Fast (The Fast Series)

by Ringbloom, Ryan

  “Do you hear that?” I whisper to him.

  “No,” he says with a silly grin on his face. His senses haven’t returned yet.

  The knocking gets louder.

  “Someone’s knocking on my door.”

  Kent sits up hearing it now too. “Stay here, let me check.”

  “No, we don’t know who it is.” I look over at my clock. It’s only five fifteen.

  Kent grabs his phone from the nightstand. “I have three missed text messages from Patrick.” He reads them out loud. “Mom’s up, get home. / She just went in your room. I think she knows. / Dude get the hell back over here.”

  “That’s your mom downstairs?” I’m frantic. Both hands fly up to my mouth. “What are we gonna do?”

  “Stay up here.” Kent zips his jeans and throws his shirt over his head.

  “We shouldn’t have done it, we didn’t have enough time. This was stupid.”

  “It wasn’t stupid.” Kent winks at me and I pull the covers up to hide my face. This is not the right time for blushing and giggling. The knocking turns to pounding.

  “You better go,” Trembling I get up and follow him to the top of the stairs watching him go down. “I’m never going to be able to look at your mother again.” I whisper.

  Staying out of sight I listen as he opens the door.

  “This is absolutely inappropriate, Kent!” His mother’s angry voice trails up the stairs and I cower against the wall in my hallway holding my breath.

  “Robin was all alone and she was scared and I’m almost eighteen.” The front door closes and I can’t hear what else is being said.

  Great blame it on me. I pace back and forth, peeking out my window, trying to see any activity going on at Kent’s house. Will Mrs. Daniels say something to me next time I see her, or worse will she say something to my father? My heart feels like it’s skipping beats.

  It’s getting late and I have no choice but to get ready for school. Settling into the warm water of the shower, little waves of anxiety, mixed with memories of awkward delight, ripple through me.

  The water hits the back of my hands as I cover the big smile on my face. We just had sex.

  Ashley

  It was a long lonely weekend, but at least by Monday things seem back to normal. The rumors about me died down, and there’s actually a new batch of rumors being spread around school. This time they’re about Tessa, something about being a prude, a tease, and blue-balls. His face isn’t even healed and he’s does this again. Josh is a disgusting human being.

  Patrick is outside my class after first period. I’m excited to see he still plans on walking me to class like he did last week. I shouldn’t be, but I am.

  “You look tired,” I say to him on the way to second period.

  “It was a chaotic morning.”

  Kent and Robin look like they had a chaotic morning too. They walked into class late. Robin looked white as a ghost. I noticed them hiding their phones underneath their desks, texting each other. Every time Robin sent a text she would shoot a nervous glance at Kent. Something weird was going on with them.

  “Did you have a good weekend?” I ask.

  He nods. “I’d like you to come over today.” It’s more of a statement than a question.

  I’m taken off-guard. My mind races for an excuse. I open my mouth ready to tell him I have to take my mom to the doctor. “Okay,” comes out instead.

  Patrick grins, pleased with my response. “Good.”

  “Okay, so then after school.” I smack my lips together nervously. “I can drive you and that way you can leave the car for Kent.”

  He hesitates for a moment. “Your car? I guess that would be okay.”

  When we get to my classroom I give him a little wave before going in. Why did I say okay? Is this the beginning of my next big mistake? No, because I won’t let it be. No unrealistic expectations allowed.

  At lunch Kent and Robin are still acting like suspects of some horrible crime. Whatever it is, I don’t want to know.

  “I’m going to your house today to hang out with Patrick, is that weird?” I blurt out. I need to tell someone.

  “No,” Kent and Robin answer in unison.

  I’m taken aback by their strong joint reaction. “I wasn’t going to, but then I said okay.”

  “I think it’s great,” Kent says. “Make sure to leave before my mom gets home though.”

  Robin folds her arms and crashes her head down on the table.

  My eyes go wide. “Why? She doesn’t like me?”

