Nora is finally free from Devland's control. Having embraced her magic, stripping the Larkin family and correcting the wrongs done to Maible, Nora is ready to learn what caused her mother's death and how she can hold Devland accountable for the wron...
"Aw, you look so cute in your helmet," Calin said, laughing as he pushed up the visor that had fallen as soon as I put the mandatory helmet on.
It was only an hour after the suggestion had been made to go go-karting, but everyone had seemed to want to get there quickly. Calin and Brant had practically hoovered their food without bothering to swallow while Maible and I both took most of our dinner home in a doggy bag. After splitting the cheque, we'd all walked the two blocks to the go-kart tracks rather than bring our vehicles, which meant there would be time to decompress whatever stress waited while we walked back.
"Shut up," I said, and slapped his hand away. "Cute is for babies or puppies or... your kid sister. I am not cute."
Calin tilted my head back and quickly pecked me on the lips. When he pulled back, he winked, keeping his hands on the sides of my neck so I couldn't look away. "You are cute, and I can promise that I don't think of you like my kid sister. In fact, when you say that, I'm grateful I don't have a sister or else I would have to beat the crap out of guys like me who would want to spend time with her."
"Trust me, if you had a sister, no guy would come near her when she looked like a bobblehead."
"Maybe, but only because they wouldn't be able to see how pretty she was under the helmet. I'm sure the racing suit would more than make up for it, though," Calin said, then side-stepped my hand as I went to slap his arm.
"Oh, yeah." I rolled my eyes. "And the rib protector makes it so charming."
"Who needs curves?" Calin laughed harder and began walking away to get his own helmet and climb into the kart he'd been assigned.
They'd chosen to race indoors vs the outdoor track, which meant we were getting electric karts versus the gasoline fueled ones because fumes indoors were not healthy. Music blared around us, making conversation impossible unless you screamed at each other. The lighting was neon but the track itself was brightly lit, hopefully so that there was less chance of injury. I'd never been go-karting and it was soon apparent that it was nothing like the bumper cars I'd tried at the local fairgrounds growing up in Briarville.
After a twenty-minute lecture on the rules, we'd been promised seven minutes of fun.
I paid attention to the safety, opting for all the suggested protection even though it wasn't all mandatory.
"Okay, boys first, and then the girls!" the boy who had lectured us screamed. "Are you ready?"
Calin and Brant leaned over and bumped fists, and then straightened in their seats to hold the wheel. They were going to race first because they'd done this so many times and were allowed to reach higher speeds. Since Maible and I were newbies, we were given karts with lower cc's, meaning we were limited with the maximum speed we could reach. I was okay with that, given the accidents the guy had explained could happen when you went faster. Thankfully—and contrary to why I originally thought this was a good idea—intentionally bumping each was against the rules.
The light ahead of us turned green, and Calin and Brant shot forward, quickly disappearing around the first turn. I pulled on the racing gloves that had been provided and climbed into the seat of my go-kart, buckling the safety belts and then double-checking to make sure I'd secured each one properly. Lifting my hand to indicate I was ready, the boy came over and checked that I did in fact do it right.
I pressed the gas pedal to inch up like we'd been instructed to, then braked.
It wasn't brain science, but I felt safer driving a car.
"Good luck." Turning my head, I smiled at Maible on my right.
"There are some things I can beat you at, you know," she said, and the sarcasm made up for the fact I couldn't see her eyes roll behind the visor of her helmet.
"Okay, girls, start watching the lights—green means go. Once the boys are on their last lap, it's your turn to begin."
My heart started to beat in tune with the loud music blaring around us as I watched the lap counter go up. Although I couldn't see from the pit, I could hear the whooshing as the karts that Calin and Brant were driving raced around and around. Beside the wall-mounted counter was a tv showing their race in real time. My stomach rolled at their speed and the harrowing corners they took, and each time they approached one, I held my breath until they completed the turn.
Eleven laps.
Twelve....
Thirteen.
Go!
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