Chapter 1: The Bad Girl Gets Arrested

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T H E    B A D    G I R L S T O L E

T H E S T A G E

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A

Cinderella

Story

by: wambuimuiruriii

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney…” the cop continued on, as he slapped the hard metal around my wrists and slid me into the back of the cop car.

“You better have gotten this on snapchat, Alex!” Jared called as another cop was trying to shove him in the back of his squad car. I couldn’t help but laugh at how hard of a time Jared was giving the guy.

“When you get in, call Tino. He’ll bail you out by tomorrow.” Jared instructed. I could barely hear him now over the shouting of the cop to get in the vehicle.

“Yeah, then he’ll kill me shortly after.” I shot back before the cop cut me off by closing the car door. Jared just shrugged in the back seat of his car and shot me another one of his signature winks. I gave him a dimpled smile back through the bars of my window.

This night had quickly gone to shit.

That was probably the last good adventure I had before Judge Brown decided to throw the book at me two weeks later.

Now you’re probably wondering how I got here. Shit, I am too. It all started out with a pretty decent afternoon…

4 Hours Prior…

“Won’t Tino hmm, I dunno, fucking murder us if we take these cars out?” I asked Jared.

We were now standing in the garage of Tino’s home, staring at two beautiful McLaren Ultimate Series P1’s as the sun began to set behind us.

“He’s on a business trip for the night. Plus, we gotta celebrate! Tino is finally letting you organize an event in a few weeks.” Jared replied.

“If we take these cars out and he finds out, I won’t organize an event until I’m 80.” I shot back. Instead of replying, Jared walked over to the file cabinet on the far right of Toni’s incredibly large garage and tossed me the keys to the white coated P1 with golden rims. “I swear to god Jared, if we get in trouble, I’m throwing you straight under the bus.” I called to him, but he had already slid into his yellow coated black rimmed P1 and started the engine.

All I could do was follow his lead as we both pulled the vehicles out onto the drive way of Toni’s estate.

The feeling of the engine as it vibrated through to the steering, was the only sound I would ever need to hear. It was also the sexiest sound that existed on this planet.

Jared pulled out from the paved driveway first before taking off with incredible speed down the private road towards the city. He had already called a few other racing buddies out to a spot in the inner city. We usually set up 3-7 cars depending on the race size as I lookouts and diversions around the city, but tonight it was just a little get together and some harmless Sprints.

When we pulled into the underground parking, I soon realized that this “get together” wasn’t so much a “get together” anymore.

I could already tell this was going to end badly.

“So much for lowkey, Jared.” I groaned to myself. As soon as our vehicles were spotted pulling in, we were swarmed.

“Damn, Jared! The girls are out tonight, huh?” Nicolias called out while we both simultaneously popped the hood for the cars and got out. I already recognized all the guys as they huddled around to check out the $1.5 million dollar cars.

“Only for tonight. This means, no one drives, touches, or even gets in these vehicles besides Alex and I.” Jared stated.

“And we’re serious.” I added. Or at least, I knew the prominent death by the hand of Tino if he ever found out, was serious.

The only people I didn’t recognize were the girls the guys had brought along. Usually they were different girls every night, so I didn’t really bother to try and get along or bond with any of them.

That… and they didn’t know jack shit about cars.

Like actually.

They thought my Blancpain GT series was a Lamborghini. I lost my shit at that… and the hopes of ever bonding with another one of these idiots’s flings again. Most of these girls tagged along whenever they heard the words “illegal” and “expensive cars” in the same sentence.

“We can’t stay out too late either.” I reminded them. I walked over and grabbed a beer from the cooler one of the guys had brought out, and that’s when I saw the empty bottles all over the parking garage.

Everyone here had to of been completely wasted.

And I was proven right about an hour later when one of these girls decided to throw a beer bottle off the ledge of the second story parking garage, and smash the window of a new 2016 Mercedes Maybach. It didn’t take long for the cop sirens to start blaring in the distance.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” I groaned, as everyone began to scatter….

Or at least attempted to.

Two girls flat out face planted on the cement and decided to just not get up. The guys were fumbling with the keys of the cars that were most likely not legally obtained.

Jared and I would have stayed and helped a few of the buddies we knew… that was, if we totally didn’t have Tino’s expensive ass cars out while he was on a business trip.

Not to mention the fact that I was 19, with a few good beers in me.

Jared and I didn’t make is far with our escape before our cars were pulled over and searched right outside the parking ramp… and this was how we got here.

Me sitting in the back of a squad car as I was driven to the L.A.P.D. precinct to get booked for the night.

“Your bail has been set to $8,000. If your bail can be met before two weeks from now which is your court date, you won’t have to spend jail time.” An officer informed me as I signed my name and got finger printed for booking.

I had to think long and hard about my next decision… but I really didn’t have much options at this point. So I took a breath in, and exhaled, before asking my next question. “Where can I make a phone call?”

---

Yep. I think I’m liking this premise for a Cinderella retelling a little more. Any thoughts?

Chapter 2: The Bad Girl Gets Bailed

“So how long can I stay in this prison cell for?” I asked the slightly overweight guard who was currently using the cell keys to clean under his fingernails.

“How long can you?” He asked in return, glancing up at me for literally a millisecond before returning to his task at hand.

“Yeah. Like even after bail has been posted. Could you have the person who posted bail, come down here and watch you retrieve me from the cell?” I continued.

Now he looked up and stared at me like I’d lost it.

“Why would you want that?” He asked. I slipped my hands through the bars and leaned my head against it.

“Well, Jim- is it Jim?” I asked, glancing at his desk name to clarify. He gave me a nod.

“Stands for Jimmy.” He added.

“Well, Jimmy,” I continued, leaning my head back against the bars, “my step uncle will be here within the next few minutes to come settle the bail. My issue is that, as soon as he sees me, he might actually kill me,” I explained, “and I’m just spitballing here but, if he sees me in a cell, it might melt his ice cold heart a bit.”

Jimmy gave me a chuckle. “So basically, you want me to bring him down here so he can witness you in a surprisingly clean jail cell by yourself, looking bored out of your damn mind?”

“Oh shit, you’re right.” I whispered. “Should I roll around a bit? Make it look like I really fought for my life all night. I could probably get some tears flowing too. I had a pet die pretty recently so I’m already an emotional wreck.”

“Well I’m sorry to hear that. What kind of pet?” Jimmy asked.

“My pet fish Marvin.” I replied. “Marvin Scott Fitzgerald the Second.”

“Your pet fish?” He asked chuckling again, “how long ago was it? And was there seriously a Marvin Scott Fitzgerald the First?”

“It’ll be a full 2 years by next Friday.” I replied. “And there isn’t actually a Marvin Scott Fitzgerald the First but the Second made it seem more legitimate, ya know?”

“That was forever ago!” He shot out through another hearty laugh. “God, you’re one odd child.”

“Okay first of all, that death was very emotionally draining for me. Secondly, do not come for Marvin Scott Fitzgerald the Second. You know his name, not his story.” I replied with added sass that really took my reply to a whole other level.

“I couldn’t of imagined his story would be that eventful… he was a fish. Hell, his name was probably most eventful aspect of his life.”

“I can feel Marvin turning in his grave as we speak.” I tsked back.

“The pipes from a toilet drain?” Jimmy offered. With that, I broke into a grin.

I had decided I liked this man.

“So whatchya in here for, Jimmy?” I asked.

“Dropped out of law school. Wound up here.” He replied. I gave him a slight nod, before we were both pulled out of our thoughts by the sound of a buzzer going off.

“Looks like your uncle arrived and posted bail.” He announced. A small part in me was ecstatic, but a much larger part in me had half the sense to scribble my will out on the concrete floor…

…that was until I realized I had absolutely nothing to my name.

“Alright Jimmy, you heard what we talked about. Bring him on in.” I nodded to him and he nodded back in understanding before disappearing around the corner.

Moments later, I heard the jingling of keys as he flew down the stairs with my step uncle on his heels.

“Uncle!” I cried hysterically as Tino appeared around the corner with a few envelopes. His suit was still pressed, but his tie now hung loosely around his neck.

“I swear to god Alex.” He groaned. I could already see the grey hair making their debut on his head.

I felt my eyes start to water. “I’m so sorry.” I cried. Poor Marvin. Poor poor Marvin. A tear ran down the side of my face. Tino’s eyes softened slightly.

“Could you let her out for me?” He asked, as he turned to Jim.

Jim looked at him, before breaking out into a grin. “The door isn’t locked.”

I glanced at Jim like the traitor he was when Tino’s eyes hardened again. “You had me over here worrying and shit when you were in an unlocked jail cell?”

“Why, Jim? Why would you do me this dirty? A brother’s gotta look out for another brother out here.” I tsked again. Jim gave me another laugh.

“There isn’t a point in locking the cell doors.We aren’t holding murderers down here. There’s also two armed guards securing the doors upstairs. You know I got you though, sis.” Jim added, giving me a fist pound through the jail cell.

Tino just looked done with all our shit.

“Come on, Alex. I just flew in from my trip to come bail you out. I need to crash soon.” Tino groaned, as I pushed the cell doors open.

“I’ll remember this, Jim. I’ll let my brothers on the inside know what’s up.” I replied, giving Jim a slight head nod.

“She is completely kidding, officer. She has no brothers on the inside.” Tino rushed out, as he began dragging me out of the precinct. “Jesus. I can’t leave you anywhere for even a second without you getting yourself into trouble.” He groaned. All you could hear was Jim’s laughter echoing off the holding cell room walls.

~

“Thank you.” I smiled hesitantly as we slid into a rental car. Tino had most likely got it straight from the airport.

“This is serious, Alex.” Tino began. “The charges you received might not get dropped easily. I put one of my junk cars in to meet your bail so your ass better make it to that court date.”

“I will.” I whispered quietly. I had truly felt bad for making him leave his business trip early to come get me. I hadn’t really seen just how physically exhausted he actually was. “Were you able to get the McLaren’s back?” I asked.

“Yeah. They released both vehicles back into my name this morning.” Tino replied. “I still can’t believe you guys took my two most prized possessions out.”

I shrunk further in my seat from guilt. “What about Jared?” I asked.

“I’ll bail him out tomorrow. I’m going to let that dumbass sit in jail just a bit longer because I already know this had to of been his idea.”

“Fair enough.” I nodded, as we pulled out onto the street to start our drive home. There wasn’t a shred of pity inside me.

Throwing Jared under the bus was most definitely not beneath me.

---

Chapter 3: The Bad Girl Gets Sentenced

The rest of the week pasted by incredibly slow.

Tino gave me unpaid extra hours at the shop as punishment, and made Jared fix 2 of his junk cars for free. Neither of us complained considering the fact that we were still breathing.

“Your court dates tomorrow, right?” Jared asked. We were now both still in shop after hours. I had to clock in three more hours this week in order to reach my minimum hour requirement since I was also working unpaid hours.

Jared just hadn’t finished one of the junk cars yet, and Tino wanted it by tomorrow.

“Yeah.” I replied to Jared’s question. I had to pause a moment to finish jacking up a new customers car before I could continue. “Tino thinks he might be able to get me out of the alcohol class they’ll probably make me take because of the alcohol charges, but I’ll most likely end up having to do community service.”

“Oh shit. That’s much better than what Nicolias got charged with.” Jared replied. I had completely forget that Matt and Nicolias all got charged as well. It was more serious for them considering their cars were bought stolen.

“Street racing with a stolen vehicle is a crazy risk. I mean, you can’t get pulled over if the vehicle is still hot. You’ve gotta have a supply of fake plates as well, and even with that, you’ll have to create a diversion for the cop so he doesn’t actually have the time to run the plates. Then you’ve got to get rid of that plate and switch it with a new one. It’s far too much trouble to be worth it.”

Jared nodded in agreement. “Obviously you can save thousands by buying them stolen, and you’ll have more vehicles to race with, but those pros still don’t outweigh the jail time and felony charges that’ll come along with getting caught.”

“Exactly.” I replied. “How much you got left on that car?”

“Just fixing the timing belt. It’s giving me problems.” Jared replied. “I’m surprised that this was our only punishment.”

“Correction: this was your only punishment because you’re 21. I’m still dealing with these pesky potential alcohol charges.” I reminded him.

“You’ll be okay, Alex.” Jared encouraged as he took a break smoke a cigarette.

“I guess we’ll see, huh?” I replied, pulling out a lighter to light my own.

~

“This better not become a thing, Alex. You’re starting to build a real colorful track record here.” James Brown spoke as soon as the court had settled.

“Would you believe me if I said I just really missed your presence?” I smiled back politely.

“God no. You were just here a few weeks ago with a trespassing charge.”

“In my defense, I thought the zoo was still open.”

“At two in the morning?” Judge brown asked.

“24 hour?” I offered.

“What zoo is open 24 hours, Alex?” She shot back. That one stumped me.

“Let’s just get on with. I’ve got an episode of Blackish I need to catch up on. Please state your claim for the court.” Judge Brown instructed.

“I recognize the fact that a breathalyzer was performed, and alcohol was discovered in my system. I recognize the fact that I was underage drinking in in a moving vehicle at the time I was pulled over. That was poor judgement on my part, but I’d also like to make known to the court the fact that there isn’t an alcohol charge on my record-”

“But best believe there’s everything else.” Judge Brown cut.

“Well, yes. Driving while intoxicated is something I wouldn’t do though, and my level was below legally acceptable for driving. I ask the court to give me one last chance to steer my life back on track.” I finished.

“Your last chance was back at the beginning of this summer when you trespassed on your old principals private property and flocked his lawn.” Judge Brown reminded me, as she wasted no time spilling the tea to the court.

“They were just plastic flamingos.”

“You used 259 plastic flamingos. You shoved 5 of them into the top of his chimney, then you broke his gutter and rose fencing trying to get off his roof.” She replied.

“He tried expelling me for a harmless senior prank!” I shot back.

“You released a python into his school.”

“A harmless Ball Python. Lannister is the most well mannered python I know.” He was the only python I knew.

“Okay we could go on for years talking about the situations that have brought you into my courtroom. I’m sentencing you to 1 alcohol awareness class, and 36 hours of community service. Don’t even try to have your uncle bail you out of the class because you will be going, or I’ll suspend your license.” Judge Brown added. “You will serve out your community service at The Academy of Classical Ballet.

“Meet with the director tomorrow morning to see what you’ll be working on.” She finished before slamming her gavel down against the wooden plaque and standing up to leave. “Don’t let me catch you in this courthouse again, Alex.” She added as she glanced at me then disappeared through the back door.

The court was adjourned.

~

“It could be worse.”

“Academy of Classical Ballet?”

“It could’ve been at a dump site.”

“Jared,” I groaned, “this school is filled with Rich preppy kids. I’d rather work the dump site.”

“Well you better suck it up butter cup because Judge Brown wasn’t playing.” Tino replied, as he sat down with his coffee on the love seat besides us. “And you better be up bright and early tomorrow to head to that ballet studio thing. Just serve your time and take the class. We don’t need any more issues.”

“Ugh alright.” I groaned again. Jared flipped through shows until we all settled on some Shameless.

Today was my last free day before my community service hours would start. It was also my last day before the war with the preppy academy goers would begin.

---

Chapter 4: The Bad Girl Gets The Rundown

I pulled my Yamaha R1 into the parking lot outside the dance academy. It was times like this, I really appreciated the fact that I drove a motorcycle in the first place…

…because the motorcycle parking was the only free parking slot left in this parking lot.

The school itself was connected to University of California Los Angeles, so all parking around campus was completely packed.

I could already smell the pretentiousness as I walked up the large stairs towards the enormous glass doors. As I entered, I couldn’t help but look at everything. The interior architecture looked modern and simplistic with exposed high ceilings and light wooden flooring.

There was a desk placed directly at the entrance, so I approached the women who was busy typing away on her keyboard. “Hi, how may I help you?” She asked politely, but didn’t look up from the screen.

“I was sent here to complete community hours by Judge Brown at Hennepin County. I’m not too sure where I’m heading.” I explained. She looked up at that.

“Oh! You must be Alex Diaz. We’ve been expecting you. Go down this hallway here to the left of me, then take a right once you’ve reached the end of it. They’ll be a door directly in front of you. That’s the career opportunities center. They’ll let you know what you’ll be doing for the next few weeks here.” The lady instructed. I said a polite thank you, before traveling down the hallway using her guided directions. There was numbers I didn’t recognize at the top of each hallway, but the system looked incredibly organized.

