More adventures of the irrepressible Kimmie and her inexhaustible appetite for Ryan the stud.
And this time they're finally off! The roadtrip is go.
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Chapter 6: Payback
I am so glad that Sandy wrote me a note for my last class. I don't think I could stay in that school much longer. It's like hell. Boring, prep-infested hell.
But I'm getting a reprieve. I glance over my shoulder at the front steps and see Seth standing forlornly at the top.
Poor guy. He's stuck at home and his five-day weekend is not going to consist of fucking Kimmie Gentry senseless.
But he has been saying Summer's been getting frisky lately (and I really don't want to think about why) so he probably won't do so badly. I don't feel guilty until he raises his hand and waves.
He waves.
I have to wave back. I won't go to hell for this; it's not a cardinal sin...or whatever. I'll take him to the toy store when I get back.
The Range Rover looms in front of me and I am so ready to go. The Cohens believe I'm just on my way to Luke's, Seth and Summer have agreed to give me space so it should be clear sailing for this little road trip.
I put the key in the ignition when I see the envelope stuck under the windshield wiper. I roll the window down, reach out and grab it.
My name's on it and there's a pink lip print sealing the pink envelope. No prizes for guessing where that comes from. I tear it open and a pink lacy thong falls in my lap.
Kimmie's going to be the death of me. She left her underwear on my windshield. Oh god. Forgive me for what I'm about to do.
There's got to be a limit to how much I can take. I pull out the note.
Here's what I'm not wearing right now, stud.
And I think I'm dead now. My head has just exploded.
Focus. Deep breaths.
I have to get moving. I have to pick up Kimmie.
Jesus – I don't know if I'm going to survive the next five days. But this should definitely be a trip to remember.
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I nearly squeal with joy when I see his Rover turn the corner. I hop off my bags and pick them up.
I can't believe he came! He'll come again, that's for sure...but he actually showed up!
Well, the little love note couldn't have hurt, I guess. Good old Mom taught me that one. Sort of like, dropping a handkerchief in the old days. Thongs always bring the men running.
He stops and for a second I think he's going to get out and open the door for me.
He can't be that gallant.
But he is. He gets out, picks up my bags and puts them in the back. He gives me one of those smiles where his blue eyes sparkle and...
I'm going to hell. I'm seriously going to burn.
"Kimmie?"
I kiss him on the mouth, molesting him with my tongue. He is too hot to resist.
What am I doing? I shouldn't be dragging this man into my dirty laundry; I shouldn't be making him face my stupid rat bastard ex with me...
But he tastes so good. So right...
"Mmm...Kimmie...your...mom's..." he mumbles, his tongue in my mouth.
I let him pull away, his eyes looking over my shoulder. I turn and Mom's watching us from the front porch with a faint smile.
"Sorry. Let's go," I say, rolling my eyes. Stupid Mom. Since she's all monogamous with Dad now, she's totally trying to live vicariously through me. I watch him walk around the front of the truck in those faded jeans. I bet she's tracking his ass, too.
He looks good. Edible.
"Ready?" he calls.
"Yup." I hop into the Range Rover and hope that what I'm doing won't make him hate me forever.
We've been driving a few minutes when I notice the GPS system.
"Ryan?"
"Hmm?" His gaze flickers from the road for only a second.
"I know we're going to Portland and all, but...I have a little errand to do. It's only a short detour on our way and..."
"Whatever. It's cool."
I punch in Jay's street address into the computer and hit enter.
"I'm glad you know how to work that," Ryan says with a smile.
"What can I say, I'm a twenty-first century girl," I grin. I slide over in my seat and yawn dramatically, stretching until my hand lands on his thigh.
"That wasn't necessary, Kimmie. But could you..."
My fingertips walk across his thigh and venture higher.
"...not do that when..."
I unbutton the jeans and pull at the zipper.
"...I'm ...driving?" And he almost squeaks, I swear. I stifle a giggle.
He's ready, it's like he's been ready forever. I guess he's been feeling the tension in detention, too.
He takes one hand off the wheel and lifts my hand off his lap before I can get any further.
"I can't wreck, Kimmie. Just hold on."
Easy for him to say.
"Funny, stud. I got the impression you were in the mood..." And I look purposefully at his half-opened pants. Some things don't lie.
He shoots me a glance. Okay, I get it.
I try and pout but the long line of brake lights that appear in front of us a few minutes later as we join the freeway distracts me.
"Traffic. Traffic sucks," he mutters, putting his foot on the brake and bringing the Rover to a stop.
"Well, I know something else that sucks..."
"Oh god..." he says before I unbuckle my seat belt. But this time he doesn't resist when I aim for his lap. Hello, stud, remember me?
He groans. I guess he does.
Now what was it he really liked last time?
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The horns get louder and Kimmie bangs her head on the bottom of the steering wheel.
