I rubbed my fingers through Layla’s hair as she laid on my couch, her head resting on my lap. “It’s 7 o’clock. You’re going to have to leave soon.”

Layla sighed. “I know.”

It was the day after Layla’s graduation, and she had spent nearly every day with me since Prom. I’d pick her up right after school, and we’d spend the rest of the evening together. When her 8 o’clock curfew rolled around, I’d take her home. A couple times I had picked her up again after midnight—once to go to the race and one time just to spend time together—and she just seemed to have grown bolder and bolder since Prom night. She told me she had been having problems with her dad and that they had barely spoken for almost two weeks.

“But…” she added, raising her body up and twisting around so that she was lying on her stomach. “We’ve still got some time left, don’t we?”

Layla started fiddling with the zipper of my jeans, and once she had them open, she shoved her hand inside of the hole, grabbing my dick hard. She raised her eyebrows and gave me a devilish look.

How could I say no?

She pulled my cock out of the hole in my jeans and started jerking it around in her hand as she looked up to me with innocent eyes. Fuck, she looked good. Without saying a word, she pushed her body forward and took my cock in her mouth and started sucking it like it was a candy cane, pulling the tip into her mouth, twirling her tongue, then licking the shaft up and down.

“Fuck,” I moaned.

“I want your cum,” she said. “Will you come for me?”

I honestly, don’t know how this innocent girl who had an 8 o’clock curfew had suddenly learned how to start speaking so lewdly, but every time I hear her mutter naughty words my whole body tingled and my dick jumped. It drove me crazy that Layla could turn me on so much with just a simple sentence and the twinkle of her eyes.

“You drive me crazy,” I muttered.

“Good,” she said and took the tip of my cock in her mouth again and started bobbing up and down. It was times like then that I wished I had a smaller dick. I wanted her to take it all in her mouth, pushing it all the way down her throat until her lips were at the spot where the base of my cock met my balls, but I knew that was never going to happen. She was lucky just to get the tip inside, and it was adorable the way she tried to force even more.

I was already shirtless, so I unbuttoned the top of my pants and started tugging the rest of my clothes down to make myself naked. I grabbed Layla’s head and navigated her away from my cock and tugged on the t-shirt she was wearing. “Let me see you, baby,” I said.

Layla complied and helped me pull her shirt off, and without even asking she unbuttoned her skirt and pulled both her skirt and panties down at the same time.

She climbed on top of me, straddling me, pushing her tits against my chest and forcing my head back against the soft leather of the couch. She took my face into her palms and kissed me while she hummed, and with one of her hands she reached under, grabbed my cock, and slid the tip inside her.

“Wait,” I said and held on to her body as I leaned forward and reached for my pants. I grabbed a condom out of my pocket, opened it, and rolled it on. “Almost forgot,” I said with a smile.

Layla smiled back and eased herself down on me, slow at first, and then moving herself back and forth in a rhythmic motion, kissing me at the same time.

It was like we were meant for each other. We fit together so perfectly, and although we had only been intimate for a little over a week, our sexual chemistry was incredible, and every time we made love it was better than the last.

I pushed my head forward and latched my mouth onto one of Layla’s breasts and she leaned her head back and moaned while she bounced up and down. Her tits weren’t huge, but they were just the right size for me—big enough to jiggle when they moved and enough that I could grab and handful of flesh when I had the urge.

I loved them.

Hell, I loved all of her body. The curves of her hips, the soft padding of her thighs when I pounded into her, and that ass—oh my god… That ass was to die for.

As if she were reading my mind, Layla pulled away from me and turned her body around so that her feet were on the floor and her ass was facing me. She grabbed on to her tits and started moving up and down, allowing me to watch as her large, juicy rump bounced onto my cock again and again.

It was too much to handle, and after a few seconds of that, I had to grab on to her waist to prevent her from making me come faster than I intended too. I stood up from the couch and kissed Layla before I turned her around and lifted her into my arms, adjusting so that I was holding her by the legs and my cock slipped inside. I paced forward until her back touched the wall, and then I pounded into her while she wrapped her arms around my hips and we made out intensely.

I twirled her around and brought her back to the couch and laid her back first on the seat, pushing her legs back so that I could plunge into her as deep as possible.

