First story here. Dreamed up while driving home one day. Enjoy!
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It had been a long day at work. One thing after another, it had seemed, from bad traffic, to computer problems, to getting an entire pot of coffee spilled on her in the break room. She'd even gotten reamed for an incomplete project she was never even assigned to.
Her only train of thought now was escaping the city traffic, zipping up the canyon as fast as possible (without getting a ticket), then flopping in to her hammock with a glass of wine and a book.
She pulled on to the on-ramp smoothly, nudging her way into the flow of traffic. Pressing on the accelerator, the dull roar from the 5.7 liter Hemi made her lips twitch in a smile. Some of the tension of the day slid from her body as she settled back into the smooth leather seat. Her eyes flicked between the road and her mirrors as she picked her opening to pull in to the fast lane. There, between an SUV and a sports car, the SUV in front.
She flicked on her signal. The SUV passed. As she started to pull into the other lane, she saw the sports car pick up speed, trying to close the gap. Her eyebrows went up, and her competitive spirit reared its head.
Someone wants to play, she thought to herself. Let's play. As the sports car pulled closer, she pushed her foot down harder on the gas pedal, and received an instant response from the vehicle. As she surged forward, the SUV pulled aside; presumably the driver noticed the acceleration, and wasn't interested in getting in the way.
She pulled away from the sports car quickly at first, but the driver caught on in moments and stayed right with her. They left only enough of a gap for another vehicle to pull into if they were feeling lucky.
At 85 mph, she stopped accelerating. She'd gone faster up this canyon before, but it was a Friday, and the weather forecast for the weekend was perfect. The road was crowded with trucks, RV's, and loaded up SUV's and station wagons.
A few times, the sports car tried to pull into the center lane and pass her on the right, but never had enough space. Not that she cooperated; she would accelerate just enough to close the gap, passing the next car in the center lane before the sports car could, forcing them to pull back behind her to maintain the higher speed.
After this happened the third time, the sports car got the opportunity to pass. She tried to block them off again, but the car in the center lane moved, clearing their path. As they sped past, she glanced over, and got a clear view of the driver. To her pleasant surprise, it was a handsome man, close to her age, grinning and mockingly wagging a finger at her.
Caught up in the moment, she laughed out loud. Already feeling the adrenaline from the 'race', so far, another sensation added to her excitement. Heat rushed through her veins, and a spark of mischief appeared in her eyes. Knowing her 'competition' was in on the game made it much more fun.
In that moment, she forgot about the stress of the day. Senses heightened, focus sharp, she forgot about the risk, and just drove. Pulling alongside the sports car, she matched his speed, for a half mile, then a mile, then two. At this speed, it took less than two minutes to cover that distance, but the road seemed to stretch out for miles. The two danced in and out of the lanes of the highway, neither maintaining the advantage for long.
Near the top of the canyon, where she knew the first chance of a cop sitting in wait would be, she made her final move of the game. Though they were total strangers, she felt an inexplicable connection to her fellow racer, and instinct told her to take a chance.
Pulling in front of the sports car, she laid a heavy foot on the brake, slowing enough to ensure the driver was paying attention. Then with the turn signal and a 'follow me' gesture out the window, she directed him off at the next exit. It was the entrance to a small side canyon, barely more than a parking lot and an underpass. There wasn't even a restroom. As such, it wasn't popular with the tourists. Only locals and the bored or adventurous came here.
Apparently intrigued, the sports car followed her lead into the lot, and parked a few spaces away. With a deep breath, and a quick glance in the mirror, she stepped out of the vehicle and moved around to the tailgate. The driver of the sports car moved at the same time, choosing the rear plate over the back tire to lean against, with one arm draped across his spoiler.
As she propped an arm on the tailgate, he smiled, pulling off his sporty sunglasses to reveal bright, playful green eyes. "Pick-up," he said, his tone making it her nickname.
She couldn't help but respond in kind. "Sports car."