Girls Like Boys

I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to process all of this any time soon. When Jack had told me about Travis’s racing, I imagined dirty mattresses in the back of grungy auto-shops, stolen cars, and hordes of people swarming dark alleys in the middle of the night. But this was something else completely.

Travis had made a kingdom out of racing cars. He led me back through the compound after a while, guiding me down the lofted hall and darting down the open stairs to the first floor as he laughed at something Benji said.

Travis called the section of the building with cars “the pit.” The garage we’d come in through was simply “the garage” and everything else had obvious names; kitchen, living room, etc. Despite his room being the most astonishing place in the whole building, Travis mentioned that he usually fell asleep in the living room with the guys, hence why they had so many couches tucked in there.

Travis, sitting on the hood of the neighboring car, spoke to me as Benji laid on the floor underneath the the middle car. Apparently in the midst of a last ditch effort with the Porsche.

“Cody, the room upstairs can be yours if you want,” Travis said, looking up halfway through his words, looking at me though dark lashes.

I frowned back, glancing from him to his cousin and back. “You want me to move in here?”

Trav shook his head. “No, but if you wanted to leave some of your shit here, you can put it in there and I’ll make sure nobody messes with it.” His green eyes were dark; his tone casual. “There aren’t too many girls hanging around. You might want your own space.”

A smile ghosted my lips. “If I wanted space, I could just go home,” I said lightly, but echoed my words with a resounding nod. “But I’ll keep that in mind, thanks Trav.”

He nodded and fell easily back into tossing jabs at Benji. The other boy groaned from under the car and slid out, piercing Travis with a glare as he climbed to his feet.

“Stop complaining and sell it yourself, if it bothers you so much,” Benji shot at him, leaning back against the Mazda. Having gotten his words out and Travis silenced, he sighed and added, “I’m starving.”

Travis quirked a smile at the randomness of Benji’s admission and glanced at Ryan and me, shaking his head. “Order a pizza or something, Benj,” he said, sliding from the hood of the car and coming around the Porsche. He nodded to me. “You hungry too?”

I shrugged. “You did interrupt my dinner.”

Travis pressed his lips together in a tight-mouthed smile and nodded once. “I can atone for that,” he commented, grabbing my wrist. “We’ll be upstairs. Get this out of here, bring the BMW in, and call me when the food gets here. I’ll throw the keys down.”

His grip loosened around my wrist, but as he didn’t let go completely. He pulled me between the Mazda and Cayman and around Ryan and Benji. We rounded the car at the end of the row and he led me into the kitchen.

“Do you want what’s left of your Chinese?” he asked, letting go of me as he made a bee-line to the fridge.

“I’m not starving,” I answered. “I can wait for pizza.”

Travis nodded and pulled two bottles out. He slid one Gatorade across the counter to me and kept the other for himself. He pushed the fridge shut and headed out of the kitchen. I followed without a word, on his heels as we headed down the makeshift hallway created by the shelving wall that lined the pit and separated it from the rooms that lined the back of the house.

Travis bounded up the stairs and I followed, peering down at Benji and Ryan, who were in different positions than when we left them. Benji was in the driver’s seat of the Porsche. I flinched in surprise as one of the garage doors opened, rolling back on brackets that were secured to the vaulted ceiling just feet above us.

Travis paused, leaning forward into the railing as he watched his friend back the car up out of the building. He smiled at me quickly and darted into his bedroom. He was back before I could follow after him. He called to Ryan, catch his cousin’s attention, and literally threw his keys down to him.

Through the open garage, I could see the front of the building. Travis’s BMW sat where he parked it beside the juxtaposed garage. It was odd seeing the house open up like this. There weren’t gaping openings in the front of most houses.

Ryan stepped outside through the open garage and unlocked Travis’s car. He got in and backed up just enough that he could turn and pull it inside. Benji was still in the Porsche, backed up into the road to let Ryan pull the BMW over and in. Benji pulled the other car into the side garage as it opened on its own.

