Uber Driver

The gun barrel pushed hard against his neck as the man who held it said, "We have a doctor but no hospitals. Understand? They call the cops for gunshots. So shut your mouth and drive."

Gray followed his directions to another shady part of town and stopped next to some rundown building near a door he could barely tell was there. The two men helped their friend get out then Carlos tapped on the glass.

Gray rolled it down and sat in silence hoping and praying he wasn't about to be killed.

"Listen, man. We owe you one. If you ever need anything—anything at all—you call the number I used to call you. But if you call the cops...."

"No, way. That's not gonna happen," Gray told him immediately and with conviction.

"Smart man. We didn't know this was gonna go down tonight, but we had to help our friend. So if you keep your mouth shut, I've got connections all over this town, and we can do pretty much anything you need done. So I'm not shittin' you, bro. You did us a solid, and the next one is on us. You call me. Anytime."

And with that the three of them disappeared inside, and Gray Ellis headed home shaking like a leaf once the fear of imminent death was lifted.

It was nearly 2am and Gray was thankful his parents were asleep when he got in. As quietly as he could he grabbed as much as he could carry in the way of cleaning supplies and towels then went back outside and cleaned and scrubbed until he was too exhausted to do any more. In the dim light it was hard to know if he'd gotten everything so he'd come back out in the light of day and check again, but for now it was nearly 5am, and he had to try and get some sleep. If he could manage to even fall asleep, that is.

It was a little after noon when he woke up groggy and with a rare headache. Before he could open his eyes he remembered.

"Fuck," he mumbled quietly as he lay there recalling the events of the night just hours ago. The gun in his neck, the wounded man, the threats and the bizarre promise to return the favor.

"Great. If I'm ever shot I know who to call now," he said to himself before getting up to take a long, hot shower.

He somehow managed to convince his mom nothing was wrong when he passed on breakfast and wen straight to his car after grabbing a cup of coffee to go. He'd put all of the bloody towels and rags in a garbage bag in his trunk and would have to dispose of it later on. For now, he needed to see if he'd missed any blood.

There were two small spots he quickly eliminated, and to the naked eye, no one could tell a man with a gunshot wound had been sitting there. Relieved beyond words, he drove a few miles and found a dumpster behind a building and, just like in the movies, tossed the bag into it and drove off still unable to stop thinking about what had happened.

For the first time since he started driving he didn't make himself available for work that day or that night prompting several questions from his parents.

"No, I'm okay," he said. "I just really needed a day off. That's all," he told them hoping they'd buy it without question.

"Well, I think that's wonderful," his mom said.

She paused then asked hopefully, "Is there any chance you might have a date tonight?"

She wasn't overly pushy, but Gray knew she'd like nothing more than for her son to find a 'nice girl' and settle down.

"No. Sorry, Mom. Not tonight. I'm just gonna maybe go have a drink or two."

"Oh, okay. Gee, I can't remember the last time you did that," she told him.

She smiled, gave her son a quick hug and kiss then said, "Well, have fun and...be careful."

"I will," he promised.

Gray managed to sleep a couple more hours, but waited until around 10pm to head out then decided to go to a nicer place. He generally preferred a local tavern where he knew most of the people, but tonight he wanted to be someplace that wasn't dark or loud; someplace where he might even meet someone to hook up with, and that seemed pretty reasonable as he'd never gone out looking and not been able to do so.

Tonight he was in need of something along those lines. A warm body to touch and hold and make him feel alive again. So he chose an upscale piano bar downtown, paid the $20 cover charge and went inside.

It was crowed but not packed and offered what Gray like to call a 'target-rich environment' with well-dressed, attractive women all over the place. He ordered a drink at the bar, took a sip, then casually turned around to check out the scene.

One scan of the room revealed no less than four prospects, all of them very attractive and none of them with a guy or wearing a ring. He finished his drink in one large gulp, ordered another, then got up to make his way toward the girl that interested him most.

He was just a few steps away when he heard a vaguely familiar voice.

"Gray?"

He turned and looked down, and at the table next to him, one not in his line of sight from the bar, was Du Strickland.

"Mrs. Strickland. Wow. What a pleasant surprise. And very unexpected."

