Racing For Freedom

by Bec Botefuhr

  I scream into the wheel. That asshole. I plant my foot onto the accelerator and keep going, not willing to sit back here and lose tragically. I catch Slade just as the end of the track and I kick my car down a gear or two, urging it forward. Come on, come on! He touches the finish line a second before me and my heart drops. It just drops. Oh no. Oh no. When I come to a stop, I slam my hand on the wheel. The bastard cheated.

  I watch him get out of his car and walk over to mine with a smirk so big, I want to slap it right off his face. He opens my door and leans down, grinning at me. “Hello, housemate.”

  “You cheated, you bastard!”

  “I didn’t cheat, I can’t help what Mother Nature leaves behind.”

  “You knew that was there, it’s why you laid off going ahead of me”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about Dashy, I won, fair and square. I’ll bring my things over soon.”

  “I hate you Slade!” I spit at him as he walks away.

  He waves over his shoulder and all his mates laugh and pat him on the back. Asshole. Mega asshole. Payton comes rushing over when I get out of the car.

  “What happened?”

  “He set me up!”

  “Pull out Dash, you can’t let him move in with you.”

  “Payton, you don’t know Slade. It won’t matter what I say,” I mumble, staring at him. “He’s now my new housemate.”

  “Dash, this isn’t a good idea. Your families hate each other, if your dad finds out.”

  I cup my head in my hands. “I know, but I can’t pull out of this.”

  “Just lock the doors.”

  “Payton, I live with enough taunting from Slade as it is, I don’t need anymore.”

  “This is a very bad idea Dash, you do know that right?”

  I stare at her, then over at Slade who is grinning at me from a distance. “I know, but it’s how it is.”

  She sighs and turns to look at Slade too. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Dash.”

  So did I.

  Chapter Eleven

  I sit on the kitchen counter, glaring at Slade as he walks in with his bags later that night. Kandee follows behind him, grinning and dragging a tiny bag of her own. Oh hell no, she is not staying here.

  “She’s not saying here, Slade.”

  Slade stops and stares at me. “What?”

  “You heard me. This is my place, you are renting off me. She can come and visit, but she’s not living here and I’m not ok with her staying overnight all the time either…there are some things I don’t need to hear. Through the day, occasional nights, that’s it.”

  Kandee pouts at me and I give her a rude smile, tilting my head to the side and glaring right at her.

  “Sladddde,” she whines. “You said I could.”

  He turns to her. “I didn’t say you could live here, I say you could come over sometimes. Kandee, you know I don’t like to be smothered.”

  I snort and Slade glares up at me, I give him a wide smile. He slowly turns and looks back down at Kandee.

  “Slade, can we talk in private?” she snaps.

  “No, I’m busy right now. Throw your things in my room, I have to unpack and you have to go to work.”

  “I don’t want to,” she pouts.

  “Too bad.”

  I watch Kandee slink off with a sour look on her face. Slade follows after her and I watch in amusement, as he sweet talks her out of the house and convinces her to go to work. She grips his ass at the door and presses herself up against him seductively, murmuring something into his ear that has him grinning and pressing a very erotic kiss to her lips. I turn away, flushing. When she’s gone, he turns and grins at me.

  “Are you blushing, Dash?”

  I meet his gaze. “No, why the hell would I be blushing?”

  “Dashy has never been kissed so good, she got hot on the inside and the outside, right?”

  I narrow my eyes and cross my arms. “Sure I have.”

  “By who?”

  I grin, slowly and no doubt sexily. “You.”

  His eyes widen, yeah, take that Slade Devaroe, right back at ya! He tilts his head to the side and slowly drags his bottom lip into his mouth. God damn him, he knows I love that. I grin at him and slide off the bench before he can say anymore, then I saunter into my room and shut the door. That’s one for Dash! I know I shouldn’t, but I feel a warmth swell inside my chest that I haven’t felt for a long time.

