Nights in the Fast Lane: A Contemporary Romantic Comedy

by Grace Risata

  “She’s the one who wanted them!” he insisted.

  “Yeah, I LOVE these. I can probably eat about five burgers. We only got fifty so I don’t want to eat too many. Ant could probably eat at least ten by himself.”

  “No, Izzy. You can eat my share,” Ant replied. “I don’t eat that shit. Not gonna happen in this lifetime. I’m going to go home and make some REAL food. Where’s your show, Spider? I’ll meet you guys later.”

  “It’s at Manic at ten. Get there early or you won’t find anywhere to park.”

  Ant left and we made Winter put her clothes away so we’d have somewhere to eat. Winter, Monica, and I put the food on the floor and formed a circle around it, like a picnic. I grabbed burgers and fries and we dug into the food as if we hadn’t eaten in weeks.

  “These are wonderful. I haven’t had them in at least a decade. I missed them. Slimy, greasy, goodness. This is happiness in a bag.”

  “These are really delicious in their own weird way,” Winter admitted. “I could eat way more than five. How are we dividing these up?”

  “Don’t turn this into an eating competition because I’ll win,” Monica declared with an air of superiority. “Don’t you remember when I moved into my first off-campus apartment during my sophomore year of college? I had no furniture and we spent all day cleaning the place. You guys stayed over and we had the pancake eating competition the next morning. This picnic on Dane’s floor in an empty apartment reminds me of that. Those were good times.”

  “Til Winter puked and we all lost our appetites for the rest of the week,” I added.

  “I only threw up because of the seven vodka and cranberry juices that I drank the night before. That was one of the worst hangovers I’ve ever had in my life. I refuse to drink vodka and cranberry juice ever again.”

  We laughed as we shoved burgers and fries in our mouths. What was missing? The guys.

  Dane and Spider stared at us like we were crazy.

  “What’s the matter? Don’t Chicago girls eat on the floor like Neanderthals? The food isn’t getting any fresher,” I scolded.

  Dane shrugged his shoulders, sat next to me, and grabbed a pile of burgers. Spider eventually did the same, but he kept his distance from us and ate outside the circle.

  “So what’s the story with your band and the concert?” I asked in between mouthfuls of grease. “What kind of bar is this?”

  “The bar is called Manic,” Dane explained. “It’s actually smaller than your Random Chaos back home. They pack more people in so it really feels crowded. It’s nothing special. Spider and his band have played there before.”

  “What’s the dress code?” Winter asked.

  “Less is more. The less you wear, the more you get noticed,” Spider answered and got a French fry thrown at him in response.

  We finished eating, Spider left to go back to his place, and the rest of us got ready to go out. I have to admit that I was excited. We were in Chicago, I had just eaten a very nostalgic meal, and I was back with Dane. I was on cloud nine. I probably should have been more worried about this car race tomorrow, but I would not let Nancy Negative worm her way into my happiness. Not tonight. I wanted to enjoy myself. I’m sure she would be raging tomorrow.

  We got dressed in Dane’s bedroom, creating a total mess with clothes scattered everywhere. I think we represented Oak Valley pretty well. I wore a tight black V-neck shirt with red leather pants and black boots. Winter was her usual flashy self in a black and silver skin tight mini dress with silver high heels. She had a bit too much make-up for her own good, but it was how she rolled so I didn’t complain. Monica wore a black jumpsuit with a plunging neckline. I have no idea where she got that from or what kind of message she was trying to send.

  “What’s up with your outfit, Monica? You’re looking kind of Winter-ish. Are you back in the dating game so soon?” I asked.

  “Maybe she wants a one-nighter with a strange man that she’ll never see again,” Winter guessed. “Maybe she won’t even get his name and they’ll have one night of passion and not use any protection because it will be so incredibly spontaneous. Maybe she’ll come home and find out that he got her pregnant and she’ll freak out because she has no way of contacting him. But what she won’t know is that HE will actually be the one to come looking for HER because he can’t stop thinking about her. He’ll find out she’s pregnant and he’ll be so happy about the baby because he secretly always wanted to be a dad and now he has his perfect family!”

