It was going on 3:00.

I had no intention of working on her car if she brought it in just a minute late. Can’t follow directions? Car won’t get fixed.

“Lock, where’s that chick you said would be coming into get her car looked at.”

“She’s late. If you don’t see here in her at 3pm on the dot, don’t let her in.”

Derrick was the lone sap that I could count on to help run my car shop. He was smart, hard-working, and knew his was around under the hood.

And that was more than enough for me.

“You mean, let her in, but you’re not workin’ on her ride right?”

“Yeah, sure…something like that.”

I hardly remembered her from school. It’s not like she made much of an effort to be memorable. Her scribbles on her desk in class was about the only thing that stuck with me. She was a bother. An annoying little voice picking at my eardrums. But I couldn’t stand seeing such a shitty car driving around on the road.

Sliding from under the car I was working on, I wiped my hands clean of the oil that stained them.

It was 2:59. Times up.

“Hey Lock, she’s here!” Derrick called out on the intercom.

She was peering into the work room and talking Derricks ear off. Annoyance overload. Had she never been to a damn shop before? Judging by the look of her Honda rust bucket, I’d say not. I begrudgingly walked into the lobby to greet her.

“Well well well bug eyes, seems like you made it at the last minute.”

“I got here as fast as I could. I was all the way downtown by the way.”

“Whatever. Did you park right out front?” I walked by her and walked outside, with her taking large steps behind me. No need to by a cat anymore. Jamie was doing the job just fine.

“My car is here. Be careful with it. I’m not exactly rich you know.”

“Obviously not. Keys?”

She handed me the keys and I could see her eyes peer down to the floor. Not that I really cared what was on her mind (there was no way in hell you could ever know what a woman was thinking anyway). But I thought to ask anyway.

You know, to be “civil” and all.

“What’s the matter with you? You’re getting a free tune up. Isn’t that exciting?”

“It is. Thanks Forest. I really appreciate the offer.”

There was this weird filling in my chest.

It felt like…like an ounce of sympathy for her. It left just as quickly as it came.

“Like I told you before, it should be a crime to drive around with such a busted car. I have an obligation as a mechanic to do something about this.”

She laughed, her timid voice catching in her throat. It was, kind of cute. “I didn’t think it was that bad, but you are the expert! You know more than me. Should I just wait in the lobby?”

“That’s what the customers do.”

“Okay then.”

She walked back into the shop and I fired her car up, driving it to the work garage. At very least she kept the car smelling fresh.

I took my shirt off and threw it to the ground, sliding underneath the car.

Damn was it a mess.

Rust everywhere, possibly flood damage. I just hoped the woman didn’t pay too much for the heap of junk.

I worked on the car for hours, removing tires, brake pads, shocks, practically tearing the whole damn car apart. Occasionally I glanced passed the glass to get a look at her. I’d be lying if I said she wasn’t cute.

She had long black hair. Peachy skin, grey eyes and a banging body. Don’t remember her looking like that in school. I stopped gaping and looked at the clock.

“Damn it’s seven. Time to stop for today.”

I lifted the car and placed my tools back in their respective places. Walking back into the lobby, I threw a white t-shirt over my head.

“Looks like I won’t be able to finish your car today. I need to order a few parts. You’re going to have to wait.”

She glared at me, furrowing her brows, “How am I supposed to get home then?! You know our building is at least twenty minutes away from here!”

“Calm down princess. I’ll take you back if Derrick left already.”

“He did, and he said you would give me a ride back.”

Of course that jackass offered me up…

“Why do you look so annoyed? We live in the same building. It shouldn’t be an inconvenience at all.”

The way she folded her arms huffily, irritated me. She was picky and demanding. It wore me the hell out.

“Fine fine, just shut up and come on.” She grabbed her things and followed behind me as I locked to front door to the shop.

I guided her to my Subaru and open the door for her. Revving the engine up, I leaned my head back in my chair. It was a damn long day and it didn’t seem like it’d be ending any time soon.

“You drive stick? That’s pretty cool.” She put her hand on the stick and I swatted it away.

“Don’t touch anything.”

“Sorry.”

Babysitting duty was turning out to be a major pain in my ass.

We drove back to downtown Seattle, mostly in silence while Jamie stared out of the window. I regretted offering to fix her car, it was more hassle than it was worth. But I didn’t mind the extra entertainment she provided just being naïve and silly.

Pulling up to the apartment, I parked in the underground garage and opened her door.