Just like the lady had instructed, I came to a door at the far end of the last hallway. Before I could push it open, the door flung back and a angry looking man walked through. We made eye contact briefly and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, before he hastily disappeared down a different hallway. I barely caught sight of his before he was gone.

“Hello?” I called out into a smaller looking office space. Another women stepped out.

She was wearing a tight thin pencil skirt and freshly pressed blouse. Her hair was pinned back in a perfect bun. “Hello, I’m Mrs. Drangsteviet, you must be Alex.” Her voice was monotoned and incredibly uninteresting as she introduced herself.

“Yes. Hi.” I answered awkwardly.

“Please, have a seat.” She gestured towards the chair that was facing one of the desks nearest to the door. I took a seat across from her as she fired a computer up. “Now as for hours, you’ll need to clock in a total of 36 hours in order for the Ballet Academy to dispense your papers to the court as proof of completion. You may distribute these hours however you’d like. You may not, however, work more than two hours in a day.

“The dance studios will be closed on Sundays, so you’d need to distribute the hours with the exclusion of Sunday’s. We’ll start you off with mopping the dance studio floors. It’ll be your responsibility to keep track of studios that will be open, and studios that will be in use so you don’t accidentally mop a studio that’ll need to be used within the next hour. To avoid these complications, you may come in during the evenings when classes are in session. The entire building will be completely shut down by 11pm each night however. Do you have any questions for me?” She asked.

I honestly hadn’t been paying all that much attention to her due to how painfully boring she was, but I think I got the general gist of it. “Will there be any sort of dress code?” I asked.

“None. Wear whatever you don’t mind getting a bit dirty. Maybe sure you’re hair is tied back for the most part. We will provide supplies. When you arrive on campus, come here first to clock in your hours and pick up a set of keys for the studios. When you clock out, just set the spare keys back in the box under this counter here.” She instructed. I nodded in understanding. “You’ll be working with two other guys. You met one of them on your way in a few minutes ago.

“They’ll help show you the ropes so I recommend you come in during the day for your first few days. After that, come in whenever.” She added, before standing up abruptly and walking towards the printer that sat on a desk towards the back. Seconds later, it roared to life and began to print out and laminate a card. She then pulled out a lanyard from a drawer under the printer and slid the card inside the slot. “This will be your badge. Wear it whenever you’re in the building.” She handed the badge to me.

“Thank you.” I replied, before setting my bike helmet onto the desk and slipping the badge over my head.

“That’s about all I’ve got for you. Stick to your work and get these hours done. Don’t interrupt students or their classes. We work on a three strike policy. After your third strike, we will refuse to release the necessary paperwork to sign you off on your hours.”

Well… shit.

This would make for a perfect bet with Jared though.

“Thank you for dropping by. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Mrs. Drangsteviet said as I collected my helmet and stood.

“Thanks. Bye.” I nodded awkwardly before pulling open the center doors and walking back out into the hallway. As I made it out, I could see a few studios in session. My eyes casually glanced through the rooms before I slowed to a stop. There was a women dancing in the center of the room as the rest of the class sat against the back wall. She was incredibly stunning from what I could see through the windows on the studio doors.

Her body moved effortlessly to music I couldn’t hear. My eyes wandered from her to the people watching her, and I locked eyes with another man that was now staring directly at me. His blue eyes felt as if they were piercing into mine while his eyebrows furrowed curiously. Before I could say or do anything, I felt my phone ringing in my pocket.

“Shit. Hey.” I spoke into the line, as I made it towards the entrance of the academy. I had completely forgot I needed to be at work in about five minutes or so.

“You best get that ass over here before Tino comes in.” Jared spoke through the line.

“I’ll be there in 5.” I shot back before hanging up the phone and slipping my helmet on. My bike roared to life as I pushed my keys into the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot.

Those vibrant blue eyes stayed in my memory for the full ride to the auto shoppe.

---

Cast!

Alex Diaz (Mariama Diallo. Y’all can’t tell me shit cuz this women is gorgeous as all hell. Dark skinned beauty.)

Christian Taylor (Lucky Blue Smith)

Tino

Jared (Paul Wesley)

Chapter 5: The Bad Girl Meets Her Coworkers

“I would put money down on the fact that we probably have the most philosophical conversations whilst working on cars together.” Jared announced.

I had to grip the front bumper of this ladies Prius so hard to stop myself from backhanding him.

“Listening to you bitch about all the pussy you haven’t gotten because of this work Tino has you doing, is the farthest thing from philosophical.” I reminded him.

“To smash, or not to smash?” Jared replied with. I almost gagged.

“It’s almost midnight and I still need to fasten these fender pieces on. Plus I’ve got to wake up early to clean the white man’s floorboards.” I reminded him. Jared couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“I think some days you forget that I’m a white man.” He replied.

“It’s not your skin tone that defies you.” I replied.

“Keep that in mind next time you wish to generalize all white people.”

Fuck. This little fucker was right.

This conversation was getting philosophical.

“That ballet academy is very diversified. I mean we live in Los Angeles for Christ sakes, Alex. We’ve forced diversity upon this city.” Jared explained.

And he was right.

I remembered a time where a black ballerina was completely unheard of. Walking through those studios showed me that times have indeed changed. There was diversity galore.

“You’re just butt hurt about working there because you used to want to be a ballerina.” Jared added. I whipped my head to him and my eyes narrowed.

“Tino told you.” I stated.

“Apparently you were actually really good. Why did you stop?” Jared asked.

My mind wandered back to the accident with my parents.

Jared knew all about it, but if I brought it up now, all I’d succeed in doing is bringing down the conversation. It took me years to finally get Jared to stop acting like he was walking around broken egg shells with me. I wasn’t about to ruin all my hard work.

“I guess I gave up my pointe shoes, for NASCAR.” I replied, shooting him a large grin. All he could do was laugh.

“Such a tomboy at heart, you are. Continue on like this and you might just end up dying alone, Alex.”

“Last time I checked, dying alone meant that I wouldn’t have to share food. It also meant that I could fart whenever I wanted, and finesse drinks out men at clubs until death did me and my mug collection part.” I replied.

“You won’t be able to finesse men when you’re 80, hun.” Jared countered.

“Damn… I didn’t think you thought I was going to make it that far.” I said honestly. Jared took a second to think about it, before eventually nodding.

“You’re right. 50 at the latest. Any later, and I’ll start believing there is a God.”

“No I’ve got to make it to 60. I need one full year of that senior citizen discount. I’ve also got to sue a random store for a self inflicted injury so I can leave all my settlement money to my soon to be neighbor and mentor Billy who will look up to me for those last few stretches of my life as I explain to him how to be a boss ass bitch. The rest of my earnings will go towards a petition to change the girls scout cookies back to their original names. Caramel deLites will never be what Somoas once were to this world.” I explained.

Jared had his signature “wtf” expression on his face.

“I’m not even sure how you come up with this stuff.”

“It’s a gift, I’m telling ya.” I grinned back before we continued to work on the cars into the night.

~

I pulled my bike into the motorcycle slot of the Academy early the next morning. There were far less cars parked on this end of the campus than there was yesterday. As I entered the building, everything felt more deserted as well. Most of the lights were still powering on, so everything was poorly lit.

When I entered the career center, I almost died from a heart attack as two men were both perched up on desks, carrying a conversation. I instantly recognized the taller one from the morning before when we had almost ran into each other.

“You must be the new employee.” The shorter man spoke. I nodded hesitantly. Both men were surprisingly good looking. The taller one literally looked like he was modeling the janitor uniform, whilst the shorter one had this cute look to him. He was about half the size as the taller guy, and very handsome in this adorable way. It made me want to pinch his cheeks.

They both were wearing badges that said Jackson and Gerald.

“Hi. I’m Alex.” I said, offering them a smile.

“Hey Alex, I’m Jackson,” the taller one introduced himself, “but everyone just calls me Jaq with a q at the end.” He flashed me a set of his pearly whites.

“And I’m Gerald,” the shorter one continued, “but Gus for sure.”

“Jaq and Gus.” I said quietly to myself. It had an odd yet very nice ring to it.

“Exactly.” Jaq replied. “Now, first day? correct?” Jaq asked. I nodded to him. He got off the desk and wandered to a closet at the far end of this room. Once he opened it, I could see various cleaning supplies hung neatly in there. He soon after emerged with a pair of yellow gloves, a bucket, a mop, and three different floor cleaners. “You can start with the rooms at the very end of the building since those haven’t been used in months. Those rooms will take you much longer than the ones in the other studios due to the dust that has accumulated.

“Once you’ve finished the floors, come back here and through that closet you’ll find some window cleaning supplies. Gus and I are going to be treating the floor back around that area so feel free to ask us if you have any questions.” Jaq explained as he set the supplied on the table and floor in front of me.

“Thank you.” I replied, as I slid the cleaning supplies into an empty cart by the entrance of the room.

“There are extra shirts in the supply closet by the back rooms if you wish to change so you don’t ruin the sweater you’re wearing. Don’t forget to clock in on that chart over there before you start.” He reminded me. I stepped aside as both Jaq and Gus said their goodbyes before heading out to start work.

They seemed nice enough.

Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

---

Jaq/Jackson

Gus/Gerald

Chapter 6: The Bad Girl Gets Invited

“That’s a load of bullshit.” Gus laughed as Jaq continued to persist.

“No I fucking swear dude. I completely forgot the maintenance guy was scheduled to come check out the plumbing so I lit a bowl. When I heard the knock on my door, I don’t think I freaked out so hard. Then I remember weed had been legalized! Man it’s a weird time to be alive… I’m not even sure why I still buy from dealers anymore when I can just pick this shit up at the store.”

Gus and I started laughing again.

“Have you ever thought about that though? Like could you actually imagine if food delivery guys acted the way drug dealers do? They bring you the pizza… then they decide to sit down and chill for a while, maybe take a slice of that pizza before they leave.” I explained. Gus and Jaq continued laughing but our conversation was cut short by someone clearing their throat.

We all turned around to find Mrs. Drangsteviet in another one of her tight boring grey pencil skirts and blouses with her hands crossed at her chest. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bun pulled back so tightly “Working hard or hardly working?” She asked in the same monotoned voice.

“Working hard, Mrs. D.” Gus said with a slight smile on his face that made both Jaq and I struggle to keep our laughter in. Mrs. Drangsteviet’s face looked pressed and disturbed as she stared us down for a moment before abruptly turning and walking back down the hallway she came from. “I want that room done before your hours are up Alex or you’ll receive a strike.” She called over her shoulder. All three of us groaned as soon as she rounded the corner.

“Has she always been this uptight?” I asked the guys.

“For as long as we can remember.” Gus answered. “Jaq actually tried to bone her the first day we were hired. The turn down was absolutely epic.”

First Objective: Get Gus drunk and watch all the secrets pour out.

“Telling everyone’s business, arentchya Gus.” Jaq replied with a smile playing on his lips.

I had decided I liked these guys.

“Alright. Break times over, crew. Alex needs to get this done because unlike us, she could actually get into serious trouble. We’ll keep the cart going with some music while we work out in the hall. Come grab us if you need anything.” Gus spoke as he slipped his gloves back on and began to mix some cleaning solutions.

“See you guys in about an hour and a half.” I replied, before dipping back into the room I had begun to clean.

The floorboards themselves looked like shit. The room hadn’t been treated or really used in forever. Dust lined the windows and spiderwebs stretched across all corners. I sighed slightly to myself before pulling my hair up into a loose bun, and getting back to work.

~

An hour and a half flew by with a breeze. Before I knew it, my phone alarm had went off right as I was starting to pack up the floor board supplies. Gus and Jaq entered moments later.

“This shit looks amazing, Alex.” Jaq commented. I couldn’t help but smile at that, knowing these guys would be the only two that actually witnessed AND appreciated my work.

“Thanks, Jaq.” I replied.

“We came in here to let you know you can head out now. We also wanted to invite you to this thing tonight.” Gus added.

“What thing?” I asked curiously.

“It’s sort of like a masquerade party type deal. It’s downtown though so you know, nothing too fancy. Drinks will be free for the ladies so come and have fun. Jaq and I have a mutual friend who runs the place so we can get you in for free as well. Tonight is Latin night.” Gus replied.

I leaned back against my cleaning cart as I thought about it for a moment. It did sound like tons of fun, but I also had a crazy amount of hours I had to clock in for tonight at work.

“Sorry guys, my uncle has punished me with a ridiculous amount of hours at the shoppe. I really wish I could’ve gone though.” I replied.

“No worries. If you change your mind, or your night frees up, it’s Club off Olympic and Central street. It’s called Tipsy Bartender.” Jaq added.

“Thank you.” I smiled at the both of them.

“Not a problem. You can go ahead and clock out. We’ll handle the supplies for you. Have a great day, Alex. Hopefully we’ll see you tonight!” Gus called. I gave them both a smile before making my way back to the career center.

~

“What I hear is, is that there’s a party tonight.”

“It’s not a party, Jared, it’s an event. An event we both can’t go to because we both have work to do.” I reminded this idiot.

“Shit. What time is the event?” He asked.

“I think it’ll most likely start at around 10, and go till like 1. It’s Latin night.”

“Damn. All them sexy Latina’s I won’t be able to get tonight because I gotta work.” Jared whined. As much as I hated to admit it, Jared actually had game when it came to picking up girls. I wasn’t even sure who would willingly get with his musty ass but apparently chicks were into that. “Well why don’t you go, and I’ll cover for you tonight?” Jared offered. “It’s my fault you’re even clocking in extra hours in the first place.”

“Well I’m glad you realized this is really all your fault, and that’s a very sweet gesture, but I think you’re forgetting that Tino will be home by midnight tonight.” I reminded him.

“Then make it back here by midnight. That still gives you a few hours to enjoy yourself.” Jared replied.

“Well even if I go, what will I wear? The only dress I own is what I wore to Aunt Maria’s funeral.” I spoke honesty. Jared leaned again the car for a few moments, thinking to himself before speaking finally.

“I think I might be able to hook you up.”

---

Chapter 7: The Bad Girl’s Carriage Arrives

“I’m not wearing that.”

“What? Why?”

“The fact that you even have a collection like this troubles me.” I replied honestly, looking at the mountain of female clothes in Jared’s room.

“They just… leave shit. What is it with you girls anyways? I can’t have a girl come over for one night without her leaving something and taking like 3 of my shirts.”

“That sounds like a you problem. Gotta get you a girl who can keep track of all of her shit.” I replied simply, as I began to rummage through the pile of clothing. Most of the stuff was bras and clubbing dresses, but my eyes quickly zeroed in on this dark red dress. It was tight with thin straps and an open back, then a skater type loose fitted bottom portion perfect for dancing. I sprinted down the hall to my room to see if the mask I had from Halloween would match the color.

As I came back into Jared’s room and laid it out besides the dress, we saw it was a perfect match.

“Now onto heels.” Jared announced, before pulling open his closet to reveal tons of pairs of heels. They all looked brand new too.

All I could do was stare at Jared and judge.

“What kind of girl leave shoes at a random guys’ place?”

“Well I mean, by the morning they can’t walk right anyways.” Jared replied.

I had to take a moment to try and keep the throw up down.

“Please don’t ever tell me something like that again. I might actually have to kill myself.” I whispered back, before pulling out a pair of cute nude Valentino impressions. “We haven’t taken something into account yet.” I announced.

“What is it?”

“How the hell am I supposed to ride my motorcycle in this get up?” I asked him. His eyes grew large in realization. There was no way either of us would be risking taking another one of Tino’s cars and Jared also drove a motorcycle.

“I can have Davino drop off one of his cars within the next hour or so. You can take that there, then just make sure to drop the car back off at his place down the road. You’ll have to run back from there though.” Jared replied. I couldn’t help but groan.

“Alright. I’ll take a shower and get ready, then you can come bring me back to the shop. From there, Davino will drop his car off.” I finalized. Jared nodded back.

“Sounds like a plan.”

~

How the fuck did woman do this getting ready shit all the time? I’d forgotten how long it took just to put makeup on. My hair was now somewhat successfully curled, and it hung loosely at my shoulders and across my back. I was waiting at the house for Jared to come pick me up and take me back to the shoppe. It didn’t take long for me to hear his motorcycle pulling in.