  “Or,” I suggested, “Maybe she’ll get an STD because she didn’t use protection. I swear…you think life is exactly like all those romance novels you read. Maybe the guy she meets will secretly be a billionaire werewolf, too? How about that? Maybe she’s his mate!”

  “Oh, I actually read that book and it was really good,” Winter replied.

  “Which book?” Monica asked. “Izzy didn’t even say the title!”

  “Because they’re ALL LIKE THAT!” I explained in frustration.

  “Do you three ever just LISTEN to yourselves?” Dane asked from the hallway. “Because you’re all fucking crazy.”

  I was going to make a snappy comeback until I looked at him. Dane was the epitome of male excellence. Tight black jeans, black combat boots, a maroon shirt clinging to his chest. Hair slicked back, freshly shaved skin, rugged, all male, mine. I walked up to him and ran my nose up the entire length of his neck and ended just below his ear. Yes. That’s what I came back for. Mine.

  “What are you doing?” he whispered raggedly in my ear. His arms wrapped around my back and he pulled me tighter to his chest. I could feel his excitement pressing up against my hip. He was happy to see me, too.

  Winter slammed the door to the bedroom and said, “We’re in your room, so I can’t tell you to get a room. I’m not watching this!”

  I put my hand on Dane’s chest and gazed deeply into his eyes. “You clean up nicely.”

  He took my hand and slowly brought it to his lips. He kissed my wrist and worked his way up my arm.

  “You look beautiful, Izzy. You have no idea how much I missed you. I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned. I worried about you constantly. I barely made it through the week. Once I got my engine fixed on Thursday night, I almost got in the car and drove straight to your house. If it wasn’t for this fucking race tomorrow, I would have done it.”

  “Should I be worried about that?” I asked him.

  “No. I can handle myself behind the wheel. You’ve seen me drive when we stole Trent’s Porsche. That was me at about a level five. I just showed off to impress you. The race tomorrow will bring it to a level eight. I still have untapped skills sitting dormant and waiting to come out. No worries there.” I sure hoped he was right.

  Winter and Monica emerged from Dane’s room and we left to go to the club. From the outside, it didn’t look like much. It appeared to be a typical bar: a very narrow brick building with flashing neon lights and loud music coming from inside. Dane was right, it WAS smaller than Random Chaos from back home. I wasn’t impressed at all. I was not the only one who shared that opinion.

  “This place looks like a shithole. I think we’re overdressed,” Winter complained.

  “I’ll agree with you there. It looks like an average dive bar that you’d find on any street in America,” Monica said. “I expected something more from Chicago.”

  Since Dane knew the bouncer, we got to skip the line. The place was definitely from the inside. The crowd was a lot different than the ones we encountered back home. The men were more built, more badass, and more jaw-dropping than we were used to. The ladies were also a lot more attractive with bigger boobs, trendier outfits, and more expensive jewelry. I felt that I stuck out like a sore thumb. Any lady that could have been rated a seven in Oak Valley was clearly only a Chicago three. Ouch.

  Monica couldn’t have cared less, because she really wasn’t on the prowl anyway. Winter ogled every piece of meat in the place like she w
as at an all you can eat buffet. She was clearly in her element.

  “What do you think, Izzy? Is Winter a small fish in a big pond, or can she still come through and bag a prize?” Monica asked.

  “Hmm. Good question.” I looked around. “I guess it all depends on if she realizes that she’s only here for a while and it doesn’t matter if she gets shot down because she’s never going to see any of these people again. If she freezes up like she did when she met Spider, then she’s screwed.”

  “I want in on this,” Dane said from over our shoulder. “I’ll bet you each ten bucks that she doesn’t want anyone here. I think she has it bad for Spider and she won’t settle for these other losers.”

  “You’re on,” I said immediately and without hesitation. “If she did want Spider, the best way to get him is to make him jealous. So she’ll either go after one of these guys for real, or just use them to make Spider jealous.” I looked over at Monica for confirmation. She nodded her head.

