Fender Bender Blues

by Niecey Roy

  Leah went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “If you like him, I don’t see what the big deal is. You’re deliberately making things complicated.”

  “You don’t understand.” Rach frowned down at her plate. The pizza was getting cold.

  “I don’t even think you understand,” Leah said.

  “Yeah, well I started out with a plan—no distractions, remember? We talked about this. Me getting my life back on track.” She picked a mushroom off the pizza and popped it into her mouth. “My great, logical plan isn’t working too well.”

  “It’s because your plan sucks. You can’t put love on hold just because you don’t have a job. I don’t get what the big deal is.”

  Rach narrowed her eyes. “You can’t see what the big deal is because you have a job and you can pay your bills. Another big deal is that he’s got commitment issues. You said so yourself, he dumped his girlfriend of eight months—’’

  “Rick said he had a very good reason,” Leah interjected.

  “—and I don’t need the stress. I’m telling you, it’s important for me to concentrate on me and not a man who drives me nuts. He complicates things. I’m tired of complicated. I just want to pay my rent, that’s it.”

  Leah looked pained, but finally like she understood. With a nod, she replied, “Okay, I’ll leave you alone about it. Maybe I’ll talk to him so he’s not so offended by your—’’

  “By my what?” Rach interrupted, giving her a pointed stare.

  “By the way you behave like an ass sometimes,” she finished.

  Rach rolled her eyes. So much for understanding.

  “I didn’t have a chance to tell you since you’ve been so busy with your mansicle, but I filled out an app last week at Dexler’s, that outfitting call center in town, and you’ll never guess in a million years who I ran into,” Rach said, leaning into the table. Not giving her a chance to guess, she rushed on, “Jackie-in-the-Box.”

  “No way. From high school?”

  “Yes way, from high school. And she remembers us and she still hates us. In fact, she told me not to hold my breath for a call-back.” She reached for the half eaten slice of pizza on her plate. Now that the conversation was off Craig, her appetite was back. And sitting in a pizzeria was better than dodging Mrs. Petska.

  “So you didn’t get hired because she still hates you?”

  “Us—she hates us,” Rach stressed, adding some crushed red pepper to the slice. “Especially you since you’re the one who stole her boyfriend.”

  “I can’t believe she still hates you.” Leah shook her head and pushed her plate away. “That was a long time ago. It’s weird.”

  “Us,” Rach corrected, again, around a mouthful of pizza. “She hates us. I’m actually glad I didn’t get a job there. It would have been suicide working in the same building as her. Something will come up. I’ve got a million résumés out right now.”

  Leah covered her hand and gave her a sympathetic look. Rach predicted what was coming even before she asked, “Have you thought about going back, Rach?”

  “I’m not ready yet,” she stated, and Leah let it drop.

  Instead, she said, “Craig closes on his house in a few weeks so we’re throwing him a housewarming party. Do you want to go gift shopping with me?”

  “So he bought my dream house.” Rach stabbed at her pizza with a fork. The big shot car salesman had her dream house and all she had was her dad’s car and no job.

  “Yeah. Rick said Craig doesn’t want a housewarming party but his mom insists.”

  Too much information.

  “Do I have to go?” she grumped, knowing the answer.

  “You’re my best friend and I need you there. I’m meeting Rick’s mom for the first time and I’m scared to death,” Leah whined.

  “Quit pouting, it’s not fair. I’ll go, but I don’t know why you’re scared. You’re the perfect girlfriend. Everyone loves you.”

  Leah didn’t look reassured as she chewed on the end of her red and white striped straw. “I hope so.”

  “You want to do something later? I can’t stand the thought of being home alone again tonight. It’s getting depressing. We can do something cheap like watch a movie.” Rach stuffed the one leftover piece of pizza into a Styrofoam box the waitress left at the edge of the table. It would be her dinner, thanks to Leah’s generosity.

  Leah paused with straw to her lips. “I have plans.”

