Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Like always, Grayson’s gang hung out at a nearby bar after the race. With their cars parked under the shading cap of the tree outside the pub, they remained there while sharing a case of beer. Kendall, who just got in the by winning against Grayson, was sitting currently on the hood of her car.

Grayson, on the other hand, was beside her propping on his Bugatti. The countenance of disbelief etched on his face as he still couldn’t comprehend that he lost against a newbie. He had been racing for almost two years since he was sixteen and he couldn’t bite the fact that a girl he barely knew would end his streak of victory.

Meanwhile, Chester, who was on the other side, expressed his amazement to the new member of the squad. “You were so cool! How did you do it? Did you know that no one has ever defeated Grayson before?”

Kendall shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. “I guess it was a fluke? I fell behind for four laps of the race. If Grayson hadn’t given me an opening, I would probably lose, which will end in me giving my car.”

Chester patted his palms on her shoulder. “Lucky you won—” he stopped his response while processing her name. Chuckling at himself, he continued, “Damn, I’m an ass for not knowing your name. Grayson still hadn’t introduced you to us.”

All of a sudden, a deep raspy voice spoke. “Hailey. Her name is Hailey.”

Kendall turned to him with incredulity. She didn’t know Grayson would remember her name. As a matter of fact, she thought that he had forgotten about it when she introduced herself last week.

“Well, Hailey, nice to meet you! Chester, here,” he introduced himself while producing a Cheshire kind of smile.

Chester’s rich, yet sidesplitting voice, along with his comical smile, made Kendall chortle lightly. Compared to Grayson, Chester was more approachable and amicable. She thought that although he might not be as attractive or appealing as Grayson, his character and demeanor alone were striking enough.

“Sup, Hailey. Anton.” His luscious green-honey heterochromatic eyes gazed at her as he took her hand and shook it. “Apologize for dissing you a while ago. Anyhow, since you’ve become part of the team, welcome!"

Meanwhile, a red-headed guy beside him wearing a baseball cap gave her a nod. “Welcome, Hails.”

Kendall noticed Anton was more of a level-headed kind of guy, while Will was more reserved and silent. Either way, she thought both of them were like Grayson, who had been groomed by a silver spoon.

“Thanks, guys. You can surely ask anything about me regarding cars or bikes. Though, my interest leans more towards bikes.” Kendall smiled softly.

“ Cool, Hailey! Definitely! Honestly, I absolutely have no problem with you being a part of our group. Ain’t that right, Grayson?” he asked, seemingly unaware of Grayson’s detachment.

“Thanks, Chester.” Kendall reflexively replied to him, as if she didn’t know how to respond to his eagerness.

Anton and Will, who were listening, veered their direction to Grayson, whose attention was completely divided.

“You still good, bro? You look down and out,” Will sniped before drinking his cold can of beer.

Anton added, trying to comfort his distressed friend, “It’s fine if you lose, bro. We win some, we lose some shit, but that’s just part of it. At least we got a rising star in our team who could help us out, right?"

“Yeah, Dude! Besides, Hailey will be a great addition to our team, right?” Chester continued, waiting for his friend’s affirmation.

Nonetheless, out of the blue, Grayson sneered. “Let’s see.”

Averting his gaze back at Kendall, he chugged the beer empty and crushed it into a ball. He then leaned away from his car’s hood, throwing it into the nearest bin. Looking back at them, he saw Chester talking to Kendall again.

His jaw instantly twitched in annoyance as he watched his friend’s delight and keenness.

“By the way, why do you want us to be your friends instead of other girls, Hailey?” Chester asked curiously.

Grayson scoffed as soon as he heard it. “Can’t you see, bro?” Gazing back at her, he gave a lopsided smile. “With that look of hers, do you think she’s a girl?” he added with an implication while scrutinizing Kendall’s black ensemble.

He surmised that, without a doubt, Kendall must be a dyke, with the looks of how she wore herself and the way she gestured. There was no way she was like other girls.

“Kind of has a feeling about it. Anyway, whatever you like, Hailey, it doesn’t matter to us. You’re still part of the group,” Anton declared.

Will didn’t reply as he just shrugged it off.

