Driving Layne

by Renea Porter

  “True ‘dat,” he replies with a nod, making me giggle as the slang slips from his lips. It seems out of place coming from the slicked up, composed guy I knew he was. Maybe I’m rubbing off on him after all.

  We arrive on campus and my stomach feels jittery. My stomach is twisting and turning as he pulls into my parking spot. I’m not sure if it’s car sickness from the long drive or not, but I doubt it. Opening my car door, I walk to the trunk as Chase throws his bag over his shoulder and I grab mine as well.

  “I’ll walk you inside,” he says. “Again, thanks for letting me tag along.” He opens the glass door and I enter first with him behind me.

  “Well, I’m glad you were there,” I say.

  We both look at each other and smile. Chase is just about the sincerest guy I know, and he expects nothing in return. Glancing toward my dorm room, I’m shocked to see someone there, leaning up against the door with one foot propped up and his hands in his jean pockets.

  Layne.

  Shock washes over my face and I hope it isn’t readable. He spots Chase and his brows furrow, and now he looks pissed. Layne’s eyes meet mine and my stomach tumbles with butterflies. He is going to freak the hell out. Thanks for the warning, Renee.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Layne

  Why does she have to look so fucking sexy right now, and why the fuck is Chase with her? “Welcome back,” I say as she approaches me. She looks nervous. “So what, did he go home with you?” I ask with an aggravated tone.

  “Yes,” she says looking me dead in the eye. She’s testing me, that’s for sure.

  “You can leave now,” I say to Chase. He looks at Amber for the okay, and she nods her head yes. He turns and walks away.

  “What, are you two an item or something?” I ask. But she doesn’t answer me and that fucking irritates me. “Are you fucking him now? Is that it? You want to be called a slut around school?” I say, regretting it immediately.

  “You can be a real prick! Just go find one of your fucking sluts to bang!” She walks into the dorm and slams the door in my face.

  Fuck! I slam my hand on the wall on the way out. I walk outside and try to get some fresh air. I know she needs some space from my stupid mouth. I catch Chase walking down the sidewalk with his bag over his shoulder.

  “Hey!” I yell in his direction.

  “What do you want?” He looks annoyed and he sighs.

  “She’s off limits, Dude; she just doesn’t know it yet,” I tell him firmly.

  He steps closer to me. “She’s all yours,” he says with spite.

  “What the fuck does that mean?” I ask confused that he’s given up so easily.

  “It means, she’s all yours. I tried to get her to sway my direction, but she just wasn’t having it. She made it perfectly clear that it’s you she’s into,” he tells me with a frown then turns on his heel.

  Well, fuck me sideways! Now I feel like a god damn pussy, because now I have to walk back in there with my tail tucked between my legs and apologize. This shit is fucking exhausting, because she hasn’t filled me in on this news. I wish she wouldn’t be so damn stubborn, but then who am I to talk? I knock lightly on her door and wait and wait and wait. Finally. she answers the door, only opening it slightly.

  “What, you coming back to insult me some more?”

  “Will you please let me in?” I ask calmly.

  She hesitates before letting me in. “Look, I’m sorry I said those things,” I say, feeling tortured with guilt.

  “What, none of your whores were available tonight?” she asks coldly with her arms crossed over her chest.

  “That’s enough.” I sit on the edge of her bed. “I will have you know, since I met you, I haven’t been with anyone else. It’s only been you. And it’s only you I want. Seeing you with Chase just drives me crazy, I can’t help it.” I run my hands over my short hair, feeling frustrated with the whole situation.

  “Chase is the one thing you have to get used to. He is my friend, and that’s not changing anytime soon. So you can grow a pair and deal with it.”

  “Fine, but damn you’re sexy when you’re mad,” I say with a wide grin, hoping it will ease her attitude. I pull her toward me and she lets me. “I missed you while you were gone. And you’ve lost weight since I last saw you,” I say, looking up with my hands gripping her waist. She leans down to kiss me and I’m in heaven. Her lips feel like heaven, and all the bullshit jealousy goes out the window. She might resist, but she is mine. There is no denying it, ‘cause I’m all in, whether she likes it or not. I press my head into her stomach, wrapping my arms around her waist as I inhale her scent. She runs her hands over my head, and then she forces my head back and kisses me with a hand on each side of my face.

