Ineffable ? Joost Klein ?

EPILOGUE.

The next turning approached and Elke had no choice but to slow her speed. She couldn't guarantee that she would be able to swing around the corner without taking Joost out in the next lane. As Elke turned the wheel while looking to her right, Joost somehow continued passed her without so much as a tap on his brake pedal.

Elke was in awe as Joost taillights became her view. Even with her head start, Joost had made it in front of Elke.

The next corner was approaching fast and Elke was determined to over take him. She had gotten the feel for the road and the speed, her Swift showing Elke exactly what it could do if the right person was behind the wheel. Joost's smug smirk lingered on her mind, so instead of slowing down to take the corner, Elke's hand yanked at the handbrake and hardlocked the wheel.

Her tires screeched as Elke drifted behind Joost's Golf. The sound made his blue eyes fly to his rearview mirror and he just caught the Swift skid past. Joost had only just straightened his wheel when the Swift overtook him. His jaw dropped and even with his foot lowering onto the accelerator, the Golf lagged behind after the tight corner.

Elke wanted to laugh aloud. She looked in her wingmirror to see Joost's headlights, not believing that she had just drifted. As abnormal as it felt to use the handbrake while the car was still moving, Elke enjoyed having the immediate control.

But in another glance to the wingmirror, Elke's heart dropped. Joost was gaining on her and the spot where they started was drawing near. Her foot was as far down on the accelerator as she could manage. While having to think about stopping time, Elke could only push her beloved Swift so far.

Slamming on the brakes, her front number plate passed the tree that signified the end of the race. Elke's neck whipped forward from the harsh stop. As Joost slowed to a stop beside her, Elke threw off her seatbelt and was out of her Swift in record time. She didn't even have the mind to close her door before she was crying,

'I won! I fucking won! In your face, Klein!'

A grin split her cheeks and her knees powered her powerful leaps into the air. The race had no stakes and yet, Elke felt like she had won the greatest prize of all. She didn't stop her celebration when Joost appeared from the driver's side and looked at her over the roof of his car.

'That corner got me,' Joost sighed and walked around the Golf's bonnet. 'Congratulations, Elke. You beat me. Not many people can say that.'

Joost was able to cease Elke's excited flailing by slipping his arms around her middle. She grinned into his shoulder and locked her wrists together at the nape of his neck. The congratulative embrace was genuine, but when Elke pulled back, she caught sight of the twitch in the corner of Joost's lips.

Her grin faltered as she paused, her hands resting on his tall shoulders. Joost tried to play off the slip up and feigned a look of curiosity.

'What's wrong, liefje?'

'You... you let me win.'

'No, I didn't?'

Elke's arms fell by her sides and her shoulders sagged. She went to step out of Joost's hold but he followed her, his hands only sliding across her waist with a need to keep contact.

'Yes, you did,' Elke whined in defeat. 'You let me win. You had every opportunity to pass me and you didn't. God, I'm so stupid.'

'No, that's not true, at all!' Joost exasperated and tried to meet her downturned gaze. But once he did, the accusing sheen made his offended expression twist and Joost couldn't help but let out a giggle.

The noise made Elke's pride crumble despite how adorable she found it.

'Okay, my foot may have not been as far down on the accelerator as it could have been-'

Elke let out a dramatic groan, turning away from the man who rushed to stop her.

'-but! The way you drifted around that corner was worthy of winning,' Joost took her hands into his and forced her to look at him. 'Really, liefje. That was impressive.'

Joost's smile had shifted to one of adoration and honesty. Elke felt her disappointment fade as she took in his unmoving stare and reminisced in the way his hands engulfed hers.

To be praised for her driving skills by Joost Klein was an honour, especially when Elke knew how many looked up to him. Even though she didn't win the race by her own efforts, a genuine compliment made the race's result irrelevant.

'You think so?' she whispered.

'I do. I really do think so,' Joost used one hand to cup Elke's neck as he pressed his lips to her forehead. The loving kiss spread warmth throughout her body and when Joost pulled away, he melted at her big, brown eyes twinkling up at him.

'Hm, so pretty. My little racer,' he cooed, his thumb caressing her jaw as the rest of his hand slipped into her hair. 'It's a shame that you'll never show your skills in a real race. You'd be a great getaway driver.'

'Do you ever miss it? The driving?'

Joost stopped to think about it. While holding everything he needed in a Leeuwarden street, Joost considered the life that had the potential to ruin, but also gave him, the life he had. The money had been the draw card and when things went right, Joost enjoyed doing deals. He enjoyed being with his friends, drinking in celebration and parading around car meets. He almost wished that Elke could have been there before things went sour. Before Acid showed his face, Joost could have easily kept his profession a secret and enjoyed the good parts with Elke by his side.

But he remembered how many times he saw her cry and how much his dangerous life invaded Elke's. No amount of money or adrenaline was worth seeing how Elke was affected by Roan's death or worth the marks Aggu left on her neck. Although they had healed a long time ago, Joost never forgot the bruises. He also never forgot how good it felt to feel Aggu's skull crush underneath his shoe.

'No,' he answered after his pause. 'I don't miss it. I wouldn't never go back to it. I've got too much to lose, now.'

'I heard Alanis stopped. Is Apson still going?'

'He is, but it won't be long until he stops, too. It's not a sustainable business, not when you have things you care about.'

Elke gripped Joost's jacket as his thumb traced down her nose and over the dips of her lips. He stared down at her with so much love. She only hoped that she looked the same when she looked at him.

All she ever wanted, was Joost, driver or not. The world that he had come from scared her but Elke was under his protection. If he had stayed doing deals, Elke's unhealthy loyalty would keep her with him. But now that they could look back on it, Elke was glad to see Joost's growth, the changes he made for her only increasing her love for him.

'I love you,' she said. 'Thank you for this, for everything.'

'Oh, Elke, don't thank me. I did it because I love you. Everything I do is for you.'

Her eyes rimmed with tears and she went to stand on her toes to capture his lips. But Joost suddenly shrunk away, dropping down to the road with his hand reaching into his pocket. The tears that had been welling spilled in an instant, the sight of the box in Joost's hand making Elke cup her mouth and splutter.

'Which is why I wanted to ask if you would marry me?' he grinned, the ring sitting in the velvet cushion. Joost was nervous but optimistic and the classic pose of one knee propped up while the other balanced against the road felt awkward to sit in. But as Elke let out a laugh through her tears, Joost found it in him to smile.

'Y-You let me win the race just so you could do this?' she sniffled.

'It was that or finally run you over and propose in the ambulance.'

Elke swatted at Joost's shoulder and got down on her knees. She was able to sniffle a 'yes' to his proposal and waited for him to slip the ring on her finger.

Once the gem was glistening above her knuckle, Elke cupped Joost's face and kissed him. Joost was already leaning in before their lips met and had done the last thing he had vowed to do; propose to the love of his life in his hometown.

Propped up on their knees, in the middle of the road, Elke and Joost kissed with a normal, boring, but fulfilling life ahead.

THE END.