Another Ride
by Melanie Brown
Copyright  © 2018 Melanie Brown

Sean was just trying to figure out what to have for dinner.

 

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I was in the kitchen looking in the freezer trying to decide which frozen dinner to heat up, when the doorbell rang. I looked up at the wall clock and it was ten minutes to six. It was Friday night and I knew my sister Kat was expecting her boyfriend to pick her up, but this seemed a bit early.

From down the hall, Kat called out. “Can you answer that? It might be Liam. I’m still getting ready.”

I grumbled under my breath. I really didn’t want to greet Liam. I don’t know why Kat liked him. Mom, Dad and I all thought he was an asshole. Seems all her boyfriends have been assholes. There was no one else in the house but me to answer the door as Mom and Dad were busy burning up their airline miles on a Vegas trip.

When I opened the door, I was taken completely by surprise. Instead of Liam, Scott O’Reilly was standing there with a sheepish grin. I hadn’t seen him in a few weeks when he picked me up for a ride up and down the drag. I figured he’d found a girl to go riding with instead. That was fine. We didn’t hang out with the same crowd anyway.

“Scott!” I exclaimed with surprise in my voice. “What a surprise. I didn’t expect to see you.”

Shuffling his feet for a second, Scott apologized, “Sorry I didn’t call first. I just found out about an event and thought you might want to ride with me.”

I tilted my head. “A ride? Is this another race?”

Scott shook his head. “Oh no. Ever since Tony’s arrest, we’ve backed off on the races for a bit. This thing I’m going to is a poker run.”

“Poker run?” I’d heard of them, but didn’t really know anything about it.

Scott smiled. “It’s an event where you pay an entrance fee, and in this case, you’re handed a paper with clues where each checkpoint in town is. You go to a checkpoint and play some silly game to pick up a card. You have to hit the checkpoints in order. And then you return to the start. Best hand wins fifty percent, then thirty and finally twenty percent of the registration fee. I’ve been on one before and it was fun.”

I nodded. “Cool.” I squinted at him. “So this isn’t a date or anything?”

Looking shocked, Scott said, “No! Of course not. I need someone to read the clues and help me figure out where to go. And don’t be stupid. I mean you’re a guy. So it’s not a date. How could you think that?”

I laughed. “Well, the last time I rode with you, we went to a movie and out to eat and you paid for everything. Kinda like a date.”

Scott waved his hand dismissively. “That’s crazy. I was just treating you for helping me win the race.”

I folded my arms. “When you brought me back home, you kissed me right where you’re standing now.”

Scott’s face turned several shades of red. “It just seemed natural. I can’t help it if you’re cute.”

I laughed. “Thank you. I think. What time does this poker run start?”

Scott looked at his phone for a moment. “In about an hour. But everyone’s starting to gather at the start now.”

I unfolded my arms. “Well, I did nothing to help you win that race, but sure. I’ll ride with you. I was just going to play some games tonight anyway. Let’s go.”

Scott grinned at me. “You were my good luck charm. But can you do me a favor?”

I wrinkled my brown as I started to close the front door. “Like what?”

“I know this sounds weird,” said Scott as he looked down at his feet. “But can you put on something more girly?”

I stopped and gave Scott a quizzical look. “You want me to dress as a girl?”

Scott nodded. “Yeah. Well, everyone else is having their girlfriends act as navigator.”

I folded my arms again. “I’m not your girlfriend. Remember? I’m not a girl.”

Looking at me with puppy-dog eyes, Scott pleaded, “Please? This once? I don’t have anyone else to go with me.”

When I’m alone, I’ve gotten into my sister’s clothes and make-up. I enjoy feeling girly. More than once I’ve spent the whole day wearing Kat’s clothes as we’re almost the same size. I love putting on her prom dress and daydreaming I’m at prom. I doubt I’ll be going to my own senior prom and I sure as hell won’t be wearing her dress.

I sighed. I looked up at the hot July sun and opened the front door again. “Okay Scott. This once. Come inside while I find something to wear.”

Scott grinned as he entered my house. “Thanks Sean. I really appreciate this.”

