Trading Paint (Racing on the Edge) (12 page)

I smiled—so did she.

“Yeah, I’m ready. I need to be at the track after school and then I’ll ride up with Spencer and Alley.” I reached for my chemistry book before shutting my locker, turning to face her. “Do you need a ride?”

My perverted teenage brain instantly began contemplating all the ways I could give her a ride.

Damn it.

We began walking toward our chemistry class. I found the need to strategically place my book in front of me.

“No, actually—Cooper said he’d give me a ride.” My stomach dropped at the thought.

I’ll bet he did
. I thought to myself.

I never cared for Cooper Young but I guess you could call him a friend. We grew up right next door to each other but when I introduced him to Sway three-years ago, he slowly began showing interest in her. I knew it would happen eventually. Sway was beautiful and if I thought she’d stay single forever, I was in being stupid.

One thing was true; I’d be having a talk with Cooper later today about keeping his hands to himself, something I should have done before prom but I had been distracted.

I hated to even consider where his hands could go, would go, or have gone. Cooper was a nice guy but I knew he had a thing for women and never dated the same one more than once, precisely why I didn’t want him with Sway. He’s not nearly as bad as Dylan Grady was but he’s close and not what Sway needed.

When I said I didn’t care if he asked her to prom, I never thought he would continue to hang around. Now that he was, I was cursing myself.

When I glanced over at Sway, I saw her lips moving.

Shit, she’s staying something. Pay attention.

“Hey
...
are you even listening to me?” She punched my shoulder.

“Yes
...
sorry
...
what were you saying?” I ginned trying to use my smile as a plea bargain.

“Asshole,”

“I said I was sorry.” I opened the door to our classroom, watching her walk through.

The room was already half full with our fellow classmates, most of whom I had no idea who they were. I didn’t go to classes often as I usually I had tutor that came to our house but during my senior year, I did attend school more often.

“Stop thinking about racing and listen when your best friend is talking.” She told me with a goofy smile. “Sometimes I wonder if you
ever
listen to what I say.”

“I
do
listen to you.”

“Really?” she took her seat next to the window dragging out her book from her bag. “Could have fooled me,” I glanced at her book where she had stuck various racing stickers all-over it and smiled when I saw my car number outlined in a
Sharpie
.

Chelsea walked in at that moment so I couldn’t say much more. “Hey,” I said in her general direction as she sat down next to us.

“Hey,” she replied kissing my cheek.

I don’t know why but I always felt uncomfortable when she did that in front of Sway. I still got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when Sway was around, as though my being with Chelsea was bad.

“
You coming
tonight?” Sway asked Chelsea biting on her pen.

I continued to stare unabashedly at Sway’s lips curled around the pen, ignoring the fact that Chelsea was talking to me.

Fuck me! Look at those lips. Jesus she is beautiful.

“Jameson!” Chelsea yelled directly in my ear.

I turned to her as Sway rolled her eyes.

“What?” I snapped opening my book to advert my eyes away from Sway and that goddamn pen.

I hate teenage hormones.

Sway kicked me under the table. “Jameson, I was saying
...
it’s just a bunch of guys up at Dayton Peak tonight, right?” she hinted.

“Oh yeah, right,” I caught on. “Yeah, Chelsea
...
that’s why I didn’t say anything. I didn’t think you’d wanna come up there if it was just the guys.”

Chelsea smiled tenderly, her blue eyes focused on my lips. “That’s not my idea of fun. If it’s just the guys
...
I guess you’ll be there, Sway?”

Chelsea and Sway still did not get along. They never had and I doubted that they ever would. They were complete opposites. Chelsea was a girly girl and Sway spent most of her time at dirt tracks and cussed more than a trucker.

I never understood why Sway wanted to hang with a bunch of jerk-offs like us but she did. Our idea of fun was hurling insults at each other and playing practical jokes that had a good possibility of someone being arrested or put in the hospital but I soon became aware that Sway enjoyed our type of fun too.

Sway quirked an eyebrow at me and snorted, “I guess I’m just a
guy
.” Her lips wrapped around that fucking pen again.

I reacted. Reaching across the table I snatched the pen from her hand and hurled it across the classroom. To my satisfaction, it slid under the heater vents in the back of the room.

She glared leaning in to whisper, “Was that necessary asshole?” and then kicked my shin.

“Yes it was.” I kept my eyes focused on my book.

 “Well I have plans anyway.” Chelsea piped in when Sway started giggling after she noticed I had a fuel pump in my backpack to give to Tommy’s dad.

“You couldn’t drop that off before school?” she asked ignoring Chelsea.

“I was going to but he wasn’t home
...
so I brought it with me.”

“And I assume you couldn’t leave it in your truck? You do realize everything in your bag reeks of fuel now?”

“Fuck no. What if someone stole it?”

She smiled widely as though this was amusing to her.

“Yes because if I was going to break into your truck I would steal the fuel pump and not the hundreds of CD’s you have all over the floor board. You know, they make these cool holders now for CD’s. You should look into one of those.”

“Hey,” I flicked her hand that reached for the fuel pump. “Point taken—back off me nag,” I grinned.

Chelsea moved from her seat to sit on my lap, which frustrated me, but I allowed it for god knows what reason. 

Sway busied herself with pitching Tommy shit for passing out last night in her lawn. The black marker tattoo we added still present on his cheek.

“Fire crotch, you can’t hold your liquor for shit.” Sway kicked her long legs over the chair next to her.

Tommy’s head spun around to glare and motioned to me with a pointed finger. “Your boy there tried to kill me!” 