  “I hope you have better luck tomorrow, Dane,” Monica advised, “because you’re going to lose twenty bucks tonight. I’ll take your bet.”

  “What are you guys betting on?” Ant asked, coming up from behind us with a beer in his hand.

  “Winter’s odds to get laid, tonight,” Monica informed him.

  “You girls are brutal! Guys never talk like that!” he said.

  We all laughed at that one, even Dane.

  “I think you three look like Charlie’s Angels so I would have to bet that Winter will definitely not be hurting for any action,” Ant offered.

  Dane went and got us drinks while we stared at all the people and made up crazy back stories for them. That was one of our favorite games. Monica pointed to two sexy ladies making out in the corner, while two guys stood nearby eagerly watching them.

  “I’m guessing that the guys are their boyfriends and the girls haven’t met before. The guys are friends with each other, they’re total scumbags, and they just wanted to see how far their dates would go to impress them,” she said.

  “No,” Ant argued. “The girls are in a long term relationship. They’re not with the guys at all. They’re just making out because they really like each other. The guy on the left uses steroids too much and he’s still a virgin. The other guy on the right likes to watch porn and has a foot fetish.”

  “Damn! You’re GOOD at this!” I exclaimed.

  “Good at what?” Dane asked, returning with our drinks. I explained the game and he tried but failed miserably.

  Winter, however, was doing quite well in the man department. She had two different guys hanging on her every word. They weren’t saying much in reply, though. After a few minutes, she returned to our table and gave an explanation.

  “They were from Greece. Maybe. It was hard to tell. They were cute, but I don’t think they spoke much English. I’m sure I could have gotten either one of them, but it’s not a challenge when it’s that easy.”

  “She is totally a girl version of Spider,” Dane said in awe, while shaking his head.

  “Where is he, anyway?” I asked.

  Dane pointed to a small stage off in a corner of the bar. I saw a drummer and a guitarist getting set up, but I didn’t see Spider.

  “He’ll be out pretty soon. He’s probably tuning his guitar. He can be a bit of a diva. If things aren’t perfect then he freaks out.”

  Dane leaned over and whispered in my ear, “I’m sorry I fucked up so bad with you. You have no idea how happy I am that you came back for me. I worried that maybe you wouldn’t care if I left.”

  “I slept with your shirt clutched in my hands like a rock climber clings to the edge of a cliff, knowing that if he lets go, he’ll die. I cried myself to sleep most nights. I cared that you left,” I reassured him.

  He was not prepared for that answer. He stared at me, unblinking. Before I knew what happened, I was pulled into his arms and held with such a fierce protectiveness that I couldn’t even breathe.

  “I will NEVER leave you again. I am so sorry, Izzy,” he whispered over and over again into my ear. “I am so sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “We’re okay.”

  Thankfully Spider chose that moment to jump onstage and start his first song. I was completely blown away. He had the voice of an angel. Assuming the angel is full of anger and ready to bring damnation down on the entire universe. Spider sang with such conviction and depth, it was obvious that he felt every emotion, every word that came out of his mouth. His lyrics were full of rage and pain. Confusion and torment. The loud thump of the bass matched his intensity. He was born to be on that stage.

  “What do you think?” Dane asked me, half screaming so I would hear him over the music.

  I shook my head in awe. “I have no words. Where is that anguish and sorrow coming from?” I asked. Winter stood a few feet away from us, looking utterly baffled.

  Monica leaned over and said, “He’s literally singing out all the grief that’s buried inside my cold, dead heart. Let’s go closer to the stage. I want to feel it.”

  She grabbed Winter and dragged us to the front of the stage, elbowing screaming fangirls out of the way. Once the song was over and Spider noticed the three of us standing front and center, the real show began.

  He pointed to Winter and motioned for her to come up and join him. Never one to back down from a challenge, she marched right up on stage.

  “I’d like to dedicate this next song to a few friends of mine that have come a long way just to hear me sing. I call this one ‘mind fuck’ and I hope it moves you!”