I motioned to the couch and turned on the TV. “Give me a few minutes. Make yourself at home.”

Scott sat on the couch and grabbed the channel changer. “Oh, I know how long it takes girls to get ready for a date.”

I stopped before going down the hallway and turned back to him. “This isn’t a date.”

Scott nodded and waved as he changed the TV to a cartoon channel.

Kat was in the hall bathroom we both shared. The door was open, but I knocked on it anyway. She looked up from applying her make-up. She was going a bit heavier than normal, doing the sculpting and all that.

“Can you tell Liam he’s early? I’m still not ready yet.” Kat dripped some highlighter or something on her cheeks and started smoothing it in with a sponge.

“It’s not Liam. Remember that guy I told you about that I rode with him during a race?” I just stood in the hall looking into the bathroom watching Kat get ready. It must be a really big date.

Kat looked over at me. “Oh. Your boyfriend?” She giggled.

I frowned. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

Kat looked at me as if I was an idiot. “You’ve been on two dates with him already and he’s here for a third. Sounds like a boyfriend to me.”

I frowned deeper. “Those weren’t dates. One was the race and the other time he just wanted someone to ride with. Tonight he wants me to be his navigator for a poker run.”

Kat looked at me and laughed. “Are all the other navigators crossdressers too?”

I scowled, “I’m not a crossdresser.”

Kat looked down her nose at me. “Oh get off it, Sean. I know you get into my stuff.”

I sighed heavily. “Okay okay. Can I borrow some of your clothes like that black denim mini, and maybe some make-up?”

Kat laughed. “Want to get all dolled up for your boyfriend?”

I sighed again. “I’m not getting ‘dolled up’. Why do you have to make it sound so sissy-ish?”

Kat shook her head. “Putting on a skirt and make-up is getting dolled up. And it’s not exactly a masculine activity either.”

I folded my arms. “Well. Can I?”

Kat giggled at me. “Help yourself. The black dress laid out on my bed is for my date tonight. But stay out of my lingerie, okay?”

“Thanks!” I exclaimed with a grin and sprinted to her room.

Despite what she said, I went straight to her dresser and pulled out her lacy black panties. I always love wearing them. And then I removed the matching black bra. If I was going to dress as a girl, no point in going halfway. Neatly folded in her dresser was a black Hello Kitty t-shirt. I took that and found her black denim skirt. From her closet, I took her strappy high heeled sandals. Like I said. No point going halfway. I tossed the items on my bed, took off my shirt and went back to the bathroom.

“Can I borrow the bathroom real quick so I can do my make-up?” I asked from the hallway. “It won’t take long. I’m just going to do eyeliner and mascara. I don’t need a full blown paint job like you’re doing. Maybe you can help me.”

Kat frowned at me. “If you have any more dates with this guy, you’re going to want your make-up perfect too.” She shushed me as I started to protest her comment. “Let me do your make-up real quick. Even if you won’t call it a date, you still want to look hot. We probably should get you your own make-up too. Too bad we don’t have time to do your nails.”

She studied my face for a few moments and then started to expertly apply foundation and blush. Saying that since I was a teen, I could get away with it, she used heavy eye liner with wings and smoky eye shadow. She turned me to face the mirror as she started doing something with my hair.

Kat grinned. “Take a look, kiddo.”

I smiled wide in amazement. “That’s awesome, Kat! Thank you so much.” I leaned into the mirror. I had protested her using false eyelashes on me. “You don’t think the eye lashes are a bit over-kill?”

Still fussing with my hair, Kat said, “No. You look great. You got your ears pierced last summer, right? I still can’t believe Dad let you do that. Anyway, go get my large hoop earrings and we’ll put them in.”

I returned to the bathroom with the earrings. Kat started to reach for them. “I’ve worn these before.” I waved her off.

Kat shook her head and grinned. “Sean. You are one hot chick. You’ll have every boy drooling over you.”

I couldn’t believe how I looked when I stared at myself in the mirror. All I had originally wanted was just a look that suggested I was a girl. But this was going to be my first time to go out dressed in public. As my Dad likes to say, “Go big or go home.”