“Even though a bit callous, you are kind of a gentlemen I guess.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“Sure. If you think so Forest.”

She walked ahead of me into the building.

I liked the way she walked.

There was a kind of gently rhythm she had, putting each foot carefully in front of the other. Like a model or something.

She was foolish though.

Jamie had no business getting involved with a man like me. A man with burdens, enemies, past regrets.

A man with pain.

I would crush her gentle heart and she was too naïve to see it. I had to keep her away from me.

She opened the front door to her apartment and I stopped her from walking inside.

“Hey, you have any plans tonight?” I tensed at the way she bit her lip at my question.

“Actually, I don’t…did you have something in mind?”

This was probably going to be some huge mistake that I’d come to regret later in life, but fuck it. I was living in the here and now.

“Come for a drive with me. Mountain loop scenic byway. It’s about eighty miles from here. Up for a little adventure?”

“You know what? I am. Let’s go.”

“That’s a girl.” She followed me out of her apartment and back down to my car in the garage.

“So senior year high school huh? That was about eight years ago for us. All I can remember is how many idiots I punched in the face back then.”

“Pretty sure that’s all anyone can remember about our senior year Forest.” I punched my fist through the air as I started my car and she busted into that damn cute laugh again. We got on the road and headed for a scenic drive on the outskirts of Seattle.

It was dark, quiet. And I like it like that.

The only light came from my cars headlights and the world settled into perfect darkness. Night drives were where I felt at home. I only hoped my little guessed didn’t break the vibe.

“Forest I’ve been wanting to ask you. Why were you such a loner in high school? I mean, you associated with literally no one.”

Looks like I spoke to soon…

“I swore I wasn’t going to play interview with you when we got in this car, but I’ll bite.” She fixed her gaze in the darkness to me.

“Unlike the rest of you privileged lot, I’ve been through a ton of shit in my life. It changed me as a person from an early age.”

“I’m sorry to hear that…”

“I don’t ever recall asking for your sympathy.” She could never understand the trauma that constantly filled my mind. The only way I knew how to cope with it was keeping a tough exterior. Not letting anyone in, that sort of thing.

“Well I just wanted you to know that I do have empathy.” Her voice became gentle and airy. I don’t know why it annoyed me so much.

“Yeah, empathy…whatever.” I kept my eyes on the road, but she continued.

“Do you mind me asking what happened?” She tread lightly with the question, and I gave her credit for that. I told myself I’d gotten over the ridiculous curveballs that were thrown my way, so I saw no harm telling her.

“My parents died in a car accident when I was twelve years old.”

“Oh no…” She held her hands to her mouth. Seeing her extreme reaction was odd. Maybe I was just too desensitized to emotion.

“I was in the car with them but for some reason, the grim reaper decided that it wasn’t my time. I’m the only one who survived.” Litigating the past…exactly what I didn’t want to do.

“I’m so sorry to hear that Forest. I can’t imagine how much pain that’s caused you.”

“Pain? No, it’s made me a tougher person. Life waits for no one, and yours can end in a moment’s notice. Live your life with no regrets. That’s the way I see it.”

“You’re right.”

Silence came over her for a while and I couldn’t help wondering what she was thinking. It’s not like I knew much about her anyway.

“What about you? That doll like face ever been dampened with tears before?” She twisted the ring in her finger around and looked down to her lap, her head hanging low.

“Well, I’m fortunate to have lived a pretty uneventful life I guess.”

“You wanna be a painter, right? Painting’s a far cry from making latte’s all-day bug eyes.” I could faintly see a smile spread across her face. Seemed like taking about scribbling on canvases excited her.

Whatever works for you I guess.

“Actually, I’m sure this might bore you, but I call back from this museum that wants to curate my work. It’s kind of a big deal but obviously I haven’t processed it.” She turned her body to me and I could faintly see her bright eyes in the dark.

They sure were bug eyes, but they were nice to look at.

“Oh yeah? Tell me about.” I honestly didn’t give a shit, but I could get used to looking at her in passenger’s seat.

She was naïvely hopefully about the world. A good change of pace.

“Well, the curator is this man named Delvin Smith. He was really, really interesting. Everything in his office, and even his clothing was blue! Of course, he picked pieces from my portfolio that were blue too. Isn’t that weird?”

“Sounds like it brings him comfort.”

“Hmm?”

Yeah, she was definitely wet behind the ears when it came to tragedy.

“Some people deal with shit in their own way. Maybe the color blue helps him deal with something. Just a thought.”

“I never thought about that.”

