Tales of the Underground: Velocity - 9. Chapter 9

There I sat in the middle of a junk yard miles and miles away from where I really wanted to be. I could hear gears screaming and shouting to himself, desperately trying to make everything work the way he had it planned out in his head.

“God fucking damn it” He shouted to himself “So much fucking work! Just swap the insides Jacob! It’ll be easy Jacob! While you’re at it why don’t you just find a way for it to run on water too?” He got so caught up with talking to himself I don’t think he realized he had blown his own cover.

“Jacob?” Jax said looking at me and Gizmo.

“WHAT?!” Gears screamed still not realizing what he had done. We all started laughing “Laugh away!” he said finally looking up. The second he looked at Jax he realized what he had done. His face turned so red I thought it would never go back to its usual pale color. “Oops” he said finally calming down.

“Don’t worry you secrets safe with me.” Jax said laughing “I’ve never heard someone give away their own name. Is he always this wound up?” he remarked

“Yup” Gizmo said joining the laughter. A spare part from the old mustang flew over his head.

“How you gonna laugh when I break your jaw?” Gears said returning back to his aggravated state. I don’t know what he was thinking today, he really just wanted to fight the world. Challenging Matty was definitely not a smart idea. Matty was probably double his weight and easily had a good 11 inches on him.

“Yo! Chill!” I yelled trying to defuse the situation, before Gears got the chance to actually hit him with something “Just finish so we can get the fuck outta here.” Gears put his nose back to the grind and kept working.

The next hour and a half were filled with stories from Jax about all the shit he’s seen and the crazy times he’s had. It’s funny he didn’t strike me as a violent man, just someone desperate for quick cash.

“So why do you keep getting assigned to handle us?” I asked genuinely wanting to know.

Jax hesitated for a few seconds then shrugged. I knew there was more to his answer but I knew better than to pry. “Beats running errands for the boss” he finally said and we left it at that.

“Done!” Announced Gears. We all jumped up eager to see what he had done.

“That looks more like Frankenstein then any car engine I’ve ever seen” Jax said peeking over us

“Oh yeah?!” Gears asked angrily defending his work “Then you have a go at it” he said threatening Jax with a wrench

“Woh, little there little man.” Jax said throwing up his hands pretending like he was actually scared. I quickly pulled the tool out of his hand and placed it down. “Does she run?” He asked, now as invested in the car as the rest of us.

“Let’s give it a go!” I said jumping in the driver’s seat. I turned the key but the engine didn’t catch. I could see Gears watching nervously. I gave it try and finally with a loud roar I heard the engine come alive. “Woh.” I couldn’t help but be shocked at the difference.

“You really did it.” I could see the amazement in Jax’s face as he spoke.

“Damn straight he did!” Shouted Gizmo jumping on top of Gears

“You kids are something special” I could see Jax really meant it “I’ve seen an engine swap before, but I’ve never seen someone change everything about a car, in such little time too.” He truly was impressed

“Yeah well remember the name” Gears said confidently

“Remember Jacob or Gears?” Jax said teasing him. He was one of the guys at this point.

“Alright that’s enough playing around. Let’s get outta here already!” I pleaded. It was already 5:30, if I hurried I could make it to Eli’s by 7ish.

“Yeah go on, I need to get back to real work and Kid needs to get to his boyfriends” Okay Jax was getting way to comfortable with us now. I laid on the horn to shut him up, while everyone piled into the “new” car. “Hold up” Jax said handing me a piece of paper through the window “this is the new racing spot, Pit said you have one tomorrow night, be ready to really bring it” Jax warned me

“Always!” I screamed pulling away. God I can’t wait to get back to racing but first I have to figure out what Eli and I are. I mean I know I’ve referred to him as a boyfriend, but does that really carry any weight if we haven’t even had a real date yet? How do you even take another guy out on a date? Who pays? I suppose I’ll have to learn by doing. The second we hit the highway I opened my car up and took it for everything she had.

