Ricky (die_young) wrote in horror_story, @ 2013-11-22 16:38:00 |
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For some reason, the next appointment he had with Ricky was scheduled for the first of December. Now it seemed ridiculous that he didn’t schedule time closer to the holiday but thankfully The Red Door catered to him with or without an appointment, provided he was willing to wait. Since he was really awful at the whole scheduling aspect, Gabe had gotten use to waiting. He tried to make appointments, he understood that the entire system ran better scheduled, but it was hard to pinpoint when he would need the recharge blood gave him. Public events could charge or drain him and while he had some idea how an event would turn out, it was never completely predictable. There was no excuse for not realizing the holidays would drain him though, no that was pure thoughtlessness. Generally when he came in unannounced Gabe sat around in the bar, spending money on drinks he didn’t need as a sort of apology to the establishment until Ricky was able to show herself. But when he came in on November the 27th he just asked Eli to send Ricky up to the room he paid for when she was available. They didn’t even use the room anymore but he had kept it for the convenience of travel. Also it was a place to keep a typewriter and sometimes if it seemed as though he might be waiting for a while he would write. Tonight was a writing night no matter how long he had to wait. He was so set on the task that he didn’t even turn the lights on for Ricky. He didn’t even bother to take off his sunglasses or hat, no he sat down in front of the typewriter and started right in. It didn’t matter that words flowing onto the paper didn’t have defined purpose just yet, just the sound of key springing the arm onto the paper was a familiar comfort. A comfort that settled him immediately into a pattern which pulled his mind away from what tomorrow had in store. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ricky had long since gotten used to Gabe’s erratic schedule. He seemed to pop in unannounced far more often than not. She usually greeted him with a roll of her eyes and a snide “Seriously, how hard is it to call?” but she never felt more than a passing annoyance with him. The truth was that he had officially become the longest friendship she’d ever maintained, if you could consider someone who paid for your blood on a fairly regular basis to be a friend. And, honestly, she really did. Usually, by the time any of her relationships stretched to this point, she’d find herself pulling away, distancing herself. She never liked feeling hemmed in by people or places. Gabe though? He never really made demands on her. He didn’t expect anything more than she gave and, in her life, that as something of a first. So she forgave him for his odd behavior and his strange hours. Besides, knowing what she did about him, she didn’t like to have extremes of emotion when he was around. Unless it suited her needs, of course. Then all bets were off and he knew it. Tonight though, she caught herself worrying. That was odd, in and of itself. As a rule, she didn’t worry about anyone but herself. Feeling anything more than a passing interest in someone else was a nearly foreign concept to her. But tonight? Tonight she worried. The moment she was off stage, and Eli told her that Gabe had arrived, she was off like a shot. She would have liked to grab a shower before seeing him, calm herself, get nice and mellow before walking in the room, but she knew something was up. Night before a holiday and he just happens to show up unannounced? Yeah. No way was that just a passing whim. She dragged a clean town across her body, at least attempting to clean off the sheen of sweat that had formed on her skin, and went directly to his private room. They rarely used it anymore, but he often waited for her there. Opening the door, she knew she’d been right. He was tense. He was anxious. Whatever was bothering him, it was more than just a little thing. She huffed impatiently behind him, annoyed, but attempting to keep it in check. She was seized by the irrational urge to find whoever made him feel like this and punch them till they stopped moving. Over the past year, she’d sometimes had cause to wonder if his empathy could rub off on her, but she only ever found herself syncing up with his moods. Not anyone else. She’d never really had a friend before. She had no way of knowing that sort of thing could be quite common. When someone you care about is hurt, you hurt with them. “What’s got your panties in a twist?” she said by way of greeting. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Compared to the racket of the typewriter the door opening was a soft small noise, easy to overlook. But the huff, even though that was equally small Gabe was much more attuned to to the sounds of people, and the huff stalled his hand and broke apart the din that he had created by moving his hands over the keys only slightly faster than he should. “Sorry,” He murmured, as he turned toward the door and realized as he hit the paper release to pull the paper from the typewriter that the room was still pitch black, “Just a long day.” The majority of his day had been setting up the chess board for the coming game. While his family hardly needed a traditional Thanksgiving Meal, they still put on the yearly show. Afterall everyone in the family had someone, who could partake of the food and someone who wouldn’t question why the rest of them didn’t eat. His responsibility was to be the go between his mother and sisters, tracking down who was coming, who they were bringing, what they ate, what they didn’t. He had been working on it for over a week but now it was crunch time and then there was the unpredictable factor of his father. Kristy had called him a few hours ago suddenly dead set against attending. The last thing he wanted was more tension and annoyance but he could read it loud and clear from Ricky. Sighing a little he made his way to the light and replaced the light bulb so that he could turn it on for her. “I know okay, I was thoughtless and I am sorry. I will plan better for Christmas.” He smiled, as a way to move away from the tension came to him, “What do you want for Christmas anyway?