I quickly grabbed my clutch purse and made sure I had my fake I.D. to get into the club, and my masquerade mask, before successfully making it down the steps in these uncomfortable heels. Jared walked through the door moments later.

“You look absolutely stunning, Alex.” He noted, as he fully took in the dress I was wearing under my leather jacket. It had fit surprisingly well considering how thin I was.

“Thank you.” I replied shyly. I slipped the mask into my clutch while Jared got the door behind us. The night had gotten a bit chillier than I had expected, and I was glad I decided to grab the jacket in the first place.

“Who knew makeup could make you look like an actual girl.” Jared stated as he got onto his bike and I slid on behind him.

“Fuck off, dipshit.” I called out over the roar of his engine. All he did was laugh as he pulled out of the driveway and back onto the street.

The ride from our home to the shoppe was barely even a drive. The shoppe was down the street basically, and just a bit closer to the inner city. The breeze of the motorcycle mixed with the clear air and city lights, never got old. Some night, Jared and I would just take a ride around the city with our bikes.

It didn’t take long after we arrived, for Davino to arrive with the car. We thanked him, and made it clear that the vehicle would be back in his possession by midnight, before he hitched a ride back to his place with his friends. My mouth drooled at just how gorgeous his matte Dodge Viper VX was.

I was most definitely riding in style tonight.

The night had officially set in as I checked the clock on phone. It was about 9:55pm and the drive to downtown was going to take around 20 minutes with traffic.

I said bye to Jared and thanked him for everything before I slid my clutch into the passenger side of Davino’s car, and pulled it out of the shoppes garage.

Traffic in L.A. could honestly be such a bitch, and sometimes I would forget to plan ahead before leaving. Once the club came into sight, I struggled the next 15 minutes with trying to find parking anywhere. Finally a car pulled out about a block away from the club, and I swerved the car in.

I loved the feeling of people looking at the car I was driving. It was honestly the only attention I ever wanted or really needed in life. As I got out, locked the door, and made my way down to the entrance of the club, I instantly saw tall Jaq making his way towards the bathrooms. Even with a mask on, I could tell it was him by his build that sort of towered over everyone else.

Once he caught sight of me, he changed directions and met me at the entrance.

“You made it!” He called to me over the loud music. “And you look absolutely fantastic!” He added. I shot him a grin, before handed the bouncer my fake I.D. He looked at it for milliseconds before handing it back to me and letting me follow Jaq inside.

I slipped my mask out of my clutch and placed it on my face before gently tying the back around my voluminous curls. The club itself looked packed with masked faces that sort of added mood. Latin music filled my ears completely.

It didn’t take long before Jaq found me a drink, and brought me out onto the dance floor.

---

Davino’s Car

Chapter 8: The Bad Girl Meets The Good Boy

I did everything I could not to make a complete fool of myself as Jaq and I began to dance. The music was what I recognized from the events Tino would bring me to. The song that was currently playing was something you’d dance the bachata to.

My hips swayed to the rhythm as the upbeat music picked up the pace. The drink had now entered my system and I could feel myself loosen a bit. Jaq slid his hands into mine as we danced in rhythm with each other. It was a bit crowded and hard to move around but space began to clear around us. I was spun again across the dance floor but this time, I slid into the arms of another masked individual.

He was taller than me, but not incredibly, which made the dance easier. The pace had slowed down and everything seemed more intimate as his hands gently held my lower back. The intense blue of his eyes sparked familiarity within me but I couldn’t quite place where I’d seen them before.

Nevertheless, this man was absolutely incredible at dancing. He lead me with the beat as the music picked up again. I switched up the rhythm of my body to see if he’d follow, and it was almost as if he could anticipate my next move. He spun me out again, and I thought I’d land in the arms of yet another individual, but his hand grabbed mine and pulled me back into him, almost as if he knew we weren’t finished dancing with each other yet.

My heart was beating much harder than it should have, considering I had only been dancing for a few minutes… right?

I honestly couldn’t tell whether it had been minutes or hours. The tip of my heels slid against the floor in a circle before slowly climbing up his leg flirtatiously as he slid his leg between mine. He grinned back down at me, holding me tighter against him.

“Your bachata is magnificent.” He remarked into my ear. The low tempos of his voice vibrated against me, and I couldn’t help but shiver slightly.

“Thank you.” Was all I managed to reply with, and even that sounded muffled.

The language of dance was something few individuals could understand, but what I was doing right now with this man, was more than dancing. It was a true form of communication. Every move I made, he’d move with. It almost felt choreographed… it was like that moment when you met someone you just clicked with, and you wondered how exactly the universe had brought you two together. You were both just so alike…

He spun me once and pressed my back to him. I slid down slowly, grinding my bum against his body before slowly rising again. I was positive all I was grinding was bones, but he seemed to like it. Once I was standing, his arm was placed firmly at my waist. “Let me buy you a drink.” He whispered into my ear.

At this point, this man could ask me to jump off a bridge, and I’d most definitely contemplate it.

I nodded as he leaned his head against my shoulder before finally pulling away. We both successfully made it to the bar. He ordered an old fashioned for himself, and a Mojito for me. It was hard to hear him over the sound of the music, so we had to lean in closer to each other.

“Where did you learn to dance like that?” I asked him.

“I could ask you the same.” He countered, smiling slightly.

Before I could reply, I felt my phone vibrate in my clutch. Once I pulled it out, I could see the numerous text and voice calls that had been left by Jared. The time read 11:46.

I had 14 minutes to get back to the shoppe.

“Holy shit!” I exclaimed, shooting up from my place at the bar. “This has been really really lovely but I gotta go.” I replied to the stranger who sat baffled at the bar. It only took moments for his body to jump back into action as he ran out after me.

I was practically sprinting in these shitty heels now as I tried to make it to Davino’s car.

“Wait! Where are heading? I didn’t even catch your name!” The man called out after me, but a bitch was on a mission.

“I’m sorry, but the fate of my existence depends on this!” I called out dramatically before unlocking Davino’s car that was coming into view. “Gotta blast!” I shot out as I yanked open the door and sliding inside. Thank god for autostart I thought to myself as I pushed the ignition button and the car roared to life. Moments later, I whipped a U-ey, and sped back out onto the back roads.

The traffic had died down some, but in a few minutes, there would be a crazy amount of people trying to get home from the nightlife. I made sure my speed was within 7mph above the speed limit, but the adrenaline that was pumping through my body made that incredibly challenging. Before I knew it, I was pulling up to Davino’s.

Like always, he had a bunch of cars parked outside his place. The guy partied pretty much every day of the week. I barely even made it to the front door before thrusting the keys into his hand and running off. I wished I could have cherished his confused face a bit longer, but there was no time to waste.

I pulled my phone out and checked the time. It was now 11:56. I have 4 minutes to make it. I started off down his street at full sprint, and it only took seconds before the heels flew off somewhere behind me. At this point, I could already see the shoppe coming into view… I could also hear the distinct sound of Tino’s Bugatti Chiron with its W16 engine of about 1500 horsepower and 1180- plus pound feet of torque.

The thing was a beast.

I jogged around back and slipped in through the back door as I heard Tino pull in. It only took seconds before I was now in a working jumper that was over my dress. Jared looked startled as I joined him at the front of the shoppe.

“How’s it going, guys?” Tino asked, walking in.

“Good.” Both Jared and I replied. Tino stopped short at he got a good look at me.“why are you wearing so much makeup?”

“I think the owner of the Prius is attractive.” I blurted out.

“Martha?” Tino asked. “The 47 year old white lady?”

Jared choked on his gum.

I shot him a glare.

“She has a son. He caught my eye when he came to the shoppe to drop off the keys to the car.” I explained.

“Mmm.” Was all Tino said as he walked through to his office. He stopped short just before disappearing into the room, and called over his shoulder “Put some shoes on.”

I stared down at my muddy bare feet in horror.

---

Chapter 9: The Bad Girl Get’s Her Groove On

Make sure you guys give the song above a listen to you can really feel the grooviness!

“Thanks for coming out, Alex.” Jaq spoke over the sound of the cart wheels rolling against the wooden flooring. It was now about 9 in the morning, and I was beyond tired. Tino had us clock out at around 2 am last night, then told me that if I ever decided to go out while clocked in again, he’ll take away my motorcycle and see just how great I am at running… everywhere. He was savage like that.

I sighed to myself, rubbing my eyes. Another day, another dollar.

That would be accurate if I was actually getting paid for this shit.

“Thanks for inviting me.” I smiled back weakly. “And sorry I had to disappear so suddenly. I had to be back at the shoppe by midnight or my ass would’ve been in deep shit.”

“No worries. Im glad you had fun. I saw you dancing with someone on the dance floor … You never told me you could dance.”

“That never can up.” I replied, shooting him a grin.

“Where was I through all this?” Gus asked with a pout.

“You got wasted. I think at some point in time, you opened a tab on your card and bought like 8 rounds of shots for random strangers. It was at that point, I decided you needed to go the fuck home.” Jaq replied. I laughed as Gus groaned.

We arrived at the end of the hallway and I pushed open the door to the room I had been working on. Today was cleaning the windows. Tomorrow would be waxing the floor, then I’d be done.

Gus set the speakers up, but this time I plugged in my phone before any of the guys could protest. It’s Your World by Jennifer Hudson began to play and I knew, this window cleaner would soon become a microphone stand. Sure enough, seconds later, I was sliding across the floor going full out.

“I walk over that rainbow and leave it to you, that pot of gold…” I did a few twirls with the wiper before facing the large mirrors that spanned out across the entire wall…

Christian’s POV

I made my way down the back hallway with my large dancing bag in hand. I, for once, didn’t have class to teach today. I wanted to see if any of the back studios were still usable for a bit of practice before my world history class would start. Drangsteviet had informed me that there was another janitor cleaning out those studios. I had yet to meet him.

I noticed Gus and Jaq getting to work. I gave them a wave and they smiled back, before a headed into the studio. Only seconds later, a song I knew all too well began to play.

The music was incredibly loud, but it shouldn’t have been considering I had closed the door of the studio on my way in. Curiosity got the best of me, as I switched the mirrors setting to window view. Sure enough, standing in the studio directly across from me, was a women in a pair of cute overalls, starting to get into the groove of the music. Soon after, the window cleaner became her microphone as she lip-synch perfectly to the song It’s Your World by Jennifer Hudson.

A smile automatically broke out, but that was replaced with astonishment as I saw just how good she actually was at dancing… and it didn’t even look like she was trying.“ It’s your world. Its your world. Boy, if you ask it shall be given.“ She had gone in full force with the vocals.

I walked over to the mirror setting and switched her mirror to a window. She froze suddenly from dancing as she saw me standing there in front of her. We were now both staring through a window at each other. My body was already grooving to the rhythm, and as soon as the male part started, I jumped in with lip-synching. “See a women like you babe, shouldn’t have to ask for nothing baby no no no.” I sang, slowly moving my body before I broke out to a break dance on the floor. A grin crept up on her face, but she had still gone rosy from embarrassment. “All you gotta do… no no no…” My body slid across the floor.

“Ooh if you’re in need of love. Boy it don’t matter what.” She sang. “Even the moon and the stars above!”

I moved closer to the mirror. “You can have my heart. You can have my car. I’ll cut it out of me. And give you my heart.” My hand grasped my chest.

“See that Universe?” She pointed towards the ceiling, “And all of the planets?”

“Belongs to you,” I pointed towards her, “Just reach up and grab it… Heyyyyyy-y-y-y-yyy.” I sang, really getting into it.

“Heyyyyyy-yyyy-yyyyyy yeah.” She countered, slowly sliding down her fake microphone as her neck vein bulged from how hard she hit those notes.

“Oooh…. it’s your world!”

“It’s your world!”

“Baby!”

“Baby!”

“You deserve the whole world!”

“Whole world!” She sang, moving closer to the mirror herself as she poured her heart and soul into it.

“And everything in it. It’s your world! Gunna wrap it up.”

“Gunna wrap it up!”

“And give it to you!”

“Gunna give it to you!”

“Anything you want, anything you need, I will surely do.” We both sang, as we were now both mere inches away from the glass. This close, I could really see her beauty. Those eyes though… they looked so familiar.

It felt as if I was standing directly in front of her, without a barrier between us. I reached my hand out to touch the glass and she did the same, as we both grinned like maniacs, but she quickly pulled away and looked towards the door.

There, standing before us with her face pressed and arms crossed, was Marianne Drangsteviet.

---

Chapter 10: The Bad Girl Meets Christian Taylor

“It wasn’t her fault.”

“It doesn’t matter who’s fault it is, you know the rules.” Mrs. Drangsteviet snapped back at the mysterious blonde that was now sitting beside me in her office, before turning to me. “Consider this strike one, Ms. Diaz. Your shifts are now to only be at night as punishment.”

“That’s a bit harsh, Mrs. D-” the man argued, but Mrs. Drangsteviet quickly cut him off.

“Your input will do nothing, Mr. Taylor. Your father has long since approved of the way I handle things. I’d advise you to stay out of this.” She fired back.

“It was my fault to begin with. I distracted her from her work when I entered the studio. She shouldn’t be punished for that.” He insisted. His face looked determined as he continued to argue on my behalf.

Who the hell even was this guy anyways?

I cut in before the situation could escalate any further. “Night shifts. Got it.” I really didn’t though, all I could think about was how to explain to Tino that this would now interfere with my work at the shoppe. He was going to actually kill me. “I’ll start coming in then.” I replied, standing up.

“You really shouldn’t have to-” the blonde started up as he turned to me, but once again, Mrs. Drangsteviet cut in.

“It’s settled then. Both you and Christian may leave my office now. Pack up your stuff, Alex, You’re done for the day.” She instructed. I nodded silently to her before standing up and walking back out into the main office room of the Career Center. It didn’t take long for the blonde haired boy… I guess his name was Christian, to catch up with me.

“I’m sorry about that.” He spoke. His voice had this low gravitating feel that sort of pulled you in to every word he spoke. He could have been giving a speech on asexual reproduction and he would have made it sound like it was the most important thing in the world. It sounded so familiar but I couldn’t quite grasp where I’d heard it from.

“It’s fine.” I replied. I wasn’t necessarily mad at him, but rather myself for fucking up this badly on my first couple days. I just really needed to get my hours and be done. I couldn’t afford anymore screw ups.

“Your dancing though… you’re really good.” He continued. “This question might seem weird but, were you at a club Tipsy Bartender last night?”

“Did my uncle hire you?” I asked, peering up at him now.

“What? No. Why would he do that?” The boy asked, as his eyes furrowed in confusion. “I was just asking because I think we danced together last night.”

“Oh.” I whispered to myself, looking away to hide the embarrassment of what I had just asked him. It wasn’t above Tino to hire someone to figure out where I had went last night. In fact, I’d be more surprised if he didn’t. Tino got protective when it came to me going out alone. As I looked back at Christian through the corner of my eye, I noticed his eyes. They looked far more familiar than I initially thought as I envisioned him with a black masquerade mask on. “You’re the mystery guy.” I whispered.

“And you’re the mystery gal who sped off before I could get your… well, before I could get your anything.”

“Yeah,” I nodded awkwardly, “sorry about that. I had an emergency I had to attend to.” I explained.

“It’s okay. I’m glad I got to see you again.” He replied, sending me a grin that made my heart beat race and my knees weak.

What was this terrifying feeling?

Only Paul Walker made me feel this way in Fast and Furious.

I think I’m dying.

“M-Mhm.” I replied barely coherent. “So you attend this school?” I asked him. He chuckled slightly which made my eyebrows furrow.

“You really have zero idea who I am.” He stated, shaking his head. “Yeah I attend this academy.”

“Should I know who you are?” I asked him curiously.

“Considering you’re only here for volunteer hours, probably not.” He nodded to himself.

“I’m actually here for community service. It’s this or jail time.” I replied. His eyes grew large in surprise, but then narrowed in curiosity.

“I had no idea that the Academy of Classical Ballet offered hours for community service.”

“Neither did I.” I admitted. It took me by surprised from how unfazed he was by the fact that I was here from a judge sentencing.

