Chasing Aubrey (7 page)

Chapter 12

It had been four days since my little encounter with Tanner and I couldn’t get him off of my mind. Throughout the entire dinner with my fiancé’s family, I kept thinking of Tanner; his taste, his touch, his delicious scent and the incredible things he did to my body so effortlessly. I tried to keep my composure when talking to Mr. and Mrs. Westmore. I tried to be courteous and polite with Chester, even if he was about as interesting as a discarded paper towel.

I couldn’t stop comparing him to Tanner. Tanner had this intangible magnetism that drew me to him like a moth to a flame. He set my body ablaze with desire and awoke something in my soul that I couldn’t put my finger on. I couldn’t get him out of my mind and I didn’t know what to do about it. I couldn’t go back to see him again. There was no reason to. We’d never exchanged numbers and it was just as well, because I knew he would be able to track me down as Elise if he had my number. I still wanted to see him desperately.

The brunch went off without a hitch and I spent the next few days preparing for my Saturday race. I glanced at my watch. Only three more hours. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, the same way they did every time I had a race.

My phone buzzed and I looked down at it; it was a new Twitter notification.

@AubreyRed was a no show. No surprise there. She must know she’s going to lose today. #imjustsayin

I glowered at my phone, the urge to hurl it across the room overwhelming me. I typed out an angry response, my fingers hitting the screen with more force than was necessary.

@Rexthebest I hope you’re hungry; I’ve got a big humble pie all ready for you when you finally catch up to me at the finish line.

I snickered at my own wit. He thought he was so smart. Well, today we’d see who the real racer was and who the little cry baby was. I knew which one I was, but Rex was in for a rude awakening.

I started rummaging through my closet, looking for the right outfit to wear to the race. I needed something tight and comfortable. I ended up settling on a pair of jeans that hugged my ass perfectly and a simple tee shirt that clung to my body like a second skin. I put my long hair up into a high ponytail and ventured into my bathroom to apply my make-up.

For races, Aubrey had a pretty distinctive look. I was kind of happy that I hadn’t met Rex at the wedding or my entire cover could have been blown. It was foolhardy to ever even go, but I found it difficult to regret it because I’d had that amazing night with Tanner.

Heavy eyeliner and dark red lipstick made up my face and completed the look.

I glanced at the time again: two hours. It was at least forty-five minutes to the location of the race and I needed to be there a little early just to make sure that no one thought I was going to chicken out. I had to get there early enough to do my shit-talking with the various bloggers and vloggers. There was actually a pretty big following for our little circuit, even if it was of dubious legality.

Out of all of the races I’d participated in, only one had ever been crashed by the police. I had already had my race and was able to get out of there before the real action started. I considered myself to be fairly lucking.

AubreyRed had over fifty thousand twitter followers. Rexthebest had thirty-two thousand. No wonder he was trying to start this petty little war. He was trying to capitalize on my fame.

I took the stairs two at a time, trying to get out of my house as quickly as possible before my mother tried to ask me where I was going or what I was doing or could I go to dinner with this friend or that acquaintance. I didn’t have time to deal with her nonsense. I had too many things on my mind. And everything else faded into the background as my mind was consumed with the persistent thoughts of Tanner.

I needed to get him out of my head. A good race was the perfect remedy. I couldn’t think about his fingers inside of me or his lips on my breast when I was hurtling down the strip at over 100MPH.

Unfortunately for me, my mother just happened to be in my way as I reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Oh my god, what are you
wearing
?” She asked, glaring at my heavy make-up and less-than-conservative clothes.

“Mom, I’m just going out with some friends.”

“Where, to a dive bar? My god, Elise, you look like… trash.”

“Thanks Mom, love you too. I’ll be home later tonight.”

“Elise! Wait, I need to talk to you about something!”

“Whatever it is, it’s gonna have to wait. I’m already late,” I lied. I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible to avoid any further confrontations.

She shook her head with a sad sigh and let me pass. If there was one thing my mother understood and couldn’t argue with, it was social obligations. She would never try to keep me from having a social life because she thought it was such an integral part of being a successful wife. Of course, being a good wife was the extent of my mother’s aspirations for me. It made me a little sad that she had such a narrow view of life, but I was just grateful that I hadn’t inherited that from her.