  “No, she doesn’t like me.” Robin’s voice is muffled.

  Kent throws a hand up in my direction and his other hand up in her direction. “Stop, she likes both of you. She’s just in a bad mood today. It has nothing to do with either one of you.”

  Robin sits back up, her face is strained. She looks like crap and yet every once in a while her face breaks out into a huge smile. “Yeah, right.”

  I chew my gum a little faster. Maybe it isn’t a good day to go over.

  Kent knows what I’m thinking. “Ashley, you still go. My mom won’t even be home until after five, besides Patrick needs the company.”

  “What do you mean?” I don’t understand. Why does Patrick need company? The guy’s popular…for his own grade. He has a ton of friends and, I’m sure, a ton of girls who would be more than willing to hang with him as well. The last thought kind of annoys me.

  “He’s just stuck home a lot. Patrick’s a good guy.”

  “I still don’t know what that means.” Stuck home? He drives, his friends drive.

  “You’ll see.” Kent taps Robin on the shoulder. “C’mon,” he says to her.

  Whatever drama unfolded this morning Robin is not over it. The two of them walk out of the cafeteria and out of sight.

  Sarah and Megan are giving the latest reality TV rundown. I haven’t watched the current show they’re discussing at length, so I just listen.

  My mind plays back what Kent said, Patrick’s a good guy.

  Megan waves her hand in front of my face. “Ashley, hello, what are you thinking about?” she asks.

  “Nothing, just about the show you’re talking about,” I fib. I’m really thinking Patrick’s a good guy – the complete opposite of me.

  The end of the day finally comes and I’m still questioning whether this is a good idea. Actually, I know it’s not. But I want to go so bad I’m ignoring the voice in my head telling me not to go.

  Patrick fixes the passenger seat sliding it back for more leg room. He struggles to fold himself into the front seat of my car.

  “Do you fit?” I laugh.

  “What did you do? Get the smallest car possible?”

  It takes two tries for Patrick to get the door to close.

  “I’m not even going to attempt to put the seatbelt on.” He moves his arms around before settling with his hands clasped together in his lap. “Just drive.”

  I back out of the space not saying anything because I don’t want to laugh again. Sixty seconds later the car sounds a grating chime. Ding, Ding, Ding.

  Patrick tilts his head back to get a look at my dashboard. “What is that noise?”

  Less than two minutes in the car and he’s completely irritated. I reach up and pinch my nose to hold back the laugh I’m holding in. There’s no way he’s ever going to come in my car again.

  “You didn’t buckle your seatbelt and my car chimes when you don’t buckle,” I struggle to get out.

  No response. I hear his jaw crack.

  The longest six minute car ride ever and we’re finally parked in the street in front of Patrick’s house. He releases the car door, opening it with a hard push from his elbow.

  “That was the first and last time I will be ever be in your small white clown car. Thankfully, my dad is getting a new car and passing down his old one to Kent. I’ll have my own car and from now on you’ll come in my car.”

  “It’s not my fault you’re gigantic.” All I can do is laugh. He just
referred to my Mercedes as a clown car. I’m getting used to Patrick’s cute little outbursts of frustration. I realize he said from now on, implying we’ll be hanging out again. My stomach tingles…or aches. I’m not sure.

  Little prickles of happiness run through me as I step into the hallway. Ecstatic I’m back in the comfortable surroundings of the Daniels’ welcoming home. It’s quiet. No one else is home this time of day.

  In the kitchen Patrick pulls a chair out from the table for me to sit. He pours a glass of lemonade and places the glass in front of me. “So, read any more books lately?”

  “Yes, I have. Would you like to borrow one?” I sip the sugary drink politely. There is no way I’m drinking all these calories.

  “Maybe,” he smirks. “You still going to write one?”

  Wow, impressive, he remembered what I said. He takes a second glass, mixing two scoops of powder from a large canister on the counter, and adds milk.

  “I hope so. I definitely need to work on my grammar. I’ll probably take some writing classes in college.” I try to read the canister, protein something.