“Well maybe you should. You shouldn’t be skeptical or afraid of things you don’t know.”

Jamie got quiet again, and I focused on the road.

I needed to reel myself in.

There was no reason for me to get any closer to her. She was making a big mistake. But I guess I was too.

We got closer to Mountain loop, and the pure darkness of the night illuminated the stars. This is what I wanted to see.

“If you look up out the window, you’ll see a lot of stars. Not like we get that kind of view back in Seattle.”

She gently rolled down the window and peaked her head out.

“Don’t fall out.”

“I won’t if you don’t push me!”

She slapped my hand in record time as I pretended to push her out. A breathy laugh and she was back inside the car.

“You’re right, this is breathtaking! I’m glad I trusted you enough to come with you.”

“Well you trust me enough with your crappy car, I don’t see why not.”

We pulled into a barren rest stop off the highway.

And then the worst happened.

“Forest, did the headlights just go out?”

“Shit…”

One by one, the gps, radio, pretty much every piece of electrical equipment went out too.

Thankfully, we were parked.

“What’s happening?!”

“By the looks of it, the fucking alternator is out. Damn, just our luck.”

“Do you mean we’re stuck here?? Why are you so calm about that?!” The timbre of her voice raised about a million decibels.

“Listen, if you relax and pipe down everything will be fine.”

“Will you go out and take a look please?!!”

“The car’s not moving. If it’s the alternator, we’re stuck here until morning.”

She made some kind of strange combination of a moan and a cry, and grabbed my arm.

“Forest, it’s freezing, it’s pitch black aside from this street light and no one knows we’re out here! Are we really camping here all night?”

“That’s the plan.”

“You can’t be serious!” Yanking the door open as if she were trying to rip it off, she marched out of the car and down the dark rest stop.

She was really stubborn.

It’s dark, dangerous, and your only warmth and security is staying in a car. And you choose to walk away?

“Hey Jamie! Get over here!” I jogged behind her with a turtle’s pace. It wasn’t really my job to chase after her anyway. “You should stay back at the car with me. It’s dark out here.”

“I’m trying to get reception so we can call towers or something. Forest, I’m not staying here all night in the dark with you!”

“What the hell makes you think I wanna stay with you either bug eyes?!”

She let out a huge sigh of air that filled the space before her with a small cloud of vapor.

It was freezing out here, and she was being a grade A idiot.

“Use your brain. Come back to the car with me, and we’ll wait a few hours for sunrise.” I could sense her hesitation before she finally turned around and followed me.

We walked back to the car and I locked the doors and turned the air on.

“I’ll go to the trunk and get some blankets.”

“Fine.” Forcing the one word out of her mouth, she folded her arms as if she wasn’t expression her displeasure enough.

Alright, I admit. It was kind of karmatic that my alternator blew just as I was talking crap about her own rust bucket.

Happy now?

I pulled some blankets from the back and got back in the car, covering her with the soft fabric.

“I hope that keeps you warm. I’m going to go take a look at the car. Stay put.” She exhaled like a bull and I closed the door behind me. This woman was really grinding my gears.

Pulling out my cell phone, I popped the hood and shone the flashlight under the hood.

“Everything looks fine here…wait a minute…”

I took a closer look at the alternator.

“Looks like this was tampered with.” My phone had no signal. There was no way I could call Derrick.

There was an emergency phone a few steps away from the car at the light post. Placing the hood down, I got back in the car to keep our bug eyed princess sane.

“So? Is it what you thought?” Seeing the look on of concern on her face brought out some strange paternalistic trait in me. I wanted to protect her. I wouldn’t tell her that someone’s been messing around with my car.

“Yeah, looks like the alternator is blown. I should’ve swapped it out a few days ago. But spilled milk now. There’s an emergency phone on the light pole over there. I’ll go use it in a few. You keeping warm?”

“I’m hanging in there. You know…despite the fact that it’s utterly ridiculous to be stuck in some Washington mountains at the dead of night with you, it’s the most excitement I’ve had my whole life.”

“I’d prefer a different kind of excitement honestly Jamie.” She laughed timidly at my words. “If you want, I can pull the front seats up and we can sit in the back. It’ll be more comfortable.”

“Would you do that?”

“Sure.”

I got out of the car yet again, the brisk cold slapping me in the face like a block of ice. Jamie followed soon after. Pulling up the front seats opened up a good deal of room in the back of the car. We climbed back in and thankfully had enough room to stretch our legs.

There was still in the air as we sat in silence for a bit.

