Driving Layne

by Renea Porter

  “He doesn’t race anymore?”

  “No. During the last race, he was seriously injured. He is in a wheel chair now. It’s been several years since he’s gotten behind the wheel.”

  “I’m so sorry.” I can feel the pain emanating off him. I don’t press the subject and hate that I made him feel like that.

  Once the conversation starts to flow, a gaggle of girls hang out next to where we are and it’s slightly awkward, because I know they want his attention. But they don’t seem to take a hint while he continues to ignore them. He stands, pulling me with him.

  “Come on,” he says, interlocking his hand with mine again. Layne seems genuine and could be a good friend. But neither of us is looking for anything serious. After leading me back inside, I see Renee and Dylan sitting on the couch with his arm around her shoulder as they watch the others around them drinking and playing drinking games. I give her a slight wave as Layne leads me down a hallway and upstairs. I see a couple making out against a wall. I ask myself why I have Layne’s attention and not some other chick vying for it. With my hand still in his he opens a door and pulls me inside and closes the door behind us.

  “Need another?” he asks, pointing to my beer.

  “Yes please,” I say. He quickly disappears into the chaos, and I’m left wondering what the fuck I’m getting myself into. Layne is intense, and I’m not sure if I’m ready to go down this path after all. But I’m here and it’s no use backing out now. I busy my mind by looking around the room. It is a typical guy’s room; plain, the walls are bare, with the basic furnishings, bed, dresser, closet and a private bath. Then I wonder why he is the lucky one with a private bath. Before I can ponder any farther he appears in the room with two beers in his hand.

  He hands me a beer and sits next to me on the bed. “What’s the story with that?” I ask, pointing to the bathroom.

  He laughs. “For one, I called dibs, two, I pay more rent than the others.”

  The way his eyes crinkle when he laughs is so cute, and the way my body is reacting to him is crazy. Taking another swig of my beer, I try to push these crazy thoughts out of my head. But Layne pulls the beer from my hands and now his face is inches from mine. Before I can gather my thoughts his lips crash against mine. He leans forward, and my body melts against his. His kisses are deep and hungry and I’m more than willing to fulfill the need. With him now on top of me, his hands roam my body as his lips start caressing my neck, my weak spot. Reaching for the hem of his shirt, I yank it upward. I arch my back as he moves to remove my top. Suddenly I’m nervous and feeling self-conscious about my body, while his is so eloquently toned. And unhooking my bra he moves to my breasts. His mouth latches onto my nipples sucking and nibbling. The sensation is amazing and my juices are flowing. He moves back up to give my lips some attention. His lips are full and luscious. I can feel his erection pressing against my pelvis, and a moan escapes his throat just as I buck my body against his. Sliding back down, he wriggles my jeans off, throwing them in a heap on the floor. I take a moment to catch my breath while he slides his own jeans off. After sliding his body back up toward me, he reaches in the drawer for a condom and eagerly rips it open. I always find that part awkward, but I’m all for protected sex.

  He enters my body and his length overwhelms me, yet it feels so good. He continues to kiss me while we meld our bodies together. His touch is enough to send me over the edge, and he soon follows suit.

  *****

  I wake up really early, and it takes a few seconds for me to realize where I am. I head to the bathroom, gathering my clothes along the way. Once I pull myself together, I enter the bedroom to retrieve my shoes and sit on the bed to adjust them on my feet.

  “Why don’t you stay?” Layne asks, propping himself up on his elbow.

  “Let’s not make this complicated.” I walk out closing the door behind me. I quickly make my escape through the hung over bodies lying around from the party. Outside, I call a cab because I’m not familiar with my surroundings.

  It doesn’t take long for the cab to arrive and I’m back at the dorm safe and sound. But I quickly realize that Renee is probably still at the house. I thought I’d seen her car still parked out front. I was just trying to make a quick exit. After taking a shower, I take the time to sort my stuff and place them in drawers or hang them in the closet and dread the feat of retrieving my car. Once everything is set in its place, I grab my bag and keys and trek the campus for my car. At least I know where to park and it will be closer to the dorm. Crossing the grassy lawn provides to be the same as the previous day, couples studying, friends laughing and others just hang by themselves on the lawn studying.

