Heated Nights

Chapter 5 : Then and Now

The Morning after Damien's race came quickly and the local police were talking about the sudden increase in Street Racing. Victor and Walter were working on the Mercury Cougar and Eli was searching for some Challenges online. Damien was not home surprisingly, but was out Nikki. They were at the hangout spot of a small drift crew called Cloud City. The two sat down watching the drivers Drift around the area as they shared stories with each other.

"I actually haven't spoken to anyone since i got here." Nikki told Damien. "Back in high school I was really shy, so making friends was tough." She said to him.
"Well that wasn't a problem for me." Damien replied. 
"I actually felt like i had too many friends in school." He told her.
"I wanted to know, how'd you get your car? Damien asks her.

She was a bit hesitant to respond to his question.
"It, It was a gift from my dad, a graduation gift." She told him.
"Wow, it looks like it cost a lot." Damien replied.
" I didn't ask for it, besides money was never an issue for my family." Nikki told him. She explained to him that she didn't like how her parents willingly spent money on her, especially when it came to things that she didn't want or need.

"I honestly don't want anyone else to know about my family." She told Damien.
"Don't worry Nikki, i won't speak a word." Damien told her.
"So do you have any Siblings?" Nikki asked him.
"Unfortunately, yes, my older brother Richard was Always a pain to live with." He said to her.
"Ha, better you than me." She replied laughing.

Meanwhile back at the house, Walter noticed that Damien had been gone for a while now and was about to call him.
"Let him be, he's probably on a date."Victor told Walter whilst tuning his car.
"How are you so sure?" Walter asked. "One thing about Damien is that Girls can't stay away from him." Victor told him.
"The funny thing is that Damien never wanted to date anyone, so he focused on cars." He continued.

"So what makes you think that he's interested in dating now?" Eli asked him.
"I know him well, so i know that he likes a girl who enjoys living freely." Victor told them.
"The kind of of girl who would give everything up just to do what she loves." He continued.
"Wow, You actually think that he found someone like that?" Walter asked him. 
"I'm not sure, but there must be a reason why he'd be gone for so long." Victor responded.

Suddenly Eli got an update from StreetHeats.com on his phone. It was an announcement about the new weekly ranked street tournaments that would be starting soon. The tournament consisted of multiple ranked events that would happen in different cities each week. Racers everywhere were hyped to compete and earn a spot in the Rankings. Damien and Nikki found out about this whilst they were out and were excited to compete as well.

Damien dropped Nikki off at her apartment later that day before the sunsets.
"It was fun getting to know you." Nikki said to Damien.
"Same here, and good luck in the Rankings." He said to her.
" I hope we get to race again." She said with a smile.
"I'll win next time." Damien responds.

"This is a weird feeling." Nikki says to herself in her room.
"For the first time, my mind isn't on racing." She said.
"It's strange, there has never been a day that i don't think about cars or the thrill of driving." Nikki thought to herself.
"All i can think about, is him." She said.