As soon as Chester realized what Grayson meant, his eyes widened. “Oh… You mean… You’re a...”

Kendall crossed her arms, looking amused. “A what?”

Chester scratched his nape and hesitantly said, “You know… Someone who doesn’t like men. Is that why you enjoy hanging out with guys more than girls?”

Her mouth slightly parted, grasping what Chester was trying to say. However, she was nonchalant about it and just said, “I don’t know. It’s up to you to decide. That’s too personal."

“I told you so,” Grayson muffled.

By saying that, Kendall figured out that it would be better to get closer to Grayson if he didn’t see her as someone who would like him. Also, her gender and sex weren’t a big deal.

“God, dude. I don’t know how you can be so dense sometimes,” Will teased while laughing.

Chester’s pupil narrowed while throwing the empty can of beer toward him. “Shut it, bro. I’m fucking serious here. And I want to know our maggs better.” The corner of his lips curled upward.

Will retorted. “Yeah, Hails. You’re still in."

The group kept talking for a while. Grayson joined in some of their conversations but remained to be distant. A little while later, Anton and Will went inside the pub to replenish their beers. leaving Grayson, Chester, and Kendall alone in the parking area.

Chester continued to ask Kendall questions. She tried to respond to him with equal vigor while keeping a distance from the young man.

While they were conversing, a woman appeared to be walking toward them. Her blonde hair was curled to perfection, while in her blinding tight metallic dress. Chester quickly noticed, immediately, getting Grayson's attention.

"Shit, dude! Sandra is here," he hissed.

Grayson turned to his back, corroborating whether Chester was telling the truth. As soon as he saw it with his own eyes, Sandra appeared more clearly in his vision. He bolted out of his car.

“Crap!” Grayson instantly panicked. He was no longer interested in the woman, nor did he want to do anything with her. With this, out of instinct, he moved next to the unsuspecting Kendall, draping his arms on her shoulder.

Simultaneously, Kendall was flustered by his sudden and baffling gesture. She was about to ask what he was doing, but Grayson riposted back with a shush.

“Shh! Just follow my lead."

Kendall then noticed the woman walking toward them. She went back to Grayson and saw his awkward and stifling countenance. As soon as she realized it, Kendall slumped her back as she waited for Sandra to move away.

However, even with Sandra’s bewildered expression, she still kept walking toward them. When Kendall recognized it, she turned to Grayson to let him know.

“She’s co—"

She felt a heavy barrier against her lips halt her from whatever she was about to say. Wet, smooth lips dampened the skin of her mouth. His lips drifted slightly to the opening of her mouth, nipping her to move about.

Her eyelids nictitated repeatedly. Shock, perturbation, and consternation swirled all over her system as if she had been hit by an unexpected storm. With his body closer to her, she could feel the tension in his shoulders, the arrest of his breathing, and the mixed scent of musky bergamo and liquor wafting through her nose.

The scent filled her attention—No; it occupied her.

It was damning and confusing that the heat on her body flushed out of her skin suddenly. More so, she felt her body trembled not with fear but with an enigma that a sprouting thought suddenly emerged out of her awareness.

Grayson didn’t stop. His lips moved again, nibbling her a bit, making her even more in a state of a conundrum. Even so, this time, Kendall tried to push him away; however, before she could do so, she suddenly felt her waist dragging towards him.

With his arms on her waist, she felt a part of her being sucked into the deep recessive of her subconscious mind.

...

He felt her rapid breathing and the warm, inviting skin against him, which made his whole body react instinctively.

Grayson knew he had completely reacted out of necessity. Nonetheless, he never thought in his wildest dreams that Kendall would feel like this. To have a smell so good—so fresh and distinctive that made him whiff like an idiot just so he could inhale the sweet fragrance of her watermelon and faux pas leather scent.

Apart from that, he was even more befuddled when his mouth nipped her full, supple lips. It felt so tender that it urged him to want more—to taste more. And then, he did the almost unthinkable. He reached towards her, pulling her dainty waist closer.

His mouth parted slightly, dipping it against her lips as his shoulders were awkwardly edgy.

'God…' He grunted.