I hurried to the garage and cranked up the ‘Stang. She roared to life and I couldn’t help but feel guilty for wishing that she was the Jag. My god that was a beautiful piece of machinery. My Mustang may not quite give the Jaguar a run for its money, but she would certainly give it her all. She was my baby and I’d never give her up, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t dream. I did have to admit that I preferred the look of the classic American muscle car over the sleek modern lines of the F-type. Maybe I was just an old-fashioned gal in that regard.

Cruising down the highway with the windows down was one of life’s greatest pleasures. With the wind blowing through my hair, all of my cares and troubles melted away. I was still nervous about the race, but the drive calmed my frayed nerves and reminded me of why I loved to drive.

The road didn’t care if I hated my life. My car didn’t care if I was stuck in a prearranged marriage. Rubber on the pavement, scenery rushing by, there was no place in my mind for any other thoughts. There was something magical and freeing about just driving without a purpose. There was something exhilarating and life-affirming about racing. The two combined made my life feel like it had meaning. Maybe that was a bit dramatic, but it was true.

No amount of proper schooling, fancy parties or political maneuvering could ever make me feel as content as driving and racing did. My mother tried her damnedest to get my interested in something socially acceptable. She may not know about my racing, but she knew about my affinity for fast cars. That was not something that someone of my social standing should debase themselves with.

I tried to push thoughts of my mother and my myriad other problems from my head as I cruised down the highway. I had to clear my head. I had to get in the right mind frame for this race. There was no way I was going to let Rex beat me after all the smack talk we’d done back and forth. I needed to prove to him and everyone else that I was still relevant, still as good as ever. Maybe I just needed to prove that to myself. With everything happening, it was easy to think that maybe I should just give everything up. Maybe I should just acquiesce and be the doting dutiful wife and daughter. It would be fewer headaches, for sure, but I would be so miserable. Regardless of what else I’d done in my life, I didn’t think I deserved that fate.

Mile after mile of the road rushed past and I felt my apprehensions and nerves start to ebb. I was a hell of a racer. Anyone who had ever seen me could attest to that. There was no way that someone like Rex would be able to best me. I just needed to keep my head on straight.

A small smile crept onto my face as I remembered Tanner’s reaction to my driving.

I cursed myself instantly. I didn’t need to be thinking about him right now. That was a onetime thing and there was no use dwelling on it. If he knew… If he knew that I’d kept everything about myself a secret, I knew that he wouldn’t want anything to do with me. How could he? What we shared was amazing and under different circumstances, it would have been a life-changing experience. I knew that it could go no further though. Leading two lives was difficult enough without complicating matters with romantic entanglements. As much as I would love to pursue things with the sexy stranger, there was just no room in my life for Tanner Marx. I already had one too many men in my life and I had no idea how to get myself out of that arrangement. I really didn’t need to heap more onto my plate.

I navigated my way down the winding roads that led to the secluded race site. Rolling hills that led to the coastline kept the straightaway shielded from too many prying eyes. The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon when the mass of gleaming vehicles and bustling fans and racers came into my view.

Chapter 13

The first day or so that Skye was staying with me was great. We got to know a little about each other and we were able to make jokes and the sibling bond seemed easy and instant. I took a day to enroll her in school — no easy feat once they looked at her lengthy disciplinary record — and then all the problems started.

Meanwhile, I was still trying to track down any trace of Aubrey. I didn’t have a last name, but I knew enough about the car that she drove and I knew enough about her racing to be able to conduct a few preliminary searches. The problem was that she was a ghost. She had no government documents, no property or assets in her name, no school records… There was only one possibility: she had to be living two lives.

Suddenly, all of the mystery and intrigue made sense. If she was trying to hide her real identity from me, that would explain why she got so nervous when she found out about my profession.

I wondered what a girl like Aubrey — or whoever she really was -- would need to hide her identity. Maybe her parents were even worse than she let on. Maybe the racing she was involved in was even less legal than I originally thought. I knew that all forms of street racing were frowned upon in the state of California, but there were certain circuits that stayed out of the way and drew in decent crowds from out of state that law enforcement turned a blind eye to. The increased revenue to locally owned businesses and the taxes from hotels and their ilk more than made up for the possible fines and infractions they could charge racers and organizers with and leaving it alone had the added benefit of not requiring any paperwork.