“Thanks Kat! Now I need to get dressed.” I ran off towards my room.

I quickly undressed and fetched the gaff I’d made from its hiding place and slid on the pair of very sexy black panties. Scott was never going to see them, but I’d know they were there. After putting on the bra, I filled the cups with balloons of dried rice I kept in my dresser.

There was a knock on the door and it suddenly opened. I almost died sitting on my bed wearing only a bra and panties. Kat’s grin faded as she looked at me. “I thought I said stay out of my lingerie. Now I’ll have to burn those.”

I grunted a laugh. “Well then you’ll have to burn your whole dresser because I’ve worn all your bras and panties.”

Kat rolled her eyes. “Sheesh. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I went to the kitchen and saw your boyfriend. He’s cute. I approve. He’s cuter than Liam which annoys me. I have to say, what I’m not sure I approve of is my brother dating boys.”

I scowled at her. “You’re approval isn’t required. And we’re not dating.”

Kat looked over at the clothes I had laid out on my bed and smirked. “No. Of course not.” She exited my room and closed the door.

Several minutes later I was fully dressed in my sister’s clothes. As I’d worn them many times before, I walked confidently out of my room. I noticed Kat had gone back to her room and I knocked on the door.

She opened the door slight and looked at me with a broad smile. “Do you need something, pretty girl?”

I felt weird standing in front of my sister wearing her things. “Do you have a purse I can borrow?

Kat looked me up and down. “Sure. I have a little black purse with a long strap that’s perfect for your outfit. She disappeared from the door and returned a moment later with a purse. “I put a couple of condoms in there for you.”

Through clenched teeth I seethed, “We’re not having sex!”

Kat laughed. “Just like you’re not on a date with a very cute boy. Have fun, sis.” She closed her door.

I took a brush from the bathroom as well as the lipstick Kat had used on me and returned to my room to add my cell phone, and some money to the purse. I stood there for a moment and took a deep breath. Go big or go home.

I walked out into the living room. “Sorry I took so long.”

Scott looked at me with his mouth hanging open. “Oh man. It was definitely worth the wait. You’re beautiful! I can’t believe it.”

Feeling annoyed by his stare, I said, “Ready to go?”

Scott glanced at his phone. “Yeah. We need to go right now.” He kept staring and shook his head. “Babe, you’re like totally hot.”

“Thanks,” I said, wondering if I had gone over-board with it.

As Scott took my hand and started leading to his car, a beautiful royal blue Dodge Challenger Hellcat, he looked over at me and shook his head. “That’s quite a look, Sean. Do you do this a lot? Dressing up I mean?”

I shook my head. “No,” I lied. I pointed at my face and said with a laugh, “This is what happens when you ask your sister to help.”

Scott opened the passenger door of his car. “Well, she does excellent work. It was hard to remember before that you’re not really a girl. It’ll be next to impossible now.”

I carefully slipped into the passenger seat and then fumbled with the five-point belt system.

Scott jumped into the driver’s seat and he cranked over the engine. A moment later we sped off in a cloud of burning rubber and a squeal of tortured tires. He punched up the volume of his satellite radio and lowered his shades.

He looked over at me and smiled. “Thanks again for riding with me. And thanks for the get up. I really wasn’t expecting you to come out a complete, sexy babe.”

I laughed. “Me either.”

Scott’s face took on a serious look as he weaved through traffic. It actually started to frighten me a bit. Last thing I wanted was to wind up in the emergency room looking this way.

I placed my palm on the dashboard. “We have plenty of time, right? No big rush?”

Scott laughed. “Are you sure you’re not a girl?”

I frowned. “I just want to get there in one piece.”

Shaking his head, Scott downshifted and whipped his car over in the next lane behind a car going the speed limit. “Happy?”

“Yes.” I exhaled. I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath.

Scott grinned. “Good. Because we’re at the mall parking lot anyway.” With a squeal of tires, Scott made a tight turn into the parking lot.