  Pulling her lips off mine, she looks at me and says, “If you ever fucking talk to me the way you did earlier, this will no longer be happening.” She looks straight into my eyes and I know she is serious.

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper. This woman is capable of bringing any man to their knees; imagine what she does to me. I crave her lips on my mouth, her touch on my body, and her pleasured moans when I’m inside her. Damn I’m getting hard thinking about it.

  “Come lie down. It’s late and I’m sure you’re tired. We can sleep here tonight, and then you are coming to my place for the rest of the weekend.” I pull her as I scoot up the bed. I turn my back to the wall and pull her back toward my chest.

  “Were you serious, when you said you haven’t been with anyone else?” She turns her head toward me.

  “Yes, I was being honest. You know how I feel about you; I don’t know how I can be any clearer,” I tell her, wrapping my arm around her as she nestles into me. She fits perfectly against my body, like she was made just for me. I sneakily grin to myself as she didn’t argue about spending the weekend with me. She’s already fallen asleep. I inhale the smell of her hair peaches and cream. Yep, she’s definitely mine. I’m falling for her, and after my own little freak out I don’t want to scare her off. I’m sure Renee will fill her in on my moodiness while she was gone.

  *****

  I wake early in the morning, and it takes me a second to realize I have Amber in my arms and it’s not a dream. I watch as she pushes herself up, leaning on her arm. She looks behind and finds me looking at her. “Morning, Beautiful,” I say.

  “Morning. If we are going to be spending a lot of time together then you need to know I am not a morning person. I absolutely hate mornings, and I’m not the most cheery person.” She runs her hand through her hair and flips it over.

  “Noted. We should probably get moving before Renee sends out a search party. She’s missed you, too,” I tell her.

  “I can’t wait to see her. Oh, what’s the dress code for your New Year’s party?” she asks as she pulls on jeans over and an off the shoulder top.

  “It’s the only time you will see me dressed up. I’m wearing a suit/ Going all out for this party,” I tell her.

  “Guess Renee and I will be dress shopping, hope you don’t mind,” she says, not really asking me, but telling me.

  “Well, you won’t be wearing it for long.” I flash a wink at her. Nonetheless, I can’t wait to see her dressed up. I jump up, throwing on my shirt, and then we head over to my place. Outside, I help guide her in the car and I slide behind the driver’s seat. She throws her bag in the back seat as I buckle myself in. I place one hand on her thigh as I drive with the other one. “Did you sleep well?” I ask, grinning at her.

  “I did.” She tilts her head up, letting the sun engulf it through the window.

  “Good, because you won’t be getting much more,” I tell her. “I’ve missed you, and you taking off the way you did isn’t cool; it isn’t cool at all. What if something would have happened to you? How do you think I would feel? You are never to do that again,” I say with a serious tone.

  She crosses her arms over her chest. “I get what you’re saying, but you’re not my dad,” she says with her brows furrowe
d.

  I’m starting to get angry as I realize she doesn’t understand just how important this is. “This is not a discussion. I was worried sick, and next time you pull a stunt like that I might come to you myself.”

  “Okay, fine.” Her face eases. “I missed you too, you know. I thought about you a lot,” she tells me.

  “See, you can’t resist me, can you?” I smile, giving her thigh a light squeeze. I pull into the driveway of the house I share with the others. Out of the car, I grab her and kiss her once more before entering the house. I know once we enter, she’ll see Renee and I won’t see her until later.

  “What was that for?”

  “Just because. Do I have to have a reason to kiss the most beautiful girl in the world?” I ask her, taking her hand into mine.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Amber

  We walk in the house, and Renee immediately jumps me. “Oh my god, my bestie is back!” she squeals, hugging me tight. I watch the guys as they shake their heads in unison.