“Slow Down!” Screamed Matty holding onto his seat “Just because you like going fast doesn’t mean we all like it!” His face was priceless, he would never survive in a real race.

“Sorry” I said as I toned it down a bit. The car really did feel like new, I can’t believe Jacob pulled it off. I dropped them each off at their houses and stopped home to trade my car in for my bike. I peddled to Eli’s as fast as I could, my heart racing with each mile that passed. I pulled up and ran to the front door.

When I finally rang the bell his mom appeared “Elijah, Jamie’s here” she yelled up the stairs “You certainly look like you had a long day.” She laughed trying to fix my hair.

“Well you know what they say, nothing worth having comes easy” I said with a smile

“I never thought I’d hear those words come out of your mouth, Jamie Free” She said laughing

“Neither did I” Eli said running down the stairs, I never noticed it before but he had his mom’s smile.

“Hey” I said acknowledging him. I began to shake a little, so much for not being afraid of anything.

“Sorry you had to miss dinner” his Mom apologized “There’s food left over in the fridge, please help yourself.”

“That’s alright, I’m not hungry” I lied. I was starving but I really just wanted to be alone with Elijah.

“If you say so” She said seeing through my lies but not caring enough to question them. She knew me well enough to know that I’ll help myself when I get hungry enough.

“Come on” Eli said leading me down to his basement. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Last night this room held the memories from my childhood, now it holds the memory of my first kiss. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What are you laughing at? You weirdo” Eli said trying to figure out what I was up to.

“You” I said wrapping my arms around him. Our lips connected for a few seconds, before he pulled away to place his head on my shoulders. I was more than happy with just staying like this for the rest of the night, but Eli pushed away and headed towards the couch.

“I’ve been waiting all day for that.” Eli confessed trying to hide his blushing face by jumping on the couch.

“I’ve been dying to do it all day” I responded joining him on the couch. He cuddled up next to me and put his head right back on my shoulder. “Hey there.” I said laughing and placing my arm around him.

“Hi” he whispered back. I swear I could see the world in his eyes. Lying with him made me realize how insignificant every other moment of the day was. All the troubles and stress I was feeling melted away as I could feel him breathing. I began to run my hands through his perfect blonde hair. I’d do anything to protect him.

“You smell like dirt” he said trying to knock my hand away by shaking his head.

“I know, don’t ask” I said trying to divert the conversation, the last thing I wanted were questions about the junk yard, or what I was doing there.

“They really work you hard, huh?” he asked looking up into my eyes.

“Yeah” I sighed “but getting to spend time with you makes it all worth it.” I said trying to scare away any of his fears that I may not want to be with him. “You know I like you right?” I asked

“What?” he said confused at the stupid question.

“Like you know, even though I asked you to keep it all hidden, I’m slowly going crazy over you.” I confessed, I have no idea what was happening, I was just opening my mouth and words were spilling out.

He began to laugh “Where is this coming from?”

“I really don’t know, I just don’t think you realize how much time I really want to spend with you.” I began to shake. I had never expressed myself like this before. Usually everything just stayed inside.

He started to slowly play with my hair instantly calming me back down “Don’t worry, I understand” he picked himself up a little and slowly kissed me. It was amazing how natural this all felt despite it all moving so fast. He pulled away and returned to the way he had been laying.

“What was that for?” He really caught me off guard and he knew it.

“For actually being serious with me for once” Eli said grinning “Promise you won’t get mad if I tell you something.” I could tell by the expression on his face that he was gonna tell me a long overcomplicated story, and then quickly end it with the bad news. It was one of the few things he had a habit of doing that I don’t think I’ll ever like.

“I won’t get mad as long as you just spit it out” I said laughing at his innocence “Like ripping off a band aid” I continued

“Like ripping off a band aid.” he repeated with a sigh

Suddenly the upstairs door opened and I could hear someone coming down the stairs. I tried to straighten up but Eli kept his full weight pressed on me.

“Relax” said Stephanie appearing at the bottom of the stairs “I already know your little secret”

“Ta dah” smiled Eli