I shot Scott an annoyed glance. “You don’t have to impress me, you know.”

Scott grinned. “I know. Still fun though.”

We drove slowly through the parking lot towards a large group of cars parked in a rough circle. The stereo was blaring. Scott rolled his car to a stop next to a cherry red mustang GT. He killed the engine and set his shades on top of his head. “We’re here.”

There was a large number of other teens milling around the parked cars. There was a table set up in the center of the parked cars. From Scott’s car, I could see a couple of people were seated at the table; the breeze stirring papers on the table. The people seated looked like adults. In fact, they looked like they were wearing police uniforms.

Scott opened his door. “Let’s go.”

I suddenly got real nervous. Before, I was just mistaken for a girl and while that was embarrassing, I knew it wasn’t anything I was actively doing. But now. Now, I was wearing quite a bit of make-up, big girly earrings, a short skirt and high heeled sandals. Now I was presenting myself as a girl. I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off.

I took a deep breath. I put my fingers on the door latch. In the back of my head I thought, “Go big or go home. You got this girl. You’ve worn heels a lot over the years. You’ve done it all before.” I swallowed hard. “Just not in front of others.”

I opened the car door and looked at the milling crowd. Nobody was looking at me as, keeping my knees together, I slid one leg out the door and planted the heel firmly on the parking lot’s asphalt. Scott extended his hand to me and waited. He supported me as I carefully stood out of the car. A light breeze caught my hair and swirled between my legs. A new confidence pulsed through me as I drew myself to my full height, which was still a head shorter than Scott.

Every boy… every boy stopped what they were doing and stopped chatting with their friends and turned to look at me. It was like I had some kind of power. Every girl turned to look at me and assessed me. I wasn’t embarrassed. In fact, I felt empowered. For one brief moment I was in control. I had everyone’s attention and I found that intoxicating.

I wondered if Kat feels like this? While I’d never admit it to her, she’s actually quite beautiful and has no trouble getting guys to eat of her hand.

Scott took my hand again and we walked towards the table. I consciously kept my stride shorter than usual so I could strut more confidently in the heels. I enjoyed seeing boy’s heads turn as we walked past them.

Standing next to the table was Scott’s rival, Tony Marino. He was bent over slightly, filling out a sheet of paper. Standing next to him was Cindy. She scowled when she saw us walking up to them.

She glanced at Scott and hissed, “You still dating that cunt?”

Before Scott could say anything, Tony pinched her arm. “Hey. Remember what I told you? None of that bitch stuff. We’re here to have fun.” He nodded at Scott and me.

One of the men shook a pencil at Cindy. “Please behave, miss. This is a family event.”

I recognized one of the men sitting at the table. It was the cop that had stopped Scott the night of the race to question him. I whispered in Scott’s ear, “Is this sanctioned by the police?”

Scott nodded and replied, “Yep. Occasionally the police will sponsor a Gymkhana or some other event like this one to keep the street rodders from doing illegal racing.”

Tony put the document down that he’d been filling out along with a hundred dollar bill and walked up to Scott and punched his shoulder. Grinning, he exclaimed, “Puta! I’m winning my money back tonight!”

Frowning, Officer Jenkins said, “Same thing applies to you too, Marino.”

Tony turned to Officer Jenkins. “My apologies officer. Oh. And may I say that the city jail is surprisingly clean and comfortable.”

“Try to avoid being our guest again, okay?” Officer Jenkins smirked. He smiled at Scott. “Mr. O’Reilly. Good to see you and your lovely lady out for a bit of fun for a change.”

Picking up a form, Scott said, “Why Office Jenkins. I’ve only seen some of these very dangerous and highly illegal street races from the sidelines.”

Officer Jenkins sneezed into his hand with what sounded very much like “Horseshit.” As Scott filled out the form, Officer Jenkins said, “You know the rules. Have your navigator figure out the clues and drive safely to that location. If you get caught going over the speed limit or driving in an unsafe manner, you get pulled over, given a ticket and you forfeit your entry fee. Are we clear?”