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Fat boy seat for my Harley,” she said without missing a beat. “Can’t ride the damn thing with the rotted piece of leather it came with.” She rolled her shoulders, doing a quite elaborate show of loosening herself up and taking several deep breaths. It hadn’t been so very long since his last feeding so chances were he was there because of stress and not just out of a need for blood. If that was the case, her being snippy wouldn’t help matters. She contemplated whether it would be worth it to get high. She didn’t usually like to when she still had another set planned for the evening, assuming he didn’t drain too much for her to perform, but for him? She’d risk it. “We staying here or are we going to my room?” she asked, making an effort to mimic the upbeat attitude of some of the other girls. He’d likely see right through her, but she hoped he appreciated the effort. She didn’t do this for anyone but him after all. “We go back to my room, I can smoke a little something for you and you can tell me why you’re here, because we both know there’s a reason and you can’t bullshit me.” She winked and rose up just high enough to give him a peck on the cheek. If she was honest with herself, which she rarely was, she was glad he was there. The holidays had never really bothered her in the past, but this year she had a creeping feeling of uneasiness about them. She knew what it was. She’d felt it before, just never quite like this. She’d been in the same place for too long. Usually, when the feeling came over her, she’d drop what she was doing, pack enough clothes to fill a backpack, and move on. But she hadn’t done that this time. Three years she’d been at the Red Door. Officially two years longer than she’d ever stayed anywhere since leaving home. And she’d be lying if she said he wasn’t part of the reason she’d stayed that third year. Already feeling restless, he’d come along and befriended her, against all odds, at just the right moment. Now though? She was starting to feel like a noose was tightening around her neck and all the girls and bartenders and, well, everyone, trying to get chummy with her and asking what her holiday plans were was starting to wear thin. If she didn’t get out soon, she’d go insane. Gabe was her friend, but she’d never let other people define who she was or what she did. It was only a matter of time before she bailed. She didn’t know, yet, if she’d tell him before she did. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some of the tension he felt drained away as soon as he saw Ricky making an effort to loosen up. Of course she always did her best not to agitate him, really by now he should have known that she wouldn’t stay annoyed. Most of the time he didn’t worry about moods around Ricky, but when his tolerance got down to reserves he fell back on habit and couldn’t help thinking of ways to bribe her into a better mood. “No, no we will go to your room,” Gabe knew Ricky preferred her room and the truth was so did he. At least her room felt somewhat personal instead of the antiseptic empty thing that he had on loan. As she approached him, Gabe wrapped his hand around her tattooed bicep and slid his the palm of his hand down her sleeve. He gave her a small smile, “You know what’s wrong with me already.” The tone was playful but intentionally deflective. Gently he pulled her out of the room, hitting the locking mechanism on the doorknob before he started to pull the door closed. For now he simply turned the lights off before the door shut, later he would have to remember to go back and remove the light bulb. He had never come into the room and found the lights on but he always felt more comfortable removing the light bulbs. As he started to walk to Ricky’s room he asked, “How is the rest of your night lined up?” Since he wasn’t scheduled it was even more important to know how much strain Ricky was under, he tried to make his unannounced visits as painless as possible. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Yeah, I know why you’re here,” she said with a bit of a laugh as she moved down the hall towards her room. She turned to face him, walking backwards along the familiar path.. “Family making your crazy? Jonesing for a little creature comfort that only I can give you,” she grabbed onto the lapels of his jacket as she spoke, winking flirtatiously. It was enough to make her laugh again. A year ago, maybe, she might have been afraid of a guy like him. So much softer than her usual clients, more clean cut, he had all the makings of the kind of guy that would try to give her the pretty woman treatment. But he never had, and for that she was eternally grateful. She’d had situations before, in other places, where regulars would fall head over heels in love with her. They’d want to ‘save’ her. That was usually the moment she packed up and left. With Gabe though? She never had to worry about that sort of thing. She had, of course, read through his latest book with a fine toothed comb, searching for any mention of her. There had been none, which had been an immense relief. Arriving at her room, she pushed open the door and strode inside, not bothering to properly invite him. He was a frequent enough caller that she didn’t really feel like she needed to. He was as comfortable there as she was, if she was any judge. “I’m supposed to go up again in a couple of hours, but you’re the only vamp in the building tonight. If you don’t need a whole lot, I’ll be fine. If you do, I’ll tell Eli to line someone else up for a double.” She shrugged. It was no skin off her nose. Everyone knew he was a big spender when he came, and they didn’t mind bending over a little for him. And, as long as she was his preferred girl, they’d be bending over for her, too. A few new girls had come and left over the course of the past year, and she’d watched them with a shrewd distrustfulness that she hadn’t understood at the time. Now, she’d forced herself to accept that she’d been afraid they might steal his attention. What that said about her, and her growing dependence on him in her life, had made her very uncomfortable. She’d never come out and say it. She’d never cancelled any of his appointments. But, being what he was, she knew he probably felt it, even if he didn’t understand where her tension was coming from. Eventually, she’d just decided to get over it and get on with her life. It wasn’t always easy, and sometimes she still felt herself pulling away, but most days it was easy to just keep going. Judging by how tense he’d been when she’d arrived, she decided she probably didn’t have time to smoke. If she wanted to mellow him out, though,there were other methods. She moved to her small stereo and turned on slow music. Nora Jones. A bit too romantic for them, truth be told, but it was a guilty pleasure of hers that she’d only ever revealed to him, because with him it wouldn’t matter. Reaching into the drawer of her bedside table, she pulled out a flask of bourbon and took a long drink. Too long of a drink. It triggered a mini coughing fit, but she could immediately feel the warm flowing through her, turning her muscles to jelly. She relaxed back onto the bed with a sigh and smiled over at him. “So what’s it going to be, Champ? Neck, wrist, or inner thigh?” she trailed her hand suggestively up her leg, smirking at him. “Or are you just here to hold my hand and cry about all those pesky feelings you’re so prone to?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Again he deflected half heartedly, “The holidays just make everyone crazy?” But Ricky did know the truth. While he avoided getting into his family, he had his slips and Ricky was never shy about her own opinions. In her room, he finally took off the hat and glasses. He was paler than normal and it was obvious he hadn’t slept since she had seen him last. But it wasn’t unusual for him to go without sleep, sitting his hat down on top of one of her shelves he sat down on the end of her bed and leaned against the wall as he normally did. “I don’t need much,” Technically, he didn’t need any at all. He had just had an appointment with her a few days ago. A large appointment that was suppose to get him through the holidays so he was far from starved even if he was drained. No really this was hand holding, but instead of hold hands and crying over each pesky thing that had wound him up it was so much less painful to just rely on the blood wash away the tension. Now, watching her and feeling the tension. Gabe remembered why he had wanted to wait until the holidays were over. The holidays were too much, too personal. He had known for a while now that if he crowded her then the day he came and found her gone would come sooner. He knew that day was coming, he had felt the restlessness in her before he even realized what it was. That restless need was buried in her blood so deep it had been easy for her restlessness to seem like his own for a while, until a pattern fell into place with his feedings. Eventually the day would come where Ricky would simply be gone and he didn’t look forward to that day. Really it wouldn’t be a big deal. He would simply have to get use to one of the other girls, a common occurrence until recently, and there were others. But Ricky would not be easy to replace. She was a consummate professional. She knew herself well enough to field her moods for him, and as soon as she had found out how moods affected him it became part of her business to make sure her mood was more than acceptable and she had never taken any sort of advantage. Sure she could play dirty and twist his arm using emotions but she never did it the way other people did. She twisted his arm over concrete things, immediate things, things that she knew he would cave over, with a simple conversation. She twisted his arm to save time over things that really didn’t matter to him anyway. She had never actually dug in and played with his emotions and that was a first for him. A consummate professional who offered very colorful commentary, but he also appreciated her conversation skills. The least he could do was give her the space she needed. But the display with the bourbon concerned him. He couldn’t help but wonder if her rush was for him or for her own reasons? The