  Of course she did, with Rick the Best Friend Stealer. At least she looked guilty for it. Rach sighed and considered asking for more breadsticks to stuff in the To Go box. She glanced around the room, but no waitress. “That’s okay, I should go to bed early anyway. Maybe I’ll clean the cobwebs out of the corners of my ceiling.”

  Because Leah hailed the waitress over for free breadsticks a few minutes later, Rach forgave her for being too busy for girl time.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Rachel was about to repay her dad for his kindness by spending too much money on a car wash. He wouldn’t be impressed with her efforts in a self-service wash so she decided to leave the care of his pride and joy in the hands of professionals. She told the guy behind the counter she wanted the wash and wax and to put extra elbow grease into the wheel shine.

  The front door of the waiting room opened and Rach looked up from the magazine on her lap. “I know this isn’t a coincidence.”

  The sheepish smile on Craig’s face was adorable. He shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels and she had the urge to pinch his cheeks like her grandma used to do to Rach when she was a little girl. “Actually, it is. I came to pick up my car. Rick dropped it off earlier. My work is just down the street.”

  “Why would Rick drop your car off here? I thought you work in a car dealership. Couldn’t you wash your car there?” she asked, suspicious.

  “Because I won a bet and he owed me a car wash and for some reason he showed up fifteen minutes ago insisting he take my car here.”

  Both Leah and Rick were playing matchmaker now. Wonderful.

  The same thought must have clicked in Craig’s head because he gave a small laugh and a short nod. She picked up the magazine from her lap and pretended great interest in its contents, but her eyes were on his shoes, not the words. Silently counting the seconds as they ticked by, she waited for him to leave. He didn’t. Instead, the expensive black leather moved closer. He plucked the magazine out of her hands and turned it right side up then handed it back,

  “It’d be more convincing if you had it the right way.”

  Damn. She snatched it from his hand and mumbled, “Whatever.”

  He glanced around the reception area. “Where’s the guy behind the counter?”

  An image of Craig naked made her blush and she hid her face in the magazine again. “I think he’s outside.”

  “Are you washing your dad’s car?” He sat down beside her.

  “He called me yesterday to ask if I’ve buffed the wheels so I thought I’d better bring it in before he sees it later.”

  A smile tugged at the corners of his lips and his eyes warmed. Sunlight spilled into the room and lit up his hair like a gold halo. He was gorgeous and Rach had to remind herself that he knew it. Craig was everything she didn’t need or want in a man—a womanizer with commitment phobia, a car salesman, which in the eyes of her father was just as bad as a door-to-door salesman. He’s off limits, she told herself.

  “That’s probably a good idea,” he nodded. “What are you…doing after this?”

  His question surprised her and she stared at him for a few seconds too long, blinking at him in confusion. Rach cleared her throat and shrugged. “Nothing much. What are you going to do?”

  What she’d meant to say was “none of your business.”

  Nervously, she waited for his answer. What the hell was wrong with her? Did she expect him to say he wanted to make plans together? You are being an idiot again, Bennett. Your plans tonight involve fried chicken and a Rocky movie—not Craig. />
  He settled an ankle over his knee and crossed large arms over his chest. “Nothing.”

  “Great.” She swung her eyes away from his, hoping he wouldn’t notice her disappointment. And annoyance. Why the hell had he asked her?

  The silence was deafening while they sat ignoring each other, him staring at the wall and Rach at a magazine she kept forgetting to flip the pages of. The longer they sat there, the more infuriated she got. After what they’d done in her room the other night, she wondered how the jerk could be so nonchalant. Couldn’t he at least pretend interest? Just a little?

  Why do you care!? You don’t want anything to do with him, she told herself. In her frustration she let out an, “Ugh,” and when Craig looked over at her, surprised, she mumbled, “Stupid stories in this.”

  “Oh.” He looked down at the closed magazine on her lap. Her cheeks grew hot and she turned to stare out the window.

