Introduction
From a young age, Marcia always had her life planned out in meticulous detail. She would be a picture perfect Barbie doing whatever she pleased with the support of some man with money. Sure she never found herself especially attracted to any of the men she was with, but that would have to be a necessary sacrifice for her to get what she wanted.
Unfortunately, that line of thinking didn’t exactly get her what she was dreaming of. What it got her was an asshole boyfriend who kept her trapped in an awful relationship. Marcia had originally thought that his money would be worth it but she soon learned that the man who made the majority of his money from illegal street racing wasn’t exactly the generous type. On top of that he disapproved of Marcia doing practically anything. He didn’t let her shop, spend time with her friends, and god forbid she ever went out dancing. That would send him into the most unjustified of rages.
What he did let her do was come to some of the races he held. He would drag her along to some secluded desert road where there would be an assorted crowd of questionable characters and people who just really loved cars. Marcia didn’t even think she would dislike it in most circumstances, but being there with her boyfriend simply soured the whole experience.
For the purpose of showing her off, Marcia’s boyfriend always had her explain the rules and start the race when she was there. She didn’t hate it. She had met her fair share of attractive young drivers that would keep her entertained for the night, trying to slip her their number or give her a quick kiss when her boyfriend wasn’t watching. She found it entertaining, especially since it was one of her only sources of human interaction on most days.
Marcia’s boyfriend shouted up the stairs for her to hurry up as she donned a matching palm skirt and cut-off blouse along with an orange ascot and sunglasses. “I’ll be right there” Marcia yelled back, “just give me a damn minute”, she added under her breath.
Although she thought about it every day, this was the type of day where Marcia would question how the hell she ended up in this situation. She was smart, pretty, and talented and somehow she was rotting away in a hot Vegas apartment with a manipulative, criminal boyfriend.
After a drive that seemed to last ages, Marcia and her boyfriend arrived at the destination of tonight’s race. As per usual, Marcia quickly noticed a sea of eyes on her as she stepped out of the car. It was a larger crowd tonight than usual, meaning Marcia could slip away a bit easier than at the smaller races.
Marcia was nervously tapping her fingers as the drivers arrived and got out of their cars to do whatever it is they do. Marcia didn’t usually pay attention to this part as she was more intent on avoiding her boyfriend's field of vision. She only started paying attention once her boyfriend called her over to start the race. For some reason he looked like he had been shunned and Marcia thought it was hilarious.
She took her position at the starting line with her flashlight and began to explain the rules when one of the drivers caught her eye. Behind the wheel of one of the cars was a beautiful brunette with a scar over her left eye and a smirk on her lips.
Marcia felt her breath hitch as the woman’s eyes landed on her and took in all of her features. Marcia forced herself to look away and continue explaining the rules but undoubtedly could still feel the woman’s eyes on her.
She didn’t expect this to make her feel anything, after all, drivers did this to her all the time. The men would do practically anything they could to get her attention but for some reason when this woman was simply looking at her she felt a burning in her chest.
Trying her best to remain poised, Marcia turned the flashlight on and the cars both exploded forwards, but the woman had clearly gotten a better start. It was almost as if Marcia’s fingers turning on the flashlight had pressed the pedal of the car as well.
With a confused feeling in her chest Marcia watched as the woman easily bested the other driver and started making her way back to the crowd.
Before the woman had a chance to get back however, Marcia felt her boyfriend's hot breath in her ear telling her to wait by the car. She could tell he had been drinking, and that he was not happy.
Marcia knew this never ended well and the heat in her chest turned to dread as she worried what her boyfriend had planned.
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The sun was setting on another arid vegas day. The air was hot and dry as the sound of a motor revving filled Anetra’s ears. She turned to see another driver staring at her, saying something Anetra couldn’t hear over the rumbling engine.
Snapping back to reality she turned the keys in the ignition of her Challenger and felt as the car roared to life around her. It didn’t matter what the man had been saying, once Anetra was driving, she was at peace.