Scott set his form down along with the one hundred dollar entrance fee. “Clear as day, sir. I always drive safely.” Scott frowned at me when I giggled.

Several more people entered the event after us and as the sun was getting low in the sky, Officer Jenkins picked up a bullhorn and said, “Drivers! May I have your attention? We are about to start. A few points to remember. While this isn’t precisely a timed event, you are clocked in and out at every checkpoint. No points for finishing first. If we determine that you arrived at a checkpoint too quickly, you’ll be disqualified. If you miss a checkpoint, you’re disqualified. If you drive in an unsafe manner, you’ll be disqualified. If we find alcohol in your car, you’ll be disqualified. Any fights, stabbings or shootings, all parties involved will be disqualified. And arrested. Okay. First car out in five minutes. Line ‘em up and good luck.”

Scott handed me a piece of paper as we walked back to his car. “Start trying to figure out those locations.”

I looked over at him. “We don’t have to wait until we’re officially started?”

Scott shook his head as he opened my door. “No rule on that. But we do have to follow that specific order.” We’d also gotten two paper sheets with numbers on them to tape to the side of the car.

I stepped into the car studying the sheet. “Some of these I’ll need your help on. But the first one, I know exactly where that is.”

After he got into the car, Scott fired up the engine. He leaned over and kissed me. “I hope you’re right. Let’s go.” He chirped the tires for a moment and then slowly maneuvered his car to join the lineup of cars. I just smiled at him, bothered by the fact that his kiss didn’t bother me.

After we got our card filled out with the time we left the starting line, I said as we approached the parking lot exit. “Turn left when you get to the street. Um… go about three blocks and turn right. Go straight until I say turn left.”

Several minutes later we pulled into the parking lot of a closed down convenience store. A car with the number seven taped to the side was just pulling away. A man walked up and poked his head through the car window and said directly to me. “Miss. Just follow me so you can get your card.”

I got out of the car, careful not to flash my panties at anyone, though it was already dark out. As I followed the man, I heard Scott getting out of the car. We walked up to a toilet full of water and brown floaty things. There were some metal things along with more brown things at the toilet’s bottom.

Cheerfully, the man pointed at the toilet. “Just reach inside and pull out a number, miss.”

I recoiled. “I’m not putting my hand in there!”

Scott laughed. “Those aren’t real turds, Sean. Get a number and let’s go.”

I closed my eyes and grimaced. I hesitantly slid my hand into the cold water inside the toilet. I felt disgusted as I felt a few squishy things until I finally found a piece of metal. With relief, I pulled my hand out and gave the man the number.

He looked at the number and announced “Twenty-five.” He put the metal thing down and wrote the time and “7S” which I later learned meant “Seven of Spades”.

I looked at Scott. “Is that good or bad?”

He just shrugged. “Too early to tell.”

When we stopped at the third checkpoint, there were about four cars parked there and there were several ice chests out. When we parked, the people manning the checkpoint waved us over and just said, “Grab a soda and take a break.”

We got our sodas and were sitting on a bench a little way from where the cars were parked. Tony walked up and sat down next to me. He pointed at Scott’s car… the one that had beat his in the race a few weeks ago. “Nice wheels man. But I know if we hadn’t hit that oil, I would have beat you.”

Scott laughed as he sat down on the other side of me. “In your dreams, Marino. I had you from the start.”

Tony laughed as well. “Just keep telling yourself that mi amigo.”

Tony looked over his shoulders, glanced around and then put his hand on my back. “You know that Cindy is a real bitch. Tell you what. You can have her back and I’ll take this one.”

Scott shook his head slightly and pushed Tony’s hand away. He put his arm around my shoulders and drew me close to him. “Not a chance, dude.”

Suddenly there was soda running down Tony’s hair and face. Cindy had walked up and heard him before any of us had noticed her in the dark. She dropped the empty can on Tony’s head. “So I’m a bitch, am I? I’m so done with you. Cabrón!” She turned on her heel and stormed away.

Tony jumped up and ran after her. “Babe! Wait! I was just joking!”

