Chapter 1

Oh, it was long ago and far away, Oh God it seems so very far,

If life is just a highway then the soul is just a car...

-- Meat Loaf

Mike drove his car in silence, usually he played the radio but this time, he felt the ride should be muted. After all, wasn't this the closest thing he'd had to a funeral in years? He was driving his car to the junkyard because he could no longer get parts for the beast. It had served him well over the years, but now it was no longer worth the effort, maybe his life wasn't either. Mike's face didn't betray the emotions he felt. He hadn't cried or shown pain in many years.

"Come on Mikey, let's go." Mike's dad yelled up the stairs, ever since his mom passed it was just he and dad and they were going to the car dealership to pick up his new car. It was the first new car his dad had ever bought and he was using mom's insurance money to do it. Mike wondered if that was the right thing to do, but his dad didn't listen to what he thought, didn't listen while his mom was around, when she got sick or at her funeral, and most certainly didn't listen now.

"Mr. Halloran, this is the perfect car for you. And I'm willing to part with it for a song."

"How much money in a song?"

"Let's go into the office and talk about it." They left Mike in the parking lot. He was always left behind when things got interesting. He sat behind the wheel of the new car, testing it for feel, the wheel felt right in his hands, the pedals felt right under his feet. Dad didn't know it yet, but this was Mike's car and would be until it finally gave up the ghost.

Mike was still sitting behind the wheel of the car when his dad came back.

"Move over." Mike was lost in his reverie and didn't hear his father come up to the car.

"I said, move over." Mike's dad punctuated his demand with a fist to the jaw.

Mike moved over, seething.

"This car is mine, but you will learn to drive it. I need you to be able to bring booze home when I need it."

The drive home continued in silence and they got out of the car at the old farmhouse. Mike's mom had brought the only life the house ever had. Mike tried to run to the house, but his dad grabbed him from behind. "I ought to kill you, boy" he spat, "but for now I still need you." He brought up his hand to the boy as if to swat him, then patted him on the cheek. He wasn't usually violent until he'd had a few beers.

Mike drove over to Kenny's house to pick him up before school. Technically Mike shouldn't be driving, but Mike didn't care much about the law. He decided it was better to drive the car to school so his dad couldn't drive it to the bar in town. Since he left before his father, the car wouldn't be there when Dad woke up from his latest drunk. He used Kenny's parking pass for the student lot and drove up as close as possible to the doors of the auto shop.

"Morning, Mr. Shoopman. Lift open yet?"

"Sure, bring it in, bay two."

Mike pulled the car into the second bay, shut off the engine and he and Kenny hopped out of the car.

"What are we s'posed to be working on today?"

"Exhaust system."

"Thought so, take a look in the back." He had brought a set of exhaust manifolds, mufflers (glass packs, no less) and straight pipes, all ready to be bent into whatever configuration was needed.

"Do I want to know where you got these?"

Mike laughed. "Nope."

"OK, just don't get us caught."

Mike pulled the car out of the bay after school and went with Kenny to the local hangout. As they noisily pulled into the lot, another of the local racers cut in front of him. Mike jumped out of the car and got right into the face of the other racer. "You son of a bitch, who do you think you are?" He was taller and stronger than the other guy was and willing to beat him to a pulp.

"The son of a bitch whose car can outrun yours any day of the week."

"The hell you say, half hour, usual place."

Both cars roared out of the parking lot, along with all the usual hangers on, to the strip of flat road the local gang used for racing.

"Hey, asshole, let's make this interesting, race for pinks." Mike yelled over to the other driver.

"You're on."

One of the local girls got out of one of the cars with a pair of flags and a pair of whoppers under her sweater that Mike would have liked to get to know better. She stood at the start line and moved the boys up to the line. She waved the flags and Mike got the jump on the older and smaller boy. Mike's car was just exactly equal to the other boy's and Mike won the race by exactly the jump he got from the line.

Mike hopped out of the car and walked over to the other guy, "Get your ass out of my car. Kenny, drive my winner back to Ed's." Kenny didn't realize that the new car was going to be his and Mike was just testing it out for him. Mike did a book perfect turnabout and drove in triumph back to the starting line. He stopped in front of the girl who started the race.

"Wanna ride back?"

"Love to," she smiled. A big toothy grin split her face, she slid into the car, leaving behind the stunned boy that she rode with.

Mike left another strip of rubber on the road and headed back to the burger joint.

"So, what's your name?"

"Julie, sweetie, and yours?"

"Mike."

