Tales of the Underground: Velocity - 28. Chapter 28

The rest of the night went perfectly. We all passed around old stories and spent time as a family. It was nice to see them treating Eli so normally. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever picture things playing out like this.

When it finally came time to take Eli home he shook my dad’s hand and gave each of my sisters a big hug. I could tell he really enjoyed spending time with them, I guess being an only child gets lonely after a while. We both hopped in the car and I slowly started towards Elijah’s house.

I could tell something was on Eli’s mind. He was quietly staring out the window and twirling his thumbs around one another. I briefly reached over and nudged him on the shoulder “What’s the matter?”

He snapped out of whatever trance he was in and looked over towards me “Do I really have to go home?” he groaned “Can’t I just live in a hotel or something?”

I let out a short laugh “Just ignore your dad, he doesn’t understand what he’s saying. Besides if he’s gonna be a dick about it all, that’s on him”

Eli let out a sigh “I guess” I saw him shift a little in his seat. The whole situation was really weighing down on him. I quickly changed my route and jumped onto the highway “Where are you going?” Eli asked starting to sit properly again.

I felt a smile creep across my face “That’s a surprise” I could see a little relief grow across his face as he realized he wasn’t going home just yet.

As we grew closer to the location I heard Eli sigh “Jamie, isn’t it a little too cold out for the beach?”

I began to laugh “No, it’s only like late fall. You won’t even notice the weather”

Eli rolled his eyes “Whatever you say”

One of the nice things about living in Jersey is that the shore was never that far away, especially with me behind the wheel. When we finally arrived we headed towards the sandy shore we were both far too familiar with. For a New Jersey native the Jersey shore was more than just some crappy tv show, it was a rite of passage. Every single resident has that one spot on the shore line they know like the back of their hand, for Eli and I it was a little beach called Point Pleasant. Eli and I would come here every summer as kids. We would ride the rides and eat until we puked. As we stepped onto that familiar sand I could feel his hand wrap around mine. We sat close enough to the ocean so we could smell it and yet not get hit by the mist.

He laid his head on my shoulder and took in the sounds and smells of the beach “Today really has been a trip down memory lane.”

I couldn’t help but giggle at how true those words were. For the first time since I was a kid I watched Eli play a full game of hockey, had him over my house and went back to the shore. “Yeah it has, I suppose the past is a lot less of a scary place with you by my side” I admitted looking into his sky blue eyes.

Eli nodded his head and took a deep breathe of the salty air “I guess now we should focus on writing the future” he directed his attention to the waves crashing onto the shore “Maybe even with some of the driving lessons you promised.” Once more I giggled, he said it so fast it was almost as if he was nervous to even say it. I reached into my pocket, took out my keys and threw them onto his lap. Eli picked them up and stared in awe at the silver horse painted onto the fob of the keys. “I didn’t mean right now” he uttered trying to give the keys back

I threw my hands in the air and refused to take them back “There’s no time like the present”

Eli nervously kept trying to stick the keys into my hand “but I..I..I’m sore from hockey” he stammered “and the salty air makes me tired, plus it’s getting late shouldn’t we just lay in the sand for a little bit then leave”

I titled my head and stared at him “If you keep making excuses you’ll never learn to drive” I put my arm around his shoulders “It’s okay to be scared of driving, but it’s going to be fine, you have me as a teacher” I stood up and began to walk towards the empty parking lot.

Eli quickly scurried after me “Jamieeeeee” he whined” this isn’t a good idea”

“That alright” I said shrugging my shoulders “It’s not like we haven’t had bad ideas before” I watched as he ran to catch up to me, I could tell he was genuinely nervous but I knew everything was going to be okay. Eli’s a fast learner and it’s an empty parking lot, sometimes you just have to force the people you love out of their comfort zone.

When we got to the car Eli approached the driver’s side with so much caution you would think he expected a monster to be sitting there “Are you sure about this?” I nodded and motioned for him to get in the car. I climbed into the passenger seat and watched him uncomfortably make his way into the driver seat.

I reached into the backseat, grabbed my helmet and placed it in my lap. “I think I might need this” I joked as I watched him run his fingers across the roll cage.

“That’s not funny” he grunted. I watched him adjust the mirrors before looking at all the gadgets and pedals in front of him. Eli let out another small groan “Why are there 3 pedals?”

I had never seen anyone look so terrified behind the wheel of a car that wasn’t even running. “Because the cars manual, the 3^rd peddle is the clutch, it’s what you’re going to use to shift into higher or lower gears”

“Shouldn’t I learn on an automatic car first?” Eli said trying to get out of his first lesson “Like what if I break the gears or something”

“Trust me you won’t break anything” I confidently stated “and if you do then Jacob can fix it” I gave Eli an encouraging smile and pushed the stick into neutral as he put the keys into the ignition and started the engine.

I watched as the power of the car overwhelmed him. Eli began to shake more than the car. “Jamie, this car can’t be street legal” he said finally getting a firsthand feel at being in the driver’s seat.