We had both now made it to the end of the hall where I had left my cart of items and cleaning supplies. I started organizing them back on the cart.

“How many hours are you serving?” He asked.

“36. I’ve got about three hours done so far, and one strike. Let’s hope I actually get these hours.” I replied. He stood silent for a bit as I wiped down the cleaning supplies.

“Sorry again about that… Last night at the Tipsy Bartender- your dancing was incredible. Did you go to dance school?” He asked.

“This quickly became 20 questions.” I noted as I push the rest of the items onto the cart and locked up the studio behind me.

“Sorry.” He replied, but this slight grin never left his lips.

“Half my family is Mexican, so I grew up around the Latino culture.” I explained.

“That’s very interesting.” He noted.

I was now using breathing exercises to stop myself from hyperventilating as Christian just stared at me while I worked. It should have felt creepy, but instead, It felt like my appendix had burst and infectious liquid was now leaking through my body. It was a feeling I had never really experienced before…

Besides when I raced of course. That rush was forever engraved.

We both made our way back to the career center so I could return the cart and grab my things. He walked me all the way out to my motorcycle as I continued to speak with him about myself. For some reason, the conversation flowed smoothly. His company felt so easy and comfortable, like I was catching up with a long lost friend, rather than a chatting for the second time with a total stranger.

My mind kept wandering back to the night before, and how good his hands felt against me. How captivating that man was… and still is.

I couldn’t help but get drawn in to him.

---

Took a little spring break break there, but I’m back (; writers block is fucking with me -.-’ hope the chapter wasn’t too terrible.

Chapter 11: The Bad Girl Works The Night Shift pt. 1

“Ooooh you likeeeee himmmmm.” Jared chanted.

I threw a wrench at him.

He ducked just in time to have it hit Tino in the thigh. I quickly got back to work before Tino’s gaze pierced through my soul.

“I barely even know him, Jared. I just thought it was sweet of him to stand up for me. That’s all.” I insisted.

“You know what won’t be sweet? Jail time.” Tino cut in. Always the optimist.

“I won’t let it get to that, I promise. The lady in charge of my hours has a perpetual stick shoved up her ass. Plus, she won’t even be there during night hours. It’s only one strike-”

“And it was bound to happen.” Jared added, interrupting me. Tino still looked unconvinced. I was glad he was concerned about me. There really wasn’t a limit to how much Tino would sacrifice and help me. I think it scared him that there was now nothing he could do to prevent me from jail time if it came to that. I wouldn’t be locked up for long at all, but Tino cared for me as if I were his own. Family meant something to him, and I wouldn’t give up that feeling of belonging for anything.

I gave him the best reassuring grin I could muster.

“You barely know this kid, Alex. Don’t do anything you might end up regretting. Just get in and get your hours done.” Tino insisted. I gave him a slight nod. “Are you planning on heading back over again tonight?” Tino asked.

I gave him another nod. “Two more hours tonight, then I get a break tomorrow. It’s a pretty simple job, and I really like the guys I work with.” I explained.

Jared drew a heart into the air with his fingers.

A threw another wrench at him.

This one hit its mark as he rubbed his arm in pain from the impact.

“No throwing metal objects at each other. My tools are my babies. And as long as I see your finished time card by the end of this, I don’t care how you go about it.” Tino replied. “Now I’m heading in to take care of some work then I’ll be out late with the guys tonight. Please don’t do anything stupid.” He added, before pulling off his jumpsuit and heading out through the back entrance.

“You know what tonight is, right?” Jared asked as soon as we heard Tino’s car pull out from the lot. We could never be too sure with Tino. He was like a freaking ninja.

“Just the fix I need. It feels like I haven’t raced in ages.” I replied. The adrenaline had already started to rush though my body from anticipation for tonight. “No fuck ups tonight though. Get 2 more guys on each route tonight for the hottest paths out from the inner city. We need a quick exit incase things go wrong. Also, only inner circle tonight. No randoms. Which means no random chicks either who are going to get wasted then act like dipshits.”

“Done deal. I’ll let Nicolias know.” Jared nodded. I gave him a stern stare which made him know I was absolutely serious on this one. Shit always hit the fan whenever random people showed up to these things. They would either start fights, or get too wasted. Last year, a chic threw a cooler through the window of a fucking Countach. “Are you going to bring your lover boy?” Jared asked.

“I don’t really think this would be his scene… plus, I don’t actually have any of his contact info, now that I think about it.” I replied. Jared looked at me with disbelief.

“Smooth Alex. Smooth.”

“Shut up.” I replied, sending a wink his way before getting back to work.

~

The halls seemed far more creepier at night as I walked through the corridors of the ballet academy. Only half the light were still running to conserve energy and all the studios were now locked up besides a few where some classes had just ended. I made it to the career center and clocked in before grabbing the cart of cleaning supplies. I would really miss working with Gus and Jaq, but not having to worry about Mrs. Drangsteviet breathing down my neck was a blessing. I wanted to get the studios on the far right wing completed today, so there wouldn’t be much work left for Jaq and Gus. It was now about 8, and the races started at 11 tonight. Jared was going to send out a mass text for the location of the meet, and the layout of the alternative routes we would be using.

Racing was a wonderful way to end the night.

I pushed the cart through the halls, but came to stop when a noticed a familiar figure in one of the opened studio rooms. Christian was standing in the middle of one of the smaller dance rooms as the music gently flowed. The tune was soft and beautiful with classical undertones. He moved with the melody in a way that made my body still. His body became something else. He became something else. He was captivating and I found myself sitting at the edge of the doorway, watching.

He was in a pair of loose fitted sweatpants and a casual shirt. His platinum hair looked like he had run his hands through it one too many times… but I liked it that way. The music began to fade as the song approached the end. When it finished, he looked over at me with a smile playing at his lips. I didn’t know he had noticed I was here to begin with.

I couldn’t help but smile back.

Chapter 12: The Bad Girl Works The Night Shift pt. 2

“What brings you to these neck of the woods?” Christian asked as he moved to pause the music before the next song played.

“Potential jail time.” I reminded him, raising my cleaning supplies up in front of me. He gave me another grin.

“Right right right. I’m sorry again about that-” he started but I just waved him off.

“Not your fault.” I replied. He gave me another smile that threw my heartbeat out of rhythm. I just couldn’t get over how beautiful this kid was. His perfect smile. His perfect lips…

“So tell me more about yourself, Ms. Community Service.”

“You first, Mr. Ballerina.”

“That’s not the correct term for a male ballet dancer.” He laughed, sitting down a few feet away from where I was.

“I’m aware.” I replied, shooting him a half smile. “How long have you been dancing for?” I asked.

“For as long as I can remember.” He replied honestly. “My father put me into lessons at a very young age. They wanted me to be exactly like my brother was… a prodigy.”

“Who’s your brother?” I asked.

“Someone you probably wouldn’t know… no offense.” He added quickly.

“None taken.” I chuckled. My smile wavered slightly. The oddest part was… I probably had heard of his brother. My obsession with dance when I was younger, had submerged me into the world of ballet. Every now and then, I found myself catching up with the major highlights.

“I started in with tap, then advanced to ballet and contemporary when my body started to develop. My father was… demanding, but it gave me the push I needed. I’ve learnt and improved because of it.” He explained. “It’s now you’re turn, Ms. Diaz.”

“Well I can promise you I haven’t committed to anything in my lifetime… besides eating of course.” I replied. He laughed at that. “I took some dance lessons when I was younger, but it never really interested me.” I lied. “My uncle bought an auto shop when he was very young and created a business from it. My parents brought me around a lot and I guess I just took a liking to what he did. Cars pretty soon after consumed my life. He taught me everything I now know about parts and engines. I fell in love with the complexity yet simplicity of assembling a car.”

“That’s really cool that you’re into that.” Christian replied, smiling as he shifted closer. “But now I’ve gotta ask, what landed you here?”

“Bad decisions.” I chuckled. “Multiple bad decisions on my part.”

“You didn’t like… shoot someone… did you?” Christian asked. I looked at him like he had grown a second head.

“I’m pretty sure murderers don’t get community service. Like I’m pretty sure there’s jail time somewhere in there.” I replied, grinning. His lips slipped into an easy smile as he too realized how crazy that actually sounded.

“Well, I still don’t know exactly what you did, but I’ll let you keep your secrets.” He replied. “For now, I would however love another dance.” He spoke, standing up and offering me a hand. Mine hesitantly slipped into his.

It felt nice… my cold fingers encased in his warm palm as he lead me into the center of the room. I sort of didn’t want to let go, and I didn’t think he did either because he then lead us both over to the speaker to play the music again. The song that started through the speakers was one I noticed almost instantly. Jon Bellion began to fill the empty studio with his song Run Wild…

Holy verses in his kiss…

He was your bible.

You found nature in his lips…

The sex was tribal…

He gently pulled me closer to his body as he transferred my fingers from his hands to his shoulders. His hands then found their way around my waist. I shivered slightly against his touch and proximity of our bodies. Being this close to him without him wearing a mask was even more intense. His pale complexion against those gorgeous eyes drew me in.

He brought purpose to your hips…

His hands slid slightly to my lower waist as he lead me across the dance floor

Your souls revival

Such a hopeful Eve

But Adam let you down…

My body became in sync with his movements and the rhythm of the music as we began a somewhat contemporary style of dance. I felt… secure… if that was the right word for it. Every movement he made, he felt so sure about it. There was no second guessing. No hesitation. it was not like anything I had experienced before, besides that night at the club. I hadn’t even realized my eyes had drifted close until I opened them again to find his face mere inches from mine. My hand slid down from his shoulder to his chest. i could feel his heartbeat through the light shirt he was wearing. Our breathing labored slightly yet we continued to sway to the music.

“Does dancing give you a rush?” I asked him quietly. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t pull my eyes away from his.

“There’s nothing more intense than being on a stage in front of hundreds of people watching your every move as if it was a dance fit for the gods. I told myself I was dancing for the satisfaction and approval of my father, but now I think its more than that… it’s addictive, It’s a rush I’ve grown so dependent on, I’m not sure what I’d do without it.” He replied honestly. I smiled back up at him, as I began to realize just how alike I was to this boy. “What is it?” he asked, drawing even nearer. My heart was a few mere seconds away from abandoning ship.

“Whatchya got planned for tonight?”

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Chapter 13: The Bad Girl Gets Her Race On

Christian Taylor’s POV

“Yeah I’m not too sure about that.” I replied, glancing back between Alex and her motorcycle.

“I’ll have you know I’m an insanely safe rider.” She replied with a grin that was nothing short of mischievous. I couldn’t help but smile back, regardless of how uneasy of a smile it was.

“Goody.” I whispered under my breathy, before hesitantly getting on the death contraption behind Alex. As soon as she fired up the engine, my hands wrapped themselves tightly around her waist. The cool leather of her jacket felt nice against my warm hands. I got a whiff of her shampoo right before she passed me her helmet to slip on. “Please don’t kill us!” I shouted out over the engine, but either she didn’t hear me or she chose to pretend like she didn’t as she pulled us out of the ballet parking lot and onto the main roads.

I’d like to believe I handled the ride pretty well for my first time on a motorcycle, and everything went okay… except the fucking turns. I felt like I was about to fall off when Alex took sharp turns on the exits from the freeway.

“You made it!” a voice called out from the quickly growing group of people Alex was walking us towards in this sketched out parking ramp we’d pulled into. A man began to separate himself from the crowd as he approached Alex and gave her a hug from behind, surprising her.

“Get off me, Jared!” Alex shot back. I felt myself get a bit uneasy as he continued to cling to her, but literally seconds later, Alex kneed him in his crown jewels and the guy doubled over.

“Easy, love, easy.” Jared groaned.

“Jared, meet Christian. Christian, this is Jared.”

“Oooh is this lover bo-” Jared started, but before he could finish, Alex gave him another swift kick to his groin which brought him right back down to the ground. I glanced over at Alex with a large grin. She glanced back but quickly looked away with embarrassment. We were further interrupted by yet another man who had separated himself from the crowd.

“Stop abusing Jared, Alex, and lets get this show on the road.” He spoke. He was much larger than Jared was and looked a bit older too. I didn’t recognize his accent but it definitely wasn’t american.

“Nothing Jared didn’t deserve, Caleb.” Alex replied, shooting him a wink. He replied with a chuckle. “Caleb, this is Christian. Christian, Caleb.”

“How you doing, man.” The guy nodded towards me. The lights from the parking ramp amplified his dark edgy features.

“Good, man. Yourself?” I asked, nodding back.

“Hanging in there. We’re just about to head out. Location of the races starts here.”

“Races?” I asked, but before he could reply, Alex intercepted.

“Where’s my ride?” Alex asked the man. He signaled for us to follow as he lead us up a level of the parking ramp. There was 12 insanely beautiful cars parked perfectly up on this level. Alex walked towards a silver car that was parked at the end of the ramp. “Goddamn what a beauty.” She whispered, trailing her hands delicately against the body of the car.

“Modded just the way you asked.” Caleb spoke.

“She’s gunna be a beast tonight.” Alex replied.

“Could someone fill me in, because I think I’m lost. So it’s car racing we’re doing tonight?” I asked Alex.

“Think NASCAR… but more illegal.” She replied.

“Oh, and way sicker rides.” Caleb added.

I was kinda starting to understand how this girl wound up with community service. He heard a few more sounds as the rest of the group from the level below us, started to make their way up the ramp.

“The race will start here, and run through the city.” Alex explained.

“It’s a 10 mile course that has been blocked off by our guys. We’ve got our best men out for any police interference but for the most part, we don’t expect any.” Caleb continued.

“Now I know I didn’t really explain to you what we were doing, and I’ll more than understand if you don’t want to do this… but I wanted to show you what gives me a rush.” Alex spoke, as she turned from the car to look at me. Caleb gave me a slight nod, before leaving us to join the group that were now getting settled in their rides.

I stood there to think for a moment as I weighed my options. I could either stay in this creepy ass ramp and wait out the race… or join the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in an act that’ll surely kill me.

“You think I’m beautiful?” Alex asked. My cheeks heated up intensely.

“I said that out loud?” I more or less whispered in horrification. When I glanced back at her, I couldn’t help but smile at how beautiful she truly was. She glanced away nervously at my heated gaze. “I mean I guess this isn’t such a bad way to go out.” I replied, walking around to the passenger side of the car and sliding in.

Alex kept a large grin on her face as she slid into the drivers side of the car. The car was a push to start and when she held the button down, the beauty roared to life. “What kinda of car is this?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“It’s a Tesla Model S.” Alex replied. “Most of the drivers are either using their own car, or someone they know lent them theirs. This car is Caleb’s but I’ve been paying him to do a couple mods through the cars system. My uncle isn’t a fan of Tesla’s so working on one in his shoppe is out of the question.”

“It’s incredible.” I admitted, as the systems fired on. LED’s lined the seats and under the dash that provided just enough light to take note of the gorgeous leather interior.

Alex pulled the car out from the parked position and drove it down the ramp towards the exit, following the other drivers. We passed by the parked vehicles that the drivers had used to drive here with before making it out to the ticketing area. Each car pulled up to the gate and waited.

“What are we waiting for?” I asked. Alex pointed to Caleb who was now in the Ticketing booth inputting some information into the computer. “That seems pretty illegal.” I noted to myself.

“Assume everything happening right now, is.” Alex replied, sending a wink my way. Before I could respond, the sound of a loud buzzer went off and the gates were lifted simultaneously. I barely had time to grab onto the side bar of the door before Alex took off down the vacant street.

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Chapter 14: The Bad Girl Kicks Ass

An upload a day keeps my slightly intimidating readers away 😅❤

Lights flashed around us as Alex pulled the car off the main streets and onto the back roads. We were currently in second place, but Alex was basically riding the guy’s ass in front of us.

I hadn’t pulled my eyes off of Alex as she drove. She had this look etched into her face of pure excitement and happiness. I think I finally understood why she loved this. The city was different at this speed… everything looked different, more beautiful perhaps. Though I was clutching the drivers door handle as tightly as I could, Alex had never looked more relaxed. Her body had eased itself into the drivers seat as her hands rested comfortably against her knees.

“How ya hanging in there?“She asked me, taking her eyes off the road for only a fraction of a second to catch mine. I gave her a smile.

“You haven’t killed us yet.” I replied.