Of course, those were just some of the circuits. Others were notoriously dangerous and frequently busted. I didn’t think that Aubrey was the type to be involved with that kind of racing though. She seemed to be in it for the love of the sport, not the rush of doing something illegal.

I found a listing for a big race on Saturday with a racer named Aubrey Red. I thought that had to be her, so I jotted down the location and time and made a mental note to be free to check it out. I didn’t know why I needed to see her again so badly. Especially now that I knew she’d hidden her entire life from me. I thought that we had some kind of deeper connection, but now I realized that I didn’t know anything about her. Well, I knew one thing about her: I wanted her. I couldn’t deny her allure. I didn’t know why I was so desperate to have her. I thought that sleeping with her would get her out of my system, but the brief taste I’d had only made me hunger for her even more.

My phone rang and I glanced at the caller ID before rolling my eyes. It was Skye’s school again. I’d gotten a call about her every day since she started. At the rate she was going she was going to get kicked out in no time. Maybe that’s what she was after. If she got kicked out of school I didn’t know what I would do. I couldn’t support a rebellious eighteen year old drop-out, sister or no. I wanted to do what was best for her and I really thought that was making sure she got a good education. I knew that my mother wasn’t the best at parenting and probably never gave much thought to Skye’s grades or behavior, but if she wanted to do anything with her life at all, she needed some discipline.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Mr. Marx?”

“Yes?”

“This is Assistant Principal Grover; I believe we spoke the other day about Skye’s behavior in Chemistry class?”

She tried to make the lab explode. I knew she wasn’t stupid, because she actually had all of the right chemicals to do the job. She wasn’t trying to destroy any property; she knew exactly the right amounts of everything to make just a big enough boom to get out of class. It was infuriating to know that she had that kind of advanced knowledge and was using her powers for evil.

“Yes, we did,” I answered with a sigh. I didn’t even want to know what she’d done this time. I could already feel a dull throbbing start behind my eyeballs and I pinched the bridge of my nose to try to stop it before it went any further.

“I was just calling to make sure that Skye wasn’t in school today. You never called to have her absence excused.”

There it was, a full-blown migraine exploded behind my eyes. I sighed.

“I dropped her off at school this morning.”

“I see. Well, she never made it to homeroom or any of her other classes. This will be an unexcused absence, Mr. Marx. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that Skye’s enrollment in our school is in jeopardy. I understand that you’re going through a difficult adjustment period right now, but I have to think about what is best for the student body as a whole and I feel that Skye’s behavior could have a trickle-down effect on some of our other students.”

“I understand completely, Mr. Grover. When Skye comes home I’ll make sure I have a discussion with her. Thank you for calling,” I managed to get the sentences out even though my stomach churned with anger and my head throbbed with frustration. My eyes felt like they were going to burst from my skull with all of the pressure built up behind them. I wanted to strangle my little sister right now. I didn’t know how to handle all of this. I had no idea how to be a parent to a teenager when I’d never even had a parent of my own.

How could I make Skye understand that the things she did now would have lasting consequences for her life? How could I make her see how privileged she was to have the opportunity to get an education? I certainly never had that option and I spent my entire like being insecure about it. I wanted to do right by her and give her the best shot that I could, but I needed her cooperation.

I ended the phone call with the Assistant Principal and tried to figure out how I was going to talk to Skye when she got home.

In the meantime, I did some more research on Aubrey. I tried my best to connect her somehow to her real life. She covered her tracks well. My uneasiness with the situation only grew as I delved deeper and deeper into trying to locate her. If she went this far to hide, there had to be a reason. I didn’t know why I wanted to know her story so badly. I didn’t know why I was becoming quickly obsessed with her, but I just couldn’t get her out of my head. I needed more of her and I wasn’t sure that I would ever be satisfied.

I closed the browser that was cluttered with leads to Aubrey’s identity, I wasn’t getting any closer and I really couldn’t handle the added frustration right now. As much as Aubrey occupied my thoughts, I had to focus on the other woman making my life hell.

I sighed and tried to figure out what I was going to say to Skye when she got home.

Of course even in this instance she couldn’t be cooperative. The elevator door dinged as she sauntered into the apartment and flung her bag down on the couch.

I looked up from my desk, still reeling with how to deal with this.

“How was school?” I asked innocently.

She shrugged.

“Fine, I guess.”

“Yeah? How are you liking it? Made any new friends?”