  I slip into the shower and change into some fresh clothes, and then I head out into the kitchen to begin something for dinner. I am mid-way through digging around in the fridge when Slade walks out. I turn and stare over at him, and I can feel my skin begin to heat. He’s fresh from the shower, and his hair is pressed sexily against his forehead. He smells so dammed divine, I want to lick him and he looks…well he just looks god dammed sexy.

  “What’s for dinner?”

  I smile at him. “I don’t know, I’m creating.”

  He leans against the counter and his muscles move as he takes me in. I look away quickly, steadying my breathing. This could be harder than I first thought.

  “Dashy creates?”

  “I do sometimes.”

  “I cook too, sometimes. You never know, you might get lucky.”

  My cheeks flush and he notices, and begins to chuckle softly.

  “You always were a blusher, Dashy.” He murmurs, reaching up and shocking me by touching my cheek.

  The front door opens suddenly, and he drops his hand quickly. I jump back startled. What the hell did he just do that for? I quickly turn my eyes to the door to see Lucas carrying a take away bag and staring at us in shock. God, that couldn’t have looked good at all. When he sees Slade, his face falls. I know Lucas and I aren’t together, but I also know it would hurt him to think I was with Slade.

  “What the hell is he doing here, Dasha?”

  Dasha. Uh oh.

  “He’s…um…”

  “Her new housemate,” Slade finishes for me.

  “What?”

  “It’s a long story, he needed somewhere to live and I needed a housemate.” I say quickly.

  “Can we talk, Dasha?”

  “I’m cooking,” I mumble quietly, not wanting to get into this now. It’s not really up to Lucas who I have in my house.

  “Can we just talk about this, in private, please?”

  I close my eyes. “Not now, Lucas, please. It’s been a long day.”

  He nods his head, hurt. “Fine, I’ll leave you to it then.”

  He turns and storms out the door. I sigh, not wanting to fight with him. I put the knife down, shoot a look at Slade and then follow Lucas out the door.

  “Lucas, wait, please!”

  He spins around and I can see he’s hurt. I never meant to hurt him. God I’m such an ass. I grip his arms and force him to look at me. I don’t have to explain myself to Lucas, but I’m going to because he’s done so much for me and I don’t want to lose him.

  “I’m sorry ok? It’s only for a while, he had nowhere else to go.”

  “He’s not your problem Dash,” Lucas whispers. “He hurt you and he’ll do it again. You are setting yourself up for pain.”

  “Look, we were friends a long time ago and I know him. He’s not going to be here half the time anyway, neither will I.”

  “I can’t change your mind on this, that’s quite clear, but I wish you would listen to me Dash. This isn’t a good idea.”

  “It’s only for a while.”

  He sighs and closes his eyes. “I have to go.”

  “But you came over to eat…”

  He opens his eyes and forces a smile. “I know, but…I just need to go.”

  “Please don’t be mad at me Lucas, I’m sorry.”

  He shakes his head, but I’m not buying it. “I’m not. I’ll call you later ok?”

  He turns and gets into his car without another word. I sigh and turn, walking back inside. Slade is stirring the chicken I put on the pan and I smile
weakly at him.

  “How long have you been with him?”

  “I’m not with him.”

  He raises his brows. “You do realize he’s in love with you, don’t you?”

  I nod weakly. “Yeah I know.”

  He stares at me for a long moment, then turns back to the stirring. I walk over and take the spoon from his hand, and our fingers brush together. I shudder and quickly pull away, daring to peek up at him. He’s looking down at me, his eyes intense and searching my face. Then, he pulls himself together and walks out of the kitchen.

  “I’m going out for a while.”

  “You don’t have to tell me,” I say in a small voice.

  He stops and looks over at me. “No, I suppose I don’t.”

  Then he takes his keys and leaves. What the hell just happened?

  Chapter Twelve

  “Hey Dashy,” Slade says, falling in step beside me, as we walk down the stone paths towards class.

