure, why not.”
He kissed the tip of my nose and flicked the coin off his thumb. We watched in slow motion as it spun and turned in the air, landing back down into Alex’s waiting palm. He took my hand and placed the quarter in it.
It faced heads up.
“Seems like fate has decided.” He closed my fingers around it. “You’re my lucky charm now.”
I would keep it forever. The money value would never match how much it was truly worth to me.
“Okay. First things first.” Alex walked over to the driver’s side and opened the door. He reached into the backseat and pulled out a silver Slim Jim, a police scanner, a few of his ‘tools,’ and a non-scratch-paint microfiber towel from his duffel bag. “The Lambo is going to have a push-start ignition, so I want you to pop the trunk as soon as you get in. I’ll have to wire the engine to get it to start. I need you to stay focused and listen out for me to tell you when to go. After I do that, push the button. You got me?”
My mouth went dry and acute nausea was setting in—like, a sort of stage fright. I wanted to do it, but I didn’t think I could. The last time I tried stealing a car, I got a gun pointed at my head.
Granted, it all worked out in the end, but lightning doesn’t strike twice.
“I got you,” I said as he placed the long, thin Slim Jim into my awaiting hand. “What’s my time?”
“We have a minute and a half to get it unlocked and gone.”
“Hold up. You want me to boost my first car, a difficult, and possibly a bait car, all in sixty seconds?”
“You’ll have ninety seconds.” He waved off my concerns. “It’s more time than you’ll need.”
“I don’t know,” I said, biting my nails nervously. “I’m not sure if I can do it.”
“Baby,” Alex said, gripping the back of my neck, and pressing his forehead against mine. “You fucking got this. I trust you.”
The faith he had in me made me breathless. I took fistfuls of his shirt and pulled his lips down to me; kissing them softly. My courage to do what we’ve practiced for a month was still shaky, but Alex reminded me of that one sentence that I wasn’t as unprepared as I felt. I could do this. Heck, I knew how to unlock a door better than Alex and Nyx.
“Ninety seconds?” I reaffirmed.
His eyes lit up. “Starting...now.”
The clock was ticking as we jogged back up to the ‘bait car’ and foolishly took our chances. Alex kept watching as I walked up to the driver’s side and slid the Slim Jim in the window. It wasn’t as easy as the Chevelle or Nyx’s jeep, and the angle of the window made the door lock slanted. It was taking me too long, and Alex offered up tips. He told me to tilt the Slim Jim down and to the right. After fifteen seconds of trial and error, the lock clicked over. The door slid open and up, nearly hitting me in my face.
“Alex,” I shouted in a whisper at him.
“You in, kid?”
“I’m in,” I said, falling into the plush leather seats.
My hands shakily gripped the steering wheel as I glanced around, getting acquainted with my newest obsession. My mistress of the night was beautiful. The tightness of the space was cocooning me, and the bucket seat hugged and conformed to my body, making me feel snug in its embrace.
I sighed blissfully. “Hello, gorgeous.”
“Pop the trunk!” Alex poked his head into the car suddenly. It scared me, but I needed to stay focused. “You got thirty-five seconds.”
Taking a deep breath and holding it in, I pulled the trunk latch. It made a faint, robotic whine. Looking in the rearview mirror, I could see Alex working. My finger hovered over the red push-start button as I waited in complete silence for the go ahead.
Tick tock.
“Go!” Alex shouted.
I pushed start, and the car roared to life with a vibrating hum. The engine in the back shook the seats, and I laughed, thrilled and on the verge of hysterics. Everything on the dash lit up in a beautiful neon blue, red, and yellow. The touchscreen over the center console greeted me with a pleasant, ‘Good Evening’ as my seat shifted forward, and the steering wheel came down.
“Holy shit,” I said, running my fingers over it, and idly pressing buttons. The radio came on, the AC blasted away, and the car told me it was ninety-one degrees Fahrenheit outside.
“Baby, you can do that later,” Alex said as he plopped down in the passenger’s seat. He grabbed my hand and placed it on the stick shift. “Right now, you gotta fucking move.”
“Right!” I snapped back into warrior mode. Putting my foot down on the clutch, I shifted the Lambo into reverse.
Terry taught me how to drive a stick when I was fifteen, but Alex reinforced that skill with the Chevelle. He showed me how to race using a stick shift without grinding the shit out of the gears. The one thing I hadn’t prepared for was the sheer power of this car. It spun out of the parking space fast, scaring the living shit out of me. I yelled, slamming on the breaks, and nearly rear-ending the car behind us.
“Jesus!” Alex laughed.
“Sorry.” I pressed on, holding the clutch down and shifting the car into first. It jerked forward a couple of times, tires barking until we were riding smoothly.
We drove down the four spiral levels with my eyes wide and heart racing. I was hyperventilating. Alex told me to calm down. It was okay. But I knew that until we were out of there and on the road, I’ll never be able to dull my anxiety.
“Well, it’s not a bait car,” Alex said, rummaging through the glove box and side door pockets.
“What?” I glanced back and forth between him and the front windshi
eld. “How do you know?”
“We’d be arrested already.”
“That’s comforting,” I chuckled with unease as we neared the front entrance of the garage building.
The streets were empty. There were no cops, no party goers, and no source of life anywhere. It was odd. I stopped the car and looked over at Alex for some needed direction.
“Turn right,” he said, lifting his hips up and pulling out his handheld police scanner. He turned it on and adjusted the frequency. “These things are pieces of shit, but it’ll give us a heads up if this thing goes out on the wire.”
“That’s good,” I said, easing the car out into the road. It was low to the ground, and even the slightest dips and bumps, shook the car and scraped the undercarriage. I cringed, but Alex was cool as a cucumber, like always.
“Head towards the freeway. I want you to get on the one-oh-one northbound and take it up to the seventeen,” he said. “There’s rarely any cops patrolling that stretch of road.”
I nodded in response and shifted the car into second. We cruised down the street with the windows rolled up and getting stares as we passed. People would stop what they were doing and watch us. I knew how stupid it was to steal such a stunning and visible car. This thing practically screamed, ‘Look at me!’
If the cops questioned anyone, they would remember the black Lamborghini heading north on Scottsdale Road.
What the hell was Alex thinking?
Once on the freeway, I got into the fast lane and stepped on the gas. It jolted us forward with such velocity and strength; I could have sworn that we had obtained some form of whiplash.
“Baby, what in the fuck are you doing?” Alex asked a few minutes later.
“What? What’s wrong?” I glanced in the rearview mirror. There was no car in sight. “Is there a cop? Should I slow down?”
He placed his hand on my knee and nudged it forward. “Either you fucking increase your speed and show me what this baby can do, or we ditch it somewhere and call it a night. We didn’t fucking steal a two-hundred and fifty-thousand-dollar car for you to putts around in it.”
“But…” I looked down at the speedometer. “I’m going seventy-five.”