I’m not sure what I’m doing, but I don’t waste time overthinking it. He follows me out the doors, around the wall, and into the hall. We step next to a large window that overlooks downtown L.A. It’s like a scene from a movie.
“What’s going on? Are you feeling okay?” he questions.
As soon as I’m sure no one else is around, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. When I open them, he’s exploring my face for an answer, concerned.
I take a step forward and place my arms around his neck.
“Liz…” he says admonishingly.
Before he finishes his sentence, I press my lips into his. It’s a quick kiss, but it feels right. I lean back to gauge his reaction. By the way he’s intently focused on my mouth, I’d say it feels right to him too. I lean forward and kiss him again, sliding my fingers into his hair at the nape of his neck. His tongue gently touches mine and I melt into him. His hands slide up my back and I moan slightly. I want him.
“Take me home, Finn,” I whisper through our kiss.
He gently tugs my bottom lip with his before breaking away. My red lipstick is smeared on his lips. It’s hot.
“I think that’s a good idea.”
“It is a good idea. I want to see all your bedroom moves. Stay the night and get up in my business. Get all up in my business.” I whisper before I kiss him again. My hand slides down his back and I grab his ass. It’s a hard, tight ass. Fuck, I want him bad.
He smiles through our kiss. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. I know what I want. I’ve seen how you drive your car. Now show me how you drive your dick.”
He holds back a laugh and his head rolls back. His knees bend briefly before they straighten again and he tilts his head to the side. “You have such a way with words. Too bad it’s the alcohol talking.”
“I don’t want to talk anymore. You talk too much.” I place my finger on his lips and say, “Shh…” Then I start to laugh.
I fumble a bit and he helps me stand up. The room seems to be moving so I grasp on to his arms.
I hear someone coming and I realize I can’t quite get my balance. I cover my mouth with my hand when my nerves catch up with me.
“Let’s get you to a restroom,” Finn states as he searches for the nearest one.
“I don’t feel very well.”
He nods as he helps me stagger into the bathroom. He takes me in the ladies room and I’m surprised it’s empty except for one person in a stall.
“Let’s put a little water on your face.”
As he reaches for a paper towel, I feel something rising in my throat. Rushing to the toilet, I fall to my knees and puke. I never drink and tonight I did too much too soon.
He comes in behind me and holds my hair.
After I empty my stomach, he helps me to my feet, wiping my mouth with the towel in his hand.
“Should I be worried you puked after we kissed?” he asks with a half laugh.
My head hurts and I want him to stop talking. “Could you give me a few minutes?”
“Will you be okay by yourself?”
I nod my head. “Yeah, I’m better.”
After he makes his way out, I plop down onto the couch in the bathroom. What in the fuck did I just do?
The door from the other stall opens and a short-haired brunette steps out. I’ve never seen her before.
She does a double take at me and shakes her head.
“What?” I ask.
“If you can’t hold your liquor, you shouldn’t drink.”
I nod my head. She’s right. “I’m a dumbass.”
She laughs. It’s a quirky sound, but I like it.
I watch her as she washes her hands. She’s swaying a bit as she stands there. I blink a few times and realize the room is moving, not her.
Her head turns to the side and she furrows her eyebrows. “Were you kissing that dude that was in here with you?”
I nod my head sheepishly. Oh God, I kissed Finn. “How did you know?”
“Have you seen yourself in the mirror?” She chuckles.
Attempting to stand, I wobble a bit. She rolls her eyes and holds out her hand to help me. Blinking a few times to focus my eyes, my reflection comes into view. That damn red lipstick. I look like Heath Ledger as the Joker. “Grilled Cheesus!”
She laughs and hands me a couple of paper towels. “Eh, we’ve all been there. It happens when people mix alcohol and work.”
“You’ve made out with a guy from work too?” I ask.
She sneers. “No, a girl from work.”
“Oh.” I give her a thumbs-up. I must still be really fucked up because I want her to talk to me. I want her to tell me I just dreamt the last twenty minutes of my life.
“I’m Liz,” I say, holding out my hand to her.
She shakes it. She’s really fucking strong. “Emerson. Emerson Reed.”
I nod my head and wet the paper towels, trying to remove all trace of physical embarrassment.
“I never drink. I also never go to parties or throw myself at people. I may have to stay in this bathroom for the rest of my life.”
“Regrets are the foundation of improvement. You’ll be fine,” she says.
“You don’t understand. I barely know him and he’s my ride home. He’s actually my ride to and from work every day.”
She huffs and leans her back against the sink. She’s really pretty, short and heavyset with a little extra baggage at the waist. She’s wearing a flowy knee-high skirt and combat boots. I wonder where she works.
“Must be nice. My ride to and from work is the bus.”
She pulls out some cherry lip balm and applies it to her lips.
“It is and it isn’t. I’d give anything to not be alone with him tonight. I’m so embarrassed. How will I ever look at him again?”
“Then take the bus. Slip out and he’ll never know.”
I consider the bus maps I’ve read. It will take several hours and a few changes to get home, but it sounds better than having to deal with Finn’s questions. Then it hits me. Finn said he wouldn’t mind driving more people. Even though I’m fucked up and probably shouldn’t speak for him, I do it anyway.