  She pulls on me. “We’ll be back fellas.” She hauls me outside in a rush, smiling brightly. “We have some catching up to do.”

  “It’s nice to see you, too,” I tell her sarcastically.

  “Get in,” she says, sliding behind the wheel of her car.

  “Where exactly are we going?” I ask while buckling my seat belt.

  “We are going to lunch, then dress shopping for the New Year’s Party,” she tells me.

  Fun times ahead! I’m sure Renee will want any details I can provide. I wonder if I should fill her in on the Chase bit.

  “So, how was your winter vacation?” she asks, fishing for details.

  “It was fine; great to get away for a bit. And if you are fishing for more details than that, you can forget it,” I tell her jokingly.

  “That’s just mean. I was just curious how it was,” she says innocently.

  “Yeah right. I know you. You want the scoop, and I’m sure you already know somehow and you just want to hear me say it,” I tell her.

  She pulls into one of the chain restaurants, and we both order our food at the counter and take a seat in a booth.

  “Come on, you have to have some details you can share with me. At least let me live vicariously through you,” she said after taking a bite of her chicken wrap.

  “Fine, but you have to swear that you won’t tell anyone, not even Dylan,” I tell her.

  “I swear; I pinky swear,” she says, and we both interlock our pinky fingers.

  “Chase went home with me. And he has feelings for me, but I told him I was only interested in Layne,” I tell her in a rushed tone.

  “Oh my god, you slut!” She laughs.

  “See, this is why I didn’t want to say anything. I can’t help it if he kissed me. I mean, if I hadn’t ever met Layne things would be different. Layne has made his feelings for me pretty clear, and I think I might be falling for him, as crazy as it sounds. I thought I’d be playing the field and having a lot of one night stands and living it up. But that is just not the case. Don’t tell him, though.”

  “Wow, I don’t even know what to say. But I am giddy that you and Layne are spending so much time together. He acted like a fucking lost puppy while you were gone,” she says.

  I just about burst out laughing at her swearing; she doesn’t swear a lot like the rest of us. I almost spit my drink all over the both of us. “We should probably get moving if we want to go dress shopping,” I tell her.

  She slides out of the booth with her food tray. “Let’s go.”

  ****

  We find a dress shop not far down the road. Upon entering, I’m overwhelmed by all the colors, lengths and variety that they have. I’ve never been very good at dress shopping. I usually just bought the first one I thought looked nice.

  “Well, you need something that shows off those legs of yours,” Renee says. I open my mouth to tell her there isn’t anything special about my legs, but she cuts me off. “Don’t even pretend to not know what I’m talking about,” she snaps.

  We start scanning the racks, and I come upon a short dress that has a flirty skirt with a strapless fitted top. And it’s sparkly which is what drew my attention to it. I love the light color of it, too.

  I show Renee. “How ‘bout this one.”

  “Oh my god, you need to try that on. I bet you will look like a super model in it, especially if you pair it with high heels,” she gushes.

  I take it in the fitting room and pull it over my head and slide it down my body. It fits perfectly, like it was made for me. Nervously, I exit the fitting room.

  “Amber, if you don’t get that one, I will personally kick your ass. Layne is going to shit his pants,” Renee says, looking at me from head to toe.

  “Really?” I ask, looking myself over in the mirror.

  “Yes, trust me. I’m a fashion whore and I know all about that stuff.” I laugh at her swearing again. We must be rubbing off on her. I watch as she runs to find a pair of heels to match and comes back in a flash. She hands me a pair of silver high heels. “Try these on with that dress.” I sit, sliding one on, and then the other, and stand. “Now that is one hot getup. Layne won’t even recognize you,” she says gushing

  I smile and slip back into the dressing room to change. The dress is so gorgeous that I don’t even want to look at anything else, and the shoes, oh those shoes are a must, too. I can’t wait for Layne to see me in it tonight. I rush back into my regular clothes and take the dress and shoes to the counter, and then meet Renee at a rack she is scanning.

  “So what are you looking for?” I ask.