“Oh god, Mason!” she cried.

I loved hearing her voice almost as much as I loved the feeling of her pussy wrapping onto my cock. She was so sweet, so feminine. Knowing that this beautiful, frail creature was allowing me to indulge in the pleasure of her flesh—me and me alone—absolutely blew my mind.

I slammed into her rapidly and reached my arm around her leg so that I could place my thumb on her clit, then rotated that thumb in a circular motion, matching the pace of my strokes.

Right away, I could see her starting to unravel. I knew that every time she started grabbing at things she was about to come, and just a few seconds after I started rubbing her clit, she grabbed on to the edge of my leather couch and started squeezing hard.

“Come for me, baby,” I said, knowing that she was on the brink.

She pushed her head back into the couch and stretched her neck out so wildly that I could see her veins. “Shit!” she said awkwardly and started flailing her arms around robotically, grasping at different spots of the couch like she was searching for relief.

Part of me wanted to laugh at how happy I was to see that I was bringing her pleasure, and the other part of me wanted to cry because of how beautiful she was in her unabashed state, showing me everything she had to offer.

But the greater part of me just couldn’t hold myself together, and seeing the girl I was totally infatuated with coming all over my cock caused me to explode instantly, and soon I too was moving robotically, as I pumped into her a few more times.

I took a moment to catch my breath, then wandered off to fetch a towel. I needed to get the condom off, and I knew that we didn’t have time for a shower before I had to take Layla home.

“I don’t want to leave you,” Layla pouted.

I strolled back into the living room, still panting, and threw Layla a towel as I wiped myself off. “I don’t want you to leave either, but what are we going to do?”

She huffed. “Pick me up tonight after Dad goes to sleep? There’s races at the Bluff tonight, right?”

“Layla…” I said. “How many times do we have to sneak? Why don’t you just let me talk to your Dad? If we’re going to do this, he needs to accept us.”

“You don’t understand,” she whined.

“I do understand. He cares about you and is worried. If he knows me, then he won’t worry.”

Layla stood and started pulling her clothes back on. “So what? You’re going to be honest about everything and tell him you’re a street racer? That you race for pinks and illegal gambling.”

“You make me sound so bad…”

Layla leaned over and tapped me on the chin before she started strapping on her bra. “You are bad… a little bit. But I can understand it. My dad probably won’t.”

“It doesn’t hurt to try.” I said. “And I don’t like the fact that you and him aren’t speaking. It’s just…” I took a deep breath. “I want us all to be happy. I don’t want our relationship to be something that tears you and your dad apart.”

Layla pulled her top on and plopped down on the couch with a thud. She pushed her hands on to her knees and gave me a thoughtful look. “Maybe you’re right.” She bobbed her head up and down. “I’ll try talking to him.”

“Good,” I said. “And don’t hesitate to tell him that I’d love to get to know him. I want him to know you’re safe with me.”

It looked like Layla started rolling her eyes, but she turned her head so I couldn’t tell. “We’ll see…”

I drove Layla home, and after a quick kiss and a hug, she jumped out of my car and rounded the bush to go inside.

Things weren’t perfect, but things had been going exceptionally well for the two of us. Our relationship took off like a NASA space launch since Prom and only seemed to be getting better. We still had her dad to conquer, but otherwise, everything just seemed perfect.

It was almost too good to be true.

* * *

That night, I picked Layla up and we had a nice dinner at a late night seafood restaurant before we headed up for the Bluff. She told me she hadn’t talked to her dad yet, but had every intention of doing so the next morning.

When we arrived to the races, the drag competition was almost done, and I could see people getting up to grab a bite to eat before the sprints started that night. Benny was there, sitting on the bleachers when we sat down to watch the show.

“Mason!” he said looking towards me and patting on the shoulder. “Layla,” he added as he noticed my company right behind me.

“So how have the matchups been tonight?” I asked.

“They’ve been alright,” answered. “Nothing special yet.”

I nodded.

“Are you going to race with your brother tonight?”

“No, I’m not racing tonight,” I said. “And I haven’t raced drag in a long time. Looks like they’re winding down anyway.”

“Caleb isn’t dragging tonight. He’s doing a sprint.”

