6.
“Y o, Alex; pass me a torque wrench, will you?”
I bend and pick it up in a quick swipe, then shake my head at him before turning towards the Toyota Corolla I’ve been working on. The car’s tire rim is bent since the owner hit it against a curb, so it needed to be replaced.
I straighten and stretch my lower back once I’m done, feeling like I pulled something while being bent over the tire.
“Excuse me?”
I look to my left, and find a woman dressed in formalwear smiling up at me.
“How can I help you?” I ask as I shift to face her.
She points a thumb at the black Bentley behind her, and that’s when I notice that she’s not alone. There’s another woman with her, sitting in the driver’s seat of a white Porsche, waiting on her.
“Umm, so my car’s been making these weird noises for the last few days, which is strange since I got it serviced around two weeks ago. I saw a reel about your garage on Instagram, so my friend and I thought you could help me fix the issue.”
Said friend immediately hides her face behind a hand when I look her way, clearly embarrassed. I then study the woman in front of me, and it all starts clicking in place.
She’s scanning me from head to toe like I’m a property up for grabs.
I can practically feel her eyes dragging over the length of my body like slick, discomforting oil.
And if I were a humble man, I’d feel flustered while trying not to let this behavior get to me.
But alas, I’m not that guy. Where some might find this a glorious thing, I find this woman’s perusal downright aggravating.
And I’m pretty sure she thinks she’s being smooth, slipping the Instagram reel excuse into the mix.
Speaking of Instagram reels…
I turn around and glare at the little shit who is trying to come across as discreet as he eavesdrops on me.
“Alex,” I call out.
His shoulders stiffen as he stops working on whatever it is that he was working on, but still, he doesn’t face me.
I roughly throw the torque wrench into the toolbox next to my feet, clenching my jaw when I once again feel that woman’s gaze on me, this time on my back. “ Alex ,” I say more harshly this time.
He sighs, then dumps the tools he’s holding onto the ground before finally standing up and facing me.
Varsha pokes her head out from inside her glass cabin on the other end of the garage, but when I give her a subtle shake of my head, she nods and disappears back inside.
“I was only trying to get Finesse’s name out there,” Alex voices, then swallows when I glare at him. “Social media is a great way for the garage to get more exposure, Ledge. Our traction here hasn’t been as good as it was back home. I only wanted more people to know about this place, that’s all.”
“And you thought uploading a reel on Instagram would miraculously make that happen?”
He’s quiet now, which grates at my fucking nerves.
“I’m waiting, Alex,” I grit out.
He runs his stained fingers through his unruly hair as he looks at me. “I’m sorry, Ledge. I realize now that I accidentally attracted the wrong audience–”
“Holy fuck, Alex; what the hell is this?” Varsha says as she walks out of the cabin with her phone in hand. She’s watching something on it, and once she reaches me, she hands it to me.
Sending another quick glare in Alex’s direction, I look down, and almost throw the phone at him when I see the kind of reels he’s made for Finesse . Scratch that; they are not reels , but merely cringy, blood-boiling…
“Thirst traps,” Varsha announces, exhaling softly. “Alex, you’ve been centering Ledge in thirst traps to get people to visit Finesse ?”
The clip of me – sweaty and greased up – working on a car keeps playing on the screen, with Finesse’s name, its landline number, and the address listed in the caption.
And get this: the asshole even made an account under Finesse’s name, and as I go through said account, all I find are more videos of… well, me .
Jesus, take the goddamn wheel already.
“When did you even record these?” I ask Alex, grimacing at another one of the videos before returning Varsha’s phone to her.
Alex looks like a deer caught in headlights as he glances around aimlessly. “Umm, while you were working?”
“ Christ , man.” I run a hand over my jaw. “This is absolutely ridiculous .”
“I know that, alright?”
I raise my arms by my sides. “Oh, do you ? Wow, we’ve all been saved now, haven’t we?”
“Ledge,” Varsha says firmly.
I look at her. “What?”
She jerks her head behind me, making me turn.
I release a puff of air through my lips and press a thumb against my now throbbing forehead. “Please tell me that your car has actually got a problem,” I all but urge the woman.
She looks terrified as she blinks at me. “It’s…it’s making noises,” she repeats herself.
“ Jesus fuck ,” Varsha mumbles in irritation, just as Alex coughs.
“Right, noises; you mentioned that.” I walk over to the car and crouch behind it to check the exhaust. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, I rise and head back towards the woman, placing my hands on my hips.
“Can you describe the kind of noise it makes so that I can get a general idea of where the issue might be?”
“Let’s just go, Brie,” the friend finally decides to join in. “Please.”
Brie , of course, refuses to listen, and instead clears her throat. “So, the noise – it goes something like this…” She suddenly starts making a high-pitched sound, which could very easily rival the neighing of a horse in heat. Please don’t ask me how I know that. I just do.
This shit right here is unnatural, inhuman, and in this moment, I am more concerned about her health than that of her car.
I am also too stunned to utter a word, and her friend seems to have stopped breathing completely because I don’t think she’s moving at all.
Brie, taking my silence as a lack of understanding, continues neighing – I mean… You get it, right?
She opens her mouth to once again subject me to the torture, but I somehow manage to find my voice before it’s too late. “Please leave,” I say, then clear my throat. “Right now; take your goddamn car and leave before I lose it.”