"Haven't seen you around much, and I'd have remembered one like you. And George ain't been beat in a while. He'll want to try to buy the car back from you. He's got at least five thousand in it."

"He can go to hell, this car is for my buddy, I'm keeping mine and we'll beef up both as the best street racers around."

She laughed, a musical laugh, and her green eyes danced as she did. "George is going to be pissed."

"I can handle George."

She liked Mike's confident, almost cocky attitude and she loved his build. Tall and broad across the shoulders, red hair, and gray eyes that almost glowed with his inner fire. She could get used to being around this one.

"Where do you go to school?"

"Central, you?"

"East, I'm a senior. You?"

"Soph," he grunted.

"Wait, it's only October, did you take Driver's Ed last year?"

"Nope," he smiled.

She laughed again, "You turn sixteen yet?"

"Nope."

"Oh boy, is he gonna be pissed about losing to a fifteen year old."

"I'm gonna ask you to keep that just between us, OK? Kenny knows, because I've been best friends with him for years, but because of my size everyone thinks I've been left back, so they don't think about me being fifteen and they assume I'm stupid, which I am not. I also tend to look scarier than I am, because I am so big."

"Sure, but it'll cost you."

"What do ya want?"

"Oh, I'll think of something, believe me," she laughed again as she laid her head on his shoulder and scratched his chest.

He put his arm around her shoulder and they spent the rest of the ride back chatting about school.

As they pulled into Ed's, Mike pulled into the space by the door and Kenny pulled in next to him. Julie slid over and got out behind Mike and reached for him. Kenny came around Mike's car, and Julie curled up to Mike's side leaning up against his new car.

"Let's go in and get a burger. I'm buying."

"Sure, Mike," both of them answered in unison.

As the walked into the restaurant, they headed for a booth in the corner, ordered their food and started talking about the race.

About five minutes later, George and his friends walked in and came over to their booth.

"How much?"

"For what?"

"For my car. How much?"

"You mean my car, it's not for sale."

"What the hell do you mean it's not for sale?"

"Look, asshole, if you weren't willing to lose it, you shouldn't have bet it."

George was livid, his face was red, his eyes bulging, and he sputtered. "You worthless piece of shit, I will get my car back."

"Get out of my face before I have to get up and get you out of it."

George stomped off. Mike, Kenny and Julie laughed at him.

"Well, Kenny, why don't you take my new car home tonight, and I'll meet you at school by Shoop's room in the morning. We'll check that beast out on the rack tomorrow."

"Works for me, and do you want to take this pretty young thing home or should I?"

Mike laughed, "That's my job, bud. We may be like brothers, but when it comes to girls, I'm pretty stingy"

"Sounds fine to me," Julie said as she snuggled into Kenny in the corner booth. They all laughed.

They ate joking and cutting up all through the meal, paid the check and went to the door.

"You sure you want me to take this beast home and not that beauty, Mike?"

Mike laughed, "Nah, I've got something planned for this one."

Julie giggled sweetly and gave Kenny a hug. "See you here tomorrow night." She wiggled over to the passenger side of Mike's car.

"Take good care of my new baby, Kenny," Mike warned as he got into "Dad's" car.

"Sure thing, see you in the morning." He waved as he drove off.

"Where do you want to go, Julie?"

"Let's go out by the lake, I know a great spot," she looked at him and batted her eyes. "That is if you intend on taking advantage of me."

"That is exactly what I intend. Lead on."

They drove with the radio on to a quiet spot on the west shore of the lake, far away from the housing developments on the south and east shores and the spillway on the north and got comfortable in the back seat.

"Kiss me, you fool," Julie said with mock seriousness. She held her arms out to him as he moved closer in the back seat. As Mike closed his eyes and Julie closed hers, they bumped noses. Both laughed nervously at their clumsiness and started the next kiss (at least past the noses) with eyes open.

They kissed each other as they started taking each other's clothes off. She took her sweater off and had a blouse underneath it. Slowly he unbuttoned her blouse and as each new piece of skin was exposed he kissed it, he kissed her ear and throat, paying special attention to the hollow of her neck under her ear and the hollow of her collarbone. He finished unbuttoning the blouse, kissing all the way down kissing her bounteous breasts and nibbling at her nipples through her thin, lacy bra. She started to pull his T-shirt out of his jeans, and he reached behind her to catch the clasp of her bra. Even though he was mechanically brilliant, he had never reverse engineered such a device, so she got her task accomplished first and as soon as she got his shirt off she started nibbling on his nipples. He found it harder and harder to concentrate on removing her bra as he got harder and harder.