  “Any ideas what you might write?”

  Hmm, I run my finger around the edge of my glass. “Well, romance, of course. I have a few ideas, I don’t know.”

  “Tell me an idea.”

  This is funny, Patrick discussing romance books with me.

  “Let’s see…Well I have an idea where this blonde haired girl, who nobody really likes, because she’s bitchy and kind of a big slut, meets a nice guy. Of course she thinks she likes him because he’s nice to her and every guy who is nice to her, she thinks she likes. She’s the bad one. Then there’s the dark haired beauty, the good one, who everybody loves and just knows is going to get the guy in the end. And she does. They fall in love and live happily ever after. The end.”

  Patrick rolls up his sleeves and places his elbows on the table. His eyes darken and the intensity of them makes me look away.

  “I’m not sure I like this story. What happens to the other one? She doesn’t get a happy ever after?”

  “Who, the bad one? The bad one never gets a happy ending. She just disappears from the story and the reader knows a lifetime of bad choices lie ahead for her.”

  “That’s not how it ends for her.”

  “Oh, you’re right.” I snap up in my seat and point my finger in the air. “It actually ends for her with a pity kiss in the driveway.”

  “I don’t think there is such a thing as a ‘bad one.’” Patrick leans across the table, his strong forearms flex and those intense green eyes meet mine. His voice goes deep as he says, “And I know it wasn’t a pity kiss.”

  I fight off the heated frenzy building inside me. Holy shit that was hot. Words and a look from Patrick do more to my body than anything else I’ve ever experienced. Imagine what it would it feel like if his hands…No!

  No, I remind myself, this can’t be like the rest. I’m not going to ruin this by misreading an innocent comment. We’re talking about a book, not real life. I frantically reach for the gum in my purse and shove two pieces into my mouth to keep from saying anything.

  He finishes his drink, shake, whatever it is and looks down at his sexy silver watch. “Come with me, we got to take a walk.”

  My chair scrapes across the floor and I follow him. I can’t ask where because of the whole wad of gum thing.

  Outside we walk down to the street corner and stop. Within a minute a big yellow bus with flashing red lights stops in front of us. The door pops open and out leaps Matthew.

  Patrick takes the backpack from his little brother and runs a hand over his head messing up his cute blonde curls. “Hey kid, how was school?”

  Matthew blocks his eyes from the sun and looks up. “It was good. What’s Ashley doing here? Does she get to hang out with us today?”

  “Yes, pretty cool right?” All the severity from Patrick’s face is gone when he talks to Matthew.

  We walk back to the house with Matthew chatting the whole way about how he traded his fruit snack for a chocolate pudding cup with one of his friends. Patrick makes a big fuss about what an awesome trade it was. Adorable. Both of them. I’m so glad I said yes and came here today.

  “I don’t have any homework today,” Matthew boasts. “So, we can play a game.”

  “Alright go get it.”

  Matthew races away from the table.

  I grab a napkin and spit the giant wad of gum out. Free to speak again. “You’re watching Matthew today?”

  “I watch Matthew every day. My parents have work, Kent has practice and I watch Matthew.”

  “Is that why you don’t play a sport?” I always wondered why a guy like Patrick, with a build like his, didn’t play football or Lacrosse.

  Patrick shrugs. “I volunteered, I like doing it.”

  “Personally, I would love babysitting every day, but that doesn’t seem fair. How come it’s you and not Kent or hire a babysitter?”

  “You’ve heard Kent play, he’s really good. Plus there’s the fact that my parents are really good to us. I don’t work, but I have a car and it always has gas. I have a phone, laptop, money to replace sweaters,” he raises an eyebrow and grins.

  I scrunch my nose up. “I’m sorry.”

  This is what Kent was talking about at lunch when he said Patrick was stuck home a lot and was a good guy. Patrick isn’t just a good guy; he’s the ultimate good guy.

  Matthew reappears with a board game under his arm. He tosses the box onto the kitchen table before lifting the top of the box off and setting up all the little pieces.