  In the distance I see a familiar face and I do everything I can to go unnoticed, slipping inside the closest building so I don’t have to see him. I’m not ready to face him. I mean, it was just sex, at least for me, anyway so I’m not sure why I am even worried. I feel like a silly school girl hiding. Talking to him this soon would be awkward, anyway. Walking farther into the building I had used as a cloaking device, I notice it is the auditorium, where drama and theater students would be practicing their character roles and putting on shows. After hanging out and exploring the room for a bit I make my way to the exit, only to bump straight into the one person I was trying to avoid. Fuck!

  After nearly colliding into him, I drop my purse and spill the contents on the ground.

  “Sorry about that,” Layne says while he bends down to help me retrieve the contents of my purse.

  “It’s okay. I wasn’t paying attention.” This is half true. “What are you doing in here, anyway?” I ask. The gaze from his eyes is electrifying.

  “I help out with setting up the stage, with the props and the lighting,” he says.

  “Sounds interesting. I’ll let you get to it.” Turning on my heel, I almost break out into a run to get out of there. Talk about awkward.

  I finally make it to my car, and I’m thankful I can take another route to the dorm. Once I’m back at the dorm the hall is filling up with people hanging around and some have their doors open while playing music; others look like they are doing some type of reading, and some rooms look full while some are bare. I finally make it back to my own room. Once inside, I see I am no longer alone.

  “When did you get back?” I ask Renee while I take a seat at the desk.

  “A little bit ago. Where the hell were you? I was looking all over for you and felt bad I was leaving without you.”

  “Oh, I took a cab early this morning. I just wanted to get out of there.”

  “You slept with him didn’t you?” She says, already knowing full well I did. “I told you not to get mixed up with him. He is a total player.”

  “It was just sex. It was nothing else than two people making the other feel good. I didn’t come here wanting to get in a relationship, anyway.” I just wanted to get him out of my system before anything worse happened.

  “Okay, if you say so.” Renee throws her hands up in defeat. It’s mostly the truth. I don’t do relationships. At least not after being burned more times than not. It’s much easier to just have one night stands and leaving it as that. It’s worked for me so far. No matter how his gaze falls upon me, he won’t be playing me. If anything, it is the other way around. I change the subject and we look over our schedules to see that we have two business classes together.

  Most of the day is spent reading and walking around campus to see where my classes will be, since the campus is huge and I’m already known for getting lost. The evening rolls in quickly and I continue to laze around the dorm.

  “Want to go clubbing tonight?” Renee asks hesitantly while lying on her bed.

  I could use a night out to dance my cares away and try to put last night out of my mind, because his scent, his touch, his kiss, and his eyes keep playing in my head over and over.

  “Of course; I’m up for a night of dancing,” I respond.

  “Perfect, it will be loads of fun.”

  The o
nly way it will be loads of fun is if I don’t see or hear from Layne. Meeting him yesterday was one thing, and what we did was a one-time thing. I don’t do the same guy twice. Okay, so that makes me sound like a slut, but I’m not. It’s not like I have one night stands on a nightly or even weekly basis. I mean, Layne was the first in a while.

  Getting ready for a night out is like waiting for water to boil, it takes forever. I run a flat iron through my hair, letting it hang loose, and then I add some dark shadow and mascara and red lipstick. Once all that is done, I pull on my black mini dress and kick ass black heels. Renee pulls her hair into a funky Pink inspired faux hawk, and has on a black mini skirt with an off the shoulder top. She looks like a walking sex goddess. An hour later, we are in Renee’s car heading to a club. All that matters to me is that I will be dancing my ass off.