"Ouch! What the hell is going on up there?" she asks, zipping me up and looking at me with these sultry eyes. She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, smirking. I still feel dazed.
"I think we're moving again, you better get up from there..."
Actually, traffic has been moving around us for the past few minutes, but I couldn't make her stop. She was enjoying it so much and I was...hell, it was great. Just great. I cannot believe how much I needed this and how good she was. She is. Damn, Kimmie, you've got skills. That tongue alone...
"Thanks for that, by the way. It was... it was really... nice." I'm still trying to get my mind back into driving mode. My heart is pounding and I can feel a stupid grin etched onto my face.
She settles back into the passenger seat and puts on her seatbelt as I start driving again. I catch a glance from the cab beside me and he gives me a thumbs-up. Hell yeah.
"Hopefully you'll pay me back for that later," she smiles, her hand going to my thigh again.
"I'll see what I can do." But yeah, you've definitely got something coming, Kimmie.
The GPS lady barks out a direction and I glance around for the exit she's talking about. "So where exactly are we going?"
"Um...I just need to take care of something in LA. It'll only take a minute. Well, maybe a half-hour," she says.
I don't think she's telling me the truth.
I wonder what she's got in store.
We get off the freeway and drive through the streets of LA. It looks like we're heading for Beverly Hills but the GPS directs me on and we finally pull into what looks like a gigantic campus.
We're at UCLA.
Oh, hell, I know why we're here.
I can't believe she's just tricked me into this.
"Kimmie, tell me this hasn't got anything to do with the guy that dumped you by email?"
She's looking completely apologetic next to me and has the good grace to blush.
"I can explain, stud. I – I just think you wouldn't have done it if I asked you ahead. And I really just want to go and tell him to fuck off once and for all. That's it, I swear."
I stay silent. I'm really pissed at her. And to think I trusted her.
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Oh shit. He's livid. I feel awful.
"Ryan, please, I'm sorry. It's just, I've been meaning to tell Jay to fuck off ever since he did that and the bastard won't return my emails, or pick up the phone, and... Damn, I need the closure." I can feel my voice breaking but I pull myself together. I don't want him to think I do this manipulative crying shit.
He still says nothing and keeps driving, the GPS lady issuing instructions more often now as we approach our destination.
"Ryan?" I don't want to sound desperate but I have this horrible feeling I've fucked the whole thing up. "Stop, please. I don't want you to be upset about this."
He sucks his top lip in, still not looking at me and then decides to pull over. He turns to me, and his blue eyes are cold.
"Upset? I find out you've set all this little trip up to go and see your fucking boyfriend and you expect me not to be pissed? When were you planning to let me know?" His jaw is clenched and I can see a muscle twitching. Hell, he looks really hot when he's angry.
"Listen Ryan," I say carefully. "I'm really sorry I didn't say anything earlier. I figured you'd say no..."
"Damn right."
"... but I really, really need to face the bastard. He's been a complete rat to me, and I swear I don't want anything more to do with him – but, Christ, Ryan, I spent the past three years of my life with him and I can't just let this motherfucker get away with what he did. I figured it would be easier – for me – if you were around. I'm not sure I could do it alone. "
He's still looking angry.
I take a deep breath and go on. "I completely understand that you're pissed. I was stupid not to tell you, I didn't think this through, but I don't want this to fuck up our whole trip. So if you really don't want to go along with it, forget it. Let's just get back on the freeway and drive to Portland or wherever. Because I think we both deserve a break on this trip."
I look up at him and I can see he's thinking it through. Oh please, oh please, oh please.
"Okay," he sighs. "Since we're here, we might as well do this. But don't ever lie to me again. I don't do lies, Kimmie. And I don't trust people often. I thought I could trust you."
He sounds bitter and I want to kick myself.
"I promise, stud. And you can trust me, honest. I won't do anything like that again." And I mean every word of it. "I'll so make it up to you, stud," I whisper, but I'm not sure he cares right now.
I am such an ass. Fucking Jay, messing with my brain.
When we pull up in front of his dorm I realize I haven't got a foolproof plan – because if he's not around, I have no idea how to get hold of him. I could call him on Ryan's cell, I guess – he never answers mine, thanks to caller ID. God, he's such a weasel.
Good, I can feel the anger coming back.
And we're in luck, because I could recognize his stupid-ass leather jacket anywhere, and he's there, hanging out with a couple of girls and flirting with them, too. He's even smoking. Damn him, he didn't use to smoke – I bet he's pretending to be all badass. He's such a jerk. I hate him. How could he just break up with me by email?
And for some stupid reason my eyes start stinging.
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So here we are, waiting for the asshole to show up, and I hope Kimmie has got it figured out because I don't want to spend ages here. I'm still pissed at this whole situation, and the sooner we leave, the better.
