Love on Leave

by Leah McDonnell

  “Surely they wouldn’t take the car,” she says, trying to stay hopeful.

  “The keys are gone, Lana! They stole the fucking car!”

  She lifts her hands and takes a deep breath. “It’s ok, Kate. Don’t panic. We’ll get it back, I promise.”

  My lip quivers as tears begin to pool. “My dad is going to kill me!”

  “Let me go see if anyone’s awake who can take us back to their hotel,” she says calmly.

  As she leaves my head spins in a panicked fury. I’m scared, confused, and pissed off all at the same time. How could he do this? Especially knowing how freaked out I am about the car.

  Noise rumbles through the hall as our hotel door flies open.

  “I told you those were some piece of shit mother fuckers. They think they got their ass whooped before. I’ll kill those GI son’s a bitches!” Wayne shouts.

  I’m in a daze, too concerned about the car to worry about the crap coming from Wayne’s mouth.

  Getting the car back is the absolute priority right now. If it means taking Wayne and his crew back to their hotel, so be it.

  “Let’s go, Kate. AJ’s going to drive us,” Lana says, sliding on her flip-flops back on.

  We make our way to the parking lot when it hits me how stupid this plan is.

  “Wait! I can’t take all you guys to their hotel. I may never get the damn car back. I’ve got to handle this on my own. Y’all will only make matters worse.”

  Lana shakes her head. “She’s right.”

  “AJ, if you’ll let me borrow your truck. Lana will drive it back and God willing, I’ll drive mine.”

  “Bull shit! You’re not going anywhere near those guys alone!” Wayne yells.

  I clench my fist. “I can’t do this right now, Wayne!”

  I snatch the keys from AJ.

  “My truck’s parked across the street on the last row,” he says.

  “Thank you, AJ. Now, for the love of all that’s good and pure. Please get rid of him for me. You owe me this after the crap you guys pulled on us tonight."

  Lana and I cross the street toward the directions we’d been given. It’s past 3:00 a.m. and the Strip is finally quiet. No traffic. No partying. No music. As I hit the unlock button on the remote of AJ’s truck, I glance over and spot dad’s shiny, red BMW, perfectly parked under a street light in the far corner of the lot.

  “Holy shit, Lana! There it is!”

  We rush over, slowing as we get to it; making sure no one’s around. “Thank you, Lord!” I shout as I run to the driver’s side to check for damage.

  “Do you see any damage on your side?”

  “Nope! Not that I can tell.”

  For the first time in an hour, I can breathe again.

  “Did they leave the keys?”

  I open the door and there they are, dangling in the ignition. Dad’s University of Georgia key-chain still swaying.

  “Yep, they’re here!” I reach in to grab them and spot a note written on a napkin, laying on the passenger seat.

  “Phew! It looks like we dodged a bullet,” she says.

  I get out and lock it. Dazed, I walk to her side of the car. The napkin dangling from my fingertips.

  “What? Do I have a booger?” she asks as I hand it over.

  “No, dummy! Flip it over.”

  She reads it out loud…

  “We thought long and hard about running the car into the ocean. But realized it wasn’t worth going to jail over a couple of bitches!”

  Her eyes widen. “Whoa! That was harsh.” Clearly as hurt by the words as I am. “I guess that answers the ‘I wonder if they blame us’ question.”

  My head falls in defeat. “Let’s go to bed. I’m so over this night.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  We sleep in, or at least Lana is. I’ve been up all night replaying everything that happened. It was like something out of a movie. Even though I’m sure they hate us, I have to try to make things right. I won’t be able to forgive myself if they think we had anything to do with the fight.

  Lana’s snores sound like a lumberjack, making it virtually impossible to fall asleep. “I guess I’ll go grab a shower," I say out loud as I fling a pillow at her head.

  Waiting for the water to warm, voices begin to echo through the hall. Curious, I gaze through the peephole. My chin hits the floor when I spot Max, Drew, Jackson, and the rest of their friends, banging on the door across the hall. Son of a…

  I jump back from the peephole. “Lana!” I whisper loudly, shaking her awake. “Lana! Wake up!”

