Lying to Live by Darrien Lee

“I can stay for dinner. Are you ready to go?”
    â€œMy mom is not going to let me go anywhere right now.”
    He stood and said, “Yes, you can. Let me handle it. You started it, and now I’m going to finish it.”
    Dré alerted Mrs. Mitchell of his parents’ approval to stay for dinner before asking her permission to take Denim over to the salvage yard to get her book bag out of her wrecked car.
    â€œCan’t this wait? I could call your father to see if he could pick it up on his way home from work,” Mrs. Mitchell stated.
    â€œIt’ll be closed by the time Daddy gets there. We won’t be gone long,” Denim replied as she kissed her mother and slid into her jacket.
    Mrs. Mitchell walked the couple to the door. As she watched them walk down the sidewalk, she said, “Dré, drive carefully with my baby.”
    He smiled and said, “I will. Do you need anything while we’re out?”
    She thought for a second and said, “You can pick up some dessert if you want to.”
    â€œYes, ma’am,” he answered before he closed Denim’s door and then climbed into his car and backed out of the driveway.
    Dré looked at the time on his cell phone and said, “We don’t have much time, so we need to take care of business before pleasure.”
    Denim couldn’t believe she was actually going through with this mischievous plan with her boyfriend, but the excitement of it made it hard for her to restrain herself. She sat in the car while Dré ran into the store to pick up dessert. He came out with a delicious-looking carrot cake and placed it on the backseat.
    â€œHow are we doing on time?” he asked his passenger.
    â€œWe’re good.”
    He placed his hand on her thigh and asked, “Are you sure you’re up for this?”
    â€œAfter what I just went through, you bet.”
    He kissed her and then said, “I love you.”
    â€œI love you more,” she replied as he pulled out of the parking lot.
    It took about ten minutes to get to the salvage yard. It was the first time Dré had an opportunity to see the destruction of Denim’s car. As he stared at it, he was amazed that she wasn’t killed. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.
    â€œLooks bad, huh?” she said as she looked up into Dré’s eyes.
    He kissed the top of her head and said, “Yes, it does. Angels were definitely watching over you that day. Let’s get your bag and get out of here.”
    Dré reached inside the mangled car and pulled her book bag and jacket off the front seat. He also got all her personal information out of the glove compartment before leaving the salvage yard.
    By the time they made it to Dré’s house, they had been on the road approximately thirty-five minutes. Hand in hand they entered the quiet house and Dré’s room, where he closed his bedroom door and locked it.
    â€œAre you sure your parents won’t walk in on us?” she asked nervously.
    â€œI’m sure. They’re at their second home,” he joked.
    â€œThey’re at the casino?” she asked.
    He placed his keys on the dresser and nodded in silence. Denim proceeded to shed her jeans and shirt, and when Dré saw just how bruised and battered her body was, he took a step back and said, “I can’t do this.”
    She walked over to him and said, “It’s not as bad as it looks. I’m okay, seriously.”
    Dré rubbed his neck as he contemplated what he was about to do. Seeing how reluctant he was, she took his hand in hers and caressed it. Dré had always loved her hand massages, especially before big basketball games, because they had a warm, soothing effect on him.
    â€œThe clocks ticking, prime time,” she whispered in his ear. “Are you up for this or not?”
    It had been a while since she had called him by his nickname, and hearing it helped him let go of