Chapter 8: Panty Girl

I can't breathe.

That's the first thing I notice. The second thing I notice is that there are small, pastel-colored shapes flickering across my vision. I wonder what that means. My body aches in a dozen places, but there's a particularly sharp shooting pain in my left elbow. And another in my right hip.

Little by little, I become aware of my surroundings again. I'm lying on the parking lot, and I smell car exhaust and the hot tar scent of asphalt baking in the sun. And there's something - no, someone - on top of me.

With a grunt, the person moves, pushing himself up onto his elbows. Suddenly I can breathe again, and my head starts to clear.

I twist slightly, rolling fully onto my back to get my face away from the hot asphalt. My elbow throbs again, but my hip feels better now that I've shifted my weight off it.

And just when I thought I couldn't be embarrassed any more today, I look up and realize who is on top of me.

This close, Orlando smells like the mountains. Like evergreen