  “Hey Slade, what’s up?”

  “Pizza and movies tonight, my parents are away.”

  I beam at him. It’s not often Slade and I get to hang out freely. Most of the time we have to hide our friendship. Occasionally his parents go away and we manage to get a night of laughing and fun together.

  “I love when your parents go away,” I grin.

  He laughs and pushes me lightly. “Me too.”

  “Hi Slade.”

  We both turn to see Mary sauntering over in her tiny excuse of a uniform. She swishes her long blonde hair from side to side as she smiles up at Slade.

  “Hey Mary.”

  “I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies tonight?”

  Is she seriously pretending like I’m not here?

  “Nah, I’m hanging out with Dash.”

  Mary turns her eyes to me and runs them over my body as though I’m nothing more than a pathetic child she’s forced to acknowledge.

  “Right, well, another night then?”

  “Maybe.” Slade says.

  She nods her head and turns her nose up before walking off. I look at Slade and then burst into a fit of giggles. He shoves me lightly.

  “Hey now, go easy on me Dashy.”

  “Movies Slade?” I mock in a high pitched voice.

  “Aw, go easy.”

  I grip his shirt and crush it in my hands, pressing myself against him. “I love you Slade Devaroe, take me, take me home to your bed.”

  He laughs and tugs my hair playfully, titling my head back.

  “You are a mean girl, Dasha Jewel.”

  I giggle and press a smacking kiss to his lips.

  “Yeah well, you love me.”

  “Like a stomach ache.”

  I am curled up on the couch, thinking about Slade. Part of me wonders if we could ever form that sort of friendship again. We were so close, so happy, so in tune with each other. He always knew how I felt, even when I didn’t say a word. He always knew how to make me laugh, when I was done and he always fixed my hurts. We just fit, everything about us just fit so well. I feel my eyes burn as I think about it, so I distract myself by flicking through the channels.

  I find a tragic love story, and end up falling asleep half way through. I wake much later on when the house is dark. I hear someone in the kitchen so I sit up quietly and peer over. The light from the fridge is shining over Slade, who is leaning in and ruffling through it. I open my mouth and it forms a big ‘O’ but it’s not because of the fact that he’s wearing no shirt and looks utterly stunning, it’s because of the faint bruises I see all down his back.

  I stand quietly and move closer, squinting my eyes. Oh god, there’s so many of them. He’s got them on his ribs, the middle of his back, even up near his shoulders. What the hell happened? Did he get into a fight? His face is perfect, not a mark. I don’t understand.

  “Slade?” I whisper.

  He spins around so quickly the milk carton in his hand skitters across the floor. I gasp when I see his chest, more bruises. He sees my eyes and quickly shuts the fridge so we’re in the dark.

  “Slade, what…”

  “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

  “Slade…”

  “Fuck off Dasha, just fuck off. It’s none of your business.”

  Then he’s gone and I’m standing in the darkness panting. What the hell happened to him? Whatever it was, it runs deep.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I wake the next morning and find Slade already awake. He’s in the kitchen, leaning against the bench with a new carton of milk in his hands. He waves it at me when he sees me and I smile. “Milk, thanks,” I murmur.

  “I couldn’t leave you without milk, it wouldn’t be very kind of a guest to do that.”

  He emphasizes the word guest and I wince. He must have heard me talking to Lucas last night when I said he wasn’t staying long.

  “I didn’t mean that last night, you can stay as long as you need.”

  He pours the milk into his coffee and then nods at me, indicating the coffee mug.

  “Please.”

  “So I’m not just a guest?”

  “Look, Slade, we had a deal and you won. I’m not going to kick you out, I’d rather have a housemate I know, than a housemate I don’t.”

  “Fair enough,” he says meeting my gaze. “Your friend doesn’t seem happy about that.”

  “He’ll be fine, he’ll get over it, I’m sure.”

  “How come you aren’t together with him?”

  “It’s….complicated.”