“How about if we give you a ride?” I ask her.
She stops fumbling through her purse and glances up at me, surprised. “Won’t your boyfriend mind?”
“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s really not even my friend. And no, he said he should add more people to our carpool.” I’m lying, but I desperately want her to save me. “I live in Westminster, so as long as you’re going past me, we’re good. He lives in Huntington Beach.”
“Shoot, I’m not that far,” she replies. “But I could ask around and see if I can find someone else.”
“Do it!” I shout excitedly. “I’ll stay here until you come back.”
She nods and rushes out the door. This could really save my ass.
I’m not sure how much time passes, but after what seems like only a few minutes, I hear Finn knocking on the bathroom door.
“Lizzy, you okay in there?”
I jolt upright, not realizing I was half asleep and sliding down the couch in the bathroom. This is another reason to add to my list of why Liz should never attend parties.
“Just a few more minutes.” I pull myself up and make my way back to the sink. My eyeliner is spread all around my eyes like a raccoon. My smeared red lipstick has left a stain around my lips, even after I wiped it off. I look like a French hooker. I attempt to clean myself up and gain the courage to face Finn. Maybe he won’t say anything, just like he did with my car, and we can let it go without speaking of it again.
Taking a deep breath, I push through the bathroom door. He’s leaning against the opposite wall with his arms and ankles crossed. He straightens when he sees me. Magically, his face is clean. Not fair.
“How are you feeling?”
I shrug. I don’t want to talk. Someone needs to save me.
I hear some commotion to my left and
that’s when I see the girl from earlier approaching with two guys. The one on her right is big and stocky with a crew cut and a scowl. The other guy is short and Hispanic. He seems kinda nervous.
“Okay, Liz, I found some people,” Emerson states. “This big lug is Kel Williams and this cutie is… What’s your name again?”
“Sí,” he adds with a smile.
Emerson does a double take at him. “Anyway, we’re all ready to go.”
My eyes bulge. I forgot I had asked her to find more people. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I realize it was presumptuous of me. What do I say?
Finn crosses his arms and turns to face me. “Beth, is there something you’re not telling me?”
I clear my throat and fidget with my skirt. “I, umm… I may have mentioned to Emerson that you said you’d be fine driving more people.”
Finn’s brows furrow as he gawks at me. Turning back to face them, he smiles. “Could you give us a minute?”
Emerson nods, Kel rolls his eyes, and the other dude just continues to smile.
Finn grabs me by the elbow and leads me away from them. “You did what?” he whispers angrily.
“I… I’m sorry. It’s just, I felt like an idiot for drinking too much and for well, you know, and I didn’t want to have to face you and I met Emerson in the bathroom and she said I was lucky you gave me a ride, which I know I am. I’m so lucky. But then I remembered you said that you wouldn’t mind having more people in the car and it clicked that if more people were with us, I wouldn’t have to talk to you or explain why I’m such an idiot for throwing myself at you or for asking you to show me how you drive… your… um…
“And anyway, it just came out so I’m really sorry and if you don’t want to pick me up anymore, I completely understand because it was really rude of me to ask other people without asking you first and I know you’re a nice guy and you probably wouldn’t have made what I did awkward but I just couldn’t talk about it because I’m so, so embarrassed and so, so dumb and I wish I could go back and not do it, but I can’t because I saw you out there dancing and I don’t know what happened and I hate myself for being that way and this way.
“This is why I don’t do parties, or friends, or conversation in general because I always fuck it up and make things worse somehow.” I cover my face with my hands. He’s completely silent. I spread open a finger or two to see his reaction and he sighs and smiles.
“Okay then.” He turns and struts back over to the group, leaving me standing there with my mouth gaping.
He holds out his hand, shaking each person’s as he says their name. “Emerson, Kel and…”
“Sí.” The man smiles.
Finn pauses. “Ehh, me llamo es Finn.”
He smiles more brightly. “Me llamo Ernesto.”
“Ernesto,” Finn repeats. “Alright, is everyone ready to go?”
“This is okay with you?” Emerson questions.
“Any friend of Liz is a friend of mine. Liz needs to run and get her things. I’ll meet you all downstairs by the doors to the parking garage in say… twenty minutes?”
“Cool. We’ll see you there.”
Finn spins back to face me and holds out his arm. “Shall we go get your things?”
“Why are you being so nice to me? Are you mad?” I ask him ashamedly, sliding my arm into his.
“You were just being you. How can I be angry about that?”
We make our way to the elevators and when the doors open, he slips his arm out from mine and presses his hand into the small of my back to lead me through them. There are a ton of people inside and a lot of chatter. We’re standing near the front of the doors and Finn is watching the panel with the numbers. We have six stops until the seventh floor.
When the doors open, we slide out of the way to allow others to pass, and end up toward the back of the elevator. He sighs and my eyes strain to see his face without him knowing. I don’t do a very good job. He turns briefly to face me and winks, placing his hand at the small of my back again. I don’t feel as wobbly as before, although I don’t feel completely like myself. Standing there next to him with his hand on my back feels better than okay. I wonder if it’s still the alcohol, so I brush it off. He already thinks I’m an idiot, I don’t want to make things worse.
