Debbie watched as Mark gave Joanne a big hug and whispered something in her ear. She responded with a huge smile, said something back to him and then Mark headed out to the parking lot. Then Joanne walked over to Ken and said something to him and headed back toward Debbie. “Oh my God, Mark wants me to leave with him. I don’t want him to know that I’ve been dancing with that guy or that I was giving him a ride home. So, you’ve got to drive him home.”
“What? Who? That guy you made me dance with? You’ve got to be kidding. I don’t know him and I don’t want to drive him home. No thank you.”
“Please. You have to. I think Mark wants to get back together but if he knows I was going to sleep with that guy Ken, he’ll never take me back. And I already promised Ken a ride home, so his friends left without him. Please, just this one time? Please?”
“I don’t even know him, and he looks pretty drunk.”
“So how dangerous could he be? Look how good looking he is! Please? I’ll owe you big-time. I really, really want to be with Mark. I just know he misses me and wants to get back together.”
Debbie thought about the fact that if Pete were to walk in right now and want her to leave with him that sadly she would probably be thrilled to do it, so against her better judgment, she reluctantly agreed.
“Oh you’re the best. And he seems like a nice guy. And besides, he’s so cute. I’m sure it’ll be fine.” And with that Joanne walked by Ken, said something briefly, and went out to meet Mark in the parking lot.
As soon as Joanne left, Ken walked over to Debbie and asked if she was ready to go. Debbie said, “I don’t even know where you live and my gas tank is almost on empty.”
“Oh, it’s not that far from here. Just over on the south side.”
Debbie figured that wasn’t that far out of the way and she could get gas in the morning. They got in her Buick and headed across the river. When Debbie asked what street he lived on he said it was just a little way outside the city, and it was obvious he was much drunker than even she had realized. He told her to head south out of town, and it was just a couple of miles. He started talking about his family’s commercial cleaning business and then just seemed to pass out.
Well this is great, Debbie thought. I’ve got a passed out drunk in my car who’s either burping or snoring, I’m almost on empty, and I have no idea where I’m going. What the hell was I thinking? I’m either going to get lost or run out of gas or both.
Just then Ken awoke with a start and went on talking like he’d never nodded off at all. Debbie was terrified she was going to run out of gas on a road she didn’t think she’d ever been on, with a drunk she didn’t know. Ken passed out for a minute again and when he came to said “It’s just around this bend on the left. It’s a gray building.”
Debbie thought that it was weird that there would be an apartment building out in the middle of nowhere but was just relieved that they were almost there and she would be rid of him. What had she been thinking? At least he was drunk which for some reason made her feel a little safer.
As she rounded the bend she saw a two story wooden building with a brick front set back off the road sitting by itself in the middle of what looked like a small gravel parking lot. It appeared to be some sort of small office, and then she noticed some trucks and vans of varying sizes with Clever Cleaning Solutions printed on the sides. All she cared about was getting rid of this guy and getting home.
She pulled into the parking lot and said, “We’re here.”
Ken leaned toward her and said in a hoarse drunken voice “Well, why don’t you come in for a while?” And then he leaned over and tried to kiss her.
She leaned away as close to her door as she could get and said, “Well, maybe some other time. It’s late and I’m really tired, so I’m just going to head on home.”
Ken said “Well, you don’t have to stay long. I just want to show you my place.” Suddenly he didn’t sound so drunk as much as he sounded determined.
“That’s okay. I really have to get going. It’s late. Maybe another time.”
“All right,” he said and opened up his door and got out. As fast as she could Debbie leaned across the seat and locked the door, only to have her door suddenly yanked opened by Ken. Why hadn’t she thought to lock her door first? And how did he move so quickly when he seemed so drunk?
He took a hold of her wrist and said “I want you to come upstairs and see my place.”
When Debbie said no, he whistled and suddenly a dog appeared. A Doberman Pinscher. Ken said “Say hello Zeus” and with that Zeus began to snarl and show his teeth.
Debbie had always liked dogs and had never been afraid of one, even though she had grown up with two cats. But this dog was different, and she was suddenly very afraid.
|