“I work here.” He chuckles. “My pops owns the place.”
“Oh.” My brows furrow. That would explain why he’s dressed in blue work coveralls, covered in grease.
“I’m guessing you are our eight A.M. appointment?”
“Yeah.” I rub the back of my neck. “Sorry about the car.” I wave a hand toward it. “Honestly, I’m surprised it made it this far.”
“Why didn’t you have it towed here?”
“I have just enough to get the car fixed, anything else I’d have to save up for.” Why am I telling him these personal things? The man doesn’t need to know how much I’m struggling with money.
It’s not that my family is hard off, it’s just that this car is my responsibility, and it’s my job to keep it maintained. Anythingmy mom makes goes towards taking care of me, my sister, and the house. She’s already putting the both of us through college and doing us both a big favor by letting us live at home to save money. This isn’t her issue, it’s mine.
“I know how you feel. Thankfully, I know how to fix cars, or I’d be screwed.” He chuckles. “Alright, can I have the keys? I’ll get this bad boy in the garage and take a look.”
I hand him the keys. “Not sure it’s going to start again. I think I killed it.” I really hope driving it here didn’t make things worse. I don’t even know how much this is going to cost me. I only saved for what one of the shops in town quoted me when I called up and did my best to describe what was wrong. It might not even be the carburetor that's broken, it could be anything. Not that I'd know because the best I can do is jumpstart the car and change a tire. Anything else, I’m a lost cause.
“No need to start it, just need to put it in neutral. The engine might have died, but the battery didn’t. Hey, Robbie,” he shouts. A second later, a guy with shaggy brown hair steps out. “You wanna give me a hand?”
Together, the two of them get my car into the shop. Cooper pushes while Robbie steers.
I find myself watching him, oddly impressed by how strong he is.
It’s like everything I learn about the guy proves time and again that he’s not like all the other jocks I’ve met. I know, I’ve said it before, and I have a feeling I’ll say it again. But it’s true.
“Alright.” He dusts off his hands once the car is where it needs to be. “It’s going to be a few hours to look everything over. Do you have someone to come grab you or...”
“Ah, no.” I shake my head. “Is it okay if I hang out here? Do you have a waiting room or something? If not, it’s cool, it’s nice out, I could take a walk or something.”
“Yeah, we have a lobby in there.” He points to a door with windows. I look and see chairs. “There’s coffee and water in there, too, so help yourself. If you get bored, feel free to hang out with us in here.” He points to the rolling chair. “Just don’t touch anything. My dad would kill me if a customer got hurt.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to be in your way.”
“You’re fine.” He waves me off. “It’s just Robbie and me until noon. He’s over there doing his own thing.”
I debate on what I’m going to do for a moment. Deciding I don’t want to be a bother, I choose the waiting room.
“I’ll go grab a coffee.”
“Sounds good.” He grins, then turns around and heads toward my car.
Opening the door to the lobby, I head in and make my way to the coffee.
“Good morning,” a woman behind the counter greets me. “Are you Blake Clark?”
I nod. “Yeah, I have an appointment for eight. The car is already with Cooper.”
“Perfect.” She smiles. “My name is Linda. If you need anything, just ask me. Not much is needed from you until Cooper is done with your car.”
“Okay, sounds good. Thanks.”
I make a coffee, adding way too much sugar. If it weren’t so early, I’d have stopped at the cafe to grab my regular chocolate mint latte.
This will have to do for now, I guess. Taking a sip, I wrinkle my nose. I hate coffee that tastes too much like coffee.
Sucking it up, because I need the caffeine to make it through today, I take a seat in one of the chairs and play around on my phone.
About an hour later, I hear the door that connects to the garage open. Poking my head up, I see Cooper heading towardsme. His face is covered in something black, his blond hair a mess. But that happy boy next door smile is on his face.