I laugh and turned to face Scott to make a comment. He leaned in and pressed his lips against mine in a long, hot kiss. He slid his hand gently against my face and held my head as he continued to kiss me. He pulled back to catch his breath. His eyes studied me for a moment. “I wouldn’t give you up for anything.” He leaned in and kissed me again. I closed my eyes and leaned into his kiss.

When he pulled back, I smiled weakly at him and placed my finger tips on his lips. I whispered, “You really need to stop kissing me. Remember I’m a guy.”

“Not to me,” he said as he leaned in for another kiss. Why am I letting him kiss me? Why don’t I push back? Why do I enjoy his kisses? I put my arm around his neck.

A voice behind me said in an irritated voice, “Okay kids. Break it up. Break it up. Do that somewhere else.”

Scott pulled away from me and smiled. “Come on. We have two more checkpoints to go.” I smiled at him shyly as he took my hand and led me back to his car.

As we got into his car, I picked up the list of clues and looked at it for a second. “The next one is easy. It’s just across town.”

Scott started the engine. “Are you sure? I heard someone say they thought it was at that Ranchland BBQ just a few blocks away.”

I shrugged. “You can look there, but this is a clear reference to that play they’re running at the playhouse across town.”

Scott slid the transmission into first gear and we started to roll towards the street. “We’ll head there. You’ve been right every time so far.” He touched my knee and slowly slid his hand slightly up my skirt.

Fifteen minutes later, we rolled up to the checkpoint. One of the guys manning the station laughed as we got out of the car. “I guess this was a tough one. Did you go to that BBQ place first?”

Scott grinned as he slid his hand to my ass. “No. My girl figured it out that it was here first.”

The man smiled at me. “Smart girl.” He handed me a bean bag. “Try to toss this into one of those holes. The holes of course correspond to a card.”

I tossed the bag up a couple of times in my hand. “Which hole to which card?”

The man laughed. “That would be telling.”

I tossed the bag into a hole. The man looked and then wrote the time and JS onto a piece of paper and handed it to Scott. Another car pulled in as we walked back to Scott’s.

After starting his car, Scott looked at all the papers we’d gotten from the checkpoints. “Oh wow, babe. We’re one card away from straight flush. Great job, babe.”

I laughed. “It’s not me. It’s totally random.”

Scott leaned over and kissed my cheek. “You’re my good luck charm.” As we rolled out into the street, Scott asked, “Where to next. It’s the last one.”

I shrugged. “This one is hard. I can think of several places but nothing jumps out at me.”

“What’s the clue?” asked Scott.

I laughed slightly. “It says, ‘I’ve seen everything when pigs fly.’ That BBQ place on tenth street has a pig wearing a cape as their logo. Maybe there?”

Scott shrugged. “Let’s check it out.”

As we pulled into the BBQ place’s parking lot, it was obvious it wasn’t the checkpoint. Three cars were parked and a small group of kids were talking. Scott pulled up beside them.

Scott leaned across me to call out to the crowd. “I guess this isn’t the checkpoint?”

One of the boys frowned and said, “No shit, Sherlock!”

Another boy said as he pointed to a girl next to him, “Anna thinks it might be that butcher shop over on Grant.”

The girl slapped his shoulder. “Don’t tell him!”

“Chill girl!” said the boy. “It’s not a race. Besides, our hand pretty much sucks.”

Scott waved. “I guess we’ll keep looking. Later, guys.”

We drove back out into the streets. “Want to check out the butcher’s shop on Grant?”

I shook my head. I loved feeling my large earrings brush against my neck. “I don’t think that’s it. Give me a few minutes.”

“Sure thing, babe,” said Scott as he started running his fingers in small circles on my thigh inside my skirt.

I pushed his hand away. “That’s not helping.”

Scott grinned. “Sorry. How about this?” He leaned across the seats and started nibbling my neck.

I giggled from the tickle of his small kisses. “Do you want me to figure this out or not?”

He just grinned and stopped with the nibbling. He kept his arm tossed across my shoulders though.

