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“A bit of one. I used to help my grandfather on his farm fixing the different equipment.”
Once we reached my car, he bent over and waved some of the smoke away as he tried to get a better look. I couldn’t help but let my eyes wander over his jean glad ass. Fuck, he had a great ass.
“You’re looking at my ass right now, aren’t you?” he said with a slight chuckle.
Cocky jerk. “I am just trying to do my part in objectifying men as much as they do women.”
“Still upset about that prostitute comment, eh?” he said as he straightened back up.
“Don’t be silly. I’m totally over the fact that you called me a whore.” I gave him a tight smile that was clearly fake before I continued, “As for the car, you can’t fix it. Not unless you have a new hose for the transmission.”
“I don't, but it might not be that. It could just be overheated. It’s an old car; it might just need a bit to cool back down and get more water added to it.”
I hadn’t noticed the pool of fluid underneath my car until I was walking back to it. The slight hint of green told me where it was coming from, and it was my worst nightmare. I couldn’t afford a new transmission if the lack of fluid had fucked it up. It wouldn’t be worth it to replace because it could be a few grand. I could find another car for much cheaper.
“There’s a growing pool of transmission fluid under the car and the hose is crinkled; it’s been damaged from the heat. A direct result in having my car parked in this scorching heat for too many weeks straight. It’s more of a winter weather car. I’ll have to replace the hose, but there is no telling how long I have been driving it without proper transmission fluid. The transmission could be fucked,” I explained.
“Alright, I’m impressed. How do you know that?” he said with a warm smile. Apparently, it didn’t bother him that I knew more about cars than he did. It was slightly refreshing considering how men tended to be offended and dismissive when a woman corrected them on the subject.
“I like working with my hands. Besides, why own a car if you can’t make basic repairs to it? Not all of us can afford a couple hundred bucks to change a flat tire.”
“I can change a tire and my oil. I’m used to farm equipment and really my grandfather did most of the work. He used to get me to hold the flashlight, and he would tell me I was an amazing assistant,” he said with a warm smile, and I could tell it was a fond memory.
“Touching,” I said, slightly sarcastic because I really didn’t like how this conversation had taken a more personal tone to it. “Do you think you could give me a ride without offering to pay for sex?”
He gave a husky laugh before he spoke, “You are never going to let that go. For someone that lives out of her car, you would think you would be more forgiving of a misunderstanding.”
“You know I don’t think you could have put any more judgment into your tone if you tried. And it is not on me to forgive a man for making some misogynistic judgement of me. It’s on him to do better so he doesn’t make that same mistake next time. Don’t worry about the drive. I’ll walk,” I said as I went to the backseat to grab my purse. There wasn’t much in it, but I might need it for a job application.
“You will be melted to the pavement before you even see the Houston skyline. Emergency services would have to scrape you up with a shovel. Don’t