damage was already done though, he was here now and it was too late to back off. Of course he could make the appointment brief, take a sip and scram, but in for a penny, in for a pound, “Or would you rather have the rest of the night off?” It wouldn’t the the first time he had demanded her services just to get her out of an inconvenient shift. No one could complain about his requests, while he was very bad at scheduling but he always paid extra to make up for it. In addition he had referred a fair number of people to The Red Door over the course of the year. They would be happy to find someone else to replace Ricky. There was also no one that could pinpoint exactly when he left her room and accuse her of just getting out of her shift. He took his money clip from his pocket and waited for her response, ready to pay for either alternative, “You tell me. If you want to perform then I don’t want to ruin your show and if you don’t then it doesn’t matter.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ricky’s brow furrowed a bit as she looked at him. There was something off. For one thing, he really had just been there, so he shouldn’t have needed her yet. At least not for blood. For another, he still looked tense. Over time she’d gotten very good at easing his tension. Usually all it took was her own good mood and a little distracting banter and by the time he left he’d be walking like a new man. Well, she had a pretty good mellow calm going now, but it didn’t seem to be sinking into him as much as it usually did, and that was concerning. She tried not to think too much about the fact that she was concerned. His life wasn’t of her business after all. They had teetered on the line of crossing from professional to personal once or twice but she’d always put on the breaks and pulled away. Now though? Maybe the upcoming holidays were making her sentimental. Maybe she was just going soft. Pulling back out of reach so he couldn’t get any funny ideas about drinking and leaving, she eyed him critically. Maybe her joke about hand holding was a bit nearer the mark than she’d suspected. “If they’re driving you up a wall, why do you even bother dealing with them?” she asked, honestly curious. It was a stab in the dark really. They didn’t talk about his family much. But with big family holidays just around the corner, him showing up all tense and flustered couldn’t be a coincidence. She just didn’t understand why people put up with that kind of shit. She’d ditched her family at 16 and had never regretted it. Sometimes, on Christmas, she’d think about sending them a postcard. But that thought was usually followed by a nice round of binge drinking to try and forget everything about them, right down to their faces. After all these years she wasn’t even sure if they’d be living in the same house, and that was, strangely, a comfort. Not only could they not find her, but now she couldn’t find them, even if she wanted to. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ He cringed at her question and immediately shook his head dismissively. There was a reason they didn’t talk about this. Gabe knew what Ricky would do in his position and while there might be times he really wished he could offer his family one of her more colorful responses, he wasn’t her. As much as he admired that part of her that didn’t take shit from anyone, as much as he might wish it was that part of her instead of the restlessness that transferred so easily through her blood, he could never walk away. Not only could he not walk away but he would regret anything he said in frustration. Maybe when his youngest sister was on her own he could distance himself from the family more, maybe. Sighing he rubbed at his left temple with three fingers. Of course, if Kristy was truly serious about skipping out now, at the last minute, the way she planned then it would only make it harder for him to pull away down the road. “What am I suppose to say to that?” For a moment he stared at her the stress and tension he felt truly raw and then habit kicked in and he started to play it down, shaking his head with a soft laugh, “They are family, that’s what they do. Drive you up the wall and its not a big deal, stress is normal for the holidays.” He forced himself to shake off the proof, he leaned back up against the wall and relaxed the tension from his body. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Yeah, I’m not buying it,” she swung her feet off the bed. She reached for her phone on the bedside table and punched in a few quick numbers. She knew she’d probably catch hell for this tomorrow but when had she ever given a single fuck about that? It only rang once. She started speaking before the person who answered it could even say hello. “It’s Ricky. Tell Eli I’m done for the night.” She glanced over at Gabe, saw him trying to hide how tense he was, and sighed. “Tomorrow too. No I don’t give a fuck that it’s Thanksgiving tomorrow. Fill my spot or there’ll be an empty fucking stage.” She clicked off without saying goodbye and stood, moving around the room with authority and grabbing things as she went. She picked up a small backpack like bag and threw it on a chair then began rummaging through her closet. “Avert your precious little eyes,” she said by way of warning before she began stripping of her club gear. he’d seen her naked plenty of times. He came to the shows after all. But they generally kept that sort of thing out there as opposed to in here. Sex had never been a part of their relationship