  “Whhaaatttt?” she moans as her eyes squint from the light.

  I fling my arms in the air. “They’re here! Get up!”

  “Who's here?” She yawns as the bangs rattle the cheap framed art above the bed.

  “Max, Drew, and the rest of those guys from last night! They’re at Wayne’s door. I guess they’re here for payback.”

  Finally understanding, she springs out of bed and runs to the peephole.

  More banging. “Too scared to come out now that it’s a fair fight, huh?” Drew yells.

  “They glanced our way,” she whispers as I plant my ear to the door. No one is answering the door, but I have no doubt they’re in there. Too chicken to open the door. What a bunch of wimps!

  They mumble something about us, but I can’t make out what’s said.

  “Should we knock on their door?” Max asks.

  “Hell no! I bet they’re in there with those assholes anyway,” Drew snips.

  My head drops in shame and for a brief second, I consider opening the door but stop myself. If they start chewing us out, Wayne will probably come out and all hell will break loose. I can’t risk making things worse. Besides, they stole my car! Well, sort of stole my car AND called us bitches! I debate in my mind, hoping to justify the cowardliness.

  After ten minutes of beating on the door, they give up. We watch them in the parking lot through a small crack in the curtains.

  “There’s so many of them.”

  “Those must be the ones who were out at the club last night,” I say, hoping they don’t spot us staring.

  “Look at the tall one,” she says, gawking through the crack below me.

  “He must be Davis. The one Max was telling me about. He said he’s the group playboy.”

  She smirks. “Damn! By the looks of him, I can see why.”

  “They’re all even hotter in the light of day. I can’t believe we screwed this up!”

  She fans off my concern. “Don’t worry. Let’s get cleaned up. Go have a big breakfast, then we’ll swing by their hotel and explain everything. I’m sure we can get all this sorted out.”

  Unsure, I collapse across the bed. “I sure hope so.”

  It’s midday and our bellies are stuffed to the gills with The Pancake Palace.

  We make a pit stop to get gas and run into a souvenir shop. Procrastinating as long as possible, before finally mustering up the courage to head towards the Parker Motel.

  My stomach churns. “I feel sick. I shouldn’t have eaten so much,” I choke out, sweat beading on my forehead.

  Lana flips the mirror to check for food in her teeth as we pull into a parking space.

  “Are you sure about this?”

  She glides out without a care in the world. “Yes, silly! We’ve got this.”

  Traffic on the Strip whizzes by as I white knuckle the steering wheel, mustering up the courage to get out.

  She taps her foot. “Would you hurry the hell up!”

  It feels like a mile hike through the courtyard of the motel, second-guessing myself every few feet. “Maybe we should let this go?”

  She pulls my arm. “We’re already here. Let’s get it over with.”

  I secretly hoped nobody would be here and begin to panic when I hear voices. I tap softly on the door, too softly. No one answers. Lana knocks again, louder this time. The voices grow silent. There’s no peephole but someone moves the window curtain back. Muffled voices seep thr
ough the cracks, but still, no one answers.

  Heat rises in my cheeks. “This is stupid,” I say, embarrassed. “We shouldn’t have come.”

  I turn to walk away as the door opens. Not much, only wide enough for a body to fit. Towering over us is the gorgeous, tall drink of water, who we’d seen earlier. The sun glimmers off his hairy chest as he adjusts the top of his swim trunks.

  “Hello, ladies. Here to get the rest of us jumped?” He gives a cocky smirk as coconut oil sweeps the air.

  I let out a big breath, ignoring his comment. “We were looking for Max and Drew. Are they around?”

  He crosses his massive arms, putting three Army tattoos on full display. “Nah. They’re over at the beach.”

  Even though there’s another hotel between us and the beach, my head instinctively turns toward the direction of the ocean.

  “You probably don’t want to go over there though. They were with some hot chicks from Birmingham when I left.”

