Chapter-9 A little fun with racing

"Hey, I'll pick you up after you're done with the session, okay?" Ashton held Aaliyah's hand when she was about to enter Mr. Volkov's class.

"It's okay. You don't need to worry about that. Be a good boy, practice hard, and make me proud," Aaliyah grinned, and Ashton chuckled.

"As you wish, babe," He winked and bent to kiss her cheeks before leaving, making her chuckle at his tactics. This was the reason she always called him a playboy. He never skips an opportunity to flirt with her.

Smiling at Ashton's words, Aaliyah almost screamed when she turned around and saw Mr. Volkov standing only a step away, looking at her coldly.

"Shall we start?" He went inside without saying much, and Aaliyah placed her bag on the bench before sitting in the first seat.

For the next hour, they went over different vocabulary words and how to find connections between them to strengthen her vocabulary so that she could guess the answer even if she didn't know the meaning of a particular word.

"You revise the things I told you. I'll be back," Mr. Volkov left the classroom.

"Hey, are you done with your session?" Aaliyah saw the pending message on her phone and sighed before quickly typing a reply.

"Fifteen more minutes probably,"

Placing her phone back in her pocket, she squinted her brows when she saw Mr. Volkov's phone vibrating on the bench.

She didn't want to violate his privacy, but thinking it might be something important since the caller called the second time, she picked up the call.

"The work is done. Just like you wanted, neat and clean. You were right. I enjoyed the bloo -" the man on the phone paused, and Aaliyah couldn't hear the rest of it as Volkov snatched the phone from her hands, his gaze dark and cold, holding a warning before he looked at the caller id.

If that was possible, his face became stiffer before he ended the call.

"What did you hear?" Volkov asked Aaliyah, stepping closer to her, placing his hands on either side, trapping her in his arms.

"I... I... "

"Speak, girl. What did you hear?"

Aaliyah's body trembled a little before her survival instincts kicked in, and her own gaze hardened, making Volkov sigh.

It was happening again. This was the second time Volkov felt that Aaliyah’s scaredy-cat face was just a facade to hide the tigress inside her, which she didn't want anyone to see.

It was a call from a member of the gang, and he would be damned if she heard something she shouldn’t. It wasn’t like he wanted to hide things from her, but now wasn’t the time to tell her until he was sure that she likes him as much as he has gotten infatuated with her.

"First thing, you can't talk to me like that. You are a teacher, and it's high time you start behaving like one. Second, I thought the call might be important since the person was calling again. It wasn't my intention," Aaliyah gritted through her teeth, and Volkov immediately relaxed before taking a step back.

"Mmmm, I shouldn't have overreacted. We are done for today. You can leave," Volkov turned away from her, raking his hand in his hair, and Aaliyah didn't waste a second before dashing out.

Picking his coat and bag, Volkov left the room shortly, almost punching his friend, who came to meet him right in front of the school.

"Hey, I am sorry. I didn't realize you would still be with someone. It was good I didn't say anything," Bryce said.

"Is she the girl who left a few minutes ago? The one you talked about?" Bryce asked, and Volkov started the car with a hum.

Bryce gazed at Aaliyah, who was walking on the sidewalk as they drove past her, and couldn’t help but squint his brows.

"Stop looking at her like a pervert. She is mine," Volkov's fists clenched.

“I am not looking at her because I am interested. I think she is the sister of my girlfriend. I have never looked into the background of my girlfriend before, but does that mean she is a cop’s daughter, too?” Bryce confessed, and Volkov’s fists clenched at the mention of the cop’s daughter even more, which Bryce immediately noticed.

However, many years of working with the Volkov family taught him one thing. Don't cross the boundaries when they are angry, or you are as good as dead.

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"Katherine, can you stop putting these dolls in the way? I almost got knocked out. And who the hell places them in the hallway, anyway? Do you want to make me scream ghost in the middle of the night?" Aaliyah yelled at her sister as soon as she changed into her comfortable clothes before descending downstairs, almost knocking down a mannequin, and Laura sighed before massaging her head.

"Aaliyah, be nice to your sister. She is already having a tough day," Laura spoke, and Aaliyah, who was busy stuffing her mouth with chips, paused to look at Katherine, who didn't look in good shape.

"Let's talk outside," Aaliyah said, and Katherine understood the meaning behind her words before they walked to the garden, making Laura smile at their sister bond.

"So? What is it? Are things not going well between you and that guy Bryce?" Aaliyah asked the first thing, and Katherine looked at her before sighing.

"Why am I not even surprised? How did you find out about him? We don’t even meet that much. Have you been taking some spy classes in your extra time? How do you always know stuff like this?" Katherine sighed, and Aaliyah scoffed.

"Do you think I am joking when I say I want to follow my dad's path? This is the basic need," Aaliyah placed her hand on Katherine’s comfortingly.

"Tell me what happened, and Matthew and I might go to kick some ass. Did he break your heart? Is he cheating on you? Got another girl pregnant and wants both of you? Has pulled out ‘my family won’t agree’ card?" Aaliyah asked one after the other, and Katherine smiled at her choice of words.

"We slept," Katherine spoke after a dragging silence, and Aaliyah choked on her chips before looking at her sister wide-eyed. Well, this wasn’t something she was expecting. The least she could do before dropping a bomb was give her a warning.

"You what??" She practically screamed, and Katherine covered her mouth to keep her quiet.