  Patrick unfolds the board placing it in the center of the table. “This is a game I haven’t seen in a while.”

  Matthew slides the box over in front of me. “I’ll let you pick your color first.”

  “I’ll be red.” I eye the red plastic game piece.

  Matthew reaches out and snatches it. “You can’t be red. I’m always red.”

  “Um, okay, then I’ll be green.”

  Matthew shakes his head no. “You can’t pick that one either. Patrick’s always green.”

  I look over at Patrick.

  “Sorry,” he says with that handsome grin of his. “I’m always green.”

  “How about you be yellow,” Matthew says handing me the only remaining choice. “We lost the blue one.”

  I’m yellow. We play the game three times. Matthew insists we not let him win. We cream him. Patrick wins the first two and I win the third. Matthew’s annoyed, but a good sport.

  “Alright, Matthew, go watch a little TV I’m going to hang out with Ashley for a little while.”

  Matthew scurries from the room leaving us alone at the table. Patrick puts the lid on the box and pushes it over to the side of the table.

  “Should we have let him win?” I feel pretty bad beating the poor kid in all three games.

  “He’s never won once. I’m almost eleven years older than him. I crush him every time.”

  “Patrick, that’s awful,” I say through a laugh.

  “What’s awful is that I let you win the last one.”

  “No way,” I puff. “I won that fair and square.”

  “Ya think so?” Patrick pulls one of the game cards from his back pocket proving he could have won in that last move.

  I roll my eyes at him. “You suck.”

  The front door bangs open and Kent drags in plunking down in the chair Matthew just vacated. “Hey.”

  “Where’s Robin?” Patrick asks him.

  “She won’t come over. She’s scared of Mom.”

  “Well, I mean …” They exchange knowing looks.

  “I know, I know. I was gonna go over to Robin’s house but it’s probably best if I’m over here and not there when Mom gets home.”

  Kent looks exhausted and it’s been obvious all day something strange is going on involving Kent, Robin and his mother. Had innocent little Robin done something scandalous? Interesting.

  “On that note, I am goin
g to leave now,” I say. I don’t care for “Mom drama.” I have enough of my own to deal with.

  Patrick walks me out to my car. Of course he does.

  “Thanks for inviting me over.” I want to say something more, something clever, a way to impress him with words. Rely on something more than my body to impress him.

  Patrick opens the door to my car, he holds on to it while I slip in. “You should come over again tomorrow. We can hang out, kick Matthew’s butt in a few games again.”

  My heart bounces from my chest to my stomach with excitement at the invitation. He wants me to come back over. This has been the best afternoon. I think of something clever to say. “Okay. But only if I get to be yellow, I’m always yellow.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Robin

  Kent tells me his mother is “over it” when he sneaks back into my room after midnight. I highly doubt his mother is over it, but I can’t wait to spend the night with Kent. We set my alarm for four a.m. and Kent leaves the volume of his phone on high in case Patrick needs to alert him.

  Tonight we don’t have sex again. We go back to “other stuff” adding some “new stuff.” Some of the new stuff… let’s just say - I’m a big fan.

  It feels like I just close my eyes when the alarm sounds. My twin size bed is the perfect size to stay close and sleep in Kent’s arms. I don’t want him to go, but I know he has to. I kiss him awake and he kisses me back before secretly slipping across the street to his own bed.

  It takes me forty minutes to fall back asleep. When my alarm goes off the second time I hit snooze and sleep for nine more precious minutes.

  The day seems endless. I can’t focus and actually leave answers blank on a biology test I barely studied for.

  Class has become a place to daydream about my new passion-filled nights. I glance at the clock constantly, waiting for the day to end when I can meet up with Kent and we can sneak away for our next lusty encounter.

  After another week of sneaking Kent tells me I have to come back to his house. I’ve been avoiding it since that dreadful morning of getting caught. He says it’ll only be suspicious and makes the situation worse if I stop going over there.