  Disappointed and slightly intimidated by his presence, I find the courage to say, “We won’t bother them. We wanted to come by and apologize for last night. Lana and I had absolutely nothing to do with the fight. Our so-called friends locked us on the balcony and by the time we were let out, they were gone. Then my car was gone.” I’m rambling when he begins to laugh.

  “Sweet ride by the way. I rode with them to take it back in case your boyfriend was still out. That thing is quite the bitch magnet,” he chuckles.

  I’m not amused. “He isn’t my boyfriend and you better be glad the car came back in one piece!” I snip, finding my voice. Frustrated with how this is going. “Look, will you just tell them we came by and we’re sorry?”

  “Ok. Sure.” Still laughing as he shuts the door.

  My mind is all over the place when we get back to the car. I’m not happy about how the conversation went but relieved I got through it.

  For a brief second, I contemplate walking to the beach but talk myself out of it. My only hope now is Davis will actually give him the message.

  I smack Lana on arm, accidentally hitting her boob in the process.

  “Ouch! What the hell was that for?”

  “What happened to Little Miss ‘We Got This’? You totally hung me out to dry back there!”

  “Sorry! I choked.”

  “No shit!”

  She looks towards the beach, rubbing the red splotch forming. “I guess it’s officially over.”

  I lay my head against the steering wheel and let the reality of her words sink in. Not wanting to admit she’s right.

  “We came and apologized. That’s what’s most important. Let’s not let this ruin the rest of our trip,” she adds.

  We watch four bikini-clad girls, swinging Subway bags, giggle past the front of the car. “How about we go get shit-faced?”

  “Now there’s the Kate I know and love!” Her mood lifting in an instant.

  She reaches for the volume dial, turning it up as far as it will go. I drive away, mentally saying goodbye to the two soldiers who’d stolen a piece of our hearts.

  We spend the day on the beach with friends from home. Although I’m pissed at most of them, beer is numbing the anger. Wayne’s here but we aren’t speaking. It’s a beautiful, hot summer day, and the beach is packed with party-goers. Coolers used as chairs, beer cans, and hot pink funnels checkerboard the sand.

  My stomach flutters each time someone new pops down the boardwalk stairs.

  I’d hoped Max would magically show up today, especially after hearing about our apology visit. But as the clock strikes five, it appears I’m out of luck.

  Lana’s passed out on a towel in the sand. I position the umbrella over her so she doesn’t burn any more than she already is. We’re going out tonight and getting as far from this shitty hotel as possible. Thankfully, James is coming to get us so I don’t have to worry about driving.

  “Wake your drunk ass up.” I jostle her with my foot.

  She swats at me, never opening her eyes. “You’re baked! Did you put any sunscreen on today?”

  “Not unless you consider baby oil sunscreen,” she mumbles.

  “You dumbass!”

  “The sun’s setting, so you need to start getting dressed. James will be here soon,” I say, still shaking her.

  She finally stirs from her spot and makes it to our room and in the shower. Hoping it will give her a chance to sober up a little, me too for that matter. I got more sun than I thought, so I choose a loose-fitting dress and desperately try to cover my raccoon eyes with makeup.

  AJ stops by the room for a visit. We have idle chit-chat while I wait for Lana. He’s been drinking all day and can barely make a coherent word.

  Without warning, he lunges across the bed. His crusty lips inches from my face. I push him off. “What the hell are you doing?”

  He reeks of booze, cigarettes, and body odor. I jump off the end of the bed, fighting the urge to vomit.

  My muscles tense as I lunge for the door. “I think it’s about time for you to go!”

  He stumbles toward me. “Come on, Kate. Wayne doesn’t have to know,” slurring his words.

  “Wanting you to leave has nothing to do with Wayne. But if he catches you in here, he’s going to lose his shit!"

  I think he’s heading out, but he blocks the door instead. He throws his arms around me and buries his face in my neck. “I saw you looking at me today.”

  “What? No. I. Wasn’t!” My eyes narrow as I push him off, disgusted. He stumbles towards me as I reach for the door.

  “GET OFF ME, AJ!”

  From the shower, Lana hears the struggle and asks if I’m ok. “No, AJ’s in here, crawling all over me! I can’t get him to go!”