“A sprint?” I asked with a shrug. “Never seen him do a sprint in the RSX before, but I guess it’s built well enough for one.”

“Word is that he’s doing it for pinks.”

“What? He’s doing pinks?” I shook my head slowly. “He’s crazy. The RSX is his baby. If he loses it, I’ll never hear the end.”

I felt a light pat on my shoulders and turned around to see my brother standing there smiling. “That’s right. The RSX is my baby,” he cooed, “but I think it’s time to upgrade her.”

“Caleb, what the hell are you doing? You don’t even race sprints.”

“Fuck you,” he said with the brotherliest love possible. “We’ve run up and down the Bluff for fun before. You know I can drive it.”

“Yeah, and how many times did you beat me? What if you lose your car? You should get a little more experience under your belt before doing pinks.”

“That’s not what you did. You were racing for pinks around the same age as me.”

I sighed. “Okay, idiot. Do whatever you want to.”

“Okay, shithead,” Caleb retorted.

“What car are you racing against anyway?”

Caleb lifted himself to the tips of his toes and pointed across the Bluff. “That Porshe 911 over there.”

I thought I was going to vomit. I recognized the car. It was Freddy Black’s ride, and if there was any person around the city that I didn’t want Caleb racing, it was him.

“Are you being serious?” I asked.

“Yeah, he gave me the opportunity to race him, and if I win, I get the Porsche. It’s fucking hot, right?”

“This is not good...”

“What?” Caleb asked, and I could see Layla starting to get uneasy from all our bickering.

“That motherfucker is part of the best driving families in SoCal, and if he is anything like his father he’s a dangerous guy and a dangerous driver. How did you even get in a race with him?

“He came around today and asked me if I want to race.”

I shook my head. “So you think he would just put a Porsche against an RSX if he didn’t think he was a sure win?”

Caleb pointed back towards where his car sat. “The RSX is one of the fastest cars up here. And it’s got tricks…”

“I can’t let this happen. You can’t race Freddy Black. And if you think you’re going to use NOS…” I stood to my feet and grabbed Layla’s hand. “Come with me,” I said to her. I glared at Caleb. “You too.”

“Where are you going?” Caleb snapped as soon as I started walking.

“I’m going to talk to Mike and get this race cancelled.”

“What?! No! You can’t.”

I ignored Caleb’s continued protests and continued on to the stand that Mike was working at.

“Mason!” Mike smiled when I approached.

“You’ve got my bother pinking against Freddy Black?”

“Yeah, I’ve got the slips right here.”

“Cancel it now,” I ordered.

Caleb was standing behind me with his arms crossed, brooding, but he didn’t say a word.

Mike held his hands up. “You know the rules,” Mike said. “Once a race is agreed upon, the two cars gotta race.”

“Caleb isn’t racing,” I said.

“Then he forfeits his car,” Mike said. “Unless you get Freddy to agree to the cancellation. I need to hear from both Freddy and Caleb that they’re willing to forgo the race, and fine.”

I looked up and saw Freddy standing a few hundred yards away by his Porsche and started marching there. Caleb and Layla were right behind me.

“What’s going on?” Layla asked me. “Why are you so upset about this?”

“Freddy’s father killed somebody. That Porsche shouldn’t even be in his possession anymore.”

“Killed somebody?” Layla asked, looking like she suddenly shouldn’t have asked.

“Yo, that guy is a murderer?” Caleb asked.

“No, he’s not a murderer, but his Dad is sitting behind bars. It happened before you got involved in racing. I never thought to warn you about it, because I never imagined Freddy would just show up with that car.”

“I didn’t know,” Caleb said.

“Freddy,” I said loudly as I approached his car.

He was standing just off the side of his car with two large goons in leather jackets and sunglasses over their eyes, looking like bodyguards. He turned around as soon as I called his name. His hair was slick with gel and his eyes were sunken like he hadn’t slept in days. He was so thin that the first thing that came to mind was drugs. He dressed like he had money though. The print tee, fat silver watch and jeans he had on were clearly expensive.

“Nice to see you, Mason,” he said. “You drove a good race the other night when I was up here scouting.”

“You set up a race for pinks against my brother’s car?”

“Yeah, and?”

“I want it cancelled. Caleb isn’t racing.”

