Into dark water

by Regina Bartley

  There was like this dark, lingering cloud over us.

  We went back to the regular tutoring sessions, but she was different. Since I’d gotten sick, I had tried so hard to be better, at least towards her. Yet, she still had this stick up her ass.

  It was like she was waiting for me flip out, and there was no way I could. Not after everything that her family had done for me. She was the last person I wanted to treat badly. The vibe between us was off, and I needed some time with my friends. Some time to just let loose and not worry about the things I said or did, just some time to be me for a change.

  Not that I was faking or anything, but all that structure was killing me.

  I waited by Jenny’s car after my last class on Friday to tell her my plans. She was going home without me, and I’d pick my things up on Sunday. I had to get back to the apartment. I’d miss the food, and T.V., and clean clothes, but it wasn’t smart for me to get used to those things anyway. I’d learned a long time ago not to get comfortable. When you do, that’s when things go to shit.

  Jenny and Lo made their way over to the car. They walked side by side, and I wondered how the two prettiest girls in the school weren’t the most popular. They were oblivious to the fact that every guy around stared as they walked by. It was a waste of perfectly good bodies.

  “Hey,” I said when they reached me.

  “Hi Draven,” Lo replied. I could hear the sexy come-hither tone in her voice, and I gave her a good once over. She never hid the fact that she was attracted to me, and if she hadn’t been Jenny’s best friend and such a goodie-two-shoes, then I would’ve had that girl a long time ago. Hell, I’d have Jenny in a second if there were no strings attached.

  “I’m catching a ride with Jett. We’ve got some plans tonight.” I gauged her reaction, but got nothing. “I’ll be over Sunday to get my stuff.”

  And there was the look I’d been waiting for.

  “You’re going back home?” She questioned, but it felt more like a loaded statement.

  “Yeah.”

  She turned to Lo and said, “Can you give us a minute?”

  “I can call you later,” Lo replied.

  “Okay,” she told her and waited for her to be out of earshot. “You want to explain to me what’s going on?” Her eyes narrowed in my direction.

  “You’re cute when you’re mad,” I grinned, knowing all too well that I was walking a thin line with her. Her big blue eyes squinted harder with a scowl.

  “I’m being serious.” She sighed heavily. “You can’t just up and leave.”

  “I’m pretty sure I can.”

  “But why? Why would you want to go back?” She opened her car door and threw her backpack inside.

  “It’s my home.” It’s not like I lived with her. “And don’t you dare say, Home Is Where The Heart Is. That is so fucking lame. Plus we both know I don’t have a heart.” I beamed. She was always so serious, and I loved messing with her.

  She shook her head like she definitely had something else she wanted to say. “I don’t get it.”

  I watched her as she flipped her head over and tied her up in a knot on top of her head.

  “What’s not to get?” I shrugged and heard Jett call out my name. “We’ve got stuff to do tonight. I’ve got to go.” I nodded my head toward Jett’s car. “I’ll see you Sunday.”

  “Draven wait,” she called out, and I turned around.

  “Take me out with you tonight?”

  What?

  I cocked my head to the side. Surely, I couldn’t have heard her right.

  Taking three long strides, I stood directly in front of her. I was close enough that if I whispered she’d hear me just fine.

  “You suddenly want to walk on the wild side?” Her breath hitched and she backed up just a tiny bit. “Not sure you can handle it.” I gave her a sly grin.

  The thrill of just getting a rise out of her was worth every dirty thought in my mind. I wanted to run my fingers down the length of her long neck, and tear that tee shirt right off of her.

  And just when I thought I had her all figured out she whispered. “Try me.”

  Hot damn.

  I tipped my head at her, a smirk rising on my lips. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

  ***

  “Why the hell aren’t you going? We had plans man.” Jett was bailing on me last minute. We were supposed to pick up Jenny in twenty minutes, and all of a sudden he just can’t go.

  “I can’t. Something came up.”

