He scrubs his hands over his face, then rests his head on the mirror, looking down at the floor and mumbling.
I can’t take it anymore—he needs to get out of his head. I do a repeat performance of chucking pebbles at the window. Torren startles, then approaches, opening the window and sticking his head out.
“Is this the only way to let you know when I’m here?” I ask, trying to lighten the mood.
“Why didn’t you just knock?” he asks.
“I did. Twice.”
Torren’s eyes open wide before looking embarrassed and rubbing the back of his head.
“Sorry. I’ll be right down.”
“You need a doorbell!”
“Car shops don’t have doorbells,” he says as he shuts the window.
I make my way to the front entrance and find him waiting for me, still looking embarrassed. “Sorry.”
“No worries.” We stand there, looking at each other, not really knowing what to do. I think we both want to touch each other, but neither of us wants to overstep.Fuck it.I give him a quick hug, then ask, “Would it be okay if I used your bathroom to get ready? I just need to take off these dumbass sweats and change my shoes.”
Torren shrugs, trying to appear nonchalant after the hug, but failing. “Yeah, whatever. What are you planning on wearing?”
A lady never reveals her secrets, darling.“Nothing special. Is it okay if I use the bathroom upstairs?”
Torren motions to the spiral staircase. “Be my guest.”
And, with that, I saunter up the stairs to get ready for my big reveal.
I’ll give you a hint. It’s my ass.
Torren
Felix disappears into my bedroom, leaving me standing on the shop floor.
This is the part when Idon’tpanic. We already had coffee, and this is basically the same thing—just a different venue.
I stride back over to my workstation to shine my tools. While waiting for Felix to arrive, I gave them all a good washing until my brain turned into a tornado, and I ran upstairs to talk myself down in the mirror.
I drizzle some mineral oil onto the cloth and begin to shine the first tool. Normally, I try to be slow and methodical, but I’m treating this socket wrench like it hawked a loogie on my jacket.
Jacket.
The socket wrench thuds onto the table, and I make a beeline for my jacket, examining the leather.
Looks like shit.
My feet echo on the concrete floor of the shop as I cross the distance into the kitchenette. I turn on the water and let the sound lull me into a relaxed state. With my eyes closed and my attention focused on the sound, I take three deep breaths, exhaling slowly on each one.
It doesn’t do fuck all to calm me down.
I snag a towel and drench it in warm water before examining my coat beneath the light. There are a few stains here and there, and I do my best to clean them off.
Felix descends the stairs, the sound of his feet hitting the metal steps pulling me away from my task. The spiral staircase is situated to the left of the kitchen entrance, giving me a view of the combat boot that comes into view.
Then another.
I drop my jacket to the floor when a pair of fishnet-clad legs emerge
