“Unnie, the girl is from LA.”

Taeyeon smirked at Hayeon, her little sister who stood before her. “Do you think I’m gonna be faster than her tonight?”

“Of course you’ll beat her, unnie,” said Hayeon confidently before running back to their group of friends standing around outside.

Seoul, Tokyo, London, New York. Time to add LA to the list of defeated racers.

Taeyeon stretched and stood up. She brushed the bits of chips off her black denim cut-off shorts and flicked a stray crumb off her black midriff baring top. Turning around, she retrieved her blue denim jacket from the back of the chair, shrugged it on and ran her fingers through her jet black hair before striding out into the cool chill of the night. She had been chilling in the makeshift resting spot that was actually a container fitted with an air-conditioner and furnished with a table and some chairs. It wasn’t particularly comfortable to hang out in but she didn’t really care. It was just a waiting place. The real action was out on the road.

The sounds of cars revving up thrilled her and she felt alive. It was pure adrenaline and it pulsated in every part of her body. She’d loved fast cars ever since she was a kid. Nothing else could quite compare. While her friends talked about the kicks of getting drunk on alcohol or high on drugs, she was focused on being intoxicated on speed. And danger.

Right now, what she was looking at was dangerous. The LA girl. The girl was taller than her but it wasn’t about the height difference. What was most dangerous about the girl were her eyes. Even from a distance, they stood out, outlined with jet black eye liner and the look within them, soul-grabbing. As she neared her, she liked what she saw more and more. Naturally shaped eyebrows, luscious lips, thick black hair with curls that tumbled down past her shoulders, ending at a titillating place. A peek of her slim waist. Juicy thighs, toned calves descending from short denim shorts. But all that bared skin wasn’t enough. She wanted to see more.

Maybe later.

“Tiffany.” Taeyeon nodded at Sunny, indicating that she knew who Tiffany was. “You can beat her. No problem.”

“Was there ever any doubt?”

Sunny grinned and shook her head. “No.”

Taeyeon chuckled. She walked right up to Tiffany and stood before her. For some reason, she wanted to up the stakes. Money and glory weren’t the only things she wanted this time.

“Let’s make things more exciting.”

Tiffany barely batted an eyelid. “Sure.”

“You’re agreeing without knowing what I plan to say.”

Tiffany’s eyes burned into hers and she felt her insides tightening, coiling like a spring. “Whatever it is, I’m game.”

Taeyeon's senses tingled. She liked the confidence oozing out of Tiffany. It bordered on arrogance, which made it all the more attractive.

“In that case, I’ll let you know what it is after you lose to me.”

“Tsk, tsk. You speak too soon. You haven’t seen me drive.”

“I don’t need to see you drive.”

“Oh, I think you do. And you should.”

“Well, I’m about to. I’m about to see you drive to your defeat.”

“We’ll see who gets to give the other the surprise at the end.”

Taeyeon gave Tiffany an assured smirk before turning away. She could feel the hairs on her arms standing. The tension between them had been palpable and she liked it. It made her feel alive, just like fast cars. Determination surged through her veins and fused into her blood. This was one race that she was going to win and enjoy winning the most.

She got into her car and Sunny shut the door for her before leaning down to the window, flashing a generous amount of cleavage that had half the boys and just as many girls drooling over on the circuit. “See ya back here in a bit.”

Taeyeon grinned and nodded. She wrapped her fingers around the black and red leather grip on her steering wheel which would control the Pirelli tyres that ran on the quad-turbo 16-cylinder engine, housed within the nondescript black car frame and shell. It was exactly how she liked it. No one would ever take notice of her car on the road, until they were left to eat her dust. She liked how no one knew of the 1000 horsepower that she had at her disposal unless she chose to reveal it.

And right now, she was about to do just that. Get ready to lose, Tiffany.

The road before her was dark, lit only by powerful headlights which illuminated the race girl standing in front of Tiffany and her. She raised one slender arm and Taeyeon floored her accelerator, releasing the carbon-ceramic brakes only when the arm fell and her car shot forward like a bullet. Her blood raced, heart thumped, eyes focused and she was living life as it should be led. She was a bat out of hell on white-hot wheels.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Tiffany speeding alongside her, trailing by just a quarter of a metre. Heh. It’d be a metre once they hit the first sharp bend. It took her all of two seconds to hit second gear at 90 km/h and just a few more seconds to hit third gear at 200 km/h. Her car was nothing but a blur and it was exactly what she wanted.

She blasted down the wide multi-lane road of Cheongdam-dong, east of expensive Seoul, pulling further ahead of Tiffany with every passing second before ripping the handbrake as she turned into the sharp corner. Her rear tyres squealed, emitting a cloud of smoke as she swung violently to the right into the curve. Her car entered the new road in Apgujeong-dong leading to Hannam bridge that spanned over the majestic Han river and she released the handbrake. She smirked, knowing she was a whole car-length ahead of Tiffany now but a sudden loud rev from behind wiped it right off her face. Tiffany had somehow reduced the gap to half a car-length and was inching closer by the second.