I studied the last clue for a couple of minutes, running it through my mind. I could feel Scott’s breath on my cheek. I finally hit my head against the headrest. “Oh shit! Surely not.”

Scott leaned back. “Surely not what?”

I slapped the list of clues. “Surely cops wouldn’t use that word. Would they?”

Scott looked confused. “What are you talking about?”

I shook my head at the list. “Where are you going to find pigs flying?”

Scott shrugged and continued to look confused.

I shouted, “At the new police helo pad that opened just this week! It’s next to the main fire station downtown.”

Scott leaned down and kissed me hard. “That’s got to be it! You’re a genius!” With a squeal of tires, we headed off towards the helicopter landing pad downtown.

We drove through the opened gate at the helo pad. A shiny new helicopter was parked under bright lights and a table was set up in front of it. A couple of other cars from the poker run were parked by the table.

A police woman at the table waved us over after we got out of Scott’s car. “Well congratulations on finding us. It’s been a slow trickle all evening.” She pointed at a computer sitting on the table running a simulated card game. “Click on play to get your card.”

I looked back at Scott. He just shrugged. “You’ve been doing the playing all night. Might was well do the last one.”

I hesitated for a second, and then clicked on the play button. The cards rolled across the screen and stopped at six of hearts.

“Well shit.” said Scott. “There goes our straight flush.”

Worried, I looked over at Scott. “I’m sorry.”

Scott laughed. “Not your fault, babe.”

The woman wrote the time and our card on a piece of paper and handed it to Scott. She smiled at him. “Thanks for playing. Hope you had a good time.”

We got back into Scott’s car. I felt like crying. I turned to Scott as he started the engine. “I’m so sorry, Scott.”

Scott smiled as he leaned over and kissed me. “It’s not your fault girl. You can’t help what the computer picked. Now we go back to the mall for the official tally. We could still wind up with the best hand if everyone else sucks more than us.” Scott’s car rumbled out of the gate and we started the drive back to the mall parking lot.

I know he’s right. I had no control over what card was picked. That was true for every game. The card picks were always random. But I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d let my boyfriend down. I mean Scott. I really need to get my head screwed on straight.

After about a ten minute drive and Scott rubbing my knee, we arrived back at the mall and the finish line. We got out of the car and walked up to Officer Jenkins. Scott handed him the pieces of paper with our times and cards on them.

Officer Jenkins took the papers and spread them on the table top. “Congratulations Mr. O’Reilly. No arrests tonight.” He looked over at me. “Your girlfriend seems to be a good influence on you.”

Scott grinned broadly as he pulled me very close to him. “That’s why I’m never letting her go.” I wasn’t sure how to take his statement. I’m not his girlfriend. I’m not a girl.

As he started entering our results into a laptop computer, Officer Jenkins looked back to Scott. “Have you heard from Mr. Marino? He hasn’t been heard from since the third checkpoint.”

Scott shook his head. “No. I figured he’d already be here.” He looked around at the other kids milling around near the table.

Officer Jenkins shook his head. “Not yet. We still have half the players left to check in at the finish line. We expect the last car will arrive in about an hour.”

Scott put his arm around me and drew me close. We walked over to where the other players were standing around talking. One of them pointed to a pickup truck where a cooler was sitting on the tailgate and suggested we get a soda from it.

As cars trickled into the finish line, Scott and I just stood in the crowd. Everyone who came up to chat with Scott just stared at me, their girls not looking at me as they clung to their guys. When another boy talked to him, Scott would always pull me close to him. I began to feel I was mostly a trophy, something to give Scott some bragging rights. The feeling made me uncomfortable. I couldn’t’ wait for the event to end.

Almost an hour later, what was announced as the last car to pass through the final checkpoint for thirty minutes, Officer Jenkins stood up with his bullhorn.

“Attention everyone. We have our winners. The team of car fifteen, Troy Peters driver wins the fifty percent pot with a royal flush.” He then went on to announce to other two winners. We weren’t one of them.

I laid my head on Scott’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Scott. I let you down.”

Scott pulled me away from him and held me at arm’s length and smiled at me. “You did no such thing. If they had a fourth place, we would have got that. The point was to have fun.”