Freddy started laughing. “Then he forfeits his car. You know the rules.”

“Look, I’m here to ask for a mutual cancellation. Caleb is inexperienced. He didn’t know what he was getting himself into.”

Freddy took a step forward and licked his lips. “Does that look like my problem?” he asked. “The RSX will make a nice present for one of my girls. He agreed to race, and now I’m going to win it fair and square.”

“Come on Freddy. We don’t need any bad blood on the Bluff.”

“That’s right. Let your brother man up and race so that there’s no bad blood. Who knows? Maybe he’ll win my Porsche. It’s worth about 10 times as much as what he’s already driving.” He started chuckling and his goons burst into laughter.

I turned around to Caleb. “This guy is bad news.”

“I can race him,” he assured me. “The RSX is a good car. It’s already been set, so my car has to race.”

I touched my chin and turned back around, taking a deep breath as I suddenly had an idea. “I’ll race,” I said.

Freddy shook his head and chuckled again. “This isn’t a race for The Beast, man. It’s Caleb’s car against mine.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll drive the RSX.”

“You’ll what?!” Caleb shouted.

“It’s car versus car. There is no rule that you can’t change drivers.”

“Is that right?” Freddy looked back at his goons, and they just shrugged.

“You can go confirm it with Mike if you want,” I added. “But if we’re doing pinks, I’m driving the RSX.”

Freddy huffed and shook his head sarcastically. “Alright,” he said. “I guess it doesn’t matter. My Porsche will win no matter who’s driving the RSX.”

“Done.” I slapped my hands together swiftly and turned to walk towards Caleb’s RSX, Caleb and Layla right beside me.

“You’re going to lose my ride,” Caleb said. “And if you—“

“Shut up,” I ordered. “He has a better car, so I might lose, but it’s either you forfeit or you let me try to race you out of this. But you’re not driving up against that guy for pinks.”

“Am I riding with you?” Layla asked.

I stopped and looked down at Layla. “Not this time, babe. It’s dangerous. I don’t trust that guy as far as I can throw them, and I’m not used to Caleb’s car. If something were to happen to you, I’d kill myself.” I scooped her into my arms and squeezed her as tight as I could. “Stay with Caleb and Benny until the race is finished. It’ll all be over in a few minutes.”

I gave her a gentle kiss on the lips before she said, “Okay.”

I could see the worry in her eyes, and maybe it was because she could sense my own worry. I knew I was a better driver than Freddy, but he was damn good, and Caleb’s RSX wasn’t quite on the level of the Porsche. It would take a lot of skill and maybe a little bit of luck for me not to lose Caleb’s car, and even worse I was worried something else could happen if Freddy felt threatened enough or lost the Porsche. Both Dimitri and Freddy were just as reckless as they were talented. Hell, I’d probably tell him to keep the Porsche if I won.

* * *

I looked out towards Layla, Benny, and Caleb as I sat on the starting line of the sprint. Freddy’s Porsche was right beside me and he was revving his engine and staring at me through his driver’s side window.

I had done a quick inspection of Caleb’s RSX and all seemed okay, even the NOS that he had installed. I wasn’t sure if I would risk using it, but it was a possibility if I was trailing once I hit the straightaway at the bottom of the Bluff.

Tina made her way out in front of all of the cars, as usual, and I said a silent prayer as she raised her arms. I didn’t want to lose Caleb’s car, but that was replaceable. More than that I didn’t want to stir up any drama or have a catastrophe during the race as I was entering a period of elation with Layla.

Fucking Caleb, I thought.

I should have known he’d do something like this eventually. I probably would have done the same thing at his age.

Tina dropped her arms, and everyone shot off the starting line, Freddy taking a quick lead. I had never raced Caleb’s RSX, so the first couple minutes was an adjustment period, and there were at least 6 cars ahead of me by the time we were halfway down the path that lead to the main road.

The RSX didn’t have the raw power of The Beast, but it handled well, and I took advantage of that as we continued down the path, whipping past car after car around sharp curves that they had to take slower.

When I reached the main road at the bottom, only two cars were ahead of me, a wide bodied BMW M3 and Freddy who still controlled the lead.

