Page 1 of Fast Lane

Prologue

Kosi

When I pull up to the two-bedroom house that I share with my longtime boyfriend, Colby, in the suburb-like neighborhood, all the lights are still on. It’s the only house on the street with the lights still on at this time of night. My eyes feel like sandbags. I’m exhausted. As I pull my BMW into the driveway, I see boxes sitting in the back of Colby’s Chevy Truck. It’s not unusual to see boxes in the bed of his truck. Colby is in construction, so he often hauls things to and from the work site with him, but it is strange that he left them in his truck. Normally, he tucks them away inside the garage overnight just to be safe. Our neighborhood has always been safe with no real issues but this is Los Angeles so you can never be too sure.

As I step out of the car I pull my Jimmy Choo heels off my feet. I swear they sigh in relief. Every part of me is anxious to get inside and pull off my pencil skirt, blouse, and blazer and change into the most comfortable pair of pj’s I own. A bubble bath doesn’t sound too bad right now either. Barefoot, I cut through the green grass of our front yard to get to the front door. The cool, damp grass soothes my aching feet.

I make my way up the three steps to the red front door and slip my key inside, but to my surprise it’s unlocked. Nerves suddenly flare to life in my body. Nothing is adding up. The boxes in Colby’s truck, the lights still being on even though it’s after midnight, and now the door’s unlocked. I place my purse and heels down on the ground and get the pepper spray on my defense keychain ready. Quietly I make my way into the house. The living room is empty so I tip toe my way to the dining room. Colby sits there looking worn out and frustrated. A meal sits on the plates on the beautifully set dining room table. The candlesticks in the middle are still burning, wax dripping down onto the tablecloth below. I forgot... again. Colby had asked if we could set up a date night last week. I swear I put it in my planner but I don’t remember seeing it this morning.

“You scared the hell out of me,” I comment as I step around.

Colby looks up, clearly not amused. “Nice of you to join me, Kosi.”

I sigh and rub on my left temple. “I’m sorry. I forgot about date night.”

He looks so defeated right now that it breaks my heart. His large shoulders rise and fall with a shrug. “What else is new?”

“Colby... please just don’t do this right now.” My voice is irritated. It seems like this is all we do these days. Argue over how demanding my job is. Argue over how I’m never at home, I always miss date night and other family functions. I always end up apologizing but I never feel like I should have to. I love my job. Yes it’s demanding, but I’m damn good at it. The money makes it worth the time I miss out on. I can’t help it if my job is more demanding than Colby’s. I’m currently a marketing executive for the third largest distribution corporation in the United States. It’s not easy to get that close to the top and it takes a lot of hard work to get there and stay.

“Okay, when should I do this?” he asks.

I walk into the natural wood kitchen and open the fridge to grab a coconut water out. After taking a long sip I turn back around to face him. “It’s one night. Why are you acting like this?” I ask. Guilt lashes through me. It’s not just one night. Our relationship has been like this through the last year—ever since I graduated college and took the job at Curve Tech. It was my dream job but I’m beginning to wonder at what price.

“One night? Are you kidding me? It’s every damn night, Kosi. I come home to an empty house. I go to bed and it’s empty. On my days off I’m on my own. You never make it for any of our plans. It’s not just date night. It’s family dinners and dance recitals. It’s everything, Kosi.” Colby stands up and runs a frustrated hand through his hair; the red hair that I used to find so endearing. It was so soft I could run my fingers through it for hours, but now I can’t remember when was the last time I did that. Colby is tall and lean, he has pale skin with a few freckles across his nose, and the kindest honey-colored eyes you can find. Right now I can’t even bring myself to meet those eyes. They are so full of hurt.

I sigh and rest my palms against the kitchen counter. “I’m not going to apologize for my job being demanding. You know how hard I worked to get here.”

“I’ve never asked you to apologize, Kosi. I just don’t see a point in keeping up a charade. We aren’t together... not really so what’s the point?”