She tries to speak, but I hold up a hand to stop her.
Taking that as a sign of my final straw being stretched tight, she rummages through her purse for her keys, then pulls them out in a hurry before looking at me.
“For what it’s worth, I’m glad I got to see your eyes in person, at least,” she rushes out.
“Because they are so much prettier than the videos made them look.” And with that, she turns around – shoes screeching against the asphalt – gets into her car, and drives off, with her friend right behind her.
As she pulls out of the street, though, Brie’s car makes a familiar noise. It’s like a consistent rattling that I hear more often than not in my customers’ vehicles.
Well, shit.
Varsha comes to stand to my right. “That was, uh…”
“A wheel alignment issue causing the sound, yeah,” I provide.
“I was going to say scarring , but yeah, it definitely seems like the car has a wheel alignment issue.” She clicks her tongue. “Well, I hope she can get it fixed somewhere.”
I look down at my sister, who looks up at me. A moment of silence passes between us, before we both break down into a fit of hysterical laughter.
“Oh man, we suck ,” she sputters, making me laugh harder.
As I bend forward and press a hand over my stomach, I glance up, and find Alex grinning at Varsha and I like the idiot that he is.
“I…” He scratches the back of his head. “I fucking love you guys.”
I feel a tug in my gut at his words, and my chest tightens when I see silver lining his eyes.
In a world where things, and people change so quickly, we are the only ones he has.
In a time where trusting others is more of a gamble than it ever was, he is the only one me and the others can rely on.
Our bond is special, not just because it was founded on loyalty, but also because it’s been tested so extensively that nothing can phase it anymore.
I swallow the little lump in my throat and gesture for him to come over with a wave of my hand.
Alex grins again as he jogs over to me, and when he reaches me, he all but crushes his body against mine before wrapping his arms around my waist. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs, then sighs before moving back to look at me.
I ruffle his hair as I smile at him. “I know you are,” I tell him.
“Just promise me you’ll delete that account by next week.
This is not the kind of exposure I want for Finesse , Alex, given the job we do outside of fixing cars and shit.
I understand Cignette using social media to expand her reach since that’s literally a major part of her profession, but it isn’t ours.
And I don’t mean to sound rude or overbearing in any–”
“I get it, Ledge,” he says, and I know he means it because I see no anger or resentment on his face. “I’ll delete the account after we’ve closed shop.”
I nod. “Thank you.” I then sigh and pull my phone out of my pocket. “Right, you two get back to work now. I have an important call to make.”
“Are you going to ask her to show her abs this time during this important phone call ?” Varsha comments with a gleam in her eyes.
I scowl at her. “I’ll have you know that I’m–”
I stop when the landline starts ringing from inside the cabin.
“Ah! Work beckons!” she all but exclaims, then claps her hands before giving me a wink. “Excuse me, brother.” She turns on her heels and heads back to her cabin.
Alex repeatedly taps the tip of his sneakers on the ground. “I’m gonna get back to wor–”
“Yup, good idea,” I tell him.
“Right.” He all but runs to his work station, clattering tools and equipment as he settles in once again to continue fixing the Ducati.
Heaving another sigh, I step out of the garage and dial her number, and feel my shoulders relax when she receives the call and her voice meets my ears.
“If you’ve called to ask me for nudes, you’ll be sorely disappointed because I’m in the middle of filming this goddamn video. I am currently in my element; the chakra is on my side and all.”
I chuckle. “I don’t think that’s how the chakra works, but okay.”
“You’re being awfully compliant right now,” she deduces. “What has happened?”
I let go of a breath as I shift on my feet. “It’s not serious, so I’ll tell you when I get home. But for now…” I put my tongue to my cheek as I grin. “Can you sing something for me?”
There’s a pause, with only the sound of the air conditioner on the other side indicating that the call is still active.
“Cigs?”
She clears her throat. “Yeah?”
“Did the cat get your tongue or somethin’?”
“She more than got my tongue; she fucking ripped it out of my mouth. You, Dorran ‘Someone-save-my-eardrums’ Ledger, want me to sing ? Have the scientists finally discovered that the earth is flat, or is Ragnarok about to take place?”
I roll my eyes. “Do you always have to dramatize everything?”
“You’re asking me this?” she questions, making me laugh.
“Touché.” I slide my free hand into my jeans pocket. “Come on, Little Swan; sing for me.”
“I can’t do that without a proper vocal warmup.” I know she’s enjoying dragging this out.
“Oh, fuck off. Warmup, my ass .”
She chuckles. “ Fine , but only because I’m feeling charitable today.”
My brows rise on their own accord. “Wow, how will I ever repay you for your generosity?”
She grunts in annoyance. “Do you wanna hear me sing, or should I go back to filming?”
“Yeah, yeah; I do.”
She clears her throat and starts singing Somebody Else by Bad Omens . And, as expected, it’s very off-key, but it’s also the perfect remedy to get Brie’s neighing out of my head.
Did I enable my girlfriend simply to cleanse my hearing palette?
Yes.
Am I going to now regret that decision for the rest of my life, knowing she’s going to use my request against me for as long as I’ll let her?
Absolutely.
If I wasn’t fucked before, then I sure as hell am now. At least this proves that I’m batshit crazy not only during a mission, but also out of it while making everyday life choices.
It’s a good thing I like it rough, huh?