  My gas tank was on empty, and so was my wallet. I was counting on his ride.

  “Can you at least drop me off at Jenny’s?” I asked. We’d just have to take her car.

  “Yeah, come on,” he answered. I couldn’t tell what was up with him, but I had a feeling she had legs for days. He wouldn’t ditch me otherwise.

  When we pulled up in Jenny’s driveway, she was waiting outside. She was sitting on the trunk of her car looking at her phone, not paying any attention to the world around her. It was nothing new.

  Her blonde hair was in a braid over her shoulder, and she was wearing a shirt that bared her shoulder. She looked good sitting up there.

  I flicked Jett off as he backed out of the driveway, leaving me standing there. I wouldn’t let him live this one down.

  When she looked up at me, she raised her brows. “We have to take your car,” I told her. “It’s just you and me.”

  “Where’s he going?” She pointed to the street.

  “Probably to bury himself inside some leggy blonde.” I answered honestly.

  “Glad I asked,” she scoffed.

  She wanted in my world for a night, and that’s just what I was planning to give her.

  “Why were you sitting out here?” I looked around at the barely lit driveway.

  “I told Mom I was going out with Lo, and I’d be back later.”

  “Lying to the parents already. You turning bad, Jenny?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Just get in the car.”

  When she turned around I noticed that the bottom of her shorts were a little shorter than usual.

  Nice.

  She started the car, and backed out of the driveway. “Where we going?” She asked. Both of her hands gripped the steering wheel with enough force to turn her knuckles white.

  “To hell, if I have anything to do with it.” I laughed and she glanced over at me with a weird look on her face. “You worried yet?”

  “No,” she shook her head. But I could tell that she was scared to death. She could lie to herself all she wanted, but that frightened look on her face answered my question for me.

  This was going to be a fun night.

  Jenny

  I really wanted to take my hands off the steering wheel and rub my face, because I knew this was going to be the longest night of my life. Some other life form must’ve taken over my body in that school parking lot. I was in way over my head, and about to drown in the undertow.

  A part of me just wanted to go with him, so that I could figure out a way to convince him not to go back home. Another part, and I stress, a very tiny part, might’ve been seeking out the thrill.

  That tiny little asshole betrayed me.

  I was so nervous that the backs of my legs were sweating. I could feel them sticking to my leather seats. Without having his friend with us, it felt a whole lot like a date, and I wasn’t prepared for the pressure of it. I also wasn’t about to mention the whole date thing to him though. He would give me so much crap for it.

  Nightfall was upon, and my headlights shined bright against the open road. We only passed a few cars. For the most part it was dead on the two-lane road. I had absolutely no clue where we were going. I had to just trust his direction, which left me following Smithfield’s Way right out of town.

  “You want to tell me where we’re going now? It’s probably a good idea for the driver to know where they’re driving too. For safety reasons, you know?” I pleaded, but I was obviously getting nowhere. His snide r
emarks and unreadable face gave me no clues as to where this train was stopping.

  My body stiffened when I felt his hand embrace my thigh. “What would be the fun in that?”

  Breathe Jenny, just breathe.

  “Take a left,” he told me, his hand still resting on my leg like it was no big deal. My body was already burning like a wildfire. I didn’t need to feel the burning urge from down under. I was pretty sure that wasn’t sweat between my legs.

  After making the turn, I caught sight of a few signs up ahead. I had no clue where we were exactly, only that I’d never been there before. There was no sign of anything remotely memorable about the place.

  Draven finally removed his hand from my thigh, and I breathed loud enough for the world to hear me. It was like a little weight was lifted. I already wasn’t prepared for the night, and I didn’t need the added sexual tension. Especially since the tension was one-sided.

  “Pull in there,” he pointed to the gravel parking lot. “Any chance, you’ve got a twenty?”

  “Any chance, you’ve got a job?” My tone was clipped. “And selling drugs on the street isn’t considered a real job.” I laughed at my own joke.

