Open Lanes

by Mary Morano

  “Sure, Brayden, use it for whatever you want! Gotta go! Love you both! Night!” She yells into the phone as I hear another familiar voice in the background before she hangs up without waiting for me to respond. I pull the phone away from my ear and stare at the call ended screen. With the two of them involved this just got a lot more complicated.

  Realizing there is nothing I can do to stop the chaos that I just put into play, I move on with my plan. My next call is to Tattoo. I need to make sure I’m on the right track here. When he answers the call, all I can hear are the sounds of dying cats trying to impersonate Madonna.

  “What the hell?” I murmur into the phone as I pull it away from my ears to save what hearing I have left.

  “PONG! HOLD ON A SEC! WE ARE SERENADING PENGUIN!” I hear him screaming from an arm’s length away before the bathroom is filled with the awful noise of a drunk hockey team singing karaoke.

  “You’re a virgin. Yeah. Let her touch you for the very first time! Penguins a virrrrrrrrgiiiiiin!” I’m pretty sure those aren’t the lyrics.

  “Fuck. You. All. Just because I’m a virgin doesn’t mean I’ve never been touched.” I hear Penguin yelling in the background before a scuffle breaks out.

  I look at the phone wondering if I should even bother holding on, this could go on for hours, but I really need to talk to Tattoo. Minutes tick by as they continue to chirp at each other, just when I’m finally about to give in and hang up, he comes back on the line.

  “Pong, my dude. You are missing a crazy party tonight! I themed it eighties night, there is so much hairspray, leg warmers, and blue eye makeup! And that’s just me!” He laughs at his own joke.

  “You’re an idiot, you know that?”

  “Nah, I just like having a good time. You never know when it’s all gonna end, gotta get it in while you can.” In the background the music is getting quieter until I hear a door close, and it goes silent. He must have gone into his room. “I’m assuming since you're calling this late, I’m going to need my ‘The One’ hat. So, tell me, how did you fuck this up already?”

  I hear another door open and close in the background but still no noise. His closet? Is he serious about these hats? “I didn’t, at least I don’t think I did. I think things are going great.”

  “So why are you calling me?”

  “I need a second opinion. I really don’t want to fuck this up.”

  “Fucking love. Okay, talk. What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know, things are really good. We’re talking like old friends. We held hands. We kissed.”

  “And?”

  “It was really good. Like the best kiss ever, good.”

  “Geez. I got a virgin goalie downstairs talking about how sex will mess up his mojo and now you talking about a damn kiss. Are we in college or middle school?” He mutters under his breath. “So, all you did was kiss?”

  “We went a little further, but not much. I’m trying to take it slow—build a foundation.”

  “Well, given your history, I guess that’s the smart idea. Did you at least apologize yet?”

  “Yeah, I did. The conversation really fucked me up though. The way she remembers it and how bad she says it affected her… I really fucked up. I get why she never wanted to talk to me.”

  “She loves you too. Probably deep down. Really deep down. But there is no way she would have gotten in the car with you or let any of the other stuff happen if she didn’t.”

  “You think?”

  “I do. Now you just gotta keep proving to her that she should give you that second chance.”

  “I’m working on that.”

  “Good. Now I’m gonna get back to my party. Peace, love, and all that shit.”

  “I’m pretty sure that was the sixties not the eighties.”

  “Eh, same century. Talk soon, Pong.” With a laugh I hang up the phone. Damn, I already miss those guys and summer has barely started. Once I get everything with Nicole on solid ground, I’ll have to find a way to get them down for a visit.

  Not bothering to turn on the flashlight app again, I make my way to the bed. Feeling around the end table, I find the cord and plug my phone in. Then I pull back the covers and slide back into the bed. Nicole’s body seems to sense my return and she curls up against me. Pulling her back into my arms, I bury my nose in her hair. Smiling, with her scent surrounding me and her taste still lingering, I fall fast asleep.

  BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

  The alarm is going off next to my head. Groaning, I try to find it without opening my eyes. I hate early mornings and my eyes feel coated in sandpaper. My hand continues feeling around until I find the phone. I tap the snooze button, and curl back into the warmth of the blankets and the body behind me. Cuddling back into his arms, I wiggle trying to get closer but freeze when I feel his stiff length poking me from behind.

  “Keep wiggling against it and I may not be responsible for the outcome.” His groggy voice whispered into my ear as his hand gripped my hips to hold me still. A small giggle escapes as I force my eyes open to turn toward him. The smile that graces his face nearly knocks the wind out of me. He leans in to kiss me and I cover my mouth with my hand, causing him to kiss my middle finger.

  “Morning breath.” I mumble.

  “Don’t care.” He responds, pulling my hand away and kissing me. As soon as his lips touch mine, I don’t care either. The euphoria I always feel when his lips touch mine pulses through my body. He rolls me over to my back, allowing the top half of him to cover me, but leaving his legs alongside mine, as he deepens the kiss.

  BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

  He pulls back muttering something that sounds a lot like “cockblock.” Reaching over me, he hits the stop button instead of snoozing like I did. He lays flat on his back beside me, his left arm is covering his eyes and his black basketball shorts do nothing to hide the erection beneath.

  My eyes latch onto the outline of his dick. It’s long and thick, even being restrained by his boxers and shorts. My mind tries to imagine what it would look like in its naked glory. Is it veiny? What color is the tip? Will it have a bead of precum waiting for my tongue? I lick my lips, and it jumps. The quick feel I got last night was not enough for me.

  “Nic, I need you to take your eyes off it, and keep your tongue in your mouth until you're ready to use it.” He groans when I lick my lips again. My eyes shoot up to meet his and his eyes are dark and dilated with lust. I’m sure mine are too. He groans again and rolls over to get out of bed. “I’m going to shower and take care of my problem. Right now. Otherwise, we’ll never make it out of this room.”

  I stare at his ass as he walks away. Damn, it’s a nice ass, firm, probably from all those hours he spends skating. I wonder how many squats I would have to do to make my ass look that good? Probably too many. I started a thirty-day squat challenge my senior year in high school that guaranteed to tone your ass in thirty days. I made it to day three. It hurt so much I called in sick to school and ordered a pizza. Apparently, I am not meant to have a nice ass.

  Hearing the water in the shower turn on, I roll over and reach for my bag. Feeling around until my fingers brush against the little metal bullet. If he’s going to be in there getting himself off, I’m going to do the same thing out here. I turn it on, rolling it down my body and into my sleep shorts, as I let my imagination take over. His body appears in front of me, wet from the water raining down on him. The droplets create a river as they trail down his forehead, over his closed eyes. They fall over his thick lips, his tongue peeking out to lick some away. The others continue, falling onto his hard chest, down to trace the lines of his abs, until they reach his hand. It’s wrapped around his dick. He strokes it roughly, up and down, up and down. His eyes are closed, his head leans back in ecstasy, while the wet strands of his hair are pasted to his face. His hand continues to move on its own accord, faster and faster, his groans get louder and louder until he finally reaches his release with a long deep moan and a sile
nt curse. Just like he does in my imagination, my body reaches climax, the waves of pleasure surging through as I try to keep my moans stifled by a pillow.

  I move the bullet away from my clit, my body too sensitive to handle the vibrations any longer. Laying back, I give myself a few minutes to recover before I get up and grab my stuff so I will be ready to clean up as soon as he’s done.

  While I wait, I search for the remote, figuring I’ll catch up on the news. The world could have gone to war the last few days and we would have no idea. We have been cocooned in our own little bubble. I look under the covers, on the nightstand, even on the floor, but can’t seem to find the remote. It isn’t until I look around the room for a second time that I see it peeking out from behind the ice bucket on the dresser. How the hell did it even get there? Shaking my head, I walk over, but stop dead in my tracks as I pass the bathroom door and catch the muted sound of a low growl followed by a long deep moan, and what I’m positive is the sound of my name falling from his lips as he showers.

