A Day in the Life of...

Miss Wherever- Corey Heim

"What is the point of this?" Corey asked his teammate as the trio walked into the karaoke bar a lot of them frequented.
"Call it a team building exercise." Tanner replied as they made their way up to the bar to order drinks.
"Team building exercise, Gray? One of our teammates isn't even here." Corey said as Tanner tried to flag down a bartender.
"Taylor isn't even old enough to step foot in a bar, Heim." Dean answered for Tanner.
"You could have picked somewhere else for your so-called exercise, Gray." Tanner ignored Corey for a few moments as he ordered a round. He laid down a few bills on the top of the bar. Tanner turned back to his teammates.
"This is a way for you to relax a bit."
"Why do I need relaxing?"
"Did you ever get out of the talking phase with that one girl?" Corey frowned.
"This is what this is about? Gray, don't. Don't treat me like charity case."
"Well, what happened?"
"Nothing. We were talking and then she decided not to pursue anything with me. I'm fine. Really." Tanner put his hands on Corey's shoulders  leading him to an empty bar stool.
"Sit, Heim. You're going to sit and drink. And maybe flirt with any girl that comes up to the bar." Tanner explained as he slid one of the pints of beer in front of him. "You can start with this one."
"Jesus Christ. What do you think is going to happen?" Corey asked.
"I'm not sure, but this bar has some serious...mojo...about it." Corey managed a laugh. Even Dean chuckled.
"Mojo?"
"Just look at the track record of this place. Olivia and Ankrum."
"They were secretly hooking up before he asked her out." Corey replied, taking a drink of the glass in front of him. Tanner frowned.
"How do you know?"
"I saw them together."
"Anyway. Look at Walker and Eckes."
"Those two had been pining over each other for ages before they got together."
"Herbst and Stewart."
"Already together before Emery and Noah's party. And from what I heard, nothing happened in that bathroom." Tanner frowned. "There's no 'mojo' in this place. You just like to come here and flirt with anyone that will throw you a look." Dean snickered as Tanner glared at his younger teammate.
"I can't deny I'm fucking hot, man." Corey just rolled his eyes. A blonde came bounding up to the trio. Corey and Dean watched as she put her hand on his bicep.
"You're Tanner Gray, aren't you?" She asked. Corey cursed under his breath as a smile spread across Tanner's face.
"I am."
"Can I buy you a drink?" Corey looked over at Dean, his expression matching Corey's.
"Un-fucking-believable."
"How does that even happen?" Dean asked as Corey felt something brush against his left arm.
"Hi, can I get a Moscow Mule, margarita, Aperol Spritz, and Paloma? Thanks!" Corey looked over at the body next to him. The raven hair that fell over her shoulder in light waves. Her head turned to make eye contact with Corey. He couldn't tell if they were honey or amber colored. "I'm in your space."
"You're fine."
"Are you sure?" She lightly put her hand on his arm before quickly pulling it away.
"I'm good. Seriously."
"Lauren." She held out her hand. He took it.
"Corey."
"What are you doing sitting at the bar by yourself?"
"I wasn't here by myself to start, but..." Corey turned the stool out towards the dance floor. He found Tanner grinding on the girl who had come up to him at the bar and Dean chatting up a few fans.
"I'm sorry you got ditched. I came with a few girlfriends." Corey looked in the direction Lauren was pointing. He found Kaia, Isla, someone he didn't know.
"What, no Elle?" He asked, already knowing the answer. He knew Elle was currently on tour with her band. "And I'm honestly not surprised Stenhouse got herself in here."
"You know them?" She asked.
"I do. I know their boyfriends and husband from work."
"What do you do for a living then?" Corey smiled.
"I go really fast in circles." Lauren laughed.
"You know, my dad dabbled in some circles. Two wheels, four wheels. Stock cars, open wheel."
"Was he any good?" Lauren smiled, leaning her head into her hand as her elbow was propped on the bar top.
"A little."
"Would I know who is he?"
"Probably not."
"What do you do?"
"I'm a journalist. I work for the NBC station in Kansas City."
"So you're not from here."
"Not originally, but used to be. When I lived with my dad."
"That explains you knowing those two." Lauren smiled, Corey returning the smile. The bartender set the drinks down in front of her.
"Well, it was nice to meet you Corey."
"You too." Corey watch Lauren fill her hands with drinks before leaving him alone again.
"Did you ask for her number?" Corey turned to face Tanner. He somehow managed to peel himself off of the blonde.
"Why does it matter to you?" Corey asked.
"You need to get laid, man." Corey immediately got up off the stool. "Dude."
