Test Drive

Chapter 2

Two

Long after the lot emptied, I sat there in the darkness. My heart pounding after the roar of those engines had long since receded. My slick thighs stuck together from the sight of that thick tongue tracing those full lips while looking at me.

No one had ever looked at me like that, not even Jerry, my boyfriend. People rarely looked at me at all. All my life I’d felt like a firefly that only came out during the day. There was nothing remarkable about shining your light under the dazzling rays of the sun. But when he’d stared at me, it was like he knew that there was a spark in me; a spark that no one could see because I was so often standing in the light of day and safely tucked away when night fell.

But not tonight.

Tonight I was out in the thick of it. The party was louder than crickets chirping or beetles rustling leaves. I heard people laughing. I heard the loud music. Everything in the surrounding darkness pulsed with life. It thrummed through me, shaking something loose. I had the inclination to reach for the door handle and step out into the night, to step out of myself. To shed the skin I’d been cocooned inside and shake free my newfound wings and fly.

A beeping sound broke me from my trance. I snatched my hand away from the door handle and picked up my phone. It was a text message from Jerry. “Can’t wait to see you next weekend,” it said.

Right. Next weekend.

I sighed and put my phone away. We’d been planning next weekend for a while now. Jerry and I had been dating for almost a year. He’d never pressured me, not once, about s*x. So, I was shocked last week when he brought up the idea of a weekend away together. He’d clarified that he would like to engage in i*********e with me.

He’d said it just like that. “Ellie, I’d like for you to entertain the idea of i*********e with me.”

It hadn’t made me rub my thighs together like a cricket in heat. But I felt it was time. Our relationship had progressed along as though we’d ticked off an updated Victorian courting calendar.

Our courtship had begun with several dates. A handshake ended the first, a hug the second, a chaste kiss on the cheek for the third. Jerry hadn’t migrated to a kiss on my lips until after a month of dates. He hadn’t used his tongue for another two months. I’d met his parents during Thanksgiving and he met mine over Christmas. And then there was the boob grazing over Spring Break. It had taken a long time to reach third base, and though my knees weren’t making music, I found myself eager to cross over the home plate.

I texted Jerry back a smiley face. Not the one with the hearts in its eyes. Not the one blowing kisses. Just the plain standard smile.

The streetlight above me blinked back on to its full light, taking me out of the darkness and back into full light. I looked up at the cleared lot. The onlookers of the race were likely going to wherever the end point was.

I thought about following them. I considered heading over to the end point of the race, getting out of my car, and standing out in the darkness. Stepping into the glare of head beams, so he could see me again. Maybe take his tongue around the track of his lips again. Maybe he’d blow me another kiss and ignite me with more than a look. I was sure girls sent him all kinds of suggestive emojis along with a string of heart-shaped kisses.

I looked down at myself. My skirt came down past my knees. My shoes were flats with no spike. I had on two layers of shirts; a camisole and a long sleeve cardigan. I caught my reflection in the rear view mirror. My blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail that looked childish suddenly. I shut my blue eyes, pulled the gear into drive, and headed down the proper direction of the one-way street. I reached the end of the street only to realize that I did not know where I was going.

I took a left, but that street looked unfamiliar.

I took a right, but felt as though I were going in circles. This part of the neighborhood looked even rougher than the parking lot.

I heard a loud roar behind me. I saw headlights getting closer and closer. I realized I was in the line of the race. I pulled my Bug over to the curb, but heard a loud pop and felt a bump. Dread crawled up my back when I realized I’d blown a tire.

Four cars zoomed past me. Once they passed, I got out of my car to confirm that I had rolled over broken glass and my tire was indeed flat. There was a blinking streetlight above me. I pulled out my phone to see I had one bar of service out in this satellite tower desert.

Great.

I was stuck out in the middle of nowhere with no help in sight. I was a wiz at identifying bugs and insects, but I had no clue how to change a tire.

I reached into the passenger side dashboard for the car manual. Surely, there were instructions on how to change a tire. I was great at textbook directions. I opened the book, but the sound of wheels coming closer brought my attention up.