I nodded my head and a smile crept across my face “Oh it’s not. God only knows what Jacob’s done to it” Eli once more groaned “Everything will be fine. Now quick put it into first gear so the car can warm up” He gave me a blank stare as if I was talking in a foreign language “We’re in neutral right now so we’re not going to go anywhere, put your foot on the clutch, push the gear stick towards the one, then lightly hit the gas pedal.”

Eli did as instructed and we slowly started to roll around the parking lot. Eli slowly got used to navigating the thousand ton beast, and even began to increase his speed a little bit. “Ready to learn how to shift gears?” I eagerly asked

“I don’t know” he reluctantly groaned “How hard is it to do?”

“It’s not hard at all. Okay so the higher the gear the faster the car goes, so when you’re in first gear the fastest you can push the car is like 15 mph. When you shift into second gear you can exceed that and so on and so forth.” I proudly stated.

I watched as he let the information sink in. “Okay so I need to get to 15 mph?” Eli asked ready to give it a go.

“Yup” I said smiling at his now open minded spirit “Pull onto the road and you can start”

Eli’s open mind suddenly began to close “Oh no” he began to stutter again “I don’t know if I’m ready for..”

“Only way to know is to try it” I interrupted “Now go, just stay on your side of the road and don’t hit anything” I teased “Besides its midnight, no one’s on the road anyway.” Eli slowly pulled onto the quiet side streets and increase his speed. “Okay when you hit 15 you’re gonna feel the car let you know it wants to switch gears. You’re gonna take your foot off the gas, put it down on the clutch and push the stick all the way from one to two”

Eli mentally prepared then did as instructed as he shifted into second the car began to whine and screech before coming to a slow stop. Eli in a stage of panic turned to me “Did I break it?” he nervously spit out.

I began to laugh at his innocence “No, you just stalled it. Put your foot harder onto the clutch next time, really hit it.” I instructed him

Eli took a breath, reset the car then gave it another go. This time he seamlessly made it into second gear. “I did it!” he exclaimed.

“See!” I said sitting up “It’s not that hard! It just takes some practice.”

Eli nodded and slowly practiced driving the car around the quiet beach town. I watched as he slowly built up confidence handling the mechanical beast. I even slowly taught him how to downshift, although I think he preferred to stop the car just by stalling the engine. In his opinion it was just a faster way of stopping the car, if only he knew how much damage he was doing to the engine! Oh well, if anyone can damage my car and get away with it, it’s Eli. Finally he pulled back into the parking lot and stopped.

“See, you’re a natural” I said with a smile “and to think you were scared”

Eli began to blush “You’re just saying that” he said climbing out of the driver seat.

“No I’m not” I said grabbing him as we met in front of the car. I let our lips slowly meet and held it for as long as he would let me. I really did mean it. Sure. He was scared at first but damn did he get comfortable fast, with enough practice he could even be a racer. Not that I would dare let him!

Eli pushed out of our kiss and ran his hand down my stomach. I watched as his eyes filled with trouble “Maybe we can get in the back of your car and practice another type of stick shifting” I felt his hand reach my waist but as it got lower I instinctively jumped back, now it was my turn to get nervous.

“Sorry, force of habit” I sighed “I don’t know Eli, it’s pretty late, and really the back of my car?” I could feel the sweat begin to drip down my face “Is that really the most romantic spot for our first time?”

A mischievous grin crept across Eli’s face “Fine then we can go under the board walk if you’d prefer”

I couldn’t help but smile along with him “Elijah Warren, I never would’ve guessed you had a bad side”

He shrugged then took a step forward “What can I say? I’m a teenage boy too afterall.” He returned his hands back to my hips then let go “It’s okay if you’re not ready, I just figured you were.” I opened my mouth to speak but he continued before I could “Don’t worry you’re not forcing me into anything, I know what I want, and I’ve wanted this for a while.”

This time I grabbed his hips and slowly let my hands slide to his front “back of the car it is” I nervously stammered. Like I said sometimes love ones pull each other out of their comfort zone, and believe or not Eli definitely was doing that to me right now.

Eli’s grin grew wider “Now I get to teach you” he said grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the back doors. I gulped hard but eagerly followed him in. I’m not one to kiss and tell but let’s just say that Eli wasn’t the only one who learned something new that night.

As the night wound down I climbed into the driver’s seat and let Eli lay in the back seats so he could fall asleep on the drive home. I could tell that the whole day had left him drained.

I felt his eyes watch as I skillfully and seamlessly shifted through gears “Well your definitely better with that stick then mine” he teased, laughing to himself.

I felt myself begin to blush “Cut me some slack, I’m new to this”

“I’m just teasing, it was as great as I imagined, well minus being crammed into the back of the car.” Eli said laughing “God the story this car could tell.”

I laughed along with him “Welp we definitely traumatized it tonight”

It wasn’t long before Eli fell asleep. I peacefully and calmly drove the rest of the way home and woke him when we got to his house. There was no doubt his parents had noticed he was missing, I was just hoping they assumed he slept over. I watched as he went to the door and let himself in. It’s funny, I had always heard that sex between two people that loved each other could help them feel a tighter bond but I never believed it. I think it’s safe to say that it’s true.