"I'm going to the bathroom." Corey turned and head towards the back of the bar. He walked down the long hallway, the music getting quieter. He really didn't need to go to the bathroom, but he needed an excuse to get away. Corey leaned against the wall, closing his eyes.
"Corey." Corey open his eyes, finding Lauren standing in front of him. "You okay?"
"Yeah, just trying to get away from my teammate acting like a douche." She laughed. "What are you doing?"
"Looking for you."
"What? Lauren..."
"Listen, I don't do things like this but..." Lauren leaned up, brushing her lips against his. The next thing caught both of them by surprise as Corey had backed her against the wall as the kiss between them got heated. She clawed at the front of his shirt, urging him closer. When they finally broke apart, Corey rested his forehead against hers.
"I'm sorry, I..." Lauren leaned back up, pressing her lips to his again.
"Do you wanna get out of here?"
***
Lauren felt an arm draped over her waist before pulling her closer to the middle of the mattress. She smiled, snuggling in closer. Corey buried his face into the crook of her neck, taking a deep breath of her scent. She didn't know what time it was and honestly she didn't care.
"Corey." He didn't say anything as his hand strayed from her waist. "Corey."
"Hmm." His voice vibrated against her neck.
"What time is it?" She asked. Corey let out a grunt, but didn't move at all. Lauren looked over to the nightstand, finding her phone. She managed to reach out to grab it. 8:17. "Shit." Lauren had two missed calls and two texts from her dad. "I have to go." Lauren peeled Corey's arms off of her.
"Do you really?" He asked, sitting up in the bed. Lauren turned to face him. The sheet had fallen to his waist, just barely covering his bottom half.
"I do." Corey grabbed her arm, pulling her back onto the bed.
"Stay. Just for a while longer." Lauren straddled his hips as he pulled her into a kiss.
"You know how tempting you are? And hot?" She asked against his lips.
"I'm going to say very." He said, kissing her again. "To both."
"Obviously." Lauren let Corey turn over as they indulged in each other once again. Lauren had honestly lost count in how many times this guy had made her come since they crashed into his apartment. The night before had been the first time she had been with a younger guy. Lauren thanked her lucky stars that Corey didn't have a roommate because neither of them were quiet. She did, however, suspect he'll be hearing from his neighbors later. "I really need to get going." Lauren managed to let out after coming down from yet another high he put her on. "I have plans this morning."
"I would say cancel, but I've got somewhere I need to be later."
"I have breakfast plans with my dad since we're both in town at the same time." Lauren finally got herself out of Corey's bed. She found her skirt, sliding them up her legs. Her bra was next. When Lauren finally found her shirt, she laughed. "What's so funny?" Lauren held it up, showing Corey the broken strap. "I can't wear this. I'm stealing one of yours." Corey pointed the dresser.
"Second drawer." Lauren pulled open the drawer, grabbing the first one she saw. "Go Dawgs." Corey said with a laugh.
"I'll figure out how to get this back to you."
"What exactly happens here? Is this it?"
"Do you want it to be?"
"No." Corey answered truthfully.
"Neither do I. I come to Charlotte every so often and you guys do come out by me sometimes. If it's close enough, I can make the trip."
"You'll do that just for this?" Lauren walked back over to the bed, putting her knee on the mattress.
"Yeah." Lauren leaned in, pressing one last kiss to his lips before leaving. Lauren called her dad back when she was in the elevator.
"Finally! I've been trying to get a hold of you for an hour." He said as soon as he answered.
"Sorry. Couldn't find my phone this morning." Lauren replied as she requested a ride from the Uber app.
"I'm already at the shop. Do you want me to come get you?" He asked as the elevator doors slid open.
"I need to take a quick shower before breakfast. I'll come to the shop and we'll go from there."
"Okay. 30 minutes?"
"Uh, yeah. 30 minutes." Lauren hung up with her dad as she pushed the front doors to the apartment building. The Uber drive showed up a handful of minutes later. By the time she got back to Kaia's, Lauren only had 20 minutes to shower and get over to the race shop in Statesville. When she finally pulled up to the shop, Lauren found her dad standing in front of the building. "Sorry, I'm late. Didn't realize how long I was in the shower." Lauren said when she approached her dad.
"It's okay, kiddo. I'm just on a bit of a time crunch this morning. We've got our replacement drive coming in for a seat fitting."
"That's right. I hope Erik is okay." Jimmie smiled.
"I hope so too. Let's get some breakfast." Jimmie dropped arm around his eldest daughter's shoulder.
"I am hungry."
"Usual spot?"
"Absolutely."