We arrive on seven and make our way through the dark office to my desk. Unlocking my drawer and removing my purse, I stumble a bit and my purse falls to the floor. The entire contents spill out.
Finn and I both bend at the same time and clunk heads.
He laughs and places his hand on my head where we hit. “Are you okay?”
“No… not really. You have a hard head.” My choice of words makes my cheeks feel hot.
I bend again and lift my wallet from the floor to stuff it in my purse. Finn hands me a stray tampon with a smirk and I cringe. Then I see it. His business card is lying next to my lipstick. I reach for it, but he gets there first.
“Well isn’t this curious?” he asks. “How in the world did my card end up in your purse when you clearly threw it away?”
I shake my head like I haven’t a clue. “Maybe the janitor saw it and thought it was important.”
“So he opened your locked drawer and put it in your purse?”
“I don’t know how it got there. I’ve never seen it before today.” That was pretty convincing considering how drunk I am.
He smirks at me and I know he sees right through me. He’s such an asshole. I gather the rest of my purse and hold on to the desk to stand. Finn lifts my sweater from the back of my chair and holds it for me, allowing me to slide my arms inside. He carries my bag and I don’t complain this time. I’m too fuzzy.
We start the walk back to the elevators and he doesn’t say a word. I remember we’re meeting the group by his car. How could I have done that? I feel terrible.
“I’m a horrible person for saying you’d drive them,” I blurt out as we wait for the elevator.
“No, you’re not.”
“Please yell at me or something. Being nice is just making it worse.”
“Alright then. How could you, Liz?” he asks sternly before smiling.
“That was weak.”
“Stop worrying. The more the merrier. It’ll be fine.”
The doors open and we step inside. There are three other people that I don’t recognize. When we arrive at the parking garage, our group is waiting. Finn leads us to his car and I hop in the front seat. Ernesto sits between Emerson and Kel.
“Nice car. Where do you work?” Kel asks.
“I’m in marketing. How about you?” Finn closes his door and starts the car.
“I’m in shipping and receiving.”
“You look like you work there,” Emerson adds.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kel responds, leaning forward in a huff to gaze at her.
“Chill the fuck out, I’m just saying you look strong. Damn.”
“I am strong. I’d like to see Mr. Marketing over here lift sixty-pound boxes all day. Some of us don’t have easy jobs.”
I roll my eyes and glance over at Finn. His lips form a fine line, but his face tells me he’s amused. I grit my teeth. This is all my fault.
“Just because he works behind a desk, doesn’t mean he doesn’t work hard,” Emerson adds.
“I didn’t say he didn’t work hard, I just said his job is easier than mine.”
“So you’re insinuating that if we don’t lift boxes, our jobs are easier?” she asks.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. My work is all physical.”
“And no brain, obviously,” Emerson adds with a chuckle.
“I fucking think all the time. I have to know where the packages are going and scan barcodes.”
I turn in my seat to look at them. Ernesto is still smiling. I don’t think he has a clue what’s going on around him.
“Oooh, that sounds tough.” Emerson rolls her eyes.
“I’m actually up for a manager job.”
“Then you can have an easy job, huh?”
“Hey! Alright, everyone calm down. I think we can all agree that we all work hard and leave it at that.” Finn is such the voice of reason.
It’s quiet for a few minutes and then Emerson speaks. “You know those little golf carts down by the sets? I drive those. All day, every day. Back and forth.”
“That’s pretty cool. Have you met a lot of celebrities?” Finn asks.
“Yeah. A ton. I could tell you some stories. Some of them ignore me like I’m their servant and other people chat it up. I have to say, one of the nicest people I’ve ever met is Tom Hanks. He’s a great guy!”
“That’s awesome, Em,” Finn adds. “I’d love to meet him someday.”
“Did you just call me Em?” she questions.
Oh boy, here we go with Finn’s name switches.
“I did. Emerson is a mouthful.”
She laughs. “That’s what my wife calls me. She says the same thing. She says I’m a mouthful in a lot of ways.”
“Wait, what?” Kel asks. “Your wife? Are you a lesbo now?”
I see Finn visibly sigh. I’m staying out of this conversation. I think I’ve said way too much today.
“Dude. I’m a girl and I’m married to a girl. You are smart. Now I see why they picked up on your management potential down there in shipping. You must really wow them every day with your powers of inference.”
“What’s inference?” Kel asks. “I’m sure I must have it if it’s a good thing.”
“Oh my God.” Emerson folds her arms and stares out the window.
“What?” Kel asks.
It’s quiet for a few seconds. My head is starting to pound. Finn reaches over and squeezes my hand. I pull away, nervously. I hope he doesn’t think there’s something between us just because we swapped spit. It didn’t mean anything. He faces forward and places both hands back on the wheel.
“Have you been friends for long?” Finn asks, glancing up in the rearview mirror.
“Who?” Emerson asks. “Me and ding-dong over here?”
Confessions of a Carpool Captive Page 6