Albeit, in an instant, her protesting moans hit him back to reality. His eyes flicked open and the tightness on his body loosened. Within a second, he felt her arms pushing him away from her.

“What the fuck!” Kendall hissed in anger.

Coming back to his senses, Grayson shrugged it out of his thought.

He breathed in, trying to compose himself as though nothing had happened. Then, Grayson noticed his arms wrapped around her waist while her stare was etched with contempt.

Clearing his throat, he asked, “Chester, did she leave?"

Chester replied stingily, but with relief, “Yep, she did.”

After hearing his response, Grayson was about to pull away from her when his eyes met her warm forest green eyes. He paused for a while, gazing at her flustered face for a moment. Instinctively, his eyes dropped to her plump rosy lips. It was then, at that moment, that an alarming feeling burst out of him, which made him gulp in ablaze.

Grayson immediately brushed aside the absurd and troubling idea in his mind.

To be honest, he didn’t know why he did that. Kendall wasn’t even his type. She wasn’t the type of girl he would gawk at randomly on the streets. This made him more perturbed and disturbed about what made him react like that.

Then, in a minute, he turned around to look at where Sandra was. He saw her back fading away from the area, which made him sigh with relief.

“Thank Go—Goddammit! O-ouch!” He shrieked when he felt his arms being pulled by Kendall.

She twisted his forearm aptly, causing him to scream in agony. Grayson felt all the nerves in his body awaken in unfortunate discomfort.

“Ouch!” he shrieked, begging her to stop.

However, Kendall didn’t stop as she locked his arms to the hood of the car, bending it in the opposite direction.

“Why the fuck would you do that?!” she kept asking as though she wanted to kill him.

“Fuck! Ugh—I’m just joking, Hailey!” he rebutted in pain.

She didn’t believe him as she even clutched his arms tighter. “Joking? Do you fucking think it’s just a joke?”

“Aren’t we friends? Friends help each—fucking fuck, Hailey!” His back curved inwards, trying to suppress the immense pain from her brutal strength.

“Friends don’t kiss each other!"

“Okay! Okay! I won’t kiss you again! It was just a joke!” He apologized while screaming in anguish.

Chester tried to calm her down. “Umm, Hailey, Grayson’s really like that. You will get used to him when you get to know him better. You might break his—oh, God!” Chester's eyes widened in astonishment.

Nonetheless, Kendall twisted Grayson's arm even tighter, making him scream even more. “Fuck! Damn it! I won’t do it again! I swear! I’m sorry.”

Kendall ignored Chester’s explanations as she never felt violated in her life until this. “Do that again and I’ll break all your bones!”

Grayson immediately nodded. “I won’t—I won’t do it again."

Finally, she let Grayson go while still glaring at him. He, on the other hand, massaged his arms with a pout. Grayson didn’t expect her to do that. Well, the girl was really the epitome of all uncliches.

Then, all of the sudden, heaps of screams came from inside the bar. People inside sporadically bolted out of it with distress painted on their faces. Meanwhile, Grayson saw Anton and Will storming out of the pub.

“Hell, bro, there's a brawl inside!” Will yelled while panting as both of them ran towards them.

“Don’t go, man. It’s a mess!” Anton warned.

Weirdly, instead of keeping her distance, Grayson noticed Kendall storming inside the bar.

"Wait, where are you going?!" Anton queried while looking at her from the distance.

Grayson and Chester exchanged unsure glances but soon followed her, thinking she might cause another trouble.

“Ugh, dammit! This woman will lead us to our demise,” Grayson said irritatingly.

...

With no hesitation, Kendall went inside the bar. She scanned the place and spotted two bulky guys fighting on the dance floor. Most of the customers, even the employees, fled, but Kendall wanted to know what happened.

“Sir, please come down!”

“Stay the fuck away from me!"

The guard tried to pacify the drunk men on the right side while, on the other hand, an employee tried to pull the other guy away. Both were doing their best to calm the two, but they were just too engaged with their anger.

Initially, Kendall didn’t want to get involved, since she wanted to keep her undercover persona as seamless as possible. Also, she had called the cops to handle the situation, but when she noticed that the other big guy was about to pull something from his pocket, alarm bells went off in her head.