My head whips up. Blonde hair flying in the movement, coming loose from the chignon I have it tied in. “What? What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying that I’m moving out. Those boxes in my truck are some of my things. I’ll get the rest later.”

I move around the counter towards him, but he steps back. “Is this because I won’t say I’m sorry?”

He shakes his head. “No, of course not. I know how hard you’ve worked for this job. You deserve it. I’m so damn proud of you, Kosi, but I have more of a relationship with your assistant and your email than I do you. Sometimes I call your cell phone and just listen to your voicemail just to hear your voice. I’m tired of pretending and I’m tired of missing you. It shouldn’t be like this.”

“Colby... I love you.” The words are true but he’s not wrong... my actions don’t show that anymore.

A sadness floods into those kind honey-colored eyes. He nods his head slowly as if he’s accepting his fate. “I know you do, and I love you, but you love your job more and that’s okay.”

Colby turns around and walks out of the room. I hear him place my shoes and purse in the entrance of the house because that’s exactly who he is. So kind and caring. The door shuts and I feel my heart shatter. My eyes blur with the tears building. The food on the plates is cold, just like my heart. I was so foolish to think I could have it all—no one can have it all. Colby is right. I do love my job more. So from now on, that’s all I’m focusing on. The hell with the rest of it.

One

Roscoe

It’s late, or early depending on how you look at it. It’s close to two in the morning. Friday nights often end this way. Bowie, Laney (or Lane as she likes to be called still), and some of the other James brothers are sitting around a table in the bar. JamesTown, the bar the James brothers own, has pretty much emptied out at this time. Most Friday nights are when the local street races of Los Angeles take place. Pedal to the Metal, as we like to call them. The James brothers are known for being the kings of the streets and for good reason. All five of them are basically unbeatable behind the wheel of a car. It’s a natural talent, something they probably inherited from their father Ronald. A love for cars and 80’s rock music.

Things have changed a lot over the last few years for them though. Bowie James, the next to oldest brother of the five, is my best friend. The girl he loved showed back up a few years ago after ten years of absence. I wasn’t sure if Bowie would ever let her back in but he surprised us all when he actually let his guard down pretty quickly. Hollis had run away pretty young after tragedy struck her family. We all understood her reasons why but it was hard to see Bowie in his downward spiral. Talk about a rebel without a cause... that was him. Now, they’re married and parents. For the first time in years, Bowie actually seems happy.

Lane is the third part of our triangle. She’s been in our little group since elementary school when some boys were picking on her because she had short hair. Bowie and I saw her trying not to cry and that was the end of that. We ended up making the bullies cry and Lane smiled, and we all three became inseparable. Out of the three of us, she’s the hardest one to get past her walls. Her past is a little complicated and she holds it close to her. Lane never lets herself get too attached. She had a serious boyfriend once, but ever since they broke up she’s been flying solo.

Then there’s me... well what can I say about myself? I like adventure. I’m spontaneous. I hate making plans. Throw something on me at the last minute and I thrive. My orange Tabby cat, Mushu, is the bomb. I’d do anything for him. He randomly showed up at the skydiving school I run, Free Fall, and unlike the other strays I see around there he lets me pet and hold him. So I took him home, named him after the best Disney character in existence, and the rest is history. I love Disney movies and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Disney is all that. On the other side of things, I’m a go with the flow type of guy. Things rarely get to me and I rarely take anything serious. Like the fact I just lost a thousand dollars in a race... it should bother me, but it doesn’t.

Ace James, along with his best friend Jaxx Scott, are also sitting with us. We’re literally talking about the good old days. Reliving the stories from our youth, and to be honest, some of the things we did make me wonder how we’ve lived this long. “I remember Bowie and Roscoe trying to sneak into the house. I’m not sure how they thought that was going to work with Roscoe unable to walk; you know broken leg and all.”

“Hey, I was jumping around one footed pretty damn good from what I remember,” I defend myself with a laugh.

---