Noting that they’d done what he asked, Travis backed down the catwalk to the second door from the stairs. It was unlocked and he opened it without pause. The bedroom was decent sized, small compared to his, but gorgeously outfitted.

“You don’t have to stay at the dorm all the time, Code,” he said as he stepped into the room and turned around to face me. “I’m not saying you should live here, but you know I can take you to class whenever you want.”

“I can’t get a new room and leave Ram behind,” I said, chuckling slightly at the absurdity of it all. “Can I even tell Ramsy about any of this?” I asked, frowning at the thought of keeping this from her. “I have to tell her, Travis.”

The tall boy paused thoughtfully. “This place isn’t a secret,” he said after a minute. “If you want to tell your sister, that’s fine with me. She can even hangout if she wants. I don’t know how well she’ll get along with my friends though.”

I smiled and took another look at the room. The bedding was deep blue, which seemed to be a favorite of Travis’s. Besides a dark dresser and nightstand, there wasn’t much else here. The closet doors were thrown open and there were a couple lonely shirts hanging, but there weren’t any other signs that someone stayed here frequently.

“You think I get along with your friends?” I asked, teasing him.

“No, but you’re here for me, not them,” he retorted, smirking at me.

I rolled my eyes. “I’m more impressed with your house than with you, Trav.”

Travis nodded easily. “That’s understandable. You haven’t seen me race yet.” He reached passed me, flipped the overhead light off, and turned out of the room.

The middle garage door was closed when we walked back through. Neither of us said a word to the boys below as I closed the bedroom door behind me and headed into Travis’s with him. He immediately went to the dresser on the far wall and I threw myself down onto his bed. It was bigger than two of mine put together. I rolled over onto my back and stretched my arms out.

“I don’t know why you ever slept in my bed,” I commented, tilting my head so I could see his reaction.

He pulled his shirt over his head. “I’m not picky,” he said and slipped a hoodie on. “Just because I like nice things doesn’t mean that I’m not used to living in squaller.”

My jaw dropped in surprise at his obnoxious insult. I grabbed one of his pillows and chucked it at him, narrowly missing the TV that hung over the end of the dresser. “I do not live in ‘squaller,’” I yelled, readying myself with another pillow as he caught the first and held onto it. “It’s a dorm, Travis. A nice dorm, actually.”

He rolled his eyes obnoxiously and tossed the pillow to the end of the bed. “Alright, fine. I just meant that I really don’t care where I sleep, Code.”

I sat up, moving to lean against the headboard, and crossed my arms over my stomach. “This might be a dumb question, but if you have all this already, why do you stay in school? Obviously you don’t need it to make money.”

Travis sat at the end of his bed. I watched as he shrugged half-heartedly. “I don’t see why I should drop out,” he said. “I have time to race and go to school. Plus, if I want to design cars someday, then I’ll need a degree.”

“I thought you’re an engineering major,” I asked.

“I am. Mechanical. I’m also in a design program so that I can get some experience working with professors and programs that I don’t have access to here.” He wound his fingers together as he talked, watching his hands as he fidgeted.

“Do your parents know about all this?”

Travis grinned and nodded. He ran the palm of his hand up the back of his neck and into his hair. “My dad isn’t like Charlie,” he answered easily. “He knows I race and he doesn’t care as long as I don’t get myself killed or arrested.”

“Have you ever been arrested?” I asked, the question jumping right into my head at his suggestion.

His expression closed off. “When I was underage,” he said, nodding, “but that was all cleared when I turned eighteen. I learned pretty quickly how to stay off radar.”

“When did you start racing?”

He shook his head as he thought about it. I watched him, studied him. Took in the too-big hoodie and the way he pushed his sleeves up without thinking about it. He’d kicked his shoes off earlier, but wore black socks that blended into his black jeans. His tattoos were the only color, that and the silver shine of his lip ring. He bit it as he thought.