  Heat races through my body and my core starts throbbing again knowing it was my name on his lips as he came. Holy shit—that is hot. I consider opening the door and offering to join him. I mean it’s not like we’re strangers. We’ve known each other our whole lives. True, things could get weird, but we kind of silently agreed to see where this goes, right? And that includes sex, doesn’t it? Just as I’m about to open the door, I hear him shut off the water. Cursing myself for taking so long, I back away from the door. Grabbing the remote, I hop on the bed and try to act like nothing happened.

  Luckily, he takes longer than normal to come out, so when he does the news is on, and my head is—almost—clear. Without looking at him I pass off the remote, and absolutely do not notice how his large hand circles it, before grabbing my stuff and locking myself in the bathroom.

  Somehow, I manage to shower without imagining him jerking off in here. When I’m done, I put on a pink shirt that says ‘It’s Leviosa not Leviosa,’ because duh, Hermione Granger is only the smartest and best female character ever written. She’s my hero the way she handles all those silly boys, running everything in the background while they take all the credit. I pair it with my baby pink Chucks and a pair of jean shorts. I braid the front of my hair back to keep it from flying into my eyes, throw on some mascara, and lip gloss before walking out of the bathroom. Grabbing my sunglasses from the dresser, where I left them yesterday, I place them on top of my head and I’m ready to go. I look up to meet Brayden’s eyes and see the grin on his face.

  “What?” I ask, looking down at myself.

  “Nothing, you’re just really beautiful. I’m really glad I can do this whenever I want now.” He closes the distance between us, and with his hands firmly planted on my hips, he pulls me to him. His lips gently settle on mine. I don’t think I will ever get used to feeling his lips meet mine. He pulls away all too soon, rearranging himself in his pants with no shame. When he catches me looking, he grins and winks.

  “See what you do to me?” He asks, pulling me close again so I can feel his arousal pushing into my stomach. My only response is the deep inhale of breath, and he chuckles. “We need to get out of this room before we never leave.”

  I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing anymore.

  I’m grabbing my bags when his phone rings. He looks down at it and curses before silencing it and slipping it into his pocket. He grabs his bag as if nothing happened, and maybe it didn’t, but my mind goes into overdrive. Who was calling that he didn’t want to talk to? Or maybe he just didn’t want to talk to them in front of me. Was it another girl? I’m not stupid. I know there have been other girls. Lots of them. Hell, he even has a fan club that shows up to every home game in his jersey. His own personal puck bunnies. I wonder how many of them he has slept with and if that was one of them?

  With that one silenced phone call all the doubts I thought I moved past, come flying back. Was this just a joke to him? Would it be something to laugh about with his teammates? I feel my body start trembling as I back up and sit down on the bed. What am I doing? How had I just forgiven him so easily? How could I ever think that I would be good enough for him? I am so stupid.

  “Nic? Nicole? Nicole?” I hear his voice echoing in my head but it’s as if I’m underwater and he is standing above me. My chest starts tightening and I feel it getting harder and harder to breathe. Crap. I’m having an anxiety attack. Just what I need right now. I know how to get myself out of them but at the moment all the strategies I know seem useless. I can’t focus on anything but the hordes of girls that are constantly falling at his feet and how stupid I was to believe I meant anything to him. That he would want to be with me when he could have all those other girls.

  “Fuck! Nic, breathe for me.” His voice startles me, and I feel his finger under my chin, lifting my head toward his. “Nic, baby, tell me what to do to help.”

  I just shake my head; I can barely breathe much less talk. He pulls me into a hug. His scent surrounds me, and his arms hold me tight. The embrace centers me just enough that I can focus myself.

  Two things you can feel, I remind myself. Brayden’s hard chest against my cheek, and his strong arms wrapped around me. My breathing becomes a little easier.

  Two things you can smell. The woodsy scent that is distinctive to him and my floral shampoo. My chest loosens a little more.

