He smiles. “Don’t mention it.” He then knocks the driver’s side door twice, so I pop it open for him.
“Work the wheel and brakes while I push, yeah?” he says.
I nod, then clutch the steering wheel tighter.
Instead of getting ready to push ahead, though, he bends and looks at me again. “Listen…” He curls his hair behind his ear. “Just…just be careful while we’re there, okay?”
Confused, I shift in my seat and furrow my brows at him. “Why?”
An unmistakable shadow passes over his beautiful features, and his bright eyes seem to dim a little as he says, “Because, Cigs, the owner of the garage we’re going to, is Dorran motherfucking Ledger.”
4.
“Yo, Ledge,” comes Jayce’s voice from ahead of me.
I move out from under the hood of the Ford Fiesta I’ve been working on, then wipe my grease-stained palms over the front of my faded jeans as I straighten. “Yeah?”
He grins darkly, and his brown eyes all but twinkle as he says, “There’s a special customer out front. I think you should take this one yourself.”
I arch a brow and pull a cigarette out of my back pocket. “Don’t fuck with me, Jay; I’ve got shit to do.”
“I’m not. Just indulge me for a second, will ya?” Christ, he looks almost giddy with joy.
He’s 35 to my 32, and yet, right now, he’s clearly not acting his age.
I place the cigarette between my lips, then light it up before taking a long drag of it. “Who is it?” I ask through the smoke, then fix the straps of my green ribbed vest.
“Like hell I’m telling you.”
I kick him in the shin, to which he chuckles.
“Real mature, asshat,” I mumble around the cigarette, then point a finger at him. “Finish working on the Fiesta. I’ll go handle thisspecialcustomerof yours.”
He gives me a mock salute. “You got it.”
I roll my eyes and step away from the car, then glance around the garage as I exhale a puff of smoke.
Alex is busy fixing a Jr. Scout, and Varsha is working on the Corvette that came in last evening.
My garage,Finesse, is my pride. It’s the result of years of blood and sweat – both literal – and hours upon hours of trial-and-errors turned into success. Jayce and I built this place from the ground up 5 years ago, and despite the fact that almost everyone in Riverside knows who I am, they still bring their trusty-ass vehicles to my garage to get ‘em fixed.
Finesseisn’t extravagant by any means. With a concrete-made interior, it’s as simple as it gets. There’s a main counter right in front of the entrance, with a bathroom on its left and a small workstation for two-wheelers on its right. Alex has a mini fridge in there, and all that’s inside it, is booze.
There’re two massive bays on both sides of the wide area, each one with its own tool box. The metal platforms lining the space around the garage’s entrance, home the necessary spare parts we need for the everyday fixes. And then finally, there’s a short wooden staircase – just behind the main counter – that leads to my loft.
But this place – it wouldn’t be what it is, not without my crew. Without Jayce, who’s my fucking rock. Without Alex, whose enthusiasm is a drug the 4 of us need in abundance, especially on days where shit feels too heavy. And without Varsha, who makes me stronger than I am.
We may not share blood, but me and my crew are made from the same thread of immorality; from scars that are rooted within similar grounds. And that, in my opinion, is the best kinda bond there is in this world.
I sigh and tap the cigarette with a finger, resulting in ashes to fall next to my work boots. I then turn around and walk outside the garage.
A muffled conversation suddenly halts – most probably due to my presence. I lift my head as I come to a stop, and that’s exactly when I see her.
Her hair’s so fucking pink that it all but demands a person’s attention, but I guess it goes really well with the vibe she’s got going ‘round for herself. Her olive skin is a physical sin wrapped around her willowy body; the way she shifts against my perusal makes my veins burn. She’s got a mole just below her slightly hollowed left cheek, and a noticeable indent just above her top lip.
I meet her eyes – so dark they threaten to suck me into their abyss – and realize that I’ve never been more gravitated towards anything in my life than I am to her.
Cignette Adler exudes wild beauty, and I’ll be damned to the pits of hell if I eventryto convince myself otherwise.