  When the attendant behind the counter returned, Craig jumped up and hurried to him.

  What the hell is his problem? She glared at his back, hoped he’d trip in his loafers, and got up to do some constructive pouting in the bathroom. If she was lucky, he’d be gone when she returned.

  ****

  Craig approached the counter with a confusing mix of relief at not having to be alone with Rach and irritation that he was having such a hard time starting a conversation with her. He was acting like a teenage virgin.

  Every time he closed his eyes or let his mind wander, he envisioned her naked—it was driving him nuts! When he found his brother he’d ring his neck for arranging this meeting. Rick’s and Leah’s attempts at turning him into Rach’s boyfriend were getting on his nerves. The woman obviously didn’t want anything to do with him and he didn’t care to chase someone around who hated his guts. He’d never had to try to impress a woman in his life. He wasn’t about to start with Rach.

  “I’m here to pick up my car.” Craig slid his ID to the man behind the counter. “My brother dropped it off earlier.”

  The man studied the ID, then him, and said, “Sure, he phoned and said you’d be comin’. It’s finished. He’s already paid with his credit card so all I need you to do is sign here to pick it up.”

  Rach’s heels click-clicked behind him and a door shut. He glanced up to see the man behind the counter staring after her and Craig bristled. “You wouldn’t hold up a minute with her, pal.”

  The man’s look of interest only deepened as he mistook Craig’s words as sexual innuendo and he grinned lasciviously. “Oh, I think I’d have fun trying.”

  Craig fought the urge to grab the man around the neck and throttle him. His voice low and dangerous, he said, “No, jerk, you really don’t get it. She’d walk all over you and stuff that dumb bowtie down your throat if you got fresh with her.”

  The light in the man’s eyes disappeared and he gulped, backing up a step with a shake of his head. “Oh, I didn’t mean—I’m sorry—she’s just—I—I just meant she’s beautiful.”

  Craig stared the man down until he looked away. The click of heels sounded on the linoleum again and by the pained expression on the man’s face, Rach had returned. Now he had to worry about leaving her alone with the creep behind the counter. He turned and leaned against the counter.

  “I was thinking we could get something to eat,” he said before he could stop himself. Her green eyes flickered with doubt and he hated the feeling of unfamiliar inadequacy while he waited for her answer.

  Finally, after an excruciating pause, she said, “Maybe. Where are you thinking?”

  He had to bite back the sigh of relief. He’d been certain she’d say no. “Anything you’re up for is fine with me.”

  She shrugged. “Let me think about it.”

  Craig gave a short laugh, hoping he didn’t sound as pathetic as he felt. “Sure.” He turned back to the man behind the counter, who was still a little pale in the face, and asked, “How long before her car is done?”

  “Ten minutes, tops.”

  “Great.” He took Rach by the arm and steered her to the door, calling over his shoulder, “We’ll be outside waiting.”

  Rach stumbled beside him and when the door shut, she demanded, “What was that all about?”

  “Nothing. The guy’s a creep,” he answered, knowing he sounded like a jealous boyfriend and not giving a damn.

  She blinked. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  Embarrassed for sounding like he cared, his answer was moody. “He said some inappropriate things about you, that’s all. Forget it.”

  “Oh.” She blushed and glanced away. The freckles on her nose were just a shadow today under the makeup she wore. He missed the freckles. She stepped off the curb, giving him a great view of her butt as the muscles shifted with the movement under her navy blue cotton capris.

  He didn’t know what the “oh” meant. Harsher than he intended, he said, “Don’t come here again.”

  Rach’s shoulders went rigid. “Really? Is that an order?”

  Craig sighed in exasperation. “Really, Red, it’s an order. The guy was being dirty. He said you were beautiful and—’’

  “He said that?” He didn’t know why she looked so amazed and didn’t like the way her eyes drifted back to the door.

  “That’s not important, what I’m trying to tell you is he was thinking dirty thoughts.” Craig grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her away from the door.

