The Fast Lane [gxg]

Sleeping Bag For Two

"Well, that was certainly a bust," Declan said from the backseat of his car. His legs were dangling out of the window, head cushioned by his backpack. He slapped the dollar bills onto his stomach. "Barely broke even."

"You can thank that redneck hippie bastard for that," Kass droned, cursing under her breath. A series of metal pieces hit the ground outside of the car. Kass slapped a mosquito on her neck. "Fucking—someone fucking help me with this."

"I'm literally right here helping you," Maze said, her hands full of tent canvas and metal pole pieces.

"I'm about to beat this tent's fucking ass, I swear to God," Kass said.

Declan groaned and stuffed the money away. He climbed out of the window and hopped to the ground to help out. Together, the three of them put together the tent and smoked out the interior with a mosquito repellent that took half an hour to even air out.

In that time, they fended off the bugs via a smokey bonfire on the outskirts of their campsite. The Corvette was parked alongside Declan's car reflecting the shimmering orange glow and the silhouettes of the conifer canopy overhead.

They roasted hot dogs in the bonfire flames and boiled water and milk for spiked hot chocolate as the clock neared two in the morning. Maze felt oily, dirty, and altogether disappointed with the night. She sighed as Kass passed her a stick with a freshly charred hotdog on it.

"Kinda burnt it a little," Kass said.

"That's fine," Maze sighed.

"Doesn't sound fine," Declan said. They both glared at him. "What?"

"It is fine, I'm just tired," she confessed. "And sad. I didn't expect Alfie to modify his car so soon—or even fucking be there. What the hell was he doing there anyway? Doesn't he have a life?"

"Think about it this way," Declan said, waving his hotdog about, "we basically made rent in a weekend. Alfie probably does this every weekend. If he made rent the previous weekend, groceries and modifications the other... The guy's probably rolling in it."

"More or less," Kass agreed with a huff. She took a sip of hot chocolate and promptly sputtered when a mosquito nipped her cheek. She swung the mug aside, sloshing it, and smacked herself on the face. "Die! You little shit—Jesus Christ."

"Did ya get it?" Maze asked, and Kass mocked her in a childish voice and followed up with, "Yeah, I fucking got it."

Declan laughed. "I missed hanging out with you guys. This is nice."

"You just like to see me suffer," Kass said.

He sighed wistfully. "That I do."

He polished off the hotdog then and finished her drink. He let out a relieved gasp, stood, and said, "Well, I'm off. Have fun in the fucking tent, guys—or have fun fucking in the tent, I guess I should say—"

"Can it, rat!" Kass snarled as Maze's entire face went red.

Declan hopped feet-first through the backseat window of his car and swooped inside. A moment later, the windows went up and the locks clicked down.

Maze chugged down the rest of her hot chocolate to avoid looking Kass in the eye. Kass swore under her breath, shaking her head, and reached for the bottle of Bailey's. She doused it and more hot chocolate into her own mug.

Maze sniffed a little. It was chilly for a June evening, and with the dew on the ground, it felt all the more cold. She tipped her head back to look up at the sky, but all she saw was a dense thicket of evergreen branches where the smoke thinned and disappeared in curled tendrils along the needles.