Not the Marrying Kind

I'm happy being free, no girl's gonna put a ring on me.

Lance Turner sang these lyrics into the wind, his convertible roof down and the theme song of his life blaring through the speakers.

That's how it's gotta be, I'm not the marrying kind.

"Preach it, Dino!"

Lance's arm draped over the car door, using his hand to keep in in-time with the song. The sky was spotless, and the cool North Carolina air made everything feel perfect. Lance sang with a free and easy spirit as his car glided along the country roads, going slightly over the 55-mph speed limit. His dark sunglasses were perfectly balanced on his nose and every now and then, he ran his free hand through his gelled back, black hair.

Lance's favorite Dean Martin song came to an end, and "King of the Road" was next in the queue. Though he loved of the carefree tone of that song also, "I'm Not the Marrying Kind" held a very unique place in his heart. His grandfather and father had practically raised him on Dean Martin, and he had heard that song more times than he could count as a child. It wasn't until his freshmen year of high school that the song began to mean anything to him. His interest in girls peaked and his "little boy dream" of settling down with a nice girl flew out the window. He decided that his life would follow that song, exactly. Why settle down? Why tie yourself to one girl for the rest of your life? There were too many exciting women out there for Lance to be handcuffed to only one. And he was too much of a free roamer to ever be kept in the box of marriage until he was 100. Dating was simply for kicks and nothing else. In his mind, as long as he had a girl to take out whenever he pleased, that was all he needed. And once he had taken her out enough, he could easily woo another willing female.

And that had been the story of Lance's romantic life for six years. Now, he had just started his second year of college and had already gone out with a good deal of girls on the campus. He was building quite a reputation for himself as a player, and he was completely okay with that. Although he preferred to look at himself as an open lover, the label of "player" didn't bother him much. He was having fun, no strings attached, and that was fine by him. And no strings meant no suffocation from commitment. It meant just a good time, even if it was comprised of fleeting moments.Lance's phone rang, interrupting the beginning of "Standing on the Corner". It was Lucas. With a sigh, Lance picked up knowing exactly what his brother was going to say.

"How close are you?" the voice on the other end of the phone asked.

"Why are you so impatient?"

"I'm not impatient, I'm just anxious for you to get here. You know how important this dinner is to me." Lance knew. Lucas had been raving about this evening for weeks, stressing to his family that it had to go perfectly. This would be the first time that Lucas's mom, dad, and younger brother would be meeting his somewhat new but very serious girlfriend, Heather. And in Lucas's mind, if this dinner went off without a hitch, then things with him and his girl would go just as well.

"I know tonight is important to you, and I'm going to be there in less than 10 minutes. In fact, I'm speeding down this road just for you." Lance smirked.

"No! Don't do that for me, I've always told you that speeding is a death trap." Lance laughed at his brother's reaction. He was a chronic speeder and Lucas knew that.

"You know I'd be speeding even if I was 20 minutes early. Now just get a grip on yourself Luke, I'll be there soon, okay?"

"Okay, just be safe and go the speed limit. I'd rather have you alive and late then dead and on time in an ambulance."