The Streets Higher Stakes

13. Practice & Business

The sweat dripped down my body as I leaned against the wall trying to get my breathing back in order. The room was almost silent as the song ended,  the only sound was our heavy breathing.

The next competition was in a day and we'd been practicing all day today. We did talk little bit of what had happened yesterday but no solid ideas had come up. It was an unspoken agreement to dance so we would be ready and maybe get an idea on what to do.

There was too much going on that I didn't know what to focus on. Martinez, Wiz and the Raiders. I still had to tell everyone about Martinez possible return, including Cole. It had hurt me to know that he shared this pain of not having a mother. It would be smart to share it now but I decided against it. I'd tell him eventually. 

Wiz. He had been way too quiet. We were still recovering from what had happened to Cole and we didn't need something else to happen again. The last time I had talked to him, I was sure that he was going to strike soon. But that was weeks ago and here we are still waiting.

Above all I couldn't get Zeke's words out of my head. The other Raiders didn't seem to know what he was talking about, but I knew he would share his plan if he had one.

There was just too much going on, making me feel insane. The others were probably stressing out too but I felt like I had more stuff on my plate.

"Babe?" Cole said, making me turn around from the wall. He was sweaty like all of us but it made him look good. His tank was clinging to him, making me want to rip it off of him and his hair was also clinging to his forehead, making me want to push it off.

"How about me and you go on a date tomorrow? How does the beach sound?" He asked, peering down at me with his happy brown eyes.

"I don't know." I sighed. "There's a lot going on, so I don't know if that's such a good idea." I wiped the sweat off my face.

" Taking a day off from all that's going on can help." He said, smiling down at me.

"Okay." I agreed. Maybe he'd be right.

"You who. Lovebirds, we should continue talking." Paul teased us, calling us over. I gave him the finger, making him laugh as we sat around our makeshift living room.

"Any ideas?" I asked breathlessly. They took a few minutes to ponder some more before Theo piped up.

"I think we should focus on Wiz. I was thinking that since his daytime job is a cover up, we should expose him." He explained.

"Expose him how?" Dakota questioned, adjusting herself.

"Haven't got that far yet." I sighed, seeing that this seemed pointless. "What about the Raiders?" I continued.

"Well if a storm is coming we should protect ourselves." Cole said, crossing his big arms over his even bigger chest.

"Protect what, exactly? Us? Our families? There's too many places for them to hit." Jacob said frustratedly. The twins had just reunited with their family, so to lose them again would hurt.

"We can't just do nothing. We have to act before they do. They've already set the bar and I'm beginning to think Wiz wants us to set the bar before he makes his move." I rubbed my temples, a wave of tiredness coming over me.

"We'll think of something." Cole murmured, trying to be comforting.

I looked at Thayer, wondering what he was thinking. But instead he was on his phone. I had no clue to who he could be texting and it s angered me because he wasn't paying attention.

"What do you think Thayer?" I asked him.

He continued typing on his phone before locking it. "What? Oh, um, I got nothing." He stumbled. I rolled my eyes, deciding to ignore it. "For now I'll ask Austin to keep tabs on Wiz. It's good to know his routine and then we can just plot for the Raiders." I decided, seeing nothing was done.

I huffed, laying down on the hard floor. My thoughts were all over the place. There was too much that could happen and too much that could go wrong.

I looked at Cole, seeing he was laughing with The Twins, bringing a small smile to my face. It didn't last long, for the image of him laying lifeless and grey flashed before my eyelids. I flinched, rubbing my hands over my eyes. I didn't see my mom die, but seeing Cole like that, makes it easier to picture her like that. That picture would be etched into my mind for life. As much as I'd try to forget it, it would always be there.

"Babe? You okay?" Coles voice sounded  from behind my hands. I removed them, seeing that he had laid down beside me and was looking at me curiously.

"Yes, I'm okay." I sighed.

He pouted, not believing me. I knew he would ask me later or tomorrow when we were alone. He moved closer to me, placing a kiss on my neck. He kept kissing me, before moving to my lips.

"Really? You two couldn't even make it to the bed?" Jacob called.

"Fuck off." Cole said, breaking away before attaching our lips again. The others new entertainment was making sexual comments or jokes about Cole and I. It was all in fun and I couldn't help but laugh into the kiss.

"We're going to have fun the two of us tomorrow." Cole breathed against my neck.

My worries returned, at the thought of taking any time away from what we still yet had to do. But, if I said anything I knew he would convince me to still go anyways.

I'd just have to do my best to enjoy tomorrow.