“Don’t jinx it.” she warned, sending a wink my way.

She took another sharp turned onto a main road and tried to pass the car in front of us, but he swerved into our lane to prevent it. I could practically feel my heart ready to give out as she took another sharp turned that would have sent me flying if I wasn’t wearing a seat belt.

“Goddamn it.” She hissed again. “What makes this so difficult, is that some people are racing with cars that are just shy of half a mil. Because of that, and the safety of the driver, no dirty moves are allowed. An accident on a public road during an illegal race is the last thing any of us want. Because of this, some drivers do a dick moves such as this, where they’ll hold you up but blocking one lane.” Alex explained, gesturing towards the car in front of us.

“How do you pass a car like that?” I asked.

“By doing this.” She replied. She swerved the car to the left as if she was going to overtake them in the left shoulder so the car swerved left to block us which created an opening on the right shoulder. Alex almost instantly swerved her car to the right opening and gained speed. The car followed in suit right beside us, hoping to beat us in speed so that we wouldn’t gain the lead, but Alex’s car sped up to a smooth 120 with ease and she pulled out in front.

“Fuck yeah!” I exclaimed, feeling the adrenaline rush through me. Alex looked over at me with the largest grin plastered on her face as we pulled through the last street and back towards the first slot of the parking ramp entrance. The second car pulled in moments later besides us. The guy got out almost instantly and began to pound on the passenger side of our window.

“Get the fuck outta the car.” the guy hissed. I looked back at Alex, completely startled, but she was already walking around to the other side of the car. “Get your fucking hands off my car.” Alex shot back with such aggressiveness I’d never seen before.

“What the fuck are you gunna do about it, puta?” The man countered.

I looked at Alex like she grew a second head when she responded with “What the fuck did you call me?” Some more cars had started to pull through into the ticketing lanes and  a few guys had come out, including Jared. I got out of the car to join him. “Listen to me, you peice of shit-” Alex started, but before she could finish, The guy took a swing at her and landed a hook right by her chin and bottom lip area. I tried to move to help, but Jared grabbed me and held me back.

“What the fuck are you doing man, let go of me. He just punched her!” I yelled at him.

“Alex has been racing for years, kid. If anyone can handle themselves, it’s her.” Caleb replied as he approached us.

Alex stumbled back slightly from impact and touched her bottom lip that was now busted open. The guy began to laugh but stopped short when he saw the borderline mental smile that was plastered on Alex’s face as blood ran down her chin. The guy swung again but struck out this time as Alex dodged the punch and instead grabbed his arm and twisted hard. The guy fell to his knees almost instantly… or at least almost did, but all that did was bring him to Alex’s level which she then delivered a swift and fierce kick to his groin. He fell to the ground in seconds.

“I’ll handle this.” Caleb spoke as he stepped in for Alex. Jared and I walked towards her and Jared offered a towel for her bleeding lip. Caleb grabbed the guy by the shirt and delivered a nasty blow to his face. Then another. Then one more. “Let this be an example for anyone who has something to say for losing fair and square. I will not tolerate this bullshit at these events.” Caleb spoke as his body practically towered over the other man’s who was now trying to pick his bloody self off the floor.

“Are you okay, Alex?” I asked as she made her way back to her motorcycle with me following close behind. Most of the drivers were now getting into their vehicles. I glanced at my phone to see it was almost one in the morning now.

“I’m fine, thanks. Surprisingly, this was probably the least violent the scenario could’ve gotten.” Alex replied, offering me a small bloody smile.

“I’m taking off, Alex!” Jared called from across the parking ramp.

“Sounds good!” Alex called back, then grimaced slightly from the open cut on her lip. She pulled the keys for her motorcycle out of her pocket, and handed me the helmet.

“Shouldn’t you be the one wearing the helmet?”

“And why is that? Because I’m a women?” she countered, starting up the motorcycle. I wasn’t too sure how to respond, mainly because that was exactly why I said it.

“My uncle raised me by a saying ‘All skulls break the same.’ That was the reason he let me ride in the first place.” Alex explained. I nodded in understanding as I put the helmet on. Better not argue with the women who just took a 200 pound dude down.

She pulled out of the parking ramp and we headed back to the ballet studio. The drive back didn’t feel half as long as the drive to the parking ramp. When we arrived, Alex slid into the motorcycle spot and killed the engine. I took off the helmet and handed it back to her before getting off the bike.

I knew it was late, but I didn’t want the night to end just yet. Maybe that’s what drove me to say what I did, next…

“Come in for a second, let me bandage up that lip for you.”

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Chapter 15: The Bad Girl Gets Bandaged Up

Alex’s POV

I sat for a second to think about it. I knew it was getting late and Tino probably wanted me home by now, but as I looked back on the handsome man leaning against the studio doors, fiddling with the keys in his hand as a smile played on his lips, that all went out the window.

I finally nodded to him and a large grin spread across his face. He slid the key into the lock and push the main doors open before holding it out for me to walk through. Most of the lights had been switched off but the hallway lights were only partly dimmed. He lead us towards the smaller studios of the building, located in the east wing.

“There should be a first aid kit around here somewhere.” Christian spoke as he rummaged through the cabinets of one of the studios. “Got it!” He called, pulling out a white box from the bottom shelf. I went ahead and took a seat on the floor of the studio, and he set everything down beside me.

“Give it to me straight, doc. How bad is it? How long do I have?” I asked. He chuckled that.

“You’re fine, just a cut and some bruising.” He replied, opening up some of dampened antibacterial clothes and setting them out on top of their packaging. “This is going to sting a bit.” He warned me, as he shifted closer and gently brought the cloth up to my lip. I felt the slight stinging sensation he had warned me about when he carefully wiped the blood away and cleaned out the wound. His face was mere inches away from mine, and I just couldn’t help myself from getting drawn into his features. God himself must have blessed this pregnancy because there was no way he was solely man made. “Where did you learn to handle yourself like that?” Christian asked me.

“My uncle Tino.” I replied honestly. “He put me in self defense classes for a few weeks until I lost interest in them. Some things just stayed with me I guess. Races usually don’t this crazy when it’s inner circle. The guy that was racing today was someone I didn’t recognize, which is odd considering I told Jared to keep it strictly inner circle for this very reason.” I explained. He nodded back in understanding.

“Aren’t your parents going to worry about you being out this late?” Christian asked.

“I don’t live with my parents, I live with my uncle.” I explained. He gave me another nod.

“Did you have some kind of falling out?” He asked me.

“Something like that.” I replied. He shifted a bit closer as he carefully placed the bandage strip in my lip. He was now the closest he’s ever been to me, and I was pretty sure my heart was ready to give out.

“I’m prying, aren’t I?” He asked. His voice came out as more of a raspy whisper that sent shivers down my spine.

“Something like that.” I whispered back. His lips twitched up into a smile. His eyes were now burning through mine as he looked down at me. I could feel my cheeks getting heated.

“All done.” He announced. My lips went up to gently touch his handy work. It no longer stung as bad, but I could feel the area begin to swell up. There was only so much we could do with a ballet first aid kit. I’d just have to ice it when I got home.

“Tell me more about yourself?” I asked, breaking whatever moment this was, to catch my breath. His grin didn’t falter as he pulled back a bit to add some space between us. I was now 100% sure my heart was about to give out from the intensity of his gaze.

“What would you like to know?” He asked in response.

“You mentioned you had a brother… are you two close?” I asked. His smile faltered.

“We’re… conversational. We only talk when its necessary, and its rarely ever necessary. Usually we prefer to relay everything through our parents.” Christian explained. I nibbled on the only good side of my lip as I digested his words.

“Did he go to this academy?’ I asked. Christian chuckled to himself.

“Yeah, he went here.”

“What’s so funny?” I asked curiously.

“Nothing nothing.” He replied, still grinning. “You’re just so.. you.”

“I’m just so.. me?” I asked, unsure as to what he meant by that.

“I’m not sure how to explain, but you’re so honest and genuine. It’s new and refreshing.” I smiled at his words. “What did you want to be when you were younger?”

I needed to take a second to think about it. I mean, I wanted to hopefully get into sports car racing… but it was different before. Before the accident, when dancing was still a part of my life. “I’m not too sure.” I lied. He looked at me a little skeptically.

“You didn’t want to be anything?” He asked.

“Well I did. Racing is my passion, but I only picked it up a few years back.” I explained. “It was a spur of the moment decision to start learning about cars.”

“You’re damn good at it. Seriously. Damn good.” Christian spoke. I couldn’t help but smile.

Conversation came easy when it was with him. I just got this feeling that he understood why I couldn’t tell him everything. He didn’t rush me or push me say anything I didn’t want to, and It was something I appreciated more than he could possibly imagine.

I glanced down at the screen on my phone. It was now almost 2 in the morning. “I should probably start heading back home.” I sighed.

“Let me just pack up some things here and we can walk out together.” Christian spoke as he returned the medical kit back into the cupboard and we made our way out of the building. Fresh air felt nothing shy of rejuvenating as he walked me towards my bike. “So this looks like goodnight, yeah?” He asked. I nodded.

“I’m not sure what you’ve got planned for this next week, but my uncle is letting me host a race next Thursday. I’ll be in it as well if you want to come see me. This one will be very legal and definitely not as cool and my uncle will be there which practically guarantees no booze or fighting-”

“I’d love to,” Christian replied, cutting me short, “But I do have practice that night. Would it be okay if I swung by after practice?”

“Yes of course.” I nodded. He smiled down at me before slowly walking closer. I inched backwards until I felt my butt bump against the bike’s seat. My heart beat began to pick up. I couldn’t tell what he was going to do next, but I could tell that my heart was soon about to go into cardiac arrest if this continued. My eyelids drifted closed in anticipation but instead, I felt his lips gently press against my temple.

“Goodnight, Ms. Riaz.” He whispered somewhere close to my ear, causing another shiver to run though my body.

“Goodnight, Mr. Taylor.” I replied, slowly opening my eyes to watch him shoot me a wink from his drivers door, before starting his engine. I hadn’t notice his car parked there before, but it was a beauty. Definitely not something an average ballet student would be driving though…

But I didn’t have time to dwell on it too much as Christian took off and I followed in suit, hoping to make it back home before Tino woke up for work.

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Chapter 16: The Bad Girl Gets A Text

“How’s the lip, sleeping beauty?”

“Jared, why the hell are you in my room? Its quite literally my one full day off till next Thursday.” I mumbled into my pillow. The sun had begun to shine through my curtains, urging me to wake up, but the Sunday morning blues kept me in bed.

“Decided to come check in on you before I headed into work with Tino today. He heard you come in at 2:30 this morning so I suggest you get your story in check.” Jared replied, with a slight smirk playing on his lips. That caught my attention as I sat my head up. “How was the rest of your night out with lover boy? Looks like he bandaged your lip up pretty well.” Jared noted.

My fingers went over the bandages he had put around the area. I had grabbed a bag of peas from the fridge last night after I got home, in hopes of reducing the swelling. I must have fallen asleep with the bag because it was now completely defrosted and currently sitting in a puddle of water at the edge of my bed. Regardless, the bag worked. As I ran my fingers across the edge of my mouth and down by my chin, I didn’t feel much inflammation and swelling.

“Yeah he offered to help after we left the races.” I explained, finally pulling my body up to a sitting position since it was clear this idiot wasn’t leaving for at least a few more good minutes.

“I hope the violence wasn’t off putting for him. Caleb didn’t even know who that guy was in the first place. Apparently he tagged along with Vicio when Vicio left a party to come here.” Jared explained.

“This is why we don’t allow outsiders to just show up. It’s conflicting and inconvenient for everyone when we’ve got to deal with some asshole who doesn’t get the underground racing world.” I sighed. Jared nodded in agreement.“How long are you working today for?” I asked.

“Probably till Tino says I can close up shoppe, so maybe around 11pm.”

“Tino still punishing you?” I asked, but cursed silently to myself as Jared peered down at me.

“Punishing me ? Don’t you mean punishing us ?” he asked suspiciously. I offered him a small smile.

“Tino told me my overtime hours could be done since I’ve been getting my community service done.” I explained. Jared gasped.

“How dare he! Just let you off the hook for something I may or may not have been at fault for!” Jared yelled in outrage. “Nothing has been proven yet.” He added quietly.

“You’ve only got a bit left to do on the last car anyways.” I reminded him. He gave me a groan in return. “I was hoping we could have grabbed some ice cream in the cities then head to Caleb’s. I think he had a thing going on tonight.”

“Might have to hit you with a rain check, little one. I’ll see him next week anyways at the race. Have you worked out details with Tino?”

“I think so. We were going to meet today to talk it over but it looks like he might have to fly out for a trip tonight.” I replied, as I glanced at the message Tino left for me.

Talk about Thursday when I get back? Love you.

“Wait… so Tino left already?” Jared asked in disbelief. “Then why the hell am I even up right now?”

“Because you need to clock in and finish the car before he gets back which will most likely be late at night/early morning tomorrow.” I reminded him. He made a sound I hadn’t really heard a human make before but I’m guessing it was along the lines of a groan.

“I hate when your right,” Jared sighed.

“Which is all the time.” I replied with a grin. He gave me one more exaggerated groan before slipping back out into the hallway. I glanced down at my phone again as it vibrated with a new message.

Hey, its Christian. You better be awake.

I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes to look at the text once more… then my eyes practically popped out of their sockets. My heartbeat began to quicken. How did Christian get my number? And oh my god Christian Taylor has my fucking number.

Christian? How did you get my number?

I asked. My phone vibrated seconds later.

You kept terribly tabs on your phone last night. I added it while you were driving.

My face grew red with embarrassment. How did I not notice? Thank god he wasn’t here to see that.

I’ll have you know I placed my phone in a prime position like so, so that you could infiltrate said cellular device and grab my number. #dontunderestimatemycapabilities

What a load of BS, it fell out of your pocket and into the middle aisle of the car when  you got in.

Accidentally on purpose, I tell you.

You confuse me.

I’m glad

.

I’m glad that you’re glad.

That was a terrible response.

I’m well aware. I promise to do better if you meet up with me today.

There’s this place off lake street called The Milk Jamèrie. They’ve got milkshakes to die for.

Milk Jamèrie. Got it. I hear milkshakes will bring all the boys to my yard.

Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with me?

I bet they do(:

Holy fucking shit. A smiley face.

We’re in, people. We’re in.

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Chapter 17: The Bad Girl Gets Propositioned

D-D-Double upload ✨

“I don’t understand.” I replied simply, slurping on the milkshake as Christian and I sat outside of Milk Jamèrie.

Today was such a perfect day with blue skies and sunshine. I had decided to wear a very flattering romper with a loose kimono, but that was nothing compared to Christian’s attire. For the first time in the few weeks I’d known him for, he was wearing jeans with a loose fitted faded top. It was this light faded redish pink color that looked absolutely amazing with his vibrant eyes and light hair.

“Well it’s a dance competition held by the ballet academy, but it’s open to the public.” Christian explained. “The only restriction to the contest is that you must enter with a partner.”

My hands gripped the milkshake glass a little tighter. I didn’t like the direction this conversation was going in. “I enjoy dancing, don’t get me wrong, but I’m just not cut out for that sort of thing.” I replied.

“Nonsense, Alex. You’re really good. Like really fucking good.” Christian insisted. “Plus, The cash prize is a couple grand. I have to participate in it anyways, so I was hoping you’d dance with me.”

I sighed again to myself. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to dance with him, but rather, I didn’t belong to this crowd. I didn’t belong to this lifestyle. I put a biker helmet on, not ballet shoes. Cat fights for me weren’t hair pulling and scratching, they were an uppercut to your chin and a right hook to the jawline. I wasn’t a fragile or gentle person, I was whatever this crazy life had made me.

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea. Why don’t you get someone from the ballet academy to dance with you?’ I asked.

“Because they aren’t you.” He replied. I glanced away as my cheeks started to heat up again. He was just so direct all the time. My fragile heart couldn’t take much more.

“But how would we practice? I’m putting in hours at my uncles shoppe, and I have community service at the ballet academy. Plus, I don’t attend the academy and the studios aren’t open to the public.” I explained.

“We can practice at night, after you finish your hours of community service.” He replied. I took another long slurp of my milkshake to buy me some time to think about all this. I mean, what was my excuse for not dancing? What exactly could I tell him that would actually be valid?