Now there was nothing wrong with it. Her sister was 21 years old, but as far as she knows her sister, she was old school. She wouldn't do anything like this, so it was a shock for Aaliyah that her sister slept with someone without marriage. It only meant one thing. She was quite serious about this man.

"I am sorry. It was just shocking to hear,” Aaliyah said when she noticed her sister’s sad and helpless expression.

“I guess, you guys are pretty close. So now what? Is he denying his relationship after sleeping with you?" Aaliyah asked, and Katherine shook her head.

"No, it's different. He wants marriage, and I don't think I am ready. I am a blooming model with a signed contract in my hand. I can't marry anyone for another three years," Katherine said, and Aaliyah felt bad for her sister.

"You are not pregnant, right?" Aaliyah asked, and Katherine glared at her, making her sigh.

"I don't see where's the problem then. If you are not pregnant, and he isn't abandoning you, why are you thinking so much about it? If the man loves you, he will be there for you even after three years,"

"And what if he didn't? What if he thinks I am being too selfish by choosing my career over him? What if he gets fed up waiting for me?"

“You can’t do anything about the contract, can you? He will understand you if he loves you. And it's okay. If he didn’t wait for you, it’s no big deal. There is nothing in the world you can’t move on from. You slept with him because you loved him. This happens all the time. It's your body, and rules should be yours too. Just stop thinking about it like you made a mistake. Anyone in the future who will love you will accept you as you are. Okay? And if it still bothers you, then hold up an engagement as an assurance," Aaliyah squeezed Katherine's hands, and Katherine smiled.

"Sometimes, I think if you are my elder sister," Katherine said, and Aaliyah smirked at her.

“I know I have that kind of effect on people,” Aaliyah boasted before sighing.

"Come on, you know there's nothing like that. I am not just old school. What I want is for you to support me if I end up getting pregnant," Aaliyah grinned, and Katherine smiled at her sister before smacking her head lightly.

"Anyway, I am going racing. Don't tell mom about it," Aaliyah whispered to her before looking at the house.

"Mom! I studied for over 9 hours today. Besides, I even agreed to participate in an olympiad myself for your happiness. I deserve some fun, don't I? Can I go to Ashton's?" Aaliyah shouted before winking at Katherine, who chuckled at her.

"Hmm. Don't be too late. Be back by 10 and say my ‘hi’ to his mom," Laura smiled at her daughter.

Seeing her daughter only concentrating on her studies and friends, Laura felt a bit relaxed.

Maybe Lily was right. She was becoming too protective.

Dashing out of the house, rather than going in the direction of Ashton's house, Aaliyah turned her bicycle towards where they had decided to meet up.

"Mr. Cooper," Aaliyah winked as soon as she reached the spot, and Ashton chuckled.

"Did you bring my baby?" Aaliyah asked, and Ashton smirked before nodding his head to his left, making Aaliyah widen her eyes when she looked at her bike, death beauty.

This was a bike that she modified herself, and to say she did a good job would be an understatement. She knew if she brought the bike anywhere in her mother's sight, her mother would freak out, and that's why Ashton was in charge of taking care of it. No one knew about it. Not even Katherine and Matthew, and she liked it that way.

"Let’s go," Aaliyah placed her bicycle in the hidden garage behind the bushes before sitting on her bike.

"Hey, it's just a small race. Don't get too excited," Ashton warned Aaliyah, and she scoffed before wearing her mask as they rode to the starting point of the race.

A group of seven boys and three girls was waiting for them, dressed like delinquents, making Aaliyah look at them in amusement.

“Well, if this isn’t the famous pair,” One of the boys smirked at them as soon as they reached there.

Aaliyah didn't want her mother to find out about these things, thus she made a habit of wearing a mask. She didn’t want anyone to recognize and call her out of the fun zone when she was in the city with her mother, which might raise suspicions in her mother’s mind, which would turn badly for her.

"Are we just talking, or are we going to start this race anytime soon?" Aaliyah scoffed.

"Hold up, pretty girl. We were waiting for you only. But there is a problem. We heard that some members of the Python gang are on the other side of the hill. It's risky," the leader of that group said, and Aaliyah stepped down from her bike, walking and looking the leader straight in the eyes.

"And? Are we scared here?"

Feeling intimidated by Aaliyah's hard stare, the leader looked away before nodding.

"We will start soon. The rules are the same. Don't push anyone to death. We are not racing professionally. The first one will get 1000 dollars, 500 dollars for the second, and the third one will get 200 dollars. Everyone will contribute 150 dollars. The rest of the money will be added to the partying fund," The leader looked at Ashton for confirmation, and Ashton looked at Aaliyah, who nodded her head before he turned to the leader and nodded his head.

The leader looked at the interactions and swore Aaliyah was the only girl so far to have such control over Ashton and couldn’t help but feel intrigued.

“Let’s get going then?” Aaliyah winked at Ashton, who chuckled before nodding.

"The winner gets to kiss the person he wants," One of the girls shouted, and everyone closed their eyes in frustration when they looked at Ashton, whose eyes immediately darkened.

This was the seventh time something like this was happening. The last six times happened when Aaliyah wasn't there. And out of six times, Ashton was a victim four times because that girl won most of the time.

She has been head over heels for Ashton since she met him in the first race, but no matter how much she tries, he always turns her down.

"If everyone is okay with it. Let's do it," The leader said when Aaliyah and Ashton didn't oppose her proposal.

Ashton looked at Aaliyah, unsure, feeling a new sense of fire building inside him.