“I didn’t get into this bracket until I turned eighteen,” he said, routing the explanation the way it came to him. “But I’ve been racing cars since I was old enough to reach the pedals. I started driving when I was fourteen. Mathias used to take me out and let me drive. I got pulled over like the second time we ever did that.”

“Is Mathias your brother?”

Travis nodded. “Yeah.”

“What does he think of racing?”

“He thinks I’m an idiot,” Travis answered, smiling despite his words. “He thinks it’s the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever done. I think he blames himself. He’s the one who put me behind the wheel when I was just a kid and he can’t just get over it and accept that this has nothing to do with him.”

“He probably thinks you’re going to get in trouble,” I said, playing devil’s advocate for the Laughlin boy I’d never met.

Travis grinned and shook his head. “No, that’s what you think. Mathias thinks I’m going to get myself killed.” He jumped up from the bed and crossed the room to the curtains that covered the window overlooking the pit.

I hopped up too, catching Travis’s attention as I moved to the door that opened to the catwalk. “I’m going to the bathroom,” I said.

Trav narrowed his eyes at me. “There’s a bathroom right there,” he said, nodding towards the window-walled room.

“I don’t really want an audience,” I commented, slowing only because he drew the curtains back on the overlook. From here, there was a view of the entire front of the building. Angled right, I could just barely see down into the living room, but the pit was clear.

After he whipped the thick blue curtain back, Travis rounded back to the door that faced his bed and led into the bathroom. In two quick pulls, he’d yanked curtains across the windows, completely obscuring the inside from view. He left the frosted-glass door open as he stepped out.

“You’re welcome,” he said.

I rolled my eyes in return.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, the overlook curtains were still open, but so was the bedroom door. Travis stood just outside the room on the catwalk, yelling down to his friends about something with one of the cars.

“Tell Erick that he better get over here tonight and get it done,” Travis spoke, his tone edging on frustrated. “He’s the one that demanded I let him do it.” He grabbed the railing with both hands and pushed up so that he was hovering just a couple inches off the ground.

I stepped out onto the catwalk as he tipped forward just a little, sending my nerves dropping into my stomach. Trav dropped back to his feet as I stepped out beside him.

Ryan spoke up from near the cars. He’d pulled one of the oversized chairs from the living room out and sat with his feet up on the back of the Mazda. Benji leaned against the other side of the car, sighing dramatically at Travis.

“He’s on his way, Trav,” Ryan said without looking up from his phone. “He’s bringing Flynn. They’re going to take a look at this too and see if they can figure out what’s wrong. Otherwise, Flynn knows a guy who’s looking for parts and will probably buy it from you.”

Travis glanced left to me when he saw me step out next to him, but took a moment to answer his cousin. “Does he still want the Mercedes? I told him that he could race it in a few weeks if he checks it out first.”

Benji frowned. “You know how he is with flashy cars,” he answered, obviously annoyed that Trav was letting someone else drive the car that he’d been banned from. “He’s not even going to race it. He’s just going to drive it around town.”

I leaned against the railing, glancing between the boys. “You know, some people do actually use those things to get from place to place,” I said. “In fact, I happen to be one of those delusional people.”

Even from this height, I could see the glare Benji aimed at me.

Travis grinned. “Pizza’s on the way. A couple of friends are coming over too, so don’t feel weird if a couple of guys just come walking in.”

I nodded. “I should probably call my sister,” I said, glancing around the room for a clock. When there wasn’t one, I checked my phone for the time. “It’s getting late,” I told Travis, “and Ram still thinks I’m with Jack. She was going to pick me up from his dorm.”

“I can take you home later, if you want,” he offered, turning towards me. “That way she doesn’t have to come back out and you don’t have to rush back. You can stay and hangout.”

I glanced down to the pit below us. Travis’s house already felt overwhelming with the three of them diverging into car conversations every few minutes. I knew it would be even more of the same if there were five of them instead.

“I’m not one of the guys, Trav,” I replied, shaking my head. “Plus, I should probably explain all of this to Ram and beg her not to tell Charlie. She’s going to be pretty pissed. You probably shouldn’t show your face for a couple of days.”