and, while it had chafed at her ego in the beginning, she was a tiny bit grateful for it now. She pulled on an outfit that was, for her at least, fairly conservative and a hell of a lot more practical. She’d never admit it to anyone but she was a mostly jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, when she got to choose. But, since she lived where she worked, she rarely indulged. Today though? Today she dressed how she wanted to dress. She even put on a bra. Tossing a few things into the bag on the chair she zipped it up and turned towards him. “Well, come on then. I haven’t got all day. We stay here long enough Eli’s going to come banging on my door demanding to know why I’m bailing on him.” She thought about grabbing her phone but decided against it. What they need was to be off the grid for just a little while. She wondered if she could convince him to leave his behind too, but doubted it. Already the thrill of leaving was rushing through her, making her blood sing. Her thoughts were bent on the car she knew was waiting close by. Fast driving. Bright headlights on a black road. She was practically dancing on the spot with anticipation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ricky wasn’t easy to bullshit, so Gabe wasn’t surprised that she didn’t bite. He had a backup plan to distract them both into different moods when all out bullshitting was impossible. But his tension grew as Ricky reached for the phone. Once she started to speak, he cocked his head to one side and raised a questioning eyebrow at her. What the hell was this? He said he would cover tonight for her. There was no reason for her to get in trouble over it. What was she doing? He sighed at her and shook his head, a little concerned with her sudden rush to action. As she dressed he stood up and retrieved his hat and glasses and looked over her books shelves while she pulled on her clothes. Obviously they were leaving, so he put on his sunglasses and pulled the hat down low over his face. Then he reached into his pocket and clutched the car keys, from experience he knew Ricky was also good at pilfering things from his pockets. While he didn’t really care who drove the car, it was her risk, the car keys were the only bit of leverage he had to work out what idea she had set herself on. He thought about telling her not to worry about Eli. She should have let him sort it out to start with but it would be just as easy to smooth things over after the fact. Instead he was simply standing there, soaking in her excitement though, the concern he had over her behavior was quickly dwindling. After a dazed moment she got him moving though, out of her door, to the exit and to his car.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ricky let him lead the way to the car, all the while planning her next move. She loved that car. She loved it more than he did, of that much she was sure. Well, even if she didn’t, she’d go to her grave swearing that she did. Getting him to let her drive it was always a challenge, however. She liked to drive fast and reckless. She loved rolling the windows down as she sped down the highway and letting the rushing wind deafen her. She played the music too loud. Everything about her driving was simply too much, which was just how she liked it. Why he always fought her on it she had no idea. Once the excitement started bleeding from her into him he usually had a pretty good time. Still, it was always a production. She didn’t get to drive nearly as often as she would have liked. “One of these days,” she said with a laugh, “when my bike is finished, I’m going to take you for a ride. Make you ride bitch. Then we’ll have some real fun.” Sometimes, when she daydreamed about leaving on that bike, she thought it might be nice to take him with her, at least for a little while. He wouldn’t stay, of course, and that was part of the appeal of friendship with him. He had a life that she could never touch, never be a part of, and that meant she never really felt tied to him by anything more than the moment. The car was just as beautiful as the first time she’d laid eyes on it and her heart fairly skipped a beat. She’d never been in love, but if she ever did give in and fall for some guy, she thought it might be at least a fraction of what she felt when looking at that car. Sliding around him with hurried steps, she leaned back against the driver’s side door in a proprietary way. She extended one hand, both eyebrows raised in a mock expression of surprise that he hadn’t given her the keys already. “Well, come on then. We haven’t got all day.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Everytime they made this trip out to the car a very similar situation unfolded. Occasionally she would snatch the keys before he realized and sometimes he would even toss them to her. And then there were those times just like this where she either got the keys from him or he pushed her into the passenger seat. Anytime she asked why he had to be difficult about it he argued that he was the better driver. Truth was Ricky would have to try very hard to wreck the car, given at the times they were on the road, especially with him there. A wreck would nearly have to be intentional and Gabe was certain she would never try to hurt the car. Still sometimes he held out and refused to let her drive. Afterall it was his car and there were very few occasions that put him in a car, as passenger or driver. Nearly always when he did really hold out against her the reason boiled down to the lights. If he drove he could turn the headlights off and if the time of night was right, there would be no other drivers on the road, the lights would be off for most of the trip. In truth it was a toss up which drive he preferred, he had always preferred drives without the lights, especially when he was tense, but the excitement Ricky got from driving hard to refuse. Taking the keys from his pocket Gabe dangled them before her, his grip still firm, “So where are we going?