There was no traffic on the straightaway, so I pushed the RSX to its limit. The sound of the motor was so intense that I had the feeling that it was operating nearly out of its safety zone. The BMW was just as fast as me, so even at redline, I couldn’t seem to catch up.

I looked down at the little red button that was protruding out of the dash. Caleb hadn’t even installed a safety mechanism to prevent it from an accidental push, and I considered for a moment using it. If it worked, it would shoot me head of both the BMW and the Porsche, but there was also the chance that the engine wouldn’t be able to handle it. Plus, the crash risk was pretty high being that it was the first time had I raced the car.

No, I decided. I’d try to win the race without NOS and continued on with my pedal to the metal, trailing right behind the BMW.

When we reached the path that led up to the Bluff, the BMW slowed to make the turn, and I used the RSX’s maneuvering to send myself into a drift which slid me right in front of the BMW, and when my tires regained traction, it flung a whirl of dust back into the BMW’s windshield.

“Woo!” I yelled. Right then, I wished I had the music that that was in The Beast to set the mood.

I could see Freddy pulling around the first turn just a few yards ahead of me, and as I was getting more confident with the handling of the RSX, I knew that I could catch him. The engine sang as I pushed up the climb, and by the second turn, I was right on Freddy’s ass.

He drove erratically, mostly right in the center of the road, giving me little room to pass, but when the next bend came, he took it wide, and just like the BMW, I managed to drift my way in front of him.

“Fuck yeah!” I yelled and slammed my hand on the steering wheel of the car. I pushed forward, knowing that we were just a few more twists and turns before I reached the top of the Bluff and won the race.

I paid close attention to Freddy in my rear view mirror, trying to move myself in front of him every time he tried to find an opening, and I took each bend much faster than he did. Eventually, I had gained a few yards of distance, and we were only a long stretch and one bend away from reaching the top of the Bluff.

Again, I looked in my rear view mirror, and I could see Freddy’s panic through his windshield, and his eyes continually looked down at his dash and back up to the road. I knew he was thinking about doing something but I wasn’t sure what.

Again he looked towards his dash, and I couldn’t help but think how similar it was to when I was thinking about using the NOS in the RSX. Did he have nitrous oxide on the Porsche and was he thinking about using it up there? Surely not.

He pulled one of his hands from his steering wheel and gradually lowered it to whatever it was that he was looking at.

“Don’t do it, man,” I whispered. “If you’ve got NOS in there, don’t use it up here.”

He took a deep breath, and I heard a terrifying thud echo behind me.

“Shit!,” I yelled as I saw Freddy’s car shoot towards me like a missile. I gripped the steering wheel hard, and tried to swerve over towards the face of the Bluff, but he was moving too fast. I managed to dodge some of his car, but as he went to pass me, the front of his bumper clipped the back of the RSX, sending me into a violent tailspin and then slamming hard into the rocks.

My head rocked back and forth and slammed up against the passenger side door, and for a moment I saw stars. I blinked my vision back into focus and I was sitting stationary, the hood of the RSX bent up and the dashboard sitting at an angle.

Fuck! I knew Freddy was dangerous, but daring to use NOS so high up on a path with no railing was insane.

For a moment, I assumed that he just passed, going on to win the race, but then I heard an explosion that sounded like a bomb landed. Rising from the side of the Bluff was a thick cloud of black smoke.

My heart thumped out of my chest, and I struggled as quickly as I could out of the safety belt and pushed the smashed driver’s side door open just enough that I could wiggle outside. The BMW was pulling up behind me and parking right at the same time.

The driver, who I didn’t recognize, rushed out of his car and we both ran to the edge of the cliff and looked down.

Sitting at the bottom were the remains of Freddy’s Porsche, and what was left was smoldering in flames. Even the best driving expert would have had trouble taking the turns of the Bluff while busting a nut, and Freddy was no exception. All that power sent him right off the side of the cliff.

The other racers started to pull up behind the BMW and everyone just parked and looked off over the edge, not saying a word. A few people who got out started hugging each other in silence.

No one seemed to care who won anymore. Freddy wasn’t the most liked character who raced at Rolling Bluff, but seeing one of our own go off the cliff rocked us all to the core.

It was the second death to happen at the Bluff and the first one that was the result of a crash.