“I don’t know ballet.” I blurted. He chuckled.

“That’s totally bullshit. I’ve danced with you, Alex. It’s pretty clear that you’ve got at least some ballet lessons under your belt, and I could easily teach you the rest.” Christian replied. His eyes bore into mine. I silently groaned again. Fuck, this guy was persistent as hell.

“Alright.” I spoke finally. Screw his pretty eyes.

A large smile spread across his face. My eyes shifted down to my almost gone milkshake to avoid his gaze. He moved to say something else, but was cut short by his phone going off. “Hello?” He answered. there was another pause before he spoke again. “Calm down Payton. I already told you all I was doing was helping you with a few dance moves. That’s it. You need to learn the dance with your actual partner.” Christian spoke.

Now who the hell was Payton? I know I know, not my place… but still…

“I’m busy right now Payton- No, we cannot meet up, I’m with someone…. No, I’m not doing that…”

That’s right. He was busy. Busy having milkshakes with me .

“I’ll see you at the studio in about an hour.” Christian replied, before hanging up the phone.

I glanced up from my milkshake. “Soooo… Payyyyton…”

He released a low chuckle. “Just a friend.” He clarified. “She asked for my help with a routine for the dance, but I keep telling her she needs to work it out with her partner. I shouldn’t be involved with that when I’m also competing in the same competition.” Christian explained.

“Oh I see. She attends the academy with you, I’m guessing?”

“Yeah, She’s in one of my classes.”

“You teach classes?” I asked. This was news to me.

“Yeah my father made me head of the Contemporary Department.” He replied. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Your father?” I asked. His eyes grew wide.

“He uh, wanted me to take the position that had opened up.” Christian replied. I arched an eyebrow up, showing my skepticism. He just offered me a nervous smile. If he ran the Contemporary Department, and his father was able to get him this job, clearly his ties to this academy were far stronger than just having a sibling that went here. I had to admit, I was now intrigued. I wanted to know exactly who Christian Taylor was… And who his family was, without prying and being invasive of course.

“How’s teaching been going?” I asked.

“Well I’m still trying to get a grip on my actual studies, so balancing both teaching and classes when the school year rolls around, will be complicated to say the least.”

“What do your parents do?” I asked, changing the subject and trying to redirect the conversqation to more personal questions. A smirk played at his lips.

“They are both in business. My mother owns a few ballet stores, mostly catered to custom pointe and tap shoes, along with foot wraps, leotards, and any other item a ballet dancer might need. My father also owns a few small businesses here and there. They were both involved in the art of dance from a young age, and it carried on with them through business school and when they decided to implement these start ups.” Christian spoke.

I rested my elbows up against the outdoor table as I listened to him speak. When he spoke about his parents, he spoke with admiration for all they had managed to succeed in. Though I wasn’t much closer to understanding who Christian’s father was in particular, I was learning more about Christian, and I couldn’t be happier. “How about your parents?” He asked finally. I hesitated before replying.

“My father was a mechanic, much like my uncle.” I began. “When I was younger, He used to take me into shoppe with him during the mornings, before my afternoon classes. He had even ordered me this small work jumper to wear when we went under the car, or under the hood. Cars were- is… a family business. His brother, my uncle, worked the business portion of the company, But my dad was always hands on. He enjoyed the mechanics of a car… How they operated. When he first met my mother, he purposefully backed up into her car at a grocery store, so that he could offer to fix it and hopefully see her again. She used to tell me how obsessed he’d been with cars, but when they were married, He became just a little more obsessed with her. They married back in 89’.” I spoke, smiling slightly at the fond memory of the two.

It had been some time since I had allowed myself to think about my parents. It had been even longer since I had allowed myself to speak about them.

“What about your mother?” Christian spoke. His voice had grown softer. It was… calming. “What did she do?”

“My mother taught ballet.” I replied. His eyebrows raised, surprised. “She herself, danced for many years… but back then, it was different. A black ballerina wasn’t something that existed in society. All she ever heard was that her naturally muscular body and wider hips weren’t fit for ballet. She struggled to get ahead in the industry, and soon resorted to teaching. She had me in ballet shoes when I was old enough to walk.” I laughed, remembering the photo that was taken when I first learnt how to walk.

My dad insisted I get a bad ass pair of boots and a biker outfit, but my mother wasn’t having it. She put me in the cutest ballerina outfit with the money she had saved up though extra gigs. She had also purchased my first set of ballet shoes that I would wear when I grew into them. All these things were still boxed up in the attic at Tino’s. After the accident, it was the only alternative to burning everything.

Christian’s hand reached out and rested itself gently against mine.

“My uncle and father founded the business. Their father had left a large amount of money to both his kids when he passed. They put everything into car sales and repairs, and though it took a while, the business took off.

My uncle went back to college after previously dropping out and majored in business. He was able to double the profit they were making in months with his newfound education, but my father stuck to the one thing he knew best… cars.“ Christian leaned forward as he continued to listen intently. I knew I was speaking of my parents as if they were gone… and well, they were gone… but I just didn’t have the energy to hide that from Christian any longer.

He never tried to pry about my parents during the span of our conversation that afternoon. He just sat there and listened, as I spoke to him about the two people that single handily changed my life.

---

Chapter 18: The Bad Girl Gets Ready To Race

The rest of the week went by with a blur. I continued my nightly hours at the ballet academy, and Christian started working on the choreography for the dance. Every day that drew nearer to the race, was a day my heart felt like it was going to explode. I got the jitters when Wednesday came around.

“Is everything set?” Jared asked me as I released the engine oil filter and drained the old oil of an old Honda Tino had brought in for a friend.

“Yes, I spoke with Tino about everything. He’s closing shoppe and making it an all day event tomorrow. I’m almost done with my community service hours too so all that’s left is this next week and the dance thing Christian talked me into.” I replied. The old oil began to slowly fill the tray I had laid under it.

“Perfect. Everything’s in order with attendees. It’ll be different this time since Tino opens these kind of things up to the public. He chose the long stretch race track that’s further up by Sioux Falls. It’s your first official race of this magnitude. Be careful out there, alright? People don’t always play by the rules with these things.” Jared warned. I gave him a nod, before sliding the oil filled tray out from under the car. “What whip are you taking?”

“I kinda fell in love with that Tesla at the last race. Caleb did a wicked job with the mods on it. I’ve been working with him for a few more improvements from the bonus pay Tino gave me. I think it’s beast mode ready now.” I replied.

“It did the job at that last race, that’s for sure. You said you were pulling in second for a while there?” Jared asked.

“Yeah that asshat was blocking out both lanes because he knew my car would win in speed. This car goes 0-100 in 6 seconds flat, speed isn’t a setback but rather an enhancement to the car.” I explained.

“What a douche.” Jared commented. I nodded in agreement.

“How are my two beautiful child laborers handling things?” Tino asked as he entered through the backdoor.

“Working in this heat for terrible pay.” Jared mumbled. Tino sent him a tight smile.

“Let me remind you that I was the one who bailed you out.”

“A day later than Alex, might I remind you .” Jared countered. Tino and I shared a laugh at that.

“Not the point of this conversation. I got a client who needs some brakes replaced but we’ll be closed tomorrow so I told her to bring the car by today. She’ll drop it off tonight and If you have time, try and get it done tonight as well then we’ll just leave it in shop till Friday, or you can work on it early Friday morning and she’ll swing by around noon to come grab it.”

“Ill probably get the work done Friday morning but I can evaluate the car tonight and get her a write up for the charges.“Jared replied.

“Sounds good, thanks. I’m heading out for a few meetings then a work dinner, so I’ll be back late. Please don’t do anything too illegal. The cash prize for tomorrow is a confirmed $5800. I’ve gotta collect a few more entry fees tonight, then ill add a grand to round it up to $5800.”

“How many people are racing?” I asked.

“20 cars have been registered. We’re racing for time due to the size of this race. There will be 5 cars racing per race, and 2 different races per individual, we will then go ahead and pull the best time from those two races to determine the winner out of the 20 drivers. I’ve got Dianna’s to cater the event tomorrow so they will be out in one of the tents serving food from 12-3 and during the actually race time from 6-8. A few local bands will play on set during the day.” Tino explained.

I grabbed a new filter out from the storage cabinet as Tino continued. “Because of the shit you two pulled a few weeks back, If any of you two win tomorrow, the money goes to charity.”

“Have you not punished us enough?” Jared whined.

“No, I have not.” Tino replied. “Don’t think I didn’t see Alex’s busted up lip either. I told you both to cut it out with the illegal street racing.” Jared glared at me but I rolled under the car in time to avoid his gaze as I screwed the new filter in. “Your punishment ends when your bad decisions do too.”

“That could be years.” Jared replied. Tino chuckled.

“Alright you two, I’m heading out for the night. The gal with the breaks problem will be in within a few minutes.” Tino called as he grabbed his keys and headed back out through the back.

“Sounds good!” Jared called out before the door shut. We worked in silence for a few more minutes before Jared spoke again. “You know… Their memorial is coming up.”

“Yeah, I know.” I replied.

“Do you want me to accompany you on the drive up?” He asked. I slowly shook my head.

“No, thanks.” I replied shortly. Before Jared could continue, we heard the main door open. Jared set his tools down and made his way to the entrance of the shop. I peaked through the window on the door.

A young lady walked through. She was absolutely gorgeous, and Jared quickly took notice.

“Hi, what can I do for you?” He asked as he did one of his signiture moves which was to use the hem of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead. It gave the women a good 3.5 seconds to admire Jared’s well built body. She was definitely looking.

I mean, you’d have to be blind not to though.

Or a lesbian.

But Jared claims his abs can turn a gay girl straight.

“I-I was bringing my car in to get the breaks fixed. An older gentleman referred me here when I was complaining about my car to a store clerk earlier today.”

I was totally telling Toni that some hot chick called him old.

“Ah yeah, that would be Toni. He owns the place. Is the car out front?’ Jared asked. She nodded in response. “Can I have the keys to the vehicle? I’m just going to bring it around to the garage area.” Jared explained.

“Of course.” She replied, handing him a lanyard with the attached keys, before taking a seat in the waiting area while Jared headed outside. I smiled to myself as I pulled the door open and walked through to the waiting area. It was time to make this day a little more eventful for myself. The lady glanced up at me.

“Hi, I’m Alex.” I replied, shaking her hand before logging into the system’s computer to get a print out started. “I see you’ve already met my fiancé, Jared.”

---

Chapter 19: The Bad Girl Steals A Kiss

“Fiance?” The women asked, a bit taken back.

“Yes, we met on a expedition through the Himalayan mountains. We are part of this group called DOTAS. It stands for Discovery Of The Abominable Snowman. My friend dragged me along to this powwow the group was doing, and I met Jared, who was the leader of the group, there.” I explained.

Her face almost made me pee my pants.

“A-Abominable… snowman? like as in a Yeti?” she asked. I nodded my head vigorously in return.

“Oh yes, that exactly. Jared’s been tracking its whereabouts for years now. We didn’t have a sighting that first night, but I knew as soon as he set his “How to survive against the Abominable Snowman” book down, and strapped his GoPro to his head before the hike, it was meant to be. We then moved here and started working at this shop with my uncle to fund our next expedition.“ At this point, the women looked at me like I lost all my marbles. “Anywhoo, The total for the repairs will be $195, and they will be done by Friday. I believe Tino informed you that we will be closed tomorrow.”

I typed in the last few details of the repair into the computer before calling her over to the desk. We both turned to look towards the auto shoppe doors as Jared walked in.

“The car has been brought around to the back. Has Alex given you your print out yet” He asked the woman. She nodded her head hesitantly as she looked over the sheet I had set in front of her, then handed me her credit card. “Did you have a ride back? I wouldn’t mind dropping you off.” Jared added. She shook her head no almost instantly.

“I-I’m good with taking an Uber.” She replied. Jared looked slightly confused… until his eyes caught mine.

I was hunched over against the counter doing my best to stifle a laugh. His eyes narrowed in on me, and he moved to most likely defend himself against whatever I had said, But the woman was already slipping her jacket on. Before she fully headed out the door, she turned towards Jared and I and said, “Congratulations on your engagement… And good luck on your expedition.”

Jared choked on his own spit as he stuttered out the word “E-E-Engagement?” but it was too late. The woman didn’t hear him due to the fact that she had probably booked it to the other side of town by now. As soon as the front door slammed shut, I was on the floor laughing hysterically.

“Jesus, Alex, I cant leave you alone with someone for second! You told her we were engaged? And what about an expedition?”

“We met on a journey through the Himalayas in search of the abominable snowman.” I explained. Jared slowly started to smile.

“Her facial impressions must of been priceless.” He chuckled.

“Oh lord it was spectacular.” I whispered in between gasps for air. He soon joined me in laughter.

“My god, you’re psychotic.” He spoke to himself.

“I’m actually a highly functioning sociopath, get your facts straight, Anderson.”

“Who the hell’s Anderson? Is this another one of your Sherlock references?”

“Yes, you uncultured swine.” I replied. He rolled his eyes at me.

“Lets finish up this day.” Jared sighed, before we both got back to work.

“Chim chiminey, chim chiminey Chim chim cheree… A sweep is as lucky, as lucky can be. Chim chiminey, chim chiminey Chim chim cheroo… Good luck will rub off when I shakes ’ands with you.” I sang as I continued mopping the floor. I was really getting into it with Mary Poppins playing, but the music was soon turned down. “ How was practice?“ I asked Christian as he walked through into the studio and set his bags down. He looked slightly exhausted, and incredible sweaty… and sexy. Very very sexy.

“Rigorous.” He replied with a sigh. “The dance has everyone on edge right now, My students all want one-on-one time with me, but I also gotta work on our choreography.” He explained.

“I’m sure they all want one on one time with you.” I winked at him. He chuckled.

“Are you almost done?” He asked. I nodded back at him.

“This is my last stop. I got here a bit early like you said so we could start right on time.”

“Perfect. We do still need to pick a song.” He reminded me. I set the mop back in the bucket by the door and we both moved towards the end of the room besides the mirror. Christian plugged in his phone to the stereo. “A Mozart piece would be beautiful, dont you think?”

“Orrrrrrr, we could do something a little less… meh.”

“Meh?” He asked, grinning at me.

“Meh.” I replied.

“Let me put my playlist on shuffle and we can see what we both like, yeah?” I nodded to him. The first song that came on was beautiful, but it was a bit soft for my liking. Christian and I both laid down on the now clean hardwood as we listened. He inched a bit closer till his body was directly besides mine.

“Who is this?” I asked him.

“Paul D’auxerie.” He replied. “He’s a beautiful french composer.” Christian’s hands started lightly tracing patterns into my opened palm as we laid there and listened. It felt all too surreal. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt this calm, and at some point, my eyes started to drift close. I could feel his fingers slowly slip through the cracks of mine. As the first song ended, the next song began to play. My eyes drifted open to find Christian’s face less than a few inches away from mine.

“This one.” I whispered. He slightly nodded in agreement.

I felt lost. I wasn’t sure how long we were laying here for anymore, but those details seemed irrelevant now. He slowly sat up from the floor and pulled me up with him.

Drown me in the water…

Drown me in the sea…

Lose me in the dark

Drag me to the deep

Let your water… wash over me

His hands wrapped securely around my waist as he pulled me closer into him. One hand remained on my lower back, while the other slowly slid up. He led me across the room, as we moved in rhythm to the music. My eyes were now closed, as I trusted him fully in direction. I suddenly felt my back gently hit the back wall of the dance studio.

It’s short-lived, boys, short-lived, boys

Find a woman and dance through the moonshine

Leave me the rain

His hands left me body, but his eyes held mine as he crouched down to the level of my hips. His hand reached up and slowly massaged my thighs before securing them around the back of my thighs and picking me up. I was somehow remembering to breathe. I wound my legs around his hips and he pushed himself further into me, pinning me against the wall. Our noses were now touching.

Drown me in the water

Drown me in the sea

Lose me in the dark

Drag me to the deep

Let your water wash over me

“Can I kiss you?” He whispered while he continued to look down at me. I was still recovering from the feeling of his hands as they continued to massage my thighs.

“I’m not sure you’re supposed to ask.” I whispered back.

“Well I rather get permis-” He started, but I cut him off by my hands wrapping themselves around his neck, and pulling his lips down onto mine.