"I was supposed to meet someone here at ten, but I'm beginning to think I got stood up," she said. "Would you care to join me? If you're here alone, that is."

"I am and I would," he said after taking one look at her smile. For a moment, he even forgot all about the events from less than 24 hours ago.

"Can I please buy you a drink?" she asked. "You wouldn't even let me tip you the other day, so it's the least I could do."

"I'm not sure I'd be very comfortable with letting a woman buy me a drink. Even one as beautiful as you."

She rolled her eyes but smiled before saying, "Suit yourself, but if we're going to stay and talk, I think I'd like another one."

She went to raise her hand to signal someone when Gray gently lowered it.

"No, way. You're not buying your drinks if I'm sitting with you," he told her politely but firmly. "What would you like?"

"Vodka martini, please," she said unwilling to argue with him. "And thank you very much."

He ordered one more for himself when Du asked, "So...what brings you to this particular place on this particular night?"

"Oh, I guess I just needed a night off," he told her not wanting to bring up the truth. "The better question is what kind of guy stands up a beautiful woman like you?"

"You know, you have this way of making me feel good about myself, Gray. Thank you. But to answer your question...one who doesn't value someone else's time as much as I do? I don't really know. Surprise, surprise, this was another Giselle setup—another doctor, no less. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now and assume he was on-call and had to go."

She paused then said, "Yeah, right."

They talked pleasantly for over an hour and after a second drink, Du said something out of the blue that caught Gray's attention as she shared her own frightening and very personally disturbing event.

"Whoa! Are you saying someone drugged you? Here? At this place?"

"Yes I am. It's the only thing that makes any sense. It's actually the reason I chose this place to meet my no-show date. I was hoping to maybe get another look at my attacker."

"Jesus. That's unbelievable. First of all I'm as sorry as can be and second of all, I'm mad as hell. What's wrong with people?"

"I wish I knew," she said. "That's the real reason I haven't been dating much. I was just getting comfortable with going out again, and then that happened. It not only scared me, it made me sick. But a few weeks ago I realized being afraid wasn't the answer. I need to find and confront this bastard."

"Do you know what this guy looks like?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll never forget the face. Very nice looking guy who came on to me in the most pleasant and charming way. Charming enough that I let him buy me a drink which he went to the bar to get. Naive little me didn't think anything about it. I really don't remember anything after feeling a little dizzy when we were sitting at this very table, but I know he did it. I woke up in a cheap motel the next morning, and let's just say a woman knows when she's been violated like that."

She looked at him then said, "I can't believe I'm even telling you this. I guess I just had to unload on someone. I really appreciate you listening."

"What? Are you kidding? I'm not only happy to listen, I'm pissed off. Guys who do that should have their balls cut off," Gray said with genuine disgust.

"And fed to them!" Du said agreeing with an uneasy laugh.

She finished her drink then ordered another.

"What's ironic, at least to me anyway, is I'm not one of those women who thinks 'date rape' is the same as rape. I agree a woman should be able to say 'no' up to the final second, but in reality if you willingly get naked with a guy and say 'yes' up to that point and he doesn't stop, then I'm sorry, but that's just not the same as being abducted in a park or something and forcibly raped in the woods or wherever. Both are wrong but one is violent and the other is a kind of stupidity on the woman's part."

"Well, drugging a woman is the same as your park example to me," Gray said.

"Oh, I agree completely. There was never any consent of any kind at any time."

Du shook her head the said, "I guess I'm not much of a feminist, huh?"

"I don't know about the feminist thing, but I do know you're an amazing woman who's incredibly strong, that's for sure. So...what would you do if you could find this guy and you know, get him in a room alone?"

"Oh, the things I've dreamed about," she said.

"Like cutting his balls off and feeding them to him?"

"That for sure, but my favorite is...this is pretty bad. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Does a chicken have lips?" he asked. "Does a rattlesnake have hips?"

Du laughed a genuine laugh then said, "Well, okay. My number one dream is having a guy do to him what he did to me. Of course, that would be rape, too, but it's kind of my own sick little revenge fantasy," she admitted.