  “How about selling my body, is that considered a real job? Give me twenty, and I’ll show you what I can do.” He said seriously. I snapped my head around to catch a glimpse of his facial expression. “I’ve got jokes too, Jenny baby.”

  “Very funny.” I reached into my wallet and pulled out a twenty. It was a good thing I brought some money or else the two of us would be shit out of luck. “What is this place?” I asked, trying to glimpse through the dark windows of what looked like a storefront. It was secluded and in the middle of nowhere.

  “Wait right here,” he told me as he jumped out of the car. It was dark, there were maybe six cars in the parking lot, and we were miles away from home. It felt more like a scene from final destination than a night of fun.

  I kept the engine running while Draven slipped inside the dirty building. Several things were going through my head while I waited. I was wondering if he was in this place doing something highly illegal, and if I was aiding and abetting him in the crime.

  Several minutes passed before he came strolling back out. There was a snarky grin on his face and I knew he was up to something. It wouldn’t have been Draven if he weren’t.

  The car door opened and he poked his head inside.

  “Cut off the engine, and come on,” he told me.

  “Where are we?” I questioned, and it wasn’t too much to ask.

  “Come on Jenny. Live a little,” he said before slamming the door closed.

  God help me.

  I followed him around the building to the backside, lingering very closely to him. Surprises weren’t really my thing, and I wasn’t in the mood to be blindsided.

  We followed a little pathway that was covered by a metal covering, and that was when I noticed the lights. They must’ve been thirty foot in the air and looked like they lit up acres of land. There was a tent set up with a guy standing behind a table. Tons of equipment was laid out.

  “We’re paint-balling?”

  “You need a little thrill in your life right?”

  My face lit up. This was something I always wanted to try, but we had nothing like this in Borders. I’d never even heard about this place. The scared feeling that I had before getting out of the car was gone, replaced now with excitement and adrenaline. This was cool as hell.

  “Have you done this before?” I asked. He must have if he knew exactly where this place was.

  “Not sober,” he winked. I knew he wasn’t kidding.

  We grabbed everything from the table we needed and suited up. I suddenly wished I’d worn more clothing. It was a warm night, but I knew this was a dangerous sport. It was going to hurt getting hit, and it made me cringe just thinking about it.

  The man behind the table told us a few safety tips, and showed me everything I needed to know about my gun before releasing us through the chain link fence.

  “Okay,” Draven said in a serious voice. “We are going to stay on this course here, since you’re a newbie. Don’t go past that yellow caution tape.” I nodded. We looked like we were about to go skiing with our extra large safety glasses. “On the count of three you run to the left over there, and I’ll take right. When the big buzzer sounds, then the game is on. Yell surrender when you’re out of ammo. Got it?”

  I felt like I was all hyped up on sugar, and really it was just an adrenaline buzz from hell. “I think so. What happens if we get shot?”

  “Since it’s just the two of us, we are playing with numbers. In the end, we will count the paint shots on our bodies. The person with the most hits wins.”

  “Does it hurt?”

  He didn’t reply, just laughed like a hyena.

  I knew my fate was sealed.

  “Don’t hold back, Jenny.” His eyebrows rose.

  “You’re going down Lepage.”

  “One… Two… Three,” he said and we dashed off in our directions.

  I could feel my heart pumping in my throat. The wind blew my hair back as I made my way as fast as I could to the nearest cover. I could already hear the sound of his gun as the paintballs came barreling towards me.

  “Damn!” I winced as I felt a ball skim my thigh. It hadn’t even hit me full on, and it had a lot of sting to it. A direct hit was going to hurt like hell. When I’d asked him to take me out, getting shot hadn’t been what I thought would be on the agenda. I thought maybe a party, or even illegal fighting, but not this.