  I rolled my eyes at Monica, but she was clearly mesmerized. I think Spider had a new superfan/stalker. No, wait. Make that two. Winter was onstage swaying to the music, also seemingly hypnotized by Spider. He looked directly at her, as though she was the only one in the room. He grabbed the microphone in one hand and bowed down before her. He sang his heart out. The lyrics were something about heartbreak and suffering at the hands of someone who didn’t know he existed. It was really depressing.

  I felt a hand on my shoulder and I spun around.

  “Don’t worry, it’s just me,” Dane said, pulling me close. “Dance with me, Izzy. I need to make up for lost time.”

  I sighed and rested my head on his chest, while we slowly moved to the music. There was no correct way to dance to this, so I just let Dane hold me.

  When the song was over, Winter came back down into the crowd.

  “That was intense!” she told us. We all returned to our table to join Ant and take a break before the next song started. It was hot under the lights of the stage, made worse by the crowd of people pressing together in a make-shift mosh pit.

  “What’s the deal with Spider?” Winter asked Dane. “Where does all that sadness come from? I just figured he’d have a heavy metal band or some garbage crap. He has real range and talent.”

  “He’s had a very difficult life,” Dane explained. “It’s not my story to tell. Let’s just say that he has a lot of resentment and he can’t see the lighter side of anything. He takes a long time to get to know a person, and he never trusts anyone. He doesn’t let people in.”

  Winter carefully considered this and got very quiet while Spider finished his set. He came over to us when they took a break to gauge our reaction.

  “Well? Did the ‘Black Spider Revolution’ get some new groupies tonight?” he asked.

  Before either Monica or I could comment, Winter grabbed Spider by the shirt and planted a giant kiss on his mouth. I’m talking a no-hold-barred, full-tongues-on-display, I know what you ate for breakfast, lunch, AND supper kind of kiss. It shocked the heck out of me. I’m pretty sure that Spider wasn’t prepared for it either. He stumbled back a few steps in a daze and asked, “What was that for?”

  Winter smiled, batted her eyes, and said, “I wanted to taste your pain.”

  “And?” he asked.

  “It tasted like mint flavored passion mixed with a hint o
f regret.”

  She turned on her heels and walked away. What the hell was that? Who tasted like regret? Winter regretted the kiss or Spider did? Damn. Winter had ‘hard to get’ on lock down. She could do ‘mysterious’ with the best of them. That’s my girl!

  Spider stared helplessly as she went to the bar and flagged down the bartender for a drink.

  We danced a little more, drank a little more, and ended up leaving the bar around one in the morning. Winter flirted with some interesting men, but never took it any further than that. Ant and Spider eventually called it a night, and the rest of us went back to Dane’s apartment. I let Monica and Winter take Dane’s bed, while him and I camped out in a giant sleeping bag on his living room floor.

  “I can finally get a good night’s sleep again,” Dane said with a yawn. “I can relax knowing that you’re safe in my arms. I promise you’ll never have to sleep with my shirt again, unless I’m in it and sleeping next to you.”

  Ah. Everything with was right with the world. At least for one more night, anyway. I was not looking forward to tomorrow. This race sounded dangerous and I was not happy that the stakes were so high. My vow to let tomorrow worry about itself was slowly evaporating. One look at the clock told me that tomorrow was already here. I didn’t like it one bit.

  Saturday, January 30

  No one moved until at least eleven in the morning. We were all tired from the excitement of the road trip, the drama of being reunited, and Spider’s tortured performance.

  I yawned and stretched, my arm accidentally smacking Dane in the face.

  “Sorry!” I whispered in apology. It was a tight fit snuggled up in a sleeping bag and sharing one pillow. Dane didn’t exactly have much left in his apartment.

  “Mmm?” he mumbled. “I don’t care if you whack me in the face, I’m just glad to be sleeping next to you again.”

  “Whose fault is it that you weren’t sleeping with me in the first place?” I reminded him.

  He leaned over and gave me a lingering kiss.