  She flings the shower curtain back and is out of the bathroom in the blink of an eye; stark naked, soaking wet, with shampoo caked in her hair. “Get the hell off of her!” she screams, jumping on his back. Clinched on like a spider monkey as I swing the door open.

  “Ok, ok. I’m goin’! Damn!” he slurs.

  Guests file into the hall as Lana continues to scream every obscenity in the dictionary. AJ scurries away in shame as jaw dropped onlookers stare at the sight of her.

  She throws her hands on her wet hips. “What? Like you’ve never seen a naked person before?”

  It was quite possibly the funniest thing I’ve ever witnessed.

  It’s Saturday night and we’ve made our way to Club La Vela. The most popular dance club in Panama City. And as planned, Lana’s easily able to get through security with a low cut top and a few bats of her eyelashes.

  “I can’t get over how big this place is!” Lana shouts over the music.

  “I know! I think it’s the largest nightclub in the U.S.” I turn as I survey the room.

  “It has ten different bars, each one with its own theme and music.”

  “Which one should we pick?” she asks as we wind our way through the sea of people.

  James and his friends head toward the live band area, while Lana and I opt for a small two-story section playing eighties music. It’s a bit of an older crowd but we couldn’t resist it when we heard Prince bellowing out the door. It’s busy but not as packed as the other areas.

  Lana spots an open table on the second floor and makes a mad dash to grab it.

  “I still can’t believe you ran out in the hall naked,” I say, laughing as we settle into our seats.

  “Well, duh! I had to protect my best friend’s honor. But had I’d been sober, I probably would have grabbed a towel on my way out.”

  “Well, I appreciate what you did. Even if I did see more of you than I would have liked.”

  “Sorry! I can’t help AJ tried to molest you before I had a chance to shave the vag!”

  “Sick, Lana! You’re just plain sick!”

  We have the perfect view of the downstairs bar and dance floor. We gaze over the railing and chuckle as a wasted, older lady, shimmies her saggy boobs in a short, skin-tight dress. Her flowery granny pant
ies glow against the blacklights as she dances off beat to Michael Jackson. She makes quite the scene as everyone gawks and points amongst themselves.

  I scan the small, laughing, crowd sitting at the bar in front of her. My eyes narrow on a familiar face standing out from the rest.

  Fuck! It’s Max.

  He’s watching the same woman. I crouch but he glances up and spots me. Our eyes lock and the entire place seems to go into slow motion. My heart pounds loud enough I can feel it over the beating music; those familiar butterflies rising in my stomach. Lana says something, but it doesn’t compute.

  “Kate? Did you hear me?” she repeats as I blink out of my fog.

  “They’re here.” I’m finally able to mutter, shrinking into the stool, out of his sightline.

  “Who? Wayne?”

  “No!” I snip and point. “Max and Drew!”

  Her chin drops as she cranes her neck to peer over.

  “Shit! They’re all looking up here.”

  “Do they look mad?”

  Her brow furrows. “I can’t tell.”

  I try my best to act natural but nerves get the best of me. “I have to get out of here.”

  I fly to my feet and dart for the stairs. Max must do the same because as I crest the top he’s at the bottom looking up. I’m paralyzed. My knees weaken and for a split second, I worry I might pass out. His blue eyes never leave mine as he climbs his way up.

  He cracks a small smile as he reaches the last step. “Hi.”

  I’m at a loss for words as I scan his face. A scab has formed over a small cut on his right brow and a purple bruise shines on his left cheek. He’s hurt, and it’s all my fault.

  “Oh God, Max! I’m so sorry!”

  “It’s ok. I promise I’m fine.”

  “We had nothing to do with the fight, I swear. One minute I’m searching for Lana and the next minute I’m locked on a balcony.” I bow my head. “I’m so humiliated.”

  “I know it wasn’t your fault.”

  “I’m so sorry. You guys did not deserve any of it.” I repeat, too embarrassed to look up.

  He pulls my chin. “It should be me apologizing to you.”