She pulled up next to the line that had been established and took a deep breath to ground herself.
One of the men standing among the crowd strolled over to Anetras window, tapping on it so she would roll it down. Anetra recognized this man as the organizer of the race, Daniel something or other. It didn’t really matter to her as long she got to drive without any issues.
“Hey gorgeous”, the start of the man’s sentence was enough to make Anetra want to roll her window back up.
“You’re too pretty to be driving here, you should be on flashlight duty...”
The man slurred his words as the scent of cheap alcohol wafted from his mouth and assaulted Anetra’s nose. Anetra didn’t feel the need to respond. She simply rolled up her window and revved her engine, signaling that she was ready to race.
Feeling insulted, the man whistled over a blonde girl who was holding a flashlight. The girl rolled her eyes at the gesture but nonetheless made her way over to the two cars and gave them the run-down of the rules.
It was something Anetra had heard a thousand times before, yet for some reason Anetra couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from the girl's lips as she spoke. Something about the girl had ensnared Anetra and would not let her go. Usually Anetra was able to drown out nearly all distractions with no difficulty, but prying her eyes away from the girl was proving to be a challenge she was not prepared for.
Despite her struggle she was able to move her attention to the flashlight the girl was holding and it made her feel more secure. She had no fear of being caught, no fear of losing, and no fear of the judgemental eyes watching her. This is what she’s good at.
She hears the girl counting and readies herself. With an incredible reaction time Anetra’s senses are flooded with the brightness of the flashlight illuminating and the sensation of her car suddenly accelerating.
The force of the car jolting forward sends Anetra’s head back into the headrest of her seat. She hears the sounds of engines cracking in the empty night air as she shifts gears and accelerates further, extending her lead on the other driver. Before the other car has a chance to catch up the race has ended with no doubt of who may be the winner.
Anetra’s head is filled with adrenaline as she slows her car and turns around, heading back to the pretty blonde and the crowd of betters and spectators. As she steps out of her Hellcat she is greeted by a combination of both angry and ecstatic gamblers with an impressive amount of money at stake on the outcome of this race.
And while she is certainly happy to receive her cut of the winnings, at this point Anetra is far more interested in finding the pretty blonde girl who had momentarily invaded her mind. What Anetra didn’t expect was to find a nervous look on the girl's soft face when their eyes met.
Anetra tried to make her way over to her but before she had a chance the man from before had whisked the blonde away. Disappointed, Anetra decided to make note of it for next time and, once everything was sorted out, made her way to the nearest bar.
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“Danny, are you sure you should be driving?” Marcia questioned her boyfriend as he sped along the road to the bar.
“Don’t fucking talk to me right now”, Daniel muttered back.
He hadn’t stopped his drinking once they got in the car and he clearly didn’t plan on stopping once they arrived at the bar.
The bar wasn’t exactly the nicest place but it was where the drivers would tend to go after a race and it was usually pretty crowded. As Marcia and her boyfriend walked in she was surprised to feel the return of the heat in her chest when she saw the woman from the race standing at the bar.
Distracted by the embarrassing scene of her boyfriend drunkenly stumbling to the bathroom, Marcia hadn’t noticed that the driver had made her way over to Marcia, standing just a few feet away.
“Hey, can I get you a drink?” the woman inquired.
Her voice was smooth and warm and it made Marcia feel like she was swimming in a pool of honey. Trying not to show her nerves through her voice, Marcia just nodded and followed the woman to the bar.
“What’s your name by the way?”
“Marcia”
“I’m Anetra. It’s nice to meet you, Marcia”
The sound of her name leaving Anetra’s mouth gave way to a swarm of butterflies in Marcia’s stomach, and she hated it.
Marcia’s life had already gone off the rails. The man she was with was so far from ideal and the last thing she needed was to be attracted to a woman.
She wasn’t gay. She couldn’t be.
She had somewhat accepted that her dreams wouldn’t come true but this had to be too far, right?
Marcia squashed the feeling in her stomach and accepted the drink Anetra slid over to her.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Anetra”