  My breathing picked up as I lifted my gun over the wooden protector and aimed my gun in his direction. I fired off a few shots and realized very quickly that I was going to suck at this. I had no aim whatsoever. The shots I fired off hadn’t landed anywhere near him

  There was a roll of old tires just to the left, so I darted quickly behind them, shooting rounds the entire time. Surely something was bound to hit him. I peeked through the hole of one of the tires and caught sight of his leg showing from behind the barricade where he was standing. It was a much easier shot. And with a few rounds, I got him. I knew I did when he cursed loudly. It made me laugh so hard. Especially since he thought he was going to get out of this unharmed.

  One point for Jenny.

  Seeking him out, I knew I needed to get just a little bit closer. It was going to be a long run to the next little station. It was now or never. So I held out my gun directly in front of me and let the shots fire in his direction as I sprinted like my life depended on it. You would’ve thought that I was running from the big bad wolf.

  He caught me twice in the crossfire. Once on the inside of my thigh, which I couldn’t figure out how he hit me there, and again on my shoulder which didn’t seem to hurt as badly as my leg; he was a freaking good shooter.

  “You give up yet?” He called out as I sat perched behind a tiny wall. His voice was to my right, so I peeked out trying to catch a glimpse of him. My gun felt much lighter so I knew I was almost out of ammo. I needed a couple more good shots before this game ended. I wanted bragging rights. The game was about to get dirty.

  I kneeled down on all fours and army crawled the few feet to the next barricaded area. I heard him take a few shots, but nothing hit me.

  I was in the perfect spot. He couldn’t hit me, but with the little cut out hole, I had the perfect shot at him. One wrong move and I was going to nail him.

  “Only one way out Lepage. You can run but you can’t hide.” I was laughing hysterically. This was the most fun I’d had in such a long time, and the biggest rush ever. I hadn’t thought I’d like this, but it was actually loads of fun.

  Huh, having loads of fun with Draven Lepage was something I never thought would happen. Not even if hell froze over.

  It showed you what happened when you stepped out of your box.

  He fired a few more shots, and I heard them hit the board in front of me.

  “Surrender,” he yelled.

  �
��What, no?” I groaned standing up from behind the wall.

  I started to pout and walk away from my hiding area when he yelled. “Just kidding.”

  He started shooting right at me, and every hit hurt worst than the last. I raised my gun in his direction and fired back at him draining my gun of every single paintball left inside it. I hit him just as much as he did me, until we both were out of ammo.

  “You big ass!” I yelled.

  The two of us stood face-to-face covered head to toe in bright pink paint. Despite the fact that every inch of me was burning from the sting of the shots, it was the best time I’d ever had. Even though it lasted maybe twenty minutes. It was awesome, and I hoped deep inside that he’d bring me back.

  “Let me count you,” he said lowering his goggles to his neck. There was a wide grin on his face, and it was the most genuine smile I’d ever seen from him. “One, two, three, four, five, ouch!” He said pointing to my thigh. “That’s going to be a nasty bruise. Six, seven, eight, nine, and ten… You know I’ve kicked your ass. Turn around.” He told me, and I turned slowly. “Eleven.” His finger touched the butt of my pants.

  “My turn.” I glared, and counted the markings on his body. “Seven. Shit.”

  “I’m the champion, baby. You can’t beat me,” he heckled slipping his arm over my shoulder. “But you did good for a first timer.”

  “Draven Lepage, was that a compliment?” I feigned surprised, pressing a hand to my chest and batting my lashes at him.

  “Moment of weakness,” he confessed and squeezed me a little tighter.

  Oh, I was weak all right. If he only knew…

  We put our equipment back onto the table and went back to the car. The two of us had paint everywhere. “We should’ve brought a change of clothes,” I told him.

  “We can always get naked.” There was a sexy tone to his voice and I thought for one second that he was serious, but that didn’t last. “You know you want me,” he laughed.

  “Get in the car.” I was exasperated. He was always so full of crap, that it was hard to find any form of seriousness inside him. When I wanted him to be serious he couldn’t. Not usually anyway. “Are you hungry, because I’m starving?”