The Fine Line Read Online Free

last party of the summer.
    Rock music was blaring.  Nate and Mel were at the pool table starting a game of doubles with Isaac and the girl he met at River Fest, Gavin was at the bar pouring himself a drink, and there were several people around the couches that I didn’t recognize.  I caught Gavin’s eye as we approached the bar.
    “Liv!”  Gavin pointed at me. “You want the usual?”
    I smiled and nodded, delighted that he remembered my drink of choice.
    “Hi Logan.” A girl with a slim but voluptuous figure, in tight clothes and black high-heeled boots up to her knees, ran up to Logan and wrapped her arms around him.  Bright pink streaks around her hairline embellished her long straight, bleach-blond hair. 
    “What’s up Chloe.”  Logan simply stated, as if he weren’t expecting an answer from her.  He appeared unfazed by her affection, and went around to the other side of the bar, where he and Gavin knocked knuckles, leaving her behind looking disappointed.  He helped himself to a beer from the mini-fridge, then stayed behind the bar with Gavin and began some car talk.  I concluded that they were friends.  Just as Gavin handed me my drink, his phone lit up.  I walked over to join Mel by the pool table.
    “Hey, Liv! I was wondering when you’d finally get down here.” Melody actually winked this time.  Then she leaned closer and joked, “I was hoping it would’ve taken longer.”
    My hand instinctively smacked her in the arm, and with a disgusted look on my face, I replied, “Melody!  You know me better than that!”  I couldn’t keep a straight face, though, and we both started laughing.
    I glanced over to the bar where Gavin and Logan seemed to be having a heated talk.  Out of pure curiosity, I returned to the bar. 
    “Dude, I don’t need to.  I just raced last night,” Logan said, annoyed.
    “He wants a rematch, man. You could take double what you brought in last night,” Gavin persisted.
    Logan turned to me as he realized that I was listening.  He seemed to be contemplating something as his eyes met mine.  After studying me for a moment, his expression quickly turned to excitement as if he just had the best idea of his life.  Still looking at me, he grinned and said, “Ok, I’ll do it…But only if Liv comes.”
    Gavin turned to me with an unsure look on his face. 
    “Liv…have you ever been to a race before?” Gavin asked.
     
     
    Chapter Three
     
     
    It wasn’t my first time in a muscle car.  Logan held the door for me as I lowered myself into the passenger seat, closing it gently once I was in.  The car was very well cared for.  The vinyl bucket seats were unblemished, and there was not a speck of dirt or dust to be found anywhere inside the car.  The smell of Armor All and vinyl immediately took me back to my pre-adolescent years, and I thought about Adam.  My mind drifted to what he might be doing these days.
    Logan slid into the driver’s seat and put the keys in the ignition.  As I watched him turn the key, my eyes caught a little blue button on the steering wheel, but before I could ask what it was, I heard the high-pitched sound of the starter wheeling, followed by a loud, heavy roar and low rumble.  As the car shook to life, I felt a burst of adrenaline rush through my body.  If just starting the car was this thrilling, I wondered what it would be like to drive it.
    The dashboard lit up along with what appeared to be a small touch-screen computer monitor in the middle of the dash.  I looked over at Logan.  His eyes were on me, and he had a small mischievous grin on his face.  I wondered if he was getting an adrenaline rush from this as well. 
    “You might want to put your seatbelt on,” he said with a smile and that one eyebrow raised up again.  I laughed and politely obliged.
    He backed slowly out of the driveway.  It felt intimate being in such a tight, confined space with him, the shifter in the middle of the seats being the only thing