  Two things you can hear. His heart beating strong against my cheek and his deep voice whispering, “It’s okay,” repeatedly. My eyes open.

  Two things you can see. The worried look in his green eyes as he watches me and the moose who looks like he is eating a hockey stick on his shirt. The trembling all but stops.

  Two things you can taste. Mint toothpaste and him. I’m finally able to take a deep breath as I pull away from him.

  He keeps his hands on my arms, only allowing me to back up so far. His eyes glance up and down my body, searching for any injuries.

  “I’m fine.” I tell him as I pull out of his reach, uncomfortable with his attention focused on me right now. “Just a minor panic attack. I get them sometimes when I get worked up.”

  “Okay… but you were fine a few minutes ago?”

  “Mm-hmm… they are usually triggered by the thoughts in my head. They can come out of nowhere.” I explain before thinking. As soon as the words fall out of my mouth, I regret them. I try to look away from him, but his finger comes under my chin, forcing my eyes back to his.

  “What were you thinking about that made you panic?” His soft gaze caresses my face as he waits patiently for me to answer. I think about lying, telling him I was thinking about grades, or my future. Hell, I could even tell him I was thinking about what happened with my jerkoff ex, but I don’t. Lying to him doesn’t feel right. If I want us to have an honest chance at this, I need to tell him the truth and I need to see his reaction.

  “Your phone rang, and you silenced it.” I tell him as I stare intently at his face, looking for any signs of him trying to close down or hide something. But all I see is confusion.

  “Okay? And that made you panic…” I wait and let him put it together himself. I see the exact moment he realizes what I’m not saying. “You saw me silence the phone and thought I was hiding something. Or maybe someone?”

  “Yeah. It was stupid.”

  “Hey, nothing you feel is ever stupid. But I need you to communicate with me because otherwise I can’t fix it. You got me?” He asks as he stares deep into my eyes. Seeing no signs of him trying to lie or cover anything up, I nod. Relief flows through my body, easing any anxiety that was still hanging around.

  “Who was it?”

  “It was a girl. Her name is Sally.” My back instantly stiffens, and I try to look away, but he holds his hand firm, forcing me to maintain eye contact. “Let me finish please, before you jump to any conclusions?”

  I nod but, in my head, I’m preparing for the worst.

  “Sally is a girl who was in my Sports Management class last year. We were
partners on a project. She wanted more, I didn’t. I made that very clear to her. Yet, for some reason she keeps calling me every few weeks. I tried blocking her number, now she just calls from a blocked one.” He opens his phone to show me the blocked number in his call log, then scrolls to a contact name listed as ‘Sally- sports management- do not answer.’ I giggle as I read it, and he opens the contact card and shows me that the number is blocked. “When I told you last night that no one else mattered besides you, I meant it. I may not have said it in so many words, but I have waited a really long time for a chance with you and I am not going to let anything or anyone mess that up.”

  My body relaxes against him. Hearing the words is enough for now. There’s plenty of time for him to prove he means them. He leans down and I meet his lips with mine in a kiss that says more than our words ever could.

  When we finally make it to the car, we’re running late. So, we go to a Krispy Kreme drive-thru and grab coffee and donuts for breakfast. I moan in the passenger seat as I eat my donut, and then laugh at him when he shoots me a dirty look. After breakfast, I find a hotel in our budget that is only three miles from Universal Studios. It has a single king-size bed available for tonight. So, I booked it. I’m not sure when I’m going to get to spend a night in bed with him again, and while I really enjoyed being wrapped in his arms last night, there are some other things I have planned for tonight. I don’t know what it is but suddenly with everything that has happened, it just feels right. I haven’t told him the plan yet. Just in case I change my mind. I don’t want him expecting something and then need to turn him down.

  I take a minute during the drive to check-in with both Emma and Jessica, knowing that they are both looking for updates. To avoid having to repeat the same conversation, I create a group chat.

  Me: Hey girls!

  Jessica: I really hope a group chat means there is news.

  Emma: Please tell me you have made all my high school fantasies come true.