  “Just something simple but subtly sexy; something that might throw Dylan for a loop once he sees me.”

  I pull out a short form fitted dark green dress. “How about this; the color will look amazing with your hair color?” I tell her about her reddish auburn hair.

  “Yeah, let me try it on,” she says, happily taking the dress from me.

  I sit on a bench outside the dressing room and wait for her to show me what it looks like. She comes out and stands in front of the mirror. “It looks gorgeous on you,” I gush.

  “It’s pretty form fitted. Are you sure I don’t look fat in it?” she asks, smoothing the dress over her body.

  “God no, you look like a hot tamale. Hell, I’d do you,” I laugh, and she playfully shoves me. “I’d pair it with black pumps and you’re good to go,” I tell her with a giggle. “I’ll meet you over in the shoe area,” I tell her as she goes back into the dressing room. I scan the stilettos and find her a perfect pair. Hurriedly, I run them to her. “Renee, do not get out of that dress yet. Here,” I say, shoving the shoes inside the room. “try these on.” They are black, super high, and have silver studs on the back heel and the toe area.

  “Now that is fucking hot,” I say, shaking my head up and down when she steps out. “Dress shopping mission accomplished.”

  She goes in the dressing room and changes in a flash, meeting me at the counter to pay for our stuff.

  “Guess I will be eating hot dogs and ramen noodles after spending all that money,” I say as we load her car up.

  “Hell, I’ll probably be starving myself at this rate,” she says, sliding behind the wheel. “Oh by the way, I think Layne has a surprise for you tonight,” she mentions slyly.

  “And you’re just now mentioning this?”

  “Hey, I wasn’t even supposed to say anything, so you’re lucky I love you, and figured you deserved fair warning. He is going to pull all the stops tonight. You have time to prepare yourself.”

  Fuck, fuck, fuck. That’s all I keep saying in my head. I’m not ready for this deep level shit. I should have never agreed to this. I run one hand over my hair and flip it to the other side nervously. Back at the house, we gather our stuff and we sneakily go to one of the spare rooms to get ready. I shower quickly, and then Renee jumps in after me. After dressing, I sit on the edge of the bed and strap on my heels just as Renee comes out with her dress on.<
br />
  She sits next to me putting an arm around my shoulder. “I think we are two gorgeous bitches.”

  “You look stunning,” I tell her as she slips in her heels.

  There is a knock on the door, and my stomach flip flops. I stand to answer it. After opening the door, I see Layne in a dark suit and tie. “Wow, you look stunning,” he says, his eyes scanning me from head to toe. “Renee, you look beautiful, too. Dylan is going to love it,” he says with sincerity to his words.

  “Thank you,” she says bashfully.

  He holds his hand out, and I take it as he leads us through the house and outside to his car. He smoothly opens the car door and helps me in. “You look very handsome,” I tell him with a smile. “Where exactly are we going?”

  “I’m taking you out on a dinner date. This can be our first official date,” he tells me.

  “Oh, so we’re dating now. I don’t recall agreeing to that,” I tell him, tilting my head to the side.

  “I figured you would say that. You’ll change your mind eventually.” He flashes his to die for dimples. I just go with the flow at this point. We are silent for the rest of the ride. He eventually pulls into a restaurant parking lot and comes over to my side and opens the door for me. “God, your legs go on for miles in that dress.” I self-consciously look down, and he takes my hand to lead me inside.

  “This place is pretty fancy schmancy,” I say, looking around as we are seated.

  “I roll like that sometimes; you will come to know that about me. There are many more sides to me than just the drag racer with tattoos and killer good looks.” He flashes a wink my way and makes me smile. I watch as he picks up the menu, and when the waiter approaches he orders a steak and I follow suit. “I like a girl that can eat, not just salads,” he says. He props his elbows on the table and leans over so he can whisper, “Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight? I mean, you are always beautiful but tonight you look stunning and have every man’s attention in here. I saw them checking you out on the way in.”

  “Is that so? I giggle. “I’m surprised you didn’t throat punch them.”