She's staring out of the windshield at some people chatting outside the dorm and I realize she must have seen him, because all of a sudden she's not looking so cool anymore and her eyes are wet.
Shit. I knew this was a terrible idea.
"Hey, Kimmie..." I'm such a sucker for beautiful girls in trouble.
She shakes her head. "It's okay. I just didn't expect it to... bother me so much. I'll be fine."
She's a fighter, that girl. And I'm still not happy, but I can't completely hate her, either.
She opens the door. "You wanna come, or are you staying in the car? Your call, stud."
Hey, I'm here for the ride. I follow her but keep my distance.
It looks like Jay is a tall, preppy-looking guy with some ridiculous notion that he's a tough guy. I can smell his kind a mile off. He's wearing this squeaky-clean, expensive biker's jacket; he's got a hundred-dollar haircut and he just looks like money. And yet, he's wearing ripped jeans, trying to look street, holding his cigarette between thumb and forefinger like he's James fucking Dean.
Fuck, I hate those guys.
He sees Kimmie walking up to him and his eyes widen in surprise. And alarm.
"Kimmie? What the fuck are you doing here?"
"Nice to see you too, assface," she replies, and she sounds pretty steady.
Evidently assface wasn't expecting that. He raises his hands in the air in defense.
"Hey, Kimmie, no need for this shit," he says. But he looks uneasy.
I find myself liking him less and less as each second passes. And I despised him to start off.
Kimmie has pulled herself together and is giving him serious attitude. She's crossed her arms and is standing her ground. "So, weasel, care to tell me to my face why you thought it'd be a good idea to break up with me by email. After three fucking years?"
The girls talking to Jay exchange a look – not a good one, from his point of view.
Obviously, he takes that as his cue to talk bullshit.
"Hey, Kim, chill out, girl. You know things change when you go to college. You couldn't expect it to last forever. And – I didn't want to hurt you, so..."
"So you thought a fucking email and not returning my calls was the way to go? You're a jerk, Jay, an insensitive bastard and an ass." She's looking a little rattled now, and the jerk picks up on it.
"Listen, Kimmie, it was sweet while it lasted, and you're a cute kid, but it's time to move on, okay? And do me a favor, don't go all hysterical on me," he snaps.
I can see she's shocked by his casual tone, and getting close to tears again. So I step closer.
"Lay off her, man." I want him to know she's not on her own there.
Now he's the one looking rattled. But not enough, because he's shooting off his mouth again.
"Who the fuck are you, dude?"
I shrug. "I'm a friend of Kimmie's. And you have no call to speak to her like that."
"Butt out, kid, or you'll regret it," he snarls in his best bad boy imitation, and I briefly resist the urge to laugh and then give in.
He narrows his eyes at me and all I can think is, dude, you wouldn't last five seconds in Chino, and I laugh harder.
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Oh my god, Ryan, I'm so glad you came.
I was on the verge of losing it just there when Jay turned all bitchy, and he stepped in and changed the whole vibe, just like this.
And now Jay is looking really pissed, and Ryan is laughing at him, and the two girls who were talking to Jay five minutes ago are looking kind of disgusted, and I really hope one of them is his new girlfriend. If she exists and he didn't just make her up to break up with me.
"Listen, shorty," Jay says, and he's giving Ryan a dirty look that completely fails to move him, "I won't tell you again. Mind your own business, or..."
"Or what?" Ryan says, and he's no longer laughing. And I can see the atmosphere has changed again, and Jay better watch out, because Ryan is pissed and I know he can have a pretty short fuse. Especially when he's that far from Dr Kim and the Cohens.
Jay, of course, gets it completely wrong.
"I don't know what it's like in Newport, kid, but where I come from, when a guy says butt out, you butt out." And he shoves Ryan with his shoulder.
Ryan cracks his knuckles. "I don't know what it's like in Newport either, man. I'm from Chino."
"Huh?" Jay says – and this time he's noticed that something is off, and maybe he should've kept his big mouth shut.
And then Ryan throws a right hook to his jaw, and Jay goes sprawling. It's all I can do not to cheer.
"C'mon, Kimmie," Ryan says. "Let's go. This guy's a waste of time." And he holds out his hand to me. I take it.
The last thing I see before turning my back is Jay rubbing his face and looking shell-shocked on the ground. As we walk off, one of the two girls who were talking to him catches up with me.
"I had no idea he was such an ass," she says. "I'm sorry." And she's gone.
I don't know if she's the other girl he was seeing, but if she was, I don't think she is anymore.
I squeeze Ryan's hand.
"Mind the knuckles," he says, wincing. "Assface over there has a hard jaw."
And we both start laughing.
"Thanks, stud."
He shrugs. "Hey, I enjoyed the punching. But don't spring anything like that on me again, okay?"
Never again, stud. I swear.