Another shrug.

“A few.”

“Skye, I know this is rough for you, being in a new place, a new school, trying to adjust to everything… I just want you to know that I only want what’s best for you. I never got the chance to finish school. I was homeless at twelve and Tamara didn’t really make my education a priority before that, you know.”

I could tell she wasn’t really engaged in the conversation. I didn’t want to lecture her. I didn’t want to try to punish or admonish her. I just wanted her to understand.

I sighed.

“I just want you to have your best chance. The world is changing and the things that used to be good enough to give you a decent life aren’t good enough anymore. I don’t want to see you struggle.”

She nodded, but didn’t make eye contact as she flipped on the TV. I was starting to get a little more annoyed but I tried to tamp down my temper.

“Assistant Principal Grover called me today,” I finally admitted.

That got her attention. She turned her rainbow-colored head towards me and tried to give me her best innocent look. I wasn’t buying it for a moment.

“Oh? What about?”

She was good, I gave her that much. But I grew up around much more crafty people than Skye.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Skye. I know you haven’t been going to your classes. What have you been doing?”

She shrugged.

“Nothing.”

I had to take a deep breath to steady my thundering pulse. I couldn’t lose my cool with her. If she knew that I was that easy, she would walk all over me.

“Well, just remember the terms of your staying here. You’re an adult and you’re going to make your own choices, but that doesn’t mean I have to provide a roof over your head while you do.”

I couldn’t tell if the look in her eyes was fear or defiance. Maybe a bit of both.

“You don’t have to be such a dick about it, you know.”

I clenched my jaw and resisted the urge to hurl an insult back at her.

“I don’t think I’m being unreasonable. When you said you wanted to stay here, you agreed to going to school. If you don’t hold up your end of the bargain, neither will I.”

“Fine, fine. I get it okay? It was just one day. Chill.”

I decided to drop the matter. I didn’t want this conversation to get any more heated.

“Okay, well I’m getting you a bus pass. I’m not going to take you to school anymore. Maybe if you have to get up early to be there, you’ll respect it a bit more. If I get another call from Mr. Grover or anyone else at that school, you’re out of here, got it?”

“Whatever,” she huffed, standing from the couch. She spiked the remote onto the couch in aggravation and stormed out of the apartment.

My migraine ramped up to eleven. Who knew that being an older brother could be so hard?

I decided to pour myself a stiff drink and sleep the stress away until it was time for Aubrey’s race the next day.

I didn’t even see Skye the next day before I left for the race track; I thought that maybe that was for the best. I didn’t know for sure if she was coming back or not, but I thought that we both needed time to cool off.

My hands shook as I drove. I didn’t know what I would say to Aubrey if I saw her. I didn’t know if she’d even want to see me. Part of me was convinced that she would be pleased to see me. Surely I wasn’t the only one affected by our incredibly hot night together. Surely it wasn’t so easy for her to just up and leave without a second thought. I wanted to believe that I was on her mind as much as she was on mine. I found myself picturing her smile while I made my morning coffee, watching her slender hand grip the gear shift and later those long fingers wrapped around me… It was so easy to lose myself to thoughts of her and the time we spent together.

Was I making a huge mistake going after her? What if it was only meant to be a one-night stand? What if I had her up on a pedestal that she would never be able to live up to again? I’d done that before with different things; I would have such fond memories of something that when I went to revisit it, it could never match up to my lofty expectations. I didn’t want to think that Aubrey would be that way. I wanted to believe that when I saw her again everything would fall back into place. I wanted her to admit to me that she thought about me, too.

I wanted to find out who she really was, why she hid, and more than anything else, how I could be a part of her life, regardless of who she really was.

I realized a little too late that bringing the Jag to a place like this was only going to attract a ton of extra attention to myself. Nevertheless, I was here for a reason and couldn’t let myself be distracted by too much attention. I tried to park out of the way. My vantage point from atop the hill gave me a nice view of the drag strip near the water. Racers were already doing their warm-up runs and qualifying heats. I wondered if Aubrey was really going to be here. If she would be happy to see me, if she was really as good as I thought she was. My stomach filled with a nervous anticipation, but an equal amount of excitement crept in, too.

I tried to picture her face when she saw me. Would she be happy? Surprised? Angry?

There was only one way to find out. I started my trek down the hill, hoping for the best.