Ineffable ? Joost Klein ?

'Joost, I'm really not sure about this...'

'Oh, come on, liefje. You'll be fine. Just remember what I told you; the handbrake is your best friend.'

The words of wisdom did nothing in light of Elke's anxiety.

Behind the wheel of her Swift, Elke laid her back against the seat. The conversation through the passenger's window had done nothing for her nerves. Joost's advice from his Golf was genuine and couldn't be more authentic when it was coming from an experienced racer. But as Elke looked out to the deserted road, she was convinced that the use of her handbrake would be the last thing on her mind when they pulled away from their stop.

The two cars sat idle at the late hour. After an uneventful evening, Joost suggested something that installed a fear in Elke's core.

'I won't let you get hurt.'

'How can you think you have any control over that if we're in seperate cars?'

'Trust me; if you're trying so hard not to crash, you won't. It'll be a straight road. Barely any corners.'

Joost wanted to race Elke. As he sat in the lane next to her, he had decided to leave his fingerless gloves in the glovebox. He even thought about taking his glasses off to give Elke the advantage. But after years of being comfortable and seeing several metres in front of him, Joost decided that being without them would do more harm than good.

Looking through his open window, Joost couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Elke's frown. It was only meant to be a bit of fun. He only ever raced those who were overly confident and naive to Joost's reputation. Never had he raced someone who hadn't raced before or didn't have a desire to beat him if she tried.

'You ready?' Joost called through to the Swift. Elke turned to look at him, the corners of her lips downturned and her eyebrows drawn together in uncertainty.

'I guess?'

'I'll give you a head start,' he gestured to the road ahead, a bemused smirk on his lips. 'Go on. I'll be right behind you.'

Elke gripped the steering wheel and wondered how many Leeuwarden locals were about to curse the day Joost moved back to his hometown. The streets were quiet enough to make even a butterfly's wings sound several metres away. A wheelspin or a tire's screech was bound to get a grumble from the nearby suburb.

She took a deep breath. She knew her Swift could reach great speeds as she had been in the car when Joost had made the getaway from Ski Aggu three years ago. But with her chest heavy and her foot too scared to lower to the pedal, Elke wasn't confident she would win.

Forcing her eyes to stay open, she accelerated with a painful lurch. The engine revved at the sudden act and Elke thought that her car had malfunctioned. The rush of the wind through her open window made it known that she had, indeed, pulled away from their stop. The Swift was now soaring down the street, her shoe pushing the accelerator more and more by the second.

After the first few metres, Elke's arms didn't feel so tense and her chest didn't weigh so many tons. The streetlights passed overhead and when she turned the first corner, the sight of the next long street liberated the woman.

She understood why Joost liked this. She understood why Enzo loved to challenge Joost whenever he made an exclusive appearance at a car meet. She also understood why Enzo never came out victorious, as when Elke looked to her left, the blonde was somehow pulling up next to her.

'How did you...' Elke found herself muttering. Her head flicked back and forth from the windscreen to the Golf in the next lane. With his window down and leaning back casually in his seat, Joost gave her a smug grin. The one hand that was at the top of the steering wheel mocked Elke, who couldn't bring herself to remove her two hands from her own for even a second.