Stacked Deck. Terry Watkins

and smart. She was working hard to reel him in, but he wasn’t going to be that easy.

      When they left, she said, “You don’t mind if I drive a short distance, do you?”

      He started to hesitate, but she grabbed the keys right out of his hand. “You aren’t going to deny me a thrill like driving a Bugatti Veyron are you?” She brushed up against him ever so slightly, but he felt the heat charge up his legs.

      “Be my guest. Just take it slow. This baby can get away from you in a hurry.”

      They got in and he turned in his seat, pointing out the details of the car. A lot of females he knew, and a lot of males for that matter, couldn’t drive stick, let alone handle a real beast like this one. He didn’t want her launching it into a wall before they even got out of the parking lot.

      Next thing he knew he was the one launched. He flew backward into his seat as if he’d been body slammed. And suddenly they were leaving town like they were escaping the front wave of a tsunami.

      “Shit! Slow down,” he yelled. “This thing has over a thousand horsepower. More than a Formula One race car. It’s a lot to handle. You’re gonna get us killed.”

      “Not if I can help it,” she yelled back, laughing.

      And she continued laughing as they jumped from zero to a hundred so fast it was like they’d been shot from a cannon.

      And then, the full monster sixteen cylinders kicked in and she nearly lost it. She fishtailed coming around a turn, he grabbed the wheel and helped her get it straightened out, but she pushed his hand away.

      She said, “Whoa, that’s some beast under the hood. Damn, this feels good.”