"I want you to try something," Damon says, barely heard over the animalistic engine.
Not daring to take my eyes off of the road I reply, "What is it? How do I do it?"
"Do you see that curve up there?"
"Yes."
"You're going to drift. I will tell you how and I need you to pay close attention or we will crash and die at this speed.
"In order to drift, we are going to do a lift-off. When we get almost to the curve but are still going straight apply a lot of pressure to the gas but don't shift. When we get to the corner of the curve, lift your foot off of the gas. Make sure you are still turning the steering wheel as you normally would."
I look ahead and I'm close to the drifting zone. My palms get sweaty and I go through everything he just said to me until it is perfectly rehearsed. With another deep breath and a quick "1, 2, 3," I bend my toes on the gas and watch as the rev meter rockets towards the red. I wait. The curve comes up. I lift my foot. The car drifts around the rest of the curve and I'm ecstatic.
"That was pretty good for a beginner. Do you know why you drifted?"
"No."
"When you let go of the gas at a high speed, the forward weight transfer of the car causes oversteer which overloads the rear tires so they no longer have any traction to the road, so they oversteer while the front tires hold the car to the pavement so we don't crash."
Quickly glancing at him, "is that the only way to drift in a car like this?"
"No. With the sheer power of this car and its tendency to oversteer you could've done a power slide. This is harder than lift-off which is why you did that. In order to power slide, you have to increasingly put a lot of pressure on the gas as we were on the actual bend of the curve. While it is easier to control and maneuver, if you push on the throttle too slowly you will understeer. If you put too much pressure on the throttle at once by pushing all the way down on the gas, the car will spin. In this technique, you have to practice over and over again to find the balance of the needed pressure on the throttle for the type of road you are drifting on.
"When we do this again, you can try to power slide if you want."
I pause. My attention diverted for a split second from the road to what he just said.
How is it that a complete stranger, who isn't my biggest fan, is able to give me the adventure I need? He took the time to teach me how to do something I really wanted to do, just so I can do it. He then says that we will do this again. I don't understand.
I was never able to really connect with any of my previous friends because I was either "too serious," "too direct," "didn't know how to have fun," and/or "moving through life too fast." At first, I tried to make friends, and I did. We would hang out and things would be great for a year until they decided to move on because I wasn't a "fun friend." It wasn't that I didn't want to be fun, I just don't find going to bars or clubs every weekend fun. I would rather spend my day driving a fast car around town, sitting next to a sexy man, and then go home and work off the adrenaline before falling asleep. That is what I consider fun, it doesn't have anything to do with alcohol replacing the blood in my veins or the drugs scarring my lungs and producing too much THC.
Damon saying, "we are almost there" breaks me out of my thoughts.
"We are still going somewhere? I thought we were just driving, I mean there is nothing around here but trees."
"From the road, there is nothing but trees, but if you know where to walk, then there is a whole other world right beyond them."
"I like that. From first glance, people probably think that the trees look boring and waste their life swaying with the wind, but if you just look a bit closer, they do know how to have fun and they dance in the wind."
From the corner of my eye, he looks at me. I think for the first time since we met, he actually looked at me. I wasn't the girl who was supposedly in his brother's apartment, I wasn't the girl who pushed him down a flight of stairs. I was just me.
"Do you see the gap in the trees right ahead?"
"Yes."
"Pull into it, but go slow. I don't want you to wreck my car."
After this whole drive, he trusts me more to drift his car and spin out of control more than he trusts me to pull off of the main road into some trees?
Slowing down the car, I pull off of the road and drive onto the dirt trail that seems to go on forever. Maybe it does, with the way the trees are perfectly parted on each side of the road, I wouldn't be surprised.
"Do I keep going down the road? Does it ever stop?"
Laughing, he replies, "yes, it does eventually end, but you will know when to stop driving before that."
How was I supposed to know someplace that I had never been to or even knew existed before?
Only a few seconds later I figured it out.
The trees move farther back from the trail and nestle a little cabin that looks surprisingly well-kempt for being in the middle of nowhere. Behind it, I could see a sliver of running blue liquid that sparkled under the rays of sunlight between the trees.
"Where are we? Who lives here?"
"This is my secret place. Whenever I want to get away from the world, this is where I come."
"Why would you bring me here? I thought you didn't like me from the fifteen minutes you knew me."
"I didn't like you, but after being with you for more than a quick bypass, I realized that you're not too bad. Plus, you drive my car better than some of the guys I know, and I respect you for that. Maybe we could start over, beginning from when you asked to drive."
"I'll give us a second chance, who knows, maybe you're not as bad as you seem either."
With a nod, he opens the door and walks around to my side. Grabbing the keys out of the console, I step out of the car, Damon's hand still on the door handle from when he opened it.
"Thank you."
Walking towards the small log cabin, I take in my surroundings. It is definitely more humid with the wind shielding us from the spring breeze and the sun seems to have a different kind of shine since it is filtered through the leaves, and bounces off the water. The best part is the silence that being in the middle of nowhere provides. There are no car alarms, beeping, music blasting, people talking, or yelling. There's only silence occasionally broken with the snap of a branch or the singing of a bird. It's peaceful.
"Are you coming?"
Taking my time, I walk towards him and up the three stairs to get to the porch of the house. With my anticipation rising, he slowly opens the door and the scent of cinnamon comes wafting out, transporting me back to December where Christmas pine cones fill the house and soft sugar cookies sit on a circular Santa plate for anyone to take. I smile at the memories.
My breath is stolen from me as I walk in. I expected a traditional log cabin where everything to be old or run down, but I was not even close. To the left of the door sits the living room with a huge wood-burning fireplace that's surrounded by big comfy couches and enough room to fit four people between them. Right off of that room is the kitchen with modern appliances and an island that has enough space for Thanksgiving dinner on it. Walking to the right is a dining room that hosts a large dining room table fit for a palace with ten seats and a big bouquet of sunflowers in the center. Going up the stairs, four closed doors greet me. Going into each one of them, I fall in love with this place more and more. All of the rooms are spacious and the views of the surrounding nature are incredible. This is the home I've always wanted, especially the master bedroom that is white and black themes with another wood-burning fireplace.
"What do you think?"
"I love it. Everything is so cozy but modern. Secluded, but open. It's everything I've always dreamed of having."
"Then you can have it."