"I don't think it's sick at all. Without a witness the chance of him doing any jail time seems slim to none. I guess as long as he knew the um...sodomy...was payback for all the times he's done something like that, it might be the only thing that'll ever get his attention. Oh, and a threat to do even worse if he ever even tries it again."

"How is it I can talk to you about the most personal things and feel so comfortable when I can't even talk to Giselle about this?"

"I can't answer that, but I'm honored you trust me enough to share something so personal with you," he told her sincerely.

She smiled then said, "I didn't mean to monopolize your time, Gray. You were headed in that direction when I so rudely interrupted."

She nodded toward the table where the girl he planned on seducing was now being seduced by some other buy. "If I just blew your shot, I sincerely apologize."

"I'm glad you did interrupt me, and no, this wasn't rude at all. It was very pleasant and just what I needed," he told her.

She sat there and looked at him for a moment then asked, "Is there anything you maybe want to tell me? I'm a pretty good listener myself."

"Wow. This is so surreal," he replied.

"How so?" Du asked having no idea what he meant.

"If I tell you something, I need you to promise me you won't tell anyone. Ever. And especially not the police."

"Gray. Oh, my God. I was kind of just teasing hoping maybe you'd tell me you really did want to ask me out or something. You know, from when I was kidding about it before. I...I had no idea there was something serious. Now I'm almost afraid to hear what you're about to tell me," she said, her eyes darting back and forth with his.

"There is a reason I'm not working tonight. A reason that's made me wonder if I can ever even drive again," he began.

"Gray. I'm so sorry. Whatever it is, I...I'm here for you, okay?" she said with a look that told him she meant it.

He spent the next few minutes recounting the events of the previous night. Du covered her mouth in horror as he told her about the gun, the friend who'd been shot, and the blood all over the back seat.

"Oh, my God! I can't even imagine. I'd have been so scared," she said supportively.

"Oh, I was very scared. Let me assure you, I was scared to death."

Du moved her chair closer then reached out and put her arms around him.

"I am so, so sorry that happened. I'm just glad you're okay."

"Thanks," he said as he held her, too.

As she moved away Gray said, "There's one more thing I want to share with you."

Her eyes opened wide with emotion when he shared what Carlos told him.

"I'm pretty sure that would include, you know, taking care of a problem as serious as yours," he said.

"Oh, my God," she said again. "To think there's someone out there who'd actually do the things I was thinking is almost as frightening as what happened to me. Or to you."

"I'm pretty sure they'd be willing to find a way to help get this guy arrested if you're not comfortable with your revenge fantasy."

"How?" Du asked. "I mean, what could they do?"

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure he meant it when he said if I ever needed anything to call him."

"Wow. I...I don't even know what to...."

Du stopped talking and Gray watched her face turn white and her jaw slowly fall open.

He turned to look in the direction she was staring, but Du put a hand on his forearm and said, "Don't look. It's him."

"How can I not look?" Gray asked forcing himself not to turn his head.

"He hasn't noticed me yet," she said, her eyes locked on this man like laser beams.

"Do you want him to?" Gray asked hoping to avoid another major incident but willing to do anything she asked.

"I do," she said quietly. "I want to confront this sick...fuck."

"Are you sure that's smart?" Gray asked.

"We're about to find out. He just saw me and he's headed this way."

Gray couldn't continue not looking any longer and slowly turned around. When his eyes met the other man's, he quietly muttered, "Holy shit!"

"Well, well. My Uber driver and my...girlfriend. What a coincidence," the man said with a smug smile.

Gray had driven the guy several times and had his information in his phone. He bristled as the man pulled out a chair and sat down uninvited.

"Did you get home alright?" he asked Du as he smiled that smarmy smile at her.

"I wasn't the first woman you did that to, was I?" she said through clenched teeth.

"Did what? I bought you a drink, we talked, I went home. I was just being polite wondering if you got home safe and sound, too."

"I know what you did, you sonuvabitch," she hissed.

"You do? And what is it you...allege I did? Oh, and be very careful here. I am an attorney and slander is a very serious crime," he told her arrogantly.

"Yeah? So is rape, you asshole!" Du said loudly enough to turn a few heads.

