The Unexpected Encounter (An Eminem Fan Fiction)

Chapter 29: Fast Lane

Marshall went to open the garage door as soon as we arrived.

Rays of light from outside steadily poured in, revealing quite a few cars parked inside. I spotted his Escalade from earlier. Also, many other cars of his he owned, which was quite a lot. He had a fine collection. "Which car do you want to take?" he asked for my opinion.

I didn't know. Did it really matter? "You pick."

"Let's take my Mercedes," he chose, pointing to the black vehicle closest to me. "You know how to drive?" he questioned.

I looked up at him. "Uh-huh, why?"

"Cool," he suddenly tossed me the keys. "You're driving."

My jaw dropped. "You're kidding."

"You said you knew how to drive, right? You got your license?"

"Yeah, but me driving us?" I tried to dodge. "Do all the same rules even apply here as they do in Cali?"

"Red means stop, green means go," he was slightly amused.

"O—Obviously," I stammered. I didn't mean just that—" Before I could say anything more, he already opened the door of the passenger seat and settled in the car. I threw my hands up in the air. I could barely even sit relaxed being in the same car when I was the passenger, and now, for me to be the driver? I walked unenthusiastically to the driver door. I opened it, went in, and slammed the door shut behind me. 

It made Marshall jump. "Hey, be easy with that! You paying for that shit?"

I laughed sarcastically, shortly stopping to where I made no sound whatsoever. I punched the hotel address into his GPS in quiet annoyance and started up the engine. I looked at him and I could tell he was enjoying this. I let out a heavy groan but then smiled a tiny bit when he didn't catch me. I wasn't actually all that pissed; this entire situation was a little humorous. Plus, getting to drive around in his car? "Sweet" was all I could think.

I put the car in reverse. I backed out carefully, turning the car awkwardly and angling it the best I could in order to drive out of here fine. Marshall closed the garage door with the remote control, doing his part. I put the car in "drive" and pulled forward. We reached the fenced gate and Marshall opened that as well. I pulled up, checking both ways—left, right, then left again—then proceeded to make a right turn. "You're doing a great job so far," I heard from next to me as I took off.

"This feels like a damn driving test," I complained, uncomfortable. He laughed out loud, surely entertained. I rolled my eyes. "Hey, Slim?" He looked back over at me, giving me a peculiar look. "I drank a fifth of vodka, you dare me to drive?"

That made him sigh. "You fucking—"

I pushed down on the gas pedal, turning the steering wheel to and fro irregularly. We began driving jerkily. "I guess that wasn't the brightest idea, was it?"

"Jesus Christ, quit it, you're going to get us both killed," Marshall spoke against.

"S and S killed by S and S, bitch, I even have your initials," I sang after, laughing hard. I began to drive steadily now, returning back to normal.

Marshall took a deep breath. He looked shaken. "That wasn't funny."

"It was so."

He looked to me. "Do you drink?" he asked, face serious.

I took my eyes off the road for a second, looking at him, giving him a straightforward answer. "I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs," I added with the shaking of my head. I returned back to looking on the road. "You becoming clean is what keeps me like this. I look up to you. You're like my role model," I chuckled at that last part.

"Thank you," he began, very serious-toned which startled me a little. "Don't do drugs, don't do any of that shit. Don't even try; it'll become a habit before you even know it. I mean, if you want to drink, it's cool; every now and then's fine. Just don't become addicted; substance abuse and shit. I learned the hard way. I don't want it ever happening to you."

I smiled over at him. "I won't. Promise." I continued to drive along, following what the navigation told me.

Eventually, I reached the highway. Once doing so, I slowly switched lanes until I got to the leftmost carpool lane. After making it and noticing I was going faster than all the other traffic, something came into my head that I thought was quite fitting. I smiled and sang something. "Livin' life in the fast lane/Movin' at the speed of life and I can't slow down."

Marshall looked at me funny. "You know what? You got a lovely voice. Sing more," he wanted of me.

"No, I don't," I refused strongly.

"Yeah, you do. Sing the rest." 

I reluctantly continued the hook: "Only got a gallon in the gas tank/But I'm almost at the finish line, so I can't stop now/I don't really know where I'm headed, just enjoyin' the ride/Just gon' roll 'til I drop and ride 'til I die/I'm livin' life in the fast lane (Pedal to the metal)/I'm livin' life in the fast lane (Pedal to the metal)."

Marshall's face was strangely showing astonishment after I was done. He wasn't saying anything, so I decided to speak. "Don't look at me like that. I'm never doing that again."

"No, shit, I'm impressed. I didn't know you sang so well. You're joining me on a song," he confirmed.

"What? You're crazy," I accused.

He kept going at how pleasant my vocals sounded, not letting off, me denying him the entire time. He wouldn't give up. I began to ignore him, stopping talking altogether, him using techniques to get me to talk again. Which, worked. We kept poking fun at each other for the remainder of the ride. We also listened to rap music in between which was playing on the radio.

After a long drive, we finally reached the hotel. I pulled up into the lot, directly where we had been before when Marshall dropped me off that first night we spent together. I found a spot and parked the car, it coming to a slow and steady stop. Once I turned the car's engine off, I let my arms drop to my side as I let out a sigh. "Finally," I said, relieved it was over. "I drove here and made it all the way. I hope you're happy."

He smirked. "At least I'm glad we made it in one piece. You did good. You're driving from now on," he decided.

I sighed. "Great. But it was fun, I have to admit. Thanks for letting me drive."

"No problem." I was looking over at Marshall with saddened eyes from my seat after. "Something the matter?" he asked, his eyes matched mine, looking down with me.

"I'm just hoping I can get the chance to see you maybe one last time. I don't want this to be it."

"You will. I can tell by the way Hailie wants to see you again," he reassured, "Nathan, too." I felt better by that; true. "Well, you getting out? I don't have all day," he played with me more.

Letting out an unhappy grumble, I unbuckled myself, ready to exit the vehicle. Marshall was going to hop over in order to switch seat spots with me in a second to drive himself back. I hesitated on getting up, though; something didn't feel quite complete. I called for him carefully. "Marshall?"

"Something you need?" his voice softened, watching my movements the entire time.

I started feeling myself get hot, almost breaking into a sweat. I couldn't speak my mind. But Marshall had answered that for me when he came in and surprised me with a quick kiss on the lips; a goodbye one. That's what I needed. My face became fully brightened and glowing, a rush in me going crazy. Our second one we shared, yet, it got me. I didn't know how he did it.

We exchanged a few more tender farewells after. Finally, when I had to make my way out, Marshall called out one last thing to me. "Ayo, wait!"

I looked back at him in curiosity. "Yes?"

"Can I get your number now?"

Chuckling, I answered him. "Of course."