  “I just need to make a quick pit stop before we get to the club,” she says. I give her a nod. The radio is playing loud in her car and we are already jamming and dancing in our seats, so I know she wouldn’t be able to hear me even if I had responded. I sit back and enjoy the ride as I think about all of the fun we will be having tonight.

  Chapter Three

  We arrive at the club and take our place in line, waiting nearly a half hour before we’re even allowed to enter. Thanks to the fake I.D’s Renee was able to get last minute; we were easily able to enter after the bodyguard cocks an eyebrow at us, letting us in. Inside the club the lights flash across the dance floor in several colors like it’s dancing with the music. The music thumps so loud, my heart starts picking up the pace as well, kicking my adrenaline up a notch. Renee and I quickly grab a table before it gets taken. Once I see him it is clear Renee and I won’t be having a girl’s night out after all. I let out a sigh.

  I spot Dylan waving us over to join him and Layne. There’s already a gaggle of girls surrounding him. However, he doesn’t seem to be paying attention to any of them. I try to ignore his intense stares shooting my way, while Renee and I quickly throw back a few shots.

  “Come on,” Renee yells, pulling me onto the dance floor. The music is fast and I immediately jump into party mode, while I try to block Layne’s stares from being imprinted in my brain. The two of us dance, enjoying the music, letting it carry us away. I let out a laugh because it feels so freeing.

  “Layne won’t stop staring at you,” Renee leans in to tell me over the music. I open my eyes and see he is staring right at me. I watch as he throws back a shot. He shifts his position like he’s uncomfortable.

  “I’m not sleeping with him again. That was a one-time thing,” I yell over the music.

  “Yeah right!” she screams back, and I just shake my head at her.

  I’ve remained on the dance floor so long that I’m beginning to sweat. I pull Renee through the crowd so we can throw another shot back.

  “I love dancing; I could do it for hours nonstop,” she says after we sit down.

  “Same here,” I reply.

  I watch as Dylan pulls her into him to kiss her. Unfortunately, Layne hasn’t found anything better to stare at. I just shake my head.

  “What?” I finally ask him.

  He shifts so he’s facing directly at me. Seated across from me, he asks, “Why’d you leave yesterday morning?”

  Suddenly, I’m uncomfortable. What do I say? “Why would I stay the morning after? It was just a hookup.”

  “Because I wanted you to,” he says with his sultry voice. I almost melt right there. But I keep my head on straight. I’ve had a few shots now and I really should stop while I’m ahead.

  “That’s not really how I roll,” I say coolly.

  “I’ll have you in my bed by next weekend,” he says with a cocky grin, leaning back against the booth, as if he is so sure of himself.

  “Cocky much,” I say turning on my heel and head back onto the dance floor.

  “I don’t hear you denying it,” he yells so I hear him.

  I can’t help but laugh at his comment and the assumption that he thinks I will be in his bed soon. He makes my insides gooey. It’s hard keeping up with this persona when he is around. I make my way back onto the dance floor to try to lose myself in the music, forgetting about Layne and my past. The music helps me escape to another world. A random guy approaches me and we continue dancing together; no need to limit myself to just Layne, he just sits there staring at me, anyway. I switch positions with the mystery guy so I’m facing into the dance floor, so I don’t have to see his eyes on me.

  *****

  The next morning I wake up in a daze and I quickly remember tormenting Layne by dancing seductively with another guy while he watched me. I guess I drank way too much!

  “Ugh!” I wake, holding my head. It is throbbing, confirming that I did, in fact, drink too much.

  “Drank a little too much, didn’t you?” Renee asks.

  “Shhhh; my head is throbbing so badly,” I whisper.

  “Gotta learn how to roll with the big dogs,” Renee says, before she heads out the door, with too much pep in her step.

  “Suck it,” I reply, scrunching my face up. I pull the blanket over my head and engulf myself in darkness.