  I’m not jealous, just protective, he told himself. Her best friend was dating his brother which almost made him responsible.

  “Okay.” She tugged her elbow out of his hand, her eyes sparking. “I get it. The guy’s a creep. Relax.”

  “Forget it. If you want to date a creep like that, go for it.” The words had come out before he could stop himself and if he’d been alone, he would have smacked his forehead.

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “I didn’t say I was interested in him. And if I was it would be none of your business.”

  Of course it was his business. “Then date him.”

  “Maybe I will,” she threw back, obstinate and sexy as hell.

  Just then a man backed her car out of the garage bay and parked beside them. He got out and handed Rach her keys. “Here you go, all spic and span.”

  When the man’s eyes lingered on Rach’s face, Craig growled and snatched the keys out of his hand before Rach could grab them, then stepped between the two to cut off any possible conversation. Rach looked up at him, furious, but he ignored her.

  “Where do you want to go to dinner?”

  “You can’t be serious.” She gawked at him and shook her head. Her hair shifted and settled behind her shoulders with the sun caressing the locks, lighting her hair into flames, rendering him breathless.

  “Of course I am. Where do you want to go?”

  She stared him down, or tried to, but he didn’t look away. Finally, she answered, “I know a place. Follow me.”

  She grabbed her keys out of his hand and got into her car without another word. She backed the car up and took off out of the parking lot. It was clear she wasn’t going to wait for him. He trotted to his ‘Vette and hopped in. The big blue beast was already down the street at the stop light and he swore, flooring the gas to catch up with it.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Rach grinned as she pulled into her parents’ driveway. Maybe her dad would break out the Rocky impersonations and Craig would hit the ground running. He deserved as much. The ‘Vette parked behind her and she got out of the Toronado, still smiling.

  She was about to let Craig in on where they were dining that evening, hoping to spark panic in those blue eyes of his, when the front door of her parents’ house banged open. Her dad came swooping out with eyes as big as a puppy dog’s and an awed expression on his age-lined face.

  “That’s a ‘53 Corvette!” Her dad looked like he might start hyperventilating, standing only a body width away from Craig’s black beauty.

  Craig beamed. “I restored this
car with my dad when I was in high school. She’s my baby.”

  Oh God, what have I done? Before her eyes, a forever-bond was forged between two car enthusiasts. Her dad grasped Craig’s hand in a firm shake.

  “Craig, this is my dad, Glen. Dad, this is Craig,” Rach introduced, forgoing the smack to the forehead she wanted to give herself. Her plan had majorly backfired. Craig fell into step beside her dad so they could talk cars, not at all frightened by the man with the red curly hair wearing a porkpie hat and drooling over his ride.

  “She’s a beauty—a real beauty. You and your dad did this? You must be a good body man,” Glen praised, walking around the car and admiring the perfect metal all around. Craig’s chest was puffed up and his eyes were gleaming and he looked just like all the members of her dad’s car club. How the hell had she not seen this coming?

  “I’m not too bad. My dad taught me everything I know,” Craig said modestly. Her dad circled the car to the passenger side where he stared in at the immaculate black interior.

  “Who did your interior?”

  This was about the time Rach tuned them out and leaned against the Toronado to wave at a neighbor carrying in groceries. When there seemed to be a good break in the conversation, she interrupted, “We better go in. Mom will be pissed if supper gets cold.”

  She reached through the driver’s door of the Toronado and took out the Pinot Grigio she’d picked up before going to the car wash. She hadn’t been sure what the correct wine choice for fried chicken should be so she’d picked her favorite.

  Glen had been so distracted by the ‘Vette in his driveway he hadn’t even inspected his own car. He paused beside the fender and said in a panicked voice, “Is that a dent?”

  Rach sucked in a worried breath and waited while he trailed his hand along the fender. When he sighed in relief, Rach did as well. “Not a dent, just a bad wash job.”

  She nudged her dad toward the house. “I paid a lot of money for that bad wash job.”