“I had
nothing
to do with that,” I defended. “That was Spencer, not me.”

Sway and I started laughing at the memories of Tommy singing half-naked in her yard. We usually kept the drinking and partying to Saturday nights after races but last night “Fire Crotch” as Sway called him, lost his virginity to Kate
Clemming
, his longtime girlfriend.

When Mrs. Gunner walked in our conversations drifted away and Chelsea finally took her own seat. Like I said, we’d dated off and on and right now
was
a maybe on, maybe off. I hadn’t decided.

She drove me fucking insane most days and I couldn’t tell you why I even tolerated her but I did. I think the reason I dated her was to give Sway a chance at a normal dating life. When other men became interested in her, they turned to me thinking I was her boyfriend, which I wasn’t.

Thinking back on it, dating Chelsea was more about letting Sway be her own person. I didn’t want to stand in the way of her happiness and I knew I couldn’t offer her anything more than a friendship and I sure as shit wasn’t offering anything more than physical needs to Chelsea.

Chelsea was different from Sway in many ways. For one, Sway was a rebel and did whatever the fuck she wanted and when she wanted whereas Chelsea was straight-laced. You’d think this straight-laced side would keep her from wanting to have sex but no. We constantly had the same argument all the time. She wanted to, I didn’t.

Now it’s not that I didn’t want to have sex because let’s face it, I was seventeen. I wanted to have sex in the worse way but I didn’t want to with Chelsea. I was convinced that she had an ulterior motive, like trapping me and I wasn’t attracted to her in that way. Sadly, Sway was the one I wanted.

There were plenty of times when Sway and I could have acted on my hormonal flare-ups but she deserved more than that. Sway needed a man who’d be there for her, not one that wanted racing and racing
only
.

I knew I’d never give myself entirely to Chelsea or any other woman. Sure, we’d probably end up having sex
...
I am a teenage boy, it was bound to happen. But I knew beyond high school, I didn’t want anything from Chelsea. I’m not sure I wanted anything from any woman besides Sway—I needed her friendship.

Racing was all I wanted to do and that meant giving up a normal life and everything that went with a normal life.
Friends.
Girlfriends.
Normal shit that teenagers did.

Class ended and Chelsea was attached to my hip while Tommy and Sway pushed each other out the door.

“If you didn’t fuck
clammer
last night, I’d think you were gay.” Sway told him.

“At least I didn’t spread my legs for Cooper.” His smile widened. “He’s probably slept with half the girls in this high school now.”

Sway punched his shoulder, hanging her head dejectedly. “Fuck off
fire crotch
!”

Without another glance, she trudged away, sadness evident on her features.

“What was that about?” I asked Tommy once we were outside. Chelsea was still clinging to my side.

“You didn’t know she fucked Cooper after prom when you were in Chico last weekend?”

“Jameson,
come on
.” She tugged on my arm. “Who cares who Sway fucks? Come on!”

“Come on what?” I threw my arms up, irritated. Not only was I irritated she was clinging to me but the fact that Sway never said anything about what happened with Cooper had severely me pissed off.

“I thought we could go to my house for lunch.” She smiled tugging again. “Please?”

I looked past her morosely to see Sway sitting on my tailgate, staring at her feet in the parking lot.

“I can’t.” I told her removing her arm from mine. “I have to drop my fuel pump at Frank’s shop and then I need to stop by Glen’s and pick up my springs before Saturday.”

“You can do that tonight or Saturday morning.”

“No I can’t. I race on Saturday in Cottage Grove. I’m leaving early Saturday morning before they open and I need to test the set up tonight.”

“I thought we were going to the movies Saturday.” She pouted in that annoying voice she had when she was trying to be adorable.

“No, I never said I was going. I told you when you asked that I had a race.” My voice was getting heated. She never listened when I talked about racing which is why she didn’t know I would be in Cottage Grove tomorrow. “It’s not my problem you didn’t listen.”

“Can’t you blow off the boys then and hang out with me tonight.” She reached for me again. “Why do you need to race in Cottage Grove anyway?”

“Chelsea,” I shook my head taking a step back. “I made plans with my friends tonight and then I’m leaving in the morning. I can’t hang out with you tonight.”

“So you’re choosing your friends over me?”

“I shouldn’t have to choose.” I told her walking away.

“Lover’s quarrel?”
Sway teased with her head hung. I couldn’t see her eyes with her hat on.

I pushed her off the tailgate. “Get in.”

“Where are we going?”

“I need to drop off my fuel pump.”

“Cool, Frank has my new shifter for the red dragon.”

“I’m surprised that piece of shit still runs.” I teased starting my truck. Sway grinned when I revved the engine for her.

“Don’t knock the red dragon. She’s reliable.”

“Really?”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Is that why we had to walk home from the Ranch House Sunday night?”

“You watch—that truck will still be around when we’re fifty.”

“Yeah, as parts in a junk yard.”
When I glanced down at her legs she had put up on my dashboard, I noticed her pants were red by her pockets. “What happened to your pants?” I chuckled.

“Fucking fire crotch,” She grumbled. “Asshole asked me to put some ketchup packets in my pocket earlier knowing damn well I’d forget about them.”

I laughed. Those two were constantly at each other’s throats. I was convinced Tommy was Spencer’s long lost brother.

The rest of our lunch break was spent arguing as usual and dropping off parts. Once back at school, Chelsea found me and tried to invite herself to Dayton Peak. I knew damn well Sway would kill me if she came along, so I once again told her no.

“Jameson,” Chelsea whined as we made our way out of our last class for the day. “Just come over tonight.”