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Aw, come on, boss. If I tell you, it takes away all the fun,” she whined. “Where’s your sense of adventure?” She wrapped her fingers around the keys and gave them an experimental tug, knowing full well that she wouldn’t be able to take them from him until he actually let her. Looking at him, it was easy to forget sometimes that he wasn’t human. He seemed so normal, at least in all the ways that mattered. Standing next to her, she doubted anyone would have suspected that he was the strange one of their little duo. She supposed if anyone had been asked to spot the vampire, she’d be the one they pointed to. Not a bad set up, all in all, if he ever needed to shift focus. And she certainly didn’t mind. Like she gave a fuck what people thought she was. No skin off her nose. “How many times in your life have you run off without knowing where you were going?” she asked, fairly certain she already knew the answer? “Never? You are wound so tight it’s amazing you can even function so, as your professional mood regulator,” she gave him a bit of a saucy grin as she said it, “I’m advising you to give up control, just once. You’ll thank me for it later. I’m a pro at running away.” She gave the keys another experimental tug but he had yet to release his grip on them. Her face scrunched a bit in frustration, looking for all the world like a child about to stomp her foot and demand the return of her favorite toy. “Keep this up and I’m definitely not letting you on my Harley,” she grumbled. It was a mostly hollow threat. At this point, he’d practically paid for the thing himself. The way he spent extra on her, the random little “gifts” he gave her...he was single handedly buying her the freedom she so craved. She wondered if he knew that, and if he didn’t, would the knowledge make him less likely to splurge on her? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tonight he was tense enough to avoid the bright lights but he was also inclined to let Ricky have her way. The ice already felt thin, there had been the way she had downed the bourbon and now she bailed out on her job with a bag. He could smooth it over for her but would she want him too? Besides he couldn’t help but chuckle at her argument, even as he tried to sigh and seem grave about the whole situation. “See, this is exactly why you should be obligated to report all ideas to a professional safety regulator,” He stepped closer closing the distance between them so he could lower his voice, “Because you would even consider putting an empathic vampire bitch on your Harley, cuddled right up against against you.” He shook his head in mock disapproval, but quickly added, “Revoking my privileges is at least a sign of some small amount of sanity. It would kill me to wreck your Harley over a little too much excitement.” He relinquished his hold on the keys and walked around the front of the car to get into the passenger side, “But, have it your way.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For a moment, Ricky stood there, clutching the keys in her hand. Had he just used one of her own tricks on her? Had he just sidled up, invaded her personal space, completely side tracked her for no good reason? Damn him. She was clearly a bad influence on him and they were spending way too much time together if he was starting to pick up her best weaponry and using it against her. Still, she had the keys, and that had been the plan anyway. So, in her book, it was a win. An odd one, but a win. She smirked as she opened the driver’s side door and slid down into the seat. She shot him a knowing look as he joined her. “Keep pulling little stunts like that and I might start to think you have a crush on me,” she teased, tilting her head back to laugh. She was feeling, to put it mildly, like she could conquer the world tonight, and she knew he would be feeling it too. “God forbid, right?” She slid the key into the ignition and turned, feeling the car rip to life all around her. The purr of its engine sent shivers up her spine. Sitting in this car, feeling its power, it was almost orgasmic. “Better than a vibrator,” she crowed, reaching down to crank the radio. She found a rock station playing AC/DC and grinned wickedly, turning it up to ear shattering levels. She lowered all the windows, filling the darkness around them with sound. Without so much as checking her mirrors, Ricky whipped out of the parking spot much too fast. Always too fast. Letting out a loud Woop of excitement, she gunned the engine and took off down the dark road. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ He was tempted to make a smart ass reply, something about how he would have to go a lot farther to prove a crush status than that but he was already pushing his luck. Instead he settled in the passenger seat and rested his arm against the window seal. Most of the tension had already drained from him, what little he had was gone as soon as she fired up the car. Even as the sound erupted from the car he couldn’t help but smile. |