"I hope you're not accusing me of something so heinous. The repercussions could be devastating. For you, that is. You're not, are you?" he asked taunting her.

"An apology might go a long way," Gray said as he fought to control his anger.

"The boy speaks!" the attorney said. "But why would I apologize for buying a beautiful woman a drink?"

"Let me put it this way," Gray said quietly. "This isn't a courtroom and we don't have to follow the law. So unless you want to find out why they say 'payback is hell' you might seriously consider telling this beautiful woman you're sorry."

"But I'm not," he said gesturing with his hands. "I have nothing to be sorry for. All I have are an evening of wonderful memories with this lovely young lady."

Without taking her eyes off of the lawyer, who really was a very good looking man, she said to Gray, "You know, I'm no longer feeling like my revenge fantasy would be too much."

"I can see why," Gray said as he too, stared at the smug bastard sitting next to him.

"Well, I think I'll be going now, unless, of course, I can buy you another drink," he told Du in that smug, taunting way.

"No, thank you," she said with an icy smile. "But you should really watch your backside. Literally."

"Ah! Because you're going to sick the Boy Wonder here on me?" he said shaking his head slightly as he laughed as though he should be very afraid.

He looked at Gray then back at Du then said, "I had no idea you went for the younger ones."

He pulled out a twenty, laid it on the table, then said, "The next one's on me, Uber Boy."

He stood up, then leaned over and while looking at Du said rather loudly in Gray's ear, "Have fun. I think she likes it rough, but I couldn't really tell," then slapped him on the back.

Gray shoved his chair back and was ready to jump up when Du grabbed his arm again.

"Don't give him the satisfaction. The last thing you need is an assault charge wasted on this asshole," she said still boring holes into the man's eyes.

"So you are a fighter? I uh...I didn't see that in you before," he said with a laugh. "Well, you two take good care, okay? And be careful. There are a lot of bad people out there."

He made a finger pistol and pointed it at Gray before mouthing, "Bang!" then laughing as he walked away.

"You okay?" Gray asked as he noticed Du trembling. He assumed it was from rage as opposed to his trembling which was brought on my sheer relief.

"If I had a gun, I swear...." she said.

"That's not the answer. But I do know what is," Gray said as he pulled out his phone.

It took a while, but he found the man's phone number and what may or may not have been his real name. He showed it to Du who looked at it for a few seconds then asked him a question.

"Before we do anything hasty, I think maybe we should really discuss this first. Is there any way you might care to head over to my place so we can make sure we're doing something we won't later regret?"

"It's almost midnight, but if you're okay with that, sure. I think that's a really good idea."

"I am," she said, her anger melting and her straight lips replaced with a smile. "And even though I was teasing before, I wouldn't mind if you asked me out sometime."

"Had I known, I would have," Gray told her as they got ready to leave.

"Well, now you do. I was thinking perhaps we could go back to my place and do our discussing," she told him with another smile.

They talked all the way to her house with Du telling him how much she'd enjoyed his company.

"I heard from a little bird you may have talked about me a time or two," he said wondering if he should say more.

"Ah! Giselle strikes again! Say no more. Yes, I did kind of go on and on about you. I have to admit you're the first guy I've really, truly been attracted to and enjoyed being around."

"Interesting. I have very similar sentiments where you're concerned he told her."

When they stopped in her driveway, Du said, "Don't laugh, but I almost asked you to come in when you dropped me off."

"Seriously?" Gray asked very surprised by her comment.

"I knew you were working so I didn't, but I can't remember the last time I had a conversation with someone I enjoyed so much."

"We really didn't talk that long or all that much," Gray said as she offered him another drink as soon as they stepped inside.

He passed so she did, too, then replied, "No, but it was just so warm and heartfelt. I can't tell you how much I like talking with you, Gray."

She sat her purse on the kitchen counter then said, "That includes tonight, too."

"If we're doing true confessions, the same thing goes for me, and I also have to admit I've been unable to get you off my mind. I know I'm just this Uber driver kid to you, but you are the most interesting and beautiful woman I think I've ever met."

Gray watched as Du watched him. It was as though she was somehow 'scanning' his thoughts, and he could tell she was listening very carefully. When he finished speaking, she suddenly looked away.