[b][center][h2]Joel Nicolosi[/h2][/center][/b]

Joel smirked a little at her joke and shook his head. [i]Always joking, always playing.[/i] He thought reaching over to help her with the belts. He didn’t care about the innuendo or the questionable position of his hands as he tightened the straps down properly and fastened them together maneuvering around her shoulders, waist and chest. Making sure she was safe in the car was more important than flirting for the moment. Parental as it may have seemed, she was going to find out why soon enough. Though he had to admit that he was enjoying it [i]a little bit[/i]. The familiar smell of her hair and the closeness between them felt natural and it was evident she was genuinely glad to be there: A sentiment that was not lost on him. Not to mention, she looked very sharp in the jacket he picked up for her.

With a small wave to the assembly he moved the sequential gearbox into first and pulled off the pallet slowly giving the tires their first taste of the North American continent. He could hear them squeaking over the concrete floor, biting down even at a crawl. A few of the workers moved their hands in circular motions looking for him to light them up, but he resisted the urge while still in the warehouse. Another small switch turned on the lights and a button on the steering wheel activated the high-beams. Holding it down caused the high-powered LED bulbs to pulse rapidly. He made sure everyone was out of the way and he was clear before giving them all what they wanted. It was just a short burst of power, but the tires lit up instantly in white smoke and that was enough as they growled away. Showing off in the traffic lane wasn’t exactly smiled upon. 

He looked over at Sio, his face only lit by the faint glow of the controls, “Checkmate.” He said. The word was barely audible over the growl of the exhaust that exited behind her seat, but he knew she could read his lips. 

One of the most interesting things about fast driving, at least to Joel, was just how accustomed people were to going between 55 and 85mph everywhere they went and how deeply ingrained it was in the average person’s psyche. So much time was spent within that window and below it, every day, since birth, that the thought was just automatic. When time was taken out of the average person’s objections to distance, it was near enlightening how accessible the world became. As he turned on to the old highway that led back to the city he didn’t give any indication towards her as he purposefully increased the speed gradually until the telephone poles were going by like fence-posts. The intersection for the 923 Loop blinked in the distance and they were there in seconds blazing by a Shell station with the cackling rumble of deceleration. The light for the turning lane was green and the howl of the exhaust reverberated beneath the overpass as he swung up the ramp and really put his foot in it causing the rear end to come around slightly. He jinked the wheel slightly to counter it grinning broadly the whole time.
 
They hit the highway and he blasted past a semi, looking ahead and making his moves several seconds beforehand through the night traffic they screamed along making it to the junction for 98 in less than a minute. The car wrapped around the curving on-ramp like it was on rails and he went back up through the gears like a song nearly trance-like in his concentration and control. Just like in Japan on the track he could feel the body of the car settling down on ground beneath the air as the wind-tunnel refined body leaned into the wind. He knew he could have never beat them if the Sol Grand Prix’s straightaway had been a quarter mile longer. There was no comparison in the downforce created by the GT-R. The car was like a rifle shot. 

As lane markings blurred together into solid white lines Joel saw his exit coming up and relented on the accelerator coasting down the exit lane seeing the downtown glow of skyscrapers in the distance. The composite brake discs had no problem slowing them and glowed hot orange in the night air as they returned to the land of normal traffic on the surface streets. Coming to stop for a traffic signal, he nudged her shoulder and leaned over so she could hear him, “Quick trip, huh?” He said with a smile in the darkness. 

It wasn’t far from the highway and they cruised under the streetlights and neon signs drawing glances from groups of pedestrians traveling up and down The Run. He held the high-beam flasher a few times enjoying himself immensely as they passed before carefully angling over the entrance of Club Aether. The car again drew steady glances and some even pointed as they rumbled past the entrance and he gave a couple obligatory taps of the pedal bouncing the wild exhaust note off the side of the building. He swung around to some of the parking in the rear spotting a white GTR parked securely in the distance and backed in next to it making a pair. It was just good form to keep the nicer rides together. He shut the engine down.

“I haven’t been here in years,” He said to Sio glancing at the building. It looked the same as the last time he’d seen it. “I don’t think I know what this place looks like in the daylight,” He mused. “Used to be pretty cool though. Let’s get a drink and we’ll head back out and see what kinda trade we can stir up.”


[@Almalthia]