Greener Pastures - A Sensual Interracial BWWM Romance Short Story from Steam Books by Steam Books, Stacey Allure Read Free Book Online Page A

“Well, ain’t nothin’ we can do now but just practice some more.  Come on, let’s get you back to Gramma’s.  You still want to drive?”
    “Yeah,” Trina told him, and they both got into her car, a Dodge Neon from the late 90s.
    When Trina started the car and headed back, she felt like she was driving better right then than she had during the test, which frustrated her.
    She willfully allowed herself to laugh at herself, and said, “So nobody ever told me about this roundabout…or turnabout, or whatever you call it.”
    “Yeah, I suppose they don’t have those in Chicago, do they?” Marvin said.  “Forgot all about that.  I’ll be there for you to practice, but I’m not sure when we’re gonna find the time right now, the business needs me.”
    Marvin, a dark-skinned slightly overweight man in his mid-40s, was referring to the hardware store he owned downtown.  Trina didn’t really know him all that well, really: they mostly had just met every other summer when Mom and Dad would visit the extended family here in Bowling Green.  But at the moment Marvin was the really the only adult Trina knew that could help her practice driving: there was Gramma, but last year she had some kind of health scare and she was put on oxygen and it wasn’t really recommended for her to be going out too much.
    Nope, Marvin was it, and that sucked because Trina was starting school at the university on Monday and she wasn’t going to have a license by then, and she wasn’t even sure when she’d even be able to get one.
    Trina hated that she didn’t have a license yet, and a part of her wanted to blame her parents for her present condition: they had divorced when Trina was in middle school, and Mom got the kids while Dad moved across town.  During high school Mom worked a weird second shift and that meant Trina had to stay home and watch her little brother and sister ‘til she got home, and by the time that happened it was pretty late and Mom was in no mood to teach Trina driving.  After Trina graduated, Dad drove her to Bowling Green over the summer to move her in with Gramma and attend Western Kentucky University in the fall—she could receive an alumni grant there that made it much more affordable for her than any college in Illinois.  Dad had bought her the Neon while he was there, and gave her a rudimentary driving lesson himself, but he had to get back to Chicago, and that meant all she had was Uncle Marvin.
    So here she was: in a weird small town filled with old white people, with a car but no license, and she was starting school in just a few days.
    Trina had never felt so alienated.
    ~ ~ ~
    “You’ll do better next time, child, I know it,” Gramma told Trina reassuringly.
    “I know I will,” Trina said back.
    They were back at Gramma’s house.  Uncle Marvin had just left, and so it was just Trina and Gramma there in the house, part of a duplex that Gramma owned.  The furnishings were clean and in good condition, but they were obviously pretty old, at least from the 80s, and they gave the place a kind of time capsule look, definitely fit for an old lady.
    “In the meantime,” Gramma started. “Just make sure you have everything ready for when you start classes on Monday.”
    “I think I’m good,” Trina told her. “But about that…”
    Trina hesitated a moment.  Gramma looked at her, the oxygen tube underneath her nose, and the little machine that pumped her oxygen reminding Trina of Darth Vader.  Oh, the air pumping was more higher-pitched and pleasant than the bad guy from Star Wars, but as it was the only real sound in the room right now it was intimidating-sounding just the same.
    Trina continued, “I was thinking I could just drive the car to campus.”
    Gramma’s eyes bugged out, “Child, are you outside your mind?  You know we were just talking about you not getting the license.”
    “Yeah, I know, Gramma, but listen,” Trina started. “I know how to drive a car. I’m good at