  An hour later, I manage to convince myself to get out of bed. I gather my things for the shower. In the shower I wash yesterday’s grime off, Layne’s intense gaze and the daze I’ve been in since meeting him. This is not how I expected to start off the school year. Meeting a gorgeous guy was not on the agenda and I just want to have fun. You know? Live a little before it all comes crashing down on me. I just want to forget about the drama back at home and move on with my life. Back in the dorm room I quickly dress behind the room divider we have. Renee comes bounding back in the door.

  “What are you up to? Want to grab some lunch?” she asks.

  “As long as it’s something greasy to wash this hangover away,” I say.

  “There’s a burger joint down the road. We can go there. It’s just off campus.”

  “Perfect,” I tell her, pulling my thick locks into a messy bun on my head. Then I swipe on a little makeup, so I don’t look like a complete zombie. “And just to be clear, I don’t want to talk about last night,” I add.

  “Oh, you mean the way you were acting in front of Layne,” she gushes.

  “Yeah, that,” I say sarcastically.

  “Get in; I’ll drive,” she instructs, yanking the car door open.

  The weather is perfect today, not too hot or cold. We enjoy it by rolling the windows down and letting the wind whip us in the face.

  “Aren’t you and Dylan hanging out today?” I ask, changing the subject away from me.

  “No, he’s working on his race car with the guys, getting it ready for the next race this weekend. And I just wanted to chill today so I can prepare for school tomorrow.”

  I swallow a lump, because I know this means I will be seeing Layne sooner than I anticipated. She pulls into the parking lot of the restaurant. “Okay, we’re here.”

  We walk in and it looks like I walked right into 1950. The place is very retro with its jukebox, black and white tile floor, and red booths. Records decorate the walls, accompanied with various pieces of 1950 memorabilia.

  “Talk about taking a step back in time,” I tell Renee as we are seated in a booth.

  “Trust me; if you want greasy food to cure that hangover, this is the place,” she says, looking over the menu.

  The waitress comes over to take our order. She’s even chewing gum to authenticate her costume. I order a regular soda, burger, and fries, while Renee orders a chicken salad and a diet coke.

  “You’re seriously ordering a salad?” I ask.

  “Yes; you do know about the freshmen fifteen, don’t you?”

  “Oh please. You are skinny as a rail. You could use a little meat on your bones,” I tell her.

  She shrugs her shoulders and changes the subject back to me.

  “So you and Layne, huh? I actually think he has a thing for you. You don’t hang on him vying for
his attention like those sluts. And I think he likes that,” she says.

  “That’s just great. So he likes what he can’t have? I told you that was a one-time thing. College is all about one night stands, parties and studying, isn’t it?”

  She wiggles her eyebrows at me. “You have it all figured out, huh?” she questions.

  Luckily, our food arrives and I’m half tempted to give her my burger and fries, but my hangover needs it more. I am thankful her salad is at least a large one. The burger and fries is exactly what I needed, and the soda to wash it down with was the icing on the cake.

  “I need to get a part time job,” I say, watching as she takes her last bites. “I wonder if this place is hiring. On second, thought I think maybe I might check out the pizzeria we passed on the way here,” I tell her.

  “I heard it’s a college student hangout. Even this place is one, most weekends. I think the guys will be coming here a lot,” she tells me.

  “Oh well, makes no difference to me. It’s close by and I can easily walk there from class if I need to. Care if we stop there on our way back?” I ask.

  “Sure, not doing anything else.”

  The waitress approaches us to give us our bill, and then we pay at the register on our way out. Back in Renee’s car we make our way back toward campus and she stops at the pizzeria. Inside the pizzeria I ask for the manager.

  “I was wondering if you’re hiring?”

  “You in college?” he asks, in a thick Italian accent.

  “Yes, I need part time hours if you have a position available,” I tell him with pleading eyes.

  “If you can get here on time, you’re hired,” he says without a second thought.

  “Just like that?” I ask to be sure I heard him right.

  “Yes, be here by five on Tuesday; wear black pants and I will provide the shirt,” he says before heading to the back.

  I manage to contain my excitement until I get back to the car.

  “How’d it go?” Renee asks before I get a chance to tell her first.