And then she leaned her head on my shoulder.

I really didn’t know why, but like a sappy buffoon I wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

“Forest, we’ll be able to get help right?”

“Someone will be here after I call. This area gets some traffic during sunrise. Don’t worry.” I honestly wasn’t too sure about that, but what good would it be to worry her?

Ten minutes passed, and I could hear her snoring. Definitely not loud enough to wake any bears, which I was grateful for.

I knew nothing of Jamie Jordan aside from a few tertiary details. And here I was stuck in the Mountain loop with her. Some cruel trick or something?

While she slept all I could think about was who could possibly get under my hood. Derrick would be hearing it from me when we got. He was the only person that could have any such access.

This is why I trusted no one.

Jamie’s shoulders convulsed and she shot up from my arm. It startled me for a minute.

“You okay? Hypnic jerk?”

“Oh! Uhh, sorry! I think so…”

“Go back to sleep if you can, we’ll be in her for a few more hours.”

She didn’t listen to me. She just stared at me in the darkness. I hoped this wouldn’t turn into a horror seen.

“Something wrong with you? Why are you staring at me?”

“I just wanted to look at you. Is that a crime?”

“Well, have at it I guess.”

Moving closer to my face, she stopped just a few inches before it. I could smell the scent of some flowery fragrance doused on her skin. I wonder if she knew how much of a dangerous game she was playing.

I closed the gap between our faces a few more centimeters and the warmth of air leaving our mouths collided into each other. Immediately she whipped her head back from my face.

“Sorry…I got a little out of hand.”

“What’s wrong with kissing me? After all, this might be our last night alive.”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. A soft chuckle escaped her mouth.

“You can’t be serious Forest…”

I wasn’t. But it didn’t matter.

“My point is, you never know.” I leaned my head against the door and closed my eyes. There was a quiet ruffling sound coming from her direction but I didn’t budge.

Every ounce of restraint in me held me back from kissing her. I was curious. The taste of her lips, the feeling of her skin. I wanted to know what it felt like.

Curiosity was tempered as I continued doze off.

* * *

“Forest. Hey, Forest, wake up! I called a tow company to come get us an hour ago. They’ll be here any minute.”

The sun seared my lids. Jamie was the first thing I saw when I woke up.

I stretched as much as I could in the tight space and patted her on the back.

“Thanks.”

“Your welcome. Now please make sure I get back home safely.”

“Will do princess.”

We waited for little more than a few minutes before the tow truck was in plain view. Speaking briefly with the tower, we loaded the car up and made for Seattle.

We were back to my shop in under an hour, and I was out of three hundred dollars. Fun stuff.

“Jamie, you should probably head home. I’ll drop your car off to you when it’s ready.”

“Probably a good idea. Here’s my number. Call me when you’re done. See you soon then.”

That was a weird…date.

“Lock, where the hell were you?? You were missing all morning.” Derrick emerged from working on Jamie’s car in the garage. The smell of oil and motor felt a bit comforting. The woods were not a pleasant place to spend the night in your car.

“Yeah, I need to talk to you about that Derrick. My alternator is blown. From the looks of it, it seems like someone tampered with it.” He scratched his cheek, smearing oil all over it. The man was a ditz but he was a damn good mechanic.

“Are you thinking it’s who I’m thinking?”

“I am.”

There was only one person that had a vested interested in fucking with my car. And this person was involved in a side of me that Jamie would have nothing to do with.

“Mauve.” We said the name in sync and shook our heads equally so at the thought.

Mauve Bedguard. A rich kid that raced fancy cars with his parents money for a living. We were both part of an underground community that made big bucks racing modified cars. It was dangerous. 180 miles an hour has the tendency to make your face feel like it’s being wiped off your skull.

The last time I hit my car to the pavement, Mauve lost the race. Had to give up his nice Porsche which I sold to make some editions to my shop.

Easy work right?

But the bastard clearly developed a grudge and took it to the next level by tampering with my ride.

“Forest, what are you going to do about it?”

“We’ll send him a message not to do this again. He’ll get the picture.”

“Give him the old timer?”

I snapped my finger in response to Derrick, “Bingo.”

Adrenaline, that’s what it was all about. The only thing that mattered. Burning rubber and ruling the night streets. Blackmail, intimidation, violence, it was all part of the gig. I couldn’t have some demure wanna-be painter getting caught up in the mix of it.

Even if I did find her interesting.

“Let me finish up that Honda. Replace that alternator if you don’t mind.”

“I’m on it!”