Chapter 20: The Bad Girl Races

Anyone getting heart attacks by these uploads?

Alex’s POV

“Everything set?” Jared asked, as we loaded the last case of beer into the back of Tino’s truck.

“Yep. Cars have arrived already. Food has begun getting set up.” I replied. Jared turned to me suspiciously.

“You’re all smiles this morning.” He stated.

“It’s been a good morning… and it’s about to be a good day.” I replied.

“Was it a good night with lover boy too?” Jared asked, sending me a wink.

“That’s none of your business.” I replied. He gave me another chuckle before we both got into the car and headed off.

My mind wandered back to last night as my fingers touched my lips…

Christian’s hands gripped my thighs tighter, and I let out an involuntary moan as his teeth lightly tugged on my lower lip. That gave him the chance he needed to slip his tongue into my mouth. He tasted like peppermint, and the cooling sensation was unexpected yet amazing as he trailed the ridges of my molars with it. I pulled him even further into me, if that was possible. The music continued around us, and it only added to the intensity as every part of my body felt like it was on fire.

When we finally pulled away to catch our breath, I wasn’t even sure what day it was anymore. “Fuck.” he whispered lightly against my lips. “I think that’s the most I’ve felt in some time now.” I could feel my face heating up. my hands gently slid from around his neck to cup the side of his face. His skin felt just as smooth as it looked.

He leaned forward into my touch, before slowly setting me back down onto the ground. I stood up on my toes to place one more soft kiss on his lips, and lingered a little longer than I expected to, before pulling away. a smile crept up on both our faces….

“Hey dickhead.” Jared called out, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“What, ass wipe?” I shot back.

“We’re here.”

I glanced up from my lap to see the familiar grounds. We had the entertainment stage set up already, along with the food tents nearby. The cars were parked in the paved lots that lead up to the road we were to be racing on. People had already began to flood in for the free liquor. Jared was right to have us bring more, cause the turn out was larger than either of us expected.

The day continued on without a hitch. Racers arrived towards the evening to either show off their ride, or prep their car for tonight. We had inspections done all morning by Tino’s team to make sure the race was fair, and when evening finally rolled around, the cars were parked forward on the wide road in preparation for the first set of races. Cameras were set up through the entire route to broadcast the race back to the grounds.

I pulled the safety box out from under the glove compartment of Tino’s truck, and retrieved the flare gun. My mind wandered back to the first race my father had ever brought me to. I remembered how mesmerizing and different it was at night. The flare gun that they would shoot off to start the race was my favorite part. This would be the first time I’d personally get to do it. It sounded small, I know, but the sentimental value behind it wasn’t.

I made my way over to the starting area of the race. The purr of all those beautiful cars as they roared to life, was just shy of orgasmic. I stood in the free lane area, in front of the  cars as the drivers got ready. “On your mark…” I started, “Get set… Go!” I shot off the flare gun into the sky. As soon as the loud shot went off, cars whizzed past me with incredible speed as they took off down the vacant road. My heart was beating sporadically from the rush as I made my way back over to Jared. “That will go down in history as one of the greatest things I have ever done. Ever.”

“It’s a rush, isn’t it? makes running this whole thing twenty times better.” Jared replied. I nodded my head, unable to wipe the grin from my face as we both took a seat in the stands and watched the race on the large screens.

Christian’s POV

I rushed to switch my shoes from my dancers to sneakers while starting my car. I was already late for Alex’s race, and I didn’t want to miss seeing her in action all together. As soon as the last lace was tied, I took off down the street and towards the destination of the address Alex had texted me.

When I arrived at the racing grounds, I was taken back by just how big this event was. There was large stadium lights set up around the giant screens that were currently showing the end of the last race. I noticed Alex get into her vehicle as the racers prepared for the last round. I ran up over to the starting area and knocked on Alex’s window while she was getting it situated. She jumped slightly, then rolled it down for me. “You made it.” She smiled.

I smiled back.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” We heard the warning call for the race, and before Alex could say anything else, I dipped my head down through her window and pulled her in for a quick kiss. “Kick some ass out there.” I whispered against her lips before pulling away. She sent me a large smile as she rolled her window back up and got strapped in. I made my way over to Jared by the large screens as the final call was made for the race.

“Good to see you made it out in time. Alex was worried.” Jared nodded to me.

“Yeah, I was held up at the studio. I’m happy I was able to get here in time as well. How’s it looking for her?”

“She’s got some tough times to beat tonight. She’s only racing once tonight because she had to host the event as well. All the other racers here get three races total to try and outdo their time.” Jared explained. I bit my lip nervously. That didn’t sound too good.

“On your mark…” The lady announced as she stood at the beginning of the race with a flare gun in hand.“Get set.. Go!” Had I of blinked, I would of missed it. The cars took down the road with incredible speed, and before I knew it, they were out of sight. Everyone turned to the screen to watch the live footage of the race. Alex’s car was in lead almost instantly. She took the tight turns with impeccable control.

“She’s killing it.” I whispered to my self. Jared heard it and nodded.

“Truly a prodigy.” He replied.

The car took one more tight turn with perfection, but this time, another car began to gain lead. It was pulling up on the right side of Alex as she started to turn right. The turn looked much sharper than the previous, but she seemed to maintain control of it. It was the second car that started to struggle. I saw Jared’s knuckles whiten from the grip on his beer as we witnessed the car besides Alex’s start to lose control.

The driver jerked the wheel right too quickly, and his front wheels lost their traction completely. They dislodged themselves from the steering and the front of his car rammed into the side of Alex’s vehicle.

Jared was on his feet immediately. We all watched quietly as Alex struggled to straighten the car, but it was too late. The force from the second car sent her car rolling down the road. The rest of the drivers quickly pulled over to the side of the road and ran over to Alex’s car that was now flipped over a few hundred meters ahead.

“Alex…” Jared whispered in shock as we both stared at the screen, with a loss for words.

Chapter 21: The Bad Girl Gets A Rude Awakening

Christian’s POV

The last thing I could remember was Jared dropping his beer as he tugged on my arm and practically dragged me towards his pick up. He hopped in the drivers seat and I almost didn’t make it into the passenger before he threw his car into drive and pulled us out onto the race track. 

“Please tell me she’ll be okay.” I whispered to Jared. My mind had just now started to process what was happening. My sweaty palms gripped my knees tightly as we approaching the crash site in record timing.

Racers were doing their best to get Alex out of the over turned vehicle. Jared and I ran over to the door that had now been pried out.

Alex was still strapped in to the seat, but her eyes were closed and she was unresponsive. An emergency vehicle arrived just minutes after we had, and ushered everyone out of the way to access her. I was surprised by how quickly they had come out here.

“What’s it look like, Jim?” Jared asked the medic. There was extreme strain in his voice.

“Shes badly injured. We need to take her to a hospital immediately.” Jim replied. “Grab the stretcher from the back of the van.”

I saw Jared jog quickly to the now open doors of the medic van and he brought out the stretcher moments later. It had been propped up on the inside. Jim started working on getting Alex out from the car and another medic soon joined him from a different van that had pulled up next to us.

Her body seemed lifeless as they loaded it onto the stretcher. Blood covered the majority of her face and clothing but I could only catch a few glimpses of her before she was lifted into the back of the van with Jared at her side, and the doors slammed shut.

“Whats happening?” I asked Jared as soon as I made it to the hospital. I had drove right behind them him and the two emergency vehicles, but as soon as we had made it to the emergency room, I was forced to sit in the waiting area.

Jared had finally just come out after about 20 minutes of waiting.

“She’s suffered some spinal injuries. They are doing everything possible to relieve the pressure otherwise the rest of her injuries aren’t too major. Her legs are a little banged up and her head had suffered some damage from the impact of her face hitting the side window. She is still unconscious but has already been prepped for her operations.” Jared explained.

Seconds later, the waiting room doors burst open and another man, someone I hadn’t recognized, walked through.

He looked to be a little older yet noticeably good looking. His looks were tainted by the visible strain on his face. His eyes were slightly puffy around his bottom lids as if he had been crying.

“Fuck, Jared.” He spoke, running his hands messily through his hair as he joined Jared in the waiting room.

Jared immediately pulled him in for a rough hug.

“She’s going to be fine, Tino.” Jared replied. I recognized the name almost instantly as Alex’s uncle.

“I shouldnt have let her race. She wasn’t ready.” Tino continued.

“That’s a damn lie and you know it Tino. She had every bit of control over her vehicle-” Jared started but Tino cut him off.

“It’s not that, Jared. She wasn’t prepared for this. For what could happen if another driver lost control like that.”

“She knew the dangers. She made the decision to get out there today.” Jared sighed.

There was a long pause before anyone spoke next, and it was Tino who broke the silence.

“It was my job to protect her.” He whispered more to himself. I felt the weight of his words as my mind wandered back to the conversation I had once had with Alex at the Milk Jamerie…

She never talked about what had happened to her parents, but from the way she spoke about them, it sounded as if they were both gone. From what it seemed as if Tino had been the one to take care of her all these years and I couldn’t imagine what he was going through right now.

Tino took a seat besides Jared and I as he disappeared into his own thoughts for the next few hours, not once looking up from his lap.

Alex’s POV

“Will you hand me the wrench on the counter there, Alex?” My fathers asked me as he rolled out from under our car.

“Sure pops.” I replied, hopping off the stool I was perched on, to grabbed the tools he had set on his work station. My hands moved up to shield my eyes from the blinding sun ad I crouched down to hand him the tool.

It was another hot sunny day working with my father. He gave me a few dollars for helping him out during my summer break. Mum always insisted that I do some summer learning but father shut that down quick, saying I deserved a break for all the work I did during the school year. My mum finally gave in a few weeks ago and agreed that it was okay for me to help him with some repairs that needed to get done.

I loved every minute of it. I had been out with him for almost a week now as we worked away on the family car.

“We’re going to fix this baby up real good this summer, Alex.” Father spoke, as he rolled back under the car. I jumped off the stool and zipped up the rest of the jumper my father had bought me a few days ago, so I could go lay down besides him on the driveway and not get grease all over my clothes.

“I really would like it if you didn’t call her Alex, honey. You’re turning our daughter into the son you’ve always wanted.” My mum interrupted as she brought some lemonade out for us. My father rolled back out from under the car.

“You know Alexandria has never suited her.” My dad shot back, sending me a wink. “Plus there’s still time to have a son.” He walked over to my mother and gave her a kiss, making sure not to get motor oil on her dress.

“Couldn’t we at least do Alexa?” My mum pleaded.

“But I like Alex.” I cut in. My mum just let out one of her signature sighs as she handed my father a glass of lemonade. The cold drink was gone within a few gulps before he went in for a refill. I could see the sweat pouring down the side of his face.

“Go get washed up, Alex. You’ve got practice soon.” My mum reminded me. I nodded quickly to her before shimmying out of the jumpsuit and making my way back into the house.

It always baffled me as to how mum found the time to keep the house so clean and spotless whilst juggling classes and furthering her education. as I made it to the bathroom, something started to feel a bit off. The pictures that once hung in the hallways, weren’t there anymore. The color of the walls had changed too. My hand reached up to push the bathroom door open, and they were covered in blood.

I gasped in shock at the blood and how large my hands were. I looked down at myself and I was no longer a kid. I was wearing an athletic shirt that was now covered in blood as well. as i stumbled into the bathroom, my eyes were blinded by how bright the mirror lights were. I almost couldn’t explain it.

I also couldn’t explain why I looked over a decade old.

But then a memory started to form.

I blinked my eyes a few times as I tried to get accustomed to the harsh light that had somehow seemed to wrap itself around me. I couldn’t understand the sensations that I was feeling. Last I remembered, I was on the race track.

And last I remembered, my father and mother were dead.

Did I make it to the end of the race?

No… I thought to myself, attempting to shake the foggy memories.

My eye sight began to blur. The last memory I could recall was experiencing a large impact on the right side of my car before everything went dark.

Christian’s POV

I felt a hand lightly shake me awake. As I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, I noticed I was still sitting in the waiting room. It felt late yet the white florescent lights gave off no indication of time. Jared was standing beside me.

“The operation was a success. She is unconscious yet stable. You can see her now.” Jared spoke. My body slowly registered what he was saying as I got up and started to follow him. The halls were now almost vacant while few nurses sat at the offices working. I reached in my back pocket for my phone so I could check the time.

It was now 4:07am. I saw one text from my mother asking me to pick up a few things when I got home.

They never really seemed to care about where I was until I missed a day of lessons or a day of practice. Then my whereabouts became of a concern to them. My parents were great, and I felt grateful to have them, but I couldn’t deny it slightly hurt seeing how close Alex and Jared and Tino were. I wanted something like that. I wanted someone to care about where I was and what I was doing and who I was with.

Jared lead me to a room at the far end of the corridor. The door was already open and Tino was sitting at the bedside of Alex. Her face had bruised up from the minor cuts and scrapes she had got, but she looked just as beautiful as any other time I had set my eyes upon her.

“She’s doing okay now.” Tino replied, glancing up at both Jared and I. This was the first time he had even acknowledged me since getting to the hospital.

“The doctors say she should regain consciousness soon.” Jared added. I slowly moved to the edge of the bed. Her body was now very still and all I could do was watch as she laid there. It looked like she was sleeping and that’s why it took us all by surprise when her eyes slowly opened.

“Alex!” Tino whispered in shock.

Her hands moved up to shield herself from the light that hung above the bed. She froze halfway through her movements.

“What’s wrong?” Jared asked, worry sketched into his face.

“It’s my legs,” she replied, as her eyes grew wide. “I can’t feel them.”

Chapter 22: The Bad Girl Gets The Bad News

Christian’s POV

“We can’t say how long.” The doctor replied.

“What do you mean you can’t say?” Jared shot back. Both him, I, Tino, and Alex’s doctor had now gathered in his office to discuss Alex’s paralysis. I could see the doctors lips moving, and I knew he was forming words, but I couldn’t focus on that any longer.

All I was thinking about was Alex.

Would she never be able to race again?

Would she never be able to dance again?

Would she never be able to walk again?

“This could be temporary. This could be more permanent. There’s a few surgeries that are still on the table to try for mending the nerves, but the doctor that specializes in those types of reconstructive surgeries doesn’t live here. He’s in Washington.” Alex’s doctor explained.

Tino didn’t hesitate. “When can we get her on the first plane out there?” He asked. The doctor, I think his name was Richards? He seemed to contemplate it for a moment.

“She just needs a few more days here, then she can be transferred through medical facilities. We’d have her back here in L.A. to recover after a mere few weeks.” He replied. Tino nodded to give the doctor the go ahead.

“Shouldn’t we talk it over with Alex?” Jared asked, but Tino put his hand up, cutting him off.

“I will put down whatever they ask for, for these surgeries. You know Alex, Jared. You know what she’s been through. If she can’t race again… I’m afraid to see what she might do.” He whispered that last part quietly, but I heard it clear as day. I felt my hands tighten into fists at my sides. I hated being this helpless.

We all made our way back to Alex’s room. Her eyes were puffed and blurry now. I could tell she had been crying.

“It’s okay, Alexandria.” Tino whispered softly. I stood stunned slightly. I had never heard anyone call her that before. Was that Alex’s full name? Her eyes watered up again at his words.

“I really fucked up big time, didn’t I.” She croaked out, but Tino just smiled.

“Now would you be Alex Diaz if you didn’t?” He asked. “Caleb is handling the jackass that lost control on the road like that. Everything is getting taken care of.” He replied.

“Everything?” Alex asked curiously.

Tino cleared his throat. “I’ve organized your transfer to a different facility in Washington-”

“Washington?” Alex asked, cutting in. She looked taken back. “They said my paralysis might just be temporary. I don’t need to be transferred, I can stay right here-”

“No.” Tino snapped so fiercely, I jumped slightly. “They need to look at your nerves, Alex. You need to walk again. I’m getting you any help I possibly can.”

“I don’t want to leave you guys.” Alex whispered. Jared’s eyes softened at her words.

“It will only be for a few weeks. Tino will be there the entire time and I’ll come visit for a few days when I’m not running the shoppe. You’ll see Christian and Caleb and all the other guys as soon as you get back.” Jared explained.