Travis’s demeanor changed as he registered my words. “She’s seriously going to be mad at you about this? I can understand that she’ll be mad about me for lying, but she can’t be mad at you for being lied to. That’s not fair.”

“She knew you were lying about something,” I said. “I said some pretty terrible stuff to her when I was defending you, Travis. She’s going to be mad about that. I don’t think she’ll tell Charlie, but that’s just because she doesn’t want to leave school any more than I do.”

“Well, yay for self-interest,” he muttered, running his fingers through his hair. “I can talk to her, if you want. Try to apologize and straighten things out.”

I shook my head. “Don’t bother. She won’t listen to you anyway.”

Trav bounced lightly on the soles of his feet, dispelling pent up energy. After a couple of quiet minutes, he asked, “you sure you don’t want to stick around for awhile? I can give you crash course on what the hell we’re talking about.”

I smiled. The idea of it was enticing, but also overwhelming. “I’ll take a raincheck on that for sure,” I said, “but I’ve already learned a lot tonight.”

Travis nodded, chin dipping as he turned to look down from the balcony. “Ry, tell Erick and Flynn to wait until I get back. And save me some pizza; I’m running Cody home real quick.” He glanced back to me for confirmation that I was ready to go.

I spared a look at Travis’s bedroom, but I hadn’t really brought anything with me. My backpack, which was usually my only extra item, was sitting next to my bed in the dorm. Seeing that I was ready, Trav headed to the stairs. He spoke as he worked his way to the bottom.

“Cam will probably have a race set up for next weekend,” he said, and I was unsure if he was talking to me or his friends until he looked back my way. “He doesn’t like to plan anything in advance in case someone hears about it that’s not supposed to, so I don’t really know for sure.”

I followed him across the oversized, indoor garage towards his friends. I frowned at the thought in my head. “Have you had a race since you met me?” I asked.

Catching on to where my head was at, Travis shook his. “No, I haven’t raced since about a week before classes started.”

“Surely you’ve noticed his more pissy mood,” Benji said as we walked through. “His attitude has a direct correlation with how frequently he gets to drive really fast down a street.”

Travis gave me a look that discredited his friend. “Where’re the Cadillac keys?”

Ryan dropped his feet from the back of the Mazda as Travis pushed through that way, looking. Ryan shuffled to check his pockets and then pointed towards a rack on the freestanding wall. “I think I left them over there,” he said, not sounding too convinced. “Benji was saying something when I came in, so I think I just threw them down.”

Travis huffed at his cousin. “Seriously, they’re not your cars or your keys,” he said, rifling through some of the stuff on the shelves. “You can at least remember where you put the keys.”

Benji, who stood near the BMW, pulled the hood down. “Just take the M8,” he said, going to get the keys for the car. “I can look at it when you get back. It probably doesn’t even need anything anyway.”

Annoyed, Trav shook his head. “I want you to look at it now so that you’ll be done with it before Erick gets here.” He moved to a lower shelf and pushed a few of the things there out of the way.

Ryan hopped up and headed towards one of the doors on the far wall. I watched him as he opened it, and caught sight of a turquoise tiled bathroom. Ryan reemerged, pulling the door shut behind him. “Found them,” he said, fishing them out of the pocket of a sweatshirt.

Travis slid past one of the cars and snatched them out of Ryan’s hand. “You’re lucky,” he said as Ryan continued past him, obviously used to his cousin’s attitude.

“I’m so scared, Trav,” Ryan said, dropping back down to his chair. Benji reopened the hood of Travis’s BMW and ducked underneath. Ryan glanced at me and put his feet back up on the back of the Mazda after I stepped past him and over to Travis. “See you around, Cody,” Leo Ryan Reign said before dropping into easy conversation with Benji.

Travis popped the door to the garage open and nodded for me to hurry up. I crossed the open space and followed him through the doorway as the car lit up in the garage, Travis using the fob to unlock the doors for us.