Looking at the scene, thinking of the words said on the stage, Sharon was moved. At the same time, the impression she used to have of the Lenner playboy was shaken further, leaving her unable to see him with the same disdain as she used to. Even without knowing the whole story, from just this one event, she could say that he had done right by his friend.
Thinking of that, Sharon glanced at her only friend present to whom she also owed much of her present life.
As Tyler drowned in emotions, Lance let out a whistle and laughed as he walked to the truck.
"What nice babies!"
His face was bright, awash with the same glow as a child faced with a dream toy. He could not have been happier. Climbing up the trailer, he trailed the shiny surface of the race cars with his gloved hand, his excitement growing with bouncing steps with each one of his heartbeats as he felt the smoothness beneath his fingers. He looked ready to howl at the dim moon in the sky at any moment just to vent the fire that had sprung within him.
Reaching the front of the first car, he turned to Alex and shouted, unable to hold back his impatience:
"Hey, boss, where is the key?"
Looking at the excited blond, Alex shook his head with a smile, then turned to Kim. The latter took her calm eyes off Tyler. She unhooked the purse at her waist and emptied it into Alex's hand.
After a nod of gratitude, Alex threw one of the three keys he received to Tyler beside him, another one to Lance beside the cars, then walked to the trailer with the last one.
*VROOM~ VROOM~ VROOM~ VROOM~*
The sound that had been the background music of the party took over the entrance of the club. The engines of the race cars rang low, deep, absurdly powerful, and beautiful. No matter what, they felt different from mere luxurious cars, even customized ones, because only they had that raw, bare pursuit of extreme speed written in their very beings.
Sleek and dark, with a smooth shine, and a low chassis only waiting to ride on the wind. Behind the steering wheel, Lance was grinning like an idiot, while Alex, taking the second race car on the platform, glided backward to descend and did a smooth turn to come to a stop beside Lance.
Only Tyler remained above, his expression a little dazed as he moved his gloved hands over the steering wheel, caressing it with a melancholic softness. After a while, he took a deep breath. Feeling the comfortable low rumble from the engine, he let out an exhale, his expression calming down behind the helmet as he glanced at the GPS with the full map on the dashboard, then he let himself slide down the trailer to join the other two.
*VROOM~ VROOM~*
That was a signal. The attention turned to Alex. He shifted gears, then took off, gliding over the asphalt like a low, dark tide.
The other two cars didn't hesitate to follow him. Passing through the sparse traffic, they soon disappeared from view. The crowd at the entrance of the club was left at loss. At that moment, the sound of the helicopter taking off inside the club made a few faces suddenly brighten, then suddenly, everyone ran back inside.
No one cared about the powerful and luxurious cars around anymore, nor did anyone feel like competing on the now empty track. All eyes turned to the giant screen just in time to see the three race cars pass through the blockade of the brightly lit empty arteries of the city.
The white of the starting line was brightly shining from above, and the three cars went to stop right at its edge. Tension gripped the hearts of the spectators, even though that should not have been the case. But what was happening, what was about to happen, was different from what they had been playing at within the confines of the club.
That which was happening outside was on a whole different level.
"Ah~, it reminds me of the old times."
Lance's exhale passed through the microphone inside the helmet and rang in the ears of the other two. In his car, Tyler was back to normal, with a smile on his face that had been gloomy for the greater part of the night. He rolled his eyes as he suppressed a twitch at the corner of his mouth:
"The old times you speak of were just a year ago, Lance."
Unbothered by the retort, Lance calmed down while feeling the smooth surface of the steering wheel through his glove, and let out a laugh:
"Maybe it has not been long, but you are letting go of your dream, and this will be your last time in a true competition."
There was a moment of silence, after which, Tyler nodded slowly:
"Yeah…"
Alex looked to the left, then to the right, and shook his head. Looking to the side, he turned on the GPS he had left dark till now, glanced at the lit up path on display, then focused on the light board that had come to take over the space above the road.
*WLAM~*
At that moment, the board lit up. Suddenly, the tension was not just exclusive to the area around the giant screen anymore. Lance stopped talking, Tyler focused, and Alex simply pushed down the accelerator. The engines that had been letting out soft rumbles on standby roared, and right then, they did not just flare to life. They became like undercurrents heralding the coming storm.
*VROOM~ VROOM~*
*WLAM~*
The gazes of the three friends turned sharp, with only the empty road before them in their eyes, and the changing light board, nothing else.
*VROOM~ VROOM~*
*WLAM~*
Their breathing slowed down while their body heated up, their heartbeats turning deep to the rhythm of their engines.
*VROOM~ VROOM~ VROOM~ VROOM~*
Time slowed to a crawl, and the lights on the board, after coming on…
*BEEP~~!!!*
…went out.
*WLAM~!*
*VROOM– VROOM– SCREECHES~~ WHOOSH~!!*
Like arrows let loose, the three race cars turned into mere blurs that disappeared. Excitement, nervousness, anxiety, anticipation… Everything exploded right then.
One second they were there, and in the next, they were gone.
One bend, one corner, one drift…
No one could turn away from the giant screen with the live feed. No one could look away from the intense choreographed dance. No one… could breathe.
*SCREECH~~~!!!*