I’d never seen Alex look so torn. “Can I speak with Christian alone for a moment?” She asked finally. Tino and Jared nodded, standing up to leave both Alex and I to a painful silence. She was the one to speak first.

“I won’t be able to dance with you.” She whispered. The tears were starting to roll down her cheeks. “I won’t be able to dance with you and all I fucking wanted was to dance with you and I won’t be able to do that because of these stupid legs like who needs legs? Why can’t dancing involve only arms or some shit why does everything require all your limbs and I just t-think it’s such bwullshit-” her voice broke off. She was hiccuping and babbling and crying hysterical that I couldn’t help but pull her into my arms.

I tried to be as gentle as possible but me not being able to hold her had almost driven me insane.

“It’s okay.” I whispered, running my hands through her soft hair. “It’s going to be okay.” I whispered again. I could feel her body shaking against me.

“What hurts me the most is that I won’t even be able to see you dance. I don’t want to leave just yet. I want to see you up on that stage. I want to see the way you look when you perform. When you do something you love so much.” She hiccuped again, and I just held her tighter.

“You know what I want to see again?” I asked. “I want to see you race,” I felt my heart break, “I want to see you do what you love. I want to see you race and dance. Fuck, Alex, I want to see you walk . I don’t ever want to be the one who held you back from getting treated. Getting better. Whether it’s temporary or not, I won’t just sit aside and let you not go because you want to sit in for my performance.

“There will be many performances. So many performances that by the 18th one, you’ll get so sick of seeing me up on that stage. By the 26th, you might be over dancing, and by the 44th, you might be over me.” I joked. She pulled herself away from my chest briefly to look up at me.

“That’s not funny. By the 44th performance, we’d of had two cats together and a hedgehog named Henry. Don’t joke around like that.”

I felt my lips curl up as the witty Alex I knew, returned.

“Then go get better so we can live with our two cats and an adopted hedgehog.” I whispered back, kissing her temple.

She smiled up at me once more before tilting her head and slowly connecting our lips. They were slightly bruised from the accident, so I made sure to take care when kissing her… but that feeling… the feeling of her lips on mine-

It was a feeling I could get used to. It was a feeling I could grow old with. Today was the first day I had seen Alex cry.

And I was ready to do everything in my power to insure that today would be the last.

Chapter 23: The Bad Girl Says Her Goodbyes

Alex’s POV

I watched as the nurses got everything ready in my hospital room. Today was the day I was to be transferred.

Everything felt so surreal.

A few days ago, I was racing.

Today, I was laying in a hospital bed, peeing into a bag because I couldn’t get up and use the bathroom.

I couldn’t get up. I couldn’t fucking get up.

“It looks like we’ve got our first visitor.” The nurse smiled, letting Christian through. He had a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

“We’ll hey there, sweet thang.” He mimicked Zac from The Suite Life Of Zac and Cody. I couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled out.

“What’s with the flowers? I’m not dying.” I questioned. He glanced down at them.

“They’re get-well flowers, and “I’m going to miss the fuck out of you” flowers.“ He replied.

“They’re Lillies. The flowers you bring to funerals…”

Christian’s eyes scrunched up in confusion, before realization settled in. “Jared.” He cursed under his breath. I broke out into full knee slapping laughter. Only difference was, I couldn’t feel my knees.

Of course Jared would tell Christian to bring me the flower of death.

“This has Jared written all over it.” I grasped in between breathes. “Regardless, thanks are in order to both you and him. Haven’t had a good laugh like that in a while. No matter how many paralysis jokes I make, these nurses just aren’t biting.” I stated. I got a few glares from the nurses that were still in my room, packing things up.

“Well you’ll be seeing Jared soon. You’ll also be seeing Tino… and Caleb… and Nicholias, and Jaq, and Gus. Basically every human you’ve met in the nineteen years of your existence. They’re all out in the waiting room for you.”

A large smile took over basically the entirety of my face. “Is Ms. Drangsteviet here too?”

“I’m not Jesus, Alex. Those miracle working capabilities are something I don’t possess.” Christian joked. He shared my smile. “She did, however, send in the rest of your community hours.”

My eyes grew wide.

“Are you serious?” I asked in disbelief.

“Said something along the lines of “as long as I never have to see her again” or something like that. I think she added you calling her a stuck up stiff bitch?“

“Not my finest moment.” I admitted. Christian nodded in agreement.

“Well, now that you’re community service free, maybe you’ll think about applying to the academy once you get better.” Christian asked. I saw the look of hope in his eyes, but I just shook my head.

“Racing is my passion now. Dancing is yours. And dancing with each other is ours. Maybe a few years down the road, everything will overlap again. Until then, I’m just content being here. We both know Tino wouldn’t manage without my help anyways.” I smiled sadly up at him.

I wasn’t ready for that yet.

Sure, I was running away from the memories and the pain of my mother when it came to dance. The dreams I had in this hospital bed haunted me. There was memories I had suppressed. Pain I hadn’t dealt with. Before I could dance again, I needed to figure that all out. One step at a time.

I was paralyzed for god’s sake. Cut a girl some slack.

Wait, did I get perks for being handicapped now? Like those badass handicapped parking spots? Maybe I should hold off on these surgeries.

Will people just give me stuff if I’m in a wheel chair?

Well I guess it’s not really like cancer though, right?

“You’re doing that thing again when your mind runs off a thousand miles a minute. Are you ready to see everyone?” Christian asked, pulling me out of my selfish thoughts.

I have him a nod, as he went to fetch the wheel chair.

When we finally made it out into the waiting room, I could feel my eyes begin to water up. I told myself I wouldn’t cry like a lil bitch…

… but seeing everyone huddled in a small waiting room hit me. Jared was there, trying to finesse his way into a nurses pants. Tino was at the far end of the room, sending emails off his tablet. Jaq was doing his best to shake the bag of chips out that had gotten stuck in the vending machine.

All the guys were there including Davino and some of his boys. They were fighting over Home Makeover magazines. Caleb’s fists were bandaged up, probably from beating the complete shit out of the guy who flipped my car.

As soon as Caleb’s eyes found mine, he bolted up. “Alex!” He called out. All the other guys stopped what they were doing, as sprung to their seats. It was Gus who somehow made it to me first.

“Oh my god our dear Alex.” He weeded emotionally. Jaq just patted his shoulder in comfort.

“He gets like this.” Jaq explained, but I let out a laugh and rubbed his back comfortable as he hugged me.

“It’s okay, Gus. I’m fine.” I assured him. Jaq did his best to peel the man away from me.

“I’m glad to see you’re hanging in there.” Jaq smiled. I gave him a nod and a thank you as he placed my completely punched out time card into my lap. Ms. Drangsteviet had seriously fudged my hours for me.

I took back whatever I had said about that woman. She was a total badass.

“No need to worry about the asshole who almost killed you, I-”

“Took care of it.” I finished for Caleb. He always took care of things. He always took care of me and the Diaz family. Hell, he was family. Caleb couldn’t help but grin as he walked up and pulled me in for a hug.

“Go get those legs working, and when you get back, you’ll come home to a whole new ride.” My eyes grew wide at his words. I had completely forgot about his Tesla.

“Shit I’m so-” I started but he just waved it off.

“Save it. All fixed up. I’ll show you the upgraded when you return.” I just nodded silently as he placed the set of car keys in my hands. Tears were now starting to stream down my face.

“Crying and I haven’t even said my two cents yet, huh?” Davino and his guys grew near.

“I didn’t think you’d stop partying for little ol me.” I replied with a smirk. He grasped his heart dramatically.

“One does not simply choose the partying life style.” I gave him an eye roll as I pulled both him and his guys down for hugs.

“Thanks for stopping by, guys.”

“Thanks for not dying.” Davino countered. “You know how Jared is with repair prices. Who could I haggle with if you left me? Jared would have me paying in full if he had his way.” All the guys gave out a laugh, cause it was true.

I never charged this asshat full price. Because for how unreliable Davino always seemed, he was the one I could call for anything.

He set another set of keys down on my lap.

I glanced down at them. Instantly, I tried to give them back, shaking my head.

“There’s no way I can accept these-this. Fuck no.” But Davino just backed away.

“You’re gunna need a sweet whip the second you get back. Plus, you’d have to be real dumb if you think Tino will let you ride that motorcycle. Not until you can complete every game in the olympics with those legs.”

Davino was right. Tino had probably already put the bike in storage.

I glanced down at the keys to Davino’s matte Dodge Viper VX. My pumpkin to carriage that first night I had met Christian.

“Thank you.” I finally whispered to Davino, but his hands went up in the air to dismiss it.

“It’s your motivation to get well enough to drive it.”

He and the guys stepped aside to allow Jared and Tino to finally come up. “What a family, you’ve got here.” Tino smiled down at me.

“A very extra “doing the most” family.“ I corrected, pushing the words out through tears. It was true though. There was about twenty something guys in this waiting room right now, here to see little old me.

“You impact everything you touch, Alex. And every last guy in here felt that shit when we saw that car roll. Every guy in here has never felt so lucky before to have met someone like you.” Jared replied, crouching down to my eye level. I felt Christians hand rest on my shoulder as he gave it a squeeze, assuring me that what Jared was saying was the absolute truth.

“We know we won’t see you back out on the tracks for a bit, and until then, racing won’t feel the same. We’re all here to tell you to get those legs up and working soon. Otherwise, Jared won’t have any competition.” Tino added at the end. My heart hurt from how much it was swelling right now.

I felt like the goddamn grinch after he realized Christmas didn’t come from the store, and that maybe, perhaps, it mean just a little bit more.

“So I’ve got one more gift to you, Alex. Just one. I’m not going to offer you my car, because I’m still sore after the way you treated my p1’s, nor will I hand you the shoppe because, well, you and Jared would quite frankly run it into the ground.” Tino set a pair of keys down in my lap. Keys I could have recognized just by the shape. Keys I could recognize just by their touch.

I should know because I was the one that put those bumpy little ladybug stickers on them.

I was full on crying now and I couldn’t help it. These were the keys to the 1968 Pontiac GTO.

The first and last car I had ever worked on with my father.

Chapter 24: The Bad Girl Says Her Hello’s

1 month, 18 days, 14 hours, and 11 minutes later

Christian’s POV

My body laid in bed awake. It was yet another sleepless night that had found me.

Alex hadn’t called yet.

Alex hadn’t called yet and it was a few weeks past when she was supposed to be back. I couldn’t help but freak out. Jared had said he had no updates for me when I stopped by the shoppe last week. I knew he thought I probably looked like shit, and I did. My eyes had bags underneath them. My hair had grown out far past something socially acceptable. I just didn’t have the motivation to do much of anything anymore.

The gala event went well. I was meant to perform but my brother had made it home just in time to do so himself. My parents didn’t protest.

I heard a motorcycle come down the street. Yet another thing that reminded me of Alex.

My parents picked up on my distance almost instantly. They knew I cared a great deal about Alex, and for once in my entire existence, they let me take a break from dancing. It was only for a few weeks, but I had never seen my parents show that type of mercy. Not with me. Not with my brother. Not when it came to dancing.

I felt my phone vibrate from inside my pocket and I brought it to my ear. “Hello?” I asked, slightly confused. It was now almost 3 o’clock in the morning.

“I heard you didn’t dance at the Gala. That better not have been because of me, you twat.”

My body jolted up in bed. I think my heart had stopped pumping blood entirely.

“Alex?” I whispered into the line.

“In the flesh. Come outside.” She called into the line, before hanging up.

When I tell you I almost ran out into the street with nothing but fucking tweety bird boxers on… it was the last minute stop by the laundry room that stopped me from making a complete fool out of myself.

There, at the bottom of my long driveway, was a parked motorcycle. Alex was standing besides me with her helmet held at her waist. She was in a tight leather jacket, with some leather black clothes, leather leggings, and leather boots. She looked like she had lost more weight, which concerned me, but she looked good.

Really fucking good. I was basically drooling at this point with her one braid pulled to her right side.

She grinned up at me as I ran down the driveway and pulled her in for an immediate kiss. When her lips touched mine, I almost sighed in pleasure. This was what I missed. Her lips on mine as she kissed me back with such fierceness.

I finally pulled away for air, but her eyes were still closed in a trance. I then pulled her into my arms. Her scent has the same. It was familiar. It was hers . She hugged me back tighter.

“Why the fuck didn’t you call me.” I whispered against her hair.

“Element of surprise, duh.” She replied. As I pulled away, her expression changed when she saw mine. “I had to do a few weeks of therapy. I didn’t want you to see me on crutches, or with a cane. Definitely not a motherfucking walker. I wanted you to see me like this. I wanted my first time seeing you to be a ride on my bike… so what do you say?” She asked me, handing me her helmet.

“Tino said you wouldn’t be able to ride, though.” I stated. She gave me a shrug.

“Tino also said I couldn’t date until the age of 29. I mean if you want to start adhering by Tino’s words now…” she started, backing away.

I slipped that helmet on so fast.

“I’m taking it slow, though.” she admitted, climbing onto the bike. I climbed on right behind her. Instead of replying, my hands found their way around her small frame as the bike roared to life, and she pulled out onto the street.

A

lex’s

POV

My heart hadn’t stopped hammering against my chest.

Not when I heard his voice over the phone.

Not when I saw him sprint down his driveway as soon as he saw me.

Not when he pulled me in for a heart stopping kiss or a bone crushing hug.

And definitely not as I felt his arms securely wrap themselves around me as we rode to the ballet academy. I still felt pain in my leg, yes. I felt pain on every turn. I felt pain at every stop. I felt pain just from walking.

But it was the good kind of pain.

The “I’m still alive” type of pain. The pain I didn’t mind feeling now. The pain I was happy to feel if it meant spending a night alone with Christian.

I pulled the motorcycle into the parking spot and we both got out. It was completely vacant at this lot now, but it still brought on memories. I couldn’t believe I wouldn’t be coming back every day to punch in for community service hours.

But maybe I would be coming back here to sign up for classes , I thought to myself. Soon . Even miracles took a little time.

Christian slipped his keys in and lead me inside to the studio room he usually used. It didn’t look like it had been occupied for a while.

“When was the last time you came here?” I demanded. He looked over at me sheepishly.

“Not since the accident.” He replied. I punched him in the arm, before slowly crouching to lay down in the middle of the dance floor. Sudden movements still hurt my legs. I had to take things very slow.

“That hurt.” He whined, laying down besides me.

“You deserved it.” I shot back.

We laid there for what felt like ages, just listening to the music he was playing on the speakers. He was the first to speak after some time. “You know, I missed the fuck out of you.” He whispered, holding my hand against his chest before he pulled my upper body onto him.

“I missed the fuck out you.” I replied.

The surgeries had sucked. The therapy had sucked. Being in fucking Washington had sucked. Tino beside me was the only thing that kept me going. He would tell me stories about my father and mother. He’d share things with me, that I hadn’t dreamt of talking with him about before. This accident had changed everything.

The first thing I did when I got back, was retrieve my fathers car. Tino had fixed it.

He had fixed it after the accident.

My eyes burned at the thought of this being the last place my parents were. The car was even more beautiful than it had been when dad and I had finished it.

I spent that day sitting in the drivers seat, just crying.

And here I was, with Christian, as tears threatened to fall. I never cried. Never. But finally closing that chapter in my life with my parents had done something to me. I no longer felt the need to cast aside my suppressed feelings.

“Hey, Alex?” Christian called to me. His hands were slowly combing through the strands of my hair. It had started to put me to sleep.

“Yes, Christian?” I mumbled, curling into his chest.

“Please don’t almost die on me again.” He whispered.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, sugar.” I whispered back.

He just pulled me further into him, letting us drift off to sleep.

And I knew he was he one, because he made my heart smile.

“The greatest risk any of us will take, is to be seen as we are.”

-Cinderella

Fin

••

First off: thank you to everyone who followed this story. You. Are. All. Amazing.

Second: yes this ending took me ten billion years to figure out and yes I’m still not fully content but oh well.

Third: There will be a Epilogue at some point before I kick the bucket… I think

Fourth: seriously. Thank you. Like wtf, y’all stayed with my inconsistent ass during this book and the writers block that grabbed hold of my soul for basically half a year with this one.

Fifth: I released a boyxboy book if you guys wanna check that out.

And Sixth: thank you. Again. For the ten billionth time. Okay I’m done. XOXO