On the other side, Chester and Grayson followed her inside. Both of them refused to join in watching the fight, as they had just watched Kendall’s next moves. Knowing that she was a nosy chit, they were worried that she would do something stupid.

And there it went. Kendall’s palm curled into a knuckle.

“Ugh, fuck it…” she muttered as she gazed at her target.

Cracking the muscles on her neck, she grabbed the empty tray lying on the counter and before the target could use his knife, the silver metal plate was flying towards him. It ricocheted against his knife, rotating the knife back to him with a slice on the center of his palms. The guy was absolutely shocked as to where the tray came from.

Realizing the knife plunging into his palms, he screamed in pain as his blood trickled out of it. Meanwhile, the guard and the employee found a loop to tackle and shackle them just in time for the cops to arrive.

Chester and Grayson were in awe as they witnessed Kendall’s spot-on hit. Their jaws dropped with astonishment as they couldn’t believe the surprise this girl brought to them.

“Awesome. Shit, that was cool!” Chester’s mouth gaped, while Grayson’s face was utterly flabbergasted.

Kendall then walked away from the scene. She ambled back with Grayson and Chester to the parking lot where Anton and Will were waiting.

While walking, Grayson couldn’t help but comment. “It’s a good thing that you didn’t interfere with the fight, considering how nosy you are."

Kendall scoffed, saying, “There are guards there, so why would I?”

“Yeah. But what you did was totally cool, Hailey.” Chester nodded.

When they got back to the parking lot, Anton and Will asked why they had gone back to which Chester immediately replied with something regarding Kendall’s impressive skills.

The two didn't ask again as they were already pretty worn out from what happened. With that, the group decided to hit it home as it was evidently late.

However, before they parted ways, Grayson shared something with Kendall. “Oh, by the way, since you are part of this squad now, I need to tell you about our rules."

Her brows raised with curiosity. “Rules? What rules?"

A devious smirk escaped from his lips. “You will still have to undergo an initiation where you’ll be our slave for two months.”

“What initiation? I didn’t know your group is in some kind of fraternity.” Kendall’s ears rang in objection as she fiercely opposed the idea of being the group’s slave.

She looked back at Anton and Will and there was no reaction from them. Chester, however, felt her protest that he couldn't help but butt in. “Oh, it doesn’t have to be all of us. This is just Grayson’s idea! So, just be his slave..."

Kendall bit her lips trying to contemplate it. She thought and realized that if this was the only way to get leads from Grayson, then she had no choice but to do it.

She then crossed her arms and retorted. “Alright, fine! I agree! But just with Grayson!”

Chester rebutted. “Yep, just him, Hailey.”

Little did she know, Grayson was already brewing an evil idea. In his mind, he thought that Kendall was trying to terrorize the group so she could be the leader. Of course, with him being the leader, he didn’t want that to happen, so he swore to make things difficult for Kendall until she quit being part of the group.

...

After that night, Kendall went with her best friend, Charlotte, to buy clothes for her to use in her undercover as a university student. While strolling around different boutiques, looking for cute and stylish clothes, Kendall’s phone suddenly rang.

“Someone’s calling you on the weekend?” Charlotte asked.

She sighed, getting it out of her jeans. “Apparently. Anyway, let me answer this first.”

A deep, familiar voice blared from the speaker of her phone. “Be here at my house on three. I need you to do something for me.”

“What? It’s the weekend, Grayson,” she objected.

There was a pause for a moment. “Did you forget that you agreed to become my slave for two months? You've gotta do your duty, Hailey.”

Then, it struck her that this would be an opportunity for her to know more about Grayson so she could get some information out of him.

Exhaling a deep breath, she surrendered. “Fine.”

Looking dejectedly, she turned her gaze back at Charlotte and sadly informed her, “I have to go, Char. It's from work.”

Stunned, Charlotte asked briskly, “What? Where are you going? Don’t leave me here with your things!”

She walked away while responding to her with her front facing away from her. “You can drop it at my flat, Char. Thanks!”

Charlotte immediately groaned with frustration. “I will not! Remember, I’m not you damn servant, Kels!”