  Slade tilts his head to the side and stares at me intently. “How?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  He sips his coffee, still staring at me with those stupid aqua eyes. I sip mine too, looking away.

  “You’ve slept with him though, haven’t you?”

  I turn my eyes back to his and swallow, how does he know that? Is it so obvious?

  “Once and I told him it couldn’t happen again. The feelings aren’t there. I care about him, I love him as a friend, and yeah, there are times I’ve wanted more, but it’s not enough. I won’t hurt him.”

  “You’re too good a person, Dash.”

  “Maybe, or maybe I’ve just lived with enough hurt to know I don’t want to inflict it on anyone else.”

  His eyes grow pained and he looks away. Great. Time to change the subject.

  “What about you Slade, why haven’t you settled down and moved in with someone?”

  “Been busy with racing.”

  “Have you lived with your dad the whole time?” I ask, sliding my bottom onto the bench.

  “No, when we moved away I moved out on my own, but when he wanted to come back here, I knew I’d have to live with him for a few months.”

  “What about Kandee?”

  He snorts. “What about her?”

  “Well you two seem…err…close.”

  He laughs and the sound fills my ears with joy, because it’s a real laugh, not a mocking laugh. “Kandee is fun, Dashy. That’s it.”

  “Oh.”

  “Why, you up for the challenge of winning my heart?”

  I smirk at him and he gives me a warm smile, the first I’ve seen in a long, long time.

  “Nah, I think I’ll leave that up to Kandee.”

  He chuckles. “Scared?”

  “Of you? Nope!”

  “You should be,” he murmurs.

  “I know you all too well, Slade.”

  He goes silent a moment and then says, “Not anymore you don’t.”

  I look up at him and search his face. His features are hard now, and he’s looking down into his coffee. It’s like he has so much he wants to say, but can’t.

  “Slade, what are those bruises on your body?”

  He jerks and shoots me a glare so horrible I flinch. “None of your business, ok?”

  “I just…”

  “Don’t, Dasha. My life isn’t yours anymore. You know nothing about me now.”

  I look away painfully as he turns and walks
out of the room. He’s right though, I don’t know anything about him anymore and it hurts me. It hurts me to my very core.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I hate today, I’ve hated this same day every year for three years now. It’s the day it all happened. It’s the day my life changed. It’s the day my father’s life changed. It’s the day we lost her, the person who made everything beautiful. I find it hard to drag myself out of bed, I don’t want to face it. I want to sleep it away and hope I can just move onto the next day quickly. I can’t do that though, I have to go and see her grave, to tell her I love her, even if she can’t hear me.

  I throw my legs out of bed and peer around the dark room, I don’t know how to deal with this day sometimes. Each year, it almost seems to get worse instead of better. I stand and walk into the shower, turning it on. The water is freezing cold and I curse. Damn Slade, he always uses the hot water. I storm out of the room with a robe wrapped around me and pound on his bedroom door. A moment later he answers it, fully dressed. I can see Kandee behind him, sprawled out on his bed butt naked. Nice.

  “You used all the hot water!” I snap before he can speak.

  “Yeah, Kandee and I had a nice…long…shower.” He smirks.

  “Fuck it Slade, it’s not your house! I don’t want a shower in cold water! You’re paying extra for that!”

  He raises his brows at me. “Someone’s in a fine mood this morning.”

  “Fuck you!”

  He narrows his eyes now. “What’s the problem Dash? I just used the water, sorry, I won’t do it again.”

  “The problem is you bringing that little…thing…around to my house and using all my water and eating all my food. You’re not paying much to live here Slade, the least you could do is be respectful.”

  He moves away from the door and I’m about to curse at his rudeness when he returns with a wad of cash.

  “Here,” he mutters, thrusting at me.

  “I don’t want your money.”

  He snorts. “Wow Dash, you’re really in fine form this morning. You don’t want my money but you want to abuse me because I waste your money.”