Another gear and she was back to third, eating up the distance across the bridge. She ripped her handbrake again and swung even more violently to the left, entering the highway that ran along the river in the northern part of downtown Seoul. However, Tiffany had completely closed the gap between them and was neck to neck with her. !

Her grip tightened and her eyes focused even harder. She wanted to win but Tiffany seemed to be doing something at every bend to catch up. She had to figure out what it was and counter it before Tiffany overtook her at the next bend. Her car was faster down the straight and she weaved in and out of the sparse number of cars with ease. By the time they hit the next left turn, she had pulled slightly ahead again but she knew that it wasn’t enough if she didn’t do something about the next turn.

She waited till the last possible second, ripped her brakes, yanked her steering wheel to the left and almost immediately stomped on the accelerator again, her car lurching forward as her rear tyres screamed bloody murder. A lot more smoke billowed out than usual and she knew that her tyres were on the verge of death. Nonetheless, she was going to finish even if she only had her rims left. She knew that much.

She was in the last leg of the race, zooming over Dongjak bridge, back into the expensive side of downtown Seoul again and there was just one more bend to manoeuvre before the final straight to the finish. Her tyres were on their last breath as she swung into the final left bend and she could have sworn she smelled something on fire as she blasted down the straight back to Cheongdam-dong.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a loud wail of a siren pierced through the air and walls of her car to reach her ears. . . . She could see the all-too-familiar blue and red lights flashing behind her and Tiffany. They had to get off the highway but that would mean another sharp turn that her tyres couldn’t handle. She should’ve gotten new tyres for this race instead of using the ones from her previous race. . Now, she was going to pay for it. And lose her license. And her day job. . . .

“Turn right into Gangnam and left into Teheran at the roundabout. We’ll intercept there,” came Sunny’s voice through her earpiece.

“Got it.”

Taeyeon bit her lip and tried to soften the right turn as much as she could but her tyres protested horribly and a lot more smoke was emitted than before. With no choice but to stick with it, she maintained her speed and stayed neck to neck with Tiffany as they entered the left turn into Teheran road. Right then was when she knew it. That was the last straw. She felt it. She was one with her car. She knew she was screwed. But turned anyway. Her tyres were most definitely bare by now. And to make things worse, thunder roared and a fierce downpour started.

“This is ing awesome. Just ing awesome,” Taeyeon burst out in frustration and slammed her palms on her steering wheel.

Most unexpectedly, Tiffany’s voice sounded in her ear. “Taeyeon. Turn the next left and hop on my car.”

Taeyeon had no choice but to do as she was told. She swung one final left turn, jammed her brakes, hopped out of her car and into Tiffany’s. Rain pelted down on her in the second it took to switch cars but she barely noticed it. Tiffany took one look at Taeyeon, smirked and zoomed off without any preamble.

They rode in silence as Tiffany followed Sunny’s instructions that led them away from the police and to an empty house. “Sunny says to stay here for the night. They will find a way to get your car back.”

Taeyeon nodded. Sunny and the rest were more than capable of getting her car back. That was one of the perks of having a nondescript car frame and shell. She wasn’t worried about her car at all. Rather, she was more interested in the consequence of losing the race. It was clear that she wouldn’t have won it even if the police car hadn’t appeared. But she was fine with it. Surprisingly. Tiffany’s surprise was her consolation. But what was it?

Tiffany got out of her car and Taeyeon followed suit. They walked around to the front and stood in front of each other with the headlights shining on them. The light made Tiffany glow and look even more alluring than before. She was dying to touch those luscious lips. But all they did was lock gazes. There was no need for words. The result of the race and its consequences were communicated solely through their eyes and everything was crystal clear to her.

“Are you ready for my surprise?” Tiffany’s voice was low and sultry, sending shivers rippling through Taeyeon.

“Yes.”

“I like how you’re not afraid of losing and because of that, I’ll ease up on you,” said Tiffany as she trailed a fingernail down Taeyeon’s jaw, flicking her chin at the end, causing Taeyeon’s breath to hitch. Tiffany then leaned even closer and Taeyeon saw Tiffany’s eyes staring at her lips as the taller girl said, “I don’t want your prize money.”

Taeyeon blinked as Tiffany smiled slightly and trailed the tip of her index finger down Taeyeon’s neck and across her left shoulder, inching her denim jacket off. A fire ignited somewhere in Taeyeon’s belly just then and she tried to keep her breathing even as Tiffany continued, “I don’t need the title either.”

Taeyeon inhaled deeply. She had a gut feeling. But she had to ask. “Then what do you want. What do you need.”

Tiffany lifted another hand and pushed the denim jacket off Taeyeon completely, baring her arms to her. Taeyeon jerked when she felt Tiffany’s fingers on her bare waist, inching up beneath her loose top surreptitiously. “I want you,” Tiffany breathed into Taeyeon’s ear, sending a prickling sensation spreading across her skin like wild fire. “I want all of you to be mine. My prize.”

With blood zipping around her body, making her feel more alive than ever, Taeyeon nipped at Tiffany’s earlobe and whispered right back, “Watch out. I might be more than you can handle.”

She leaned back just in time to see Tiffany’s eyes gleaming with desire and competition.

“Bring it on, Taeyeon. We’ll see who can’t handle the heat.”

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