Officer Jenkins announced over his bullhorn, “Okay. That’s it. Thanks everyone for coming out. Everyone drive safe.”

Tony never showed up. Scott guessed that he had either caught Cindy and was making up to her, or he was still chasing her.

As we turned to head towards Scott’s car, one of the other drivers shouted, “Hey Scott. Some of us are going to Taco Bell. Wanna come?”

Scott glanced over at me for a second. He said, “Another time. My lady looks tired. It’s late. I think I’ll just take her home.”

I sighed with relief actually. It was late and I was tired. And yes, I’m guilty of presenting myself as his girlfriend and it’s not like he made me do it, I just couldn’t shake the feeling of being a trophy of sorts. I wasn’t sure how to take him referring to me as ‘my lady.’ I’ll admit to having developed a crush on Scott even though he’s a guy. I could have said no when he asked me to ride with him. I definitely could have said no to Kat when she wanted to turn me into a teen hottie. But I didn’t. Because I like having Scott look at me and treat me like a girl. I like his friends responding to me as a girl. I’m just not sure if this is something I should be doing. It could really blow up on us. We both have one more year of school to go and someone’s going to notice that his girlfriend doesn’t seem to go to our school. Or any school. Not all the street rodders go to the same high school.

I nodded at Scott. “Yeah. Sorry. I am kinda tired.”

The boy who invited Scott said, “Hey. After you drop her off, come join us. We might go play pool later.”

Scott waved at them as he took my hand. “Maybe.”

He led me back to his car. As he opened my door for me, I said, “I’m sorry, Scott. If you want to go with your friends, that’s okay. I’m not *real* tired yet.”

He smiled and shook his head. “Naw. I’m kinda tired myself.”

We drove mostly in silence back to my house. I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes and just listened to the car stereo. I thought about the whole evening and what it might mean. I smiled to myself when I thought of Scott’s kisses. I know I shouldn’t like being kissed by him so much. But I can’t help but love the taste of forbidden fruit.

Scott was already out of the car before I could say anything after pulling up to the curb outside my house. He opened the door and held out his hand to assist me in getting out of his car.

“I’ll walk you to your door,” said Scott as he put his arm around me and drew me close to him. I put my head on his shoulder. I felt so warm and secure in his arms. I was feeling wonderfully gooey inside.

We stopped in front of my door. Scott looked down at me and lifted my chin up with his fingers. He smiled at me and brushed a few stray strands of hair from my eyes. He shook his head. “You keep telling me you’re not a girl. But everything about you says otherwise. You’re smart and beautiful and caring. I couldn’t ask for more from a girl.”

He then pulled me close to him, bent his head to me and gave me a long, deep, passionate kiss. The kind of kiss that curls your toes. I just melted in his arms. This was crazy. I shouldn’t feel this way, but I couldn’t help it. I never wanted this moment to end. He slid his fingers through my hair as he held my head. I put my arms around his neck and slid my tongue into his mouth. I felt him suck on my tongue as he kissed me more deeply.

When he pulled away, I smiled and caught my breath. Oh my God! I’ve never had a kiss like that before. I wanted more. He smiled at me and kissed me softly. Just a brief kiss.

The way he looked me in the eyes. The desire I saw in him. The passion. When he started to speak I thought, oh God no. Don’t say it. Please don’t say those three words.

He looked at me. His lips parted. “Ride again, sometime?”

I grinned as I hugged him tight. “I’d love to.”

He smiled. He kissed me once more. “I’ll call you tomorrow.” He turned and slowly walked back to his car. I stood there a moment and watched him drive away.

The house was still dark. Kat hadn’t returned from her date yet. My step was light and my mood was all dreamy as I walked to the bathroom to wash my face before going to bed. I wondered if I should wait for Kat to come home. I had a feeling if I didn’t she was going to just wake me up anyway to ask me how things went.

I grinned when I thought about how I was going to tell her how I was going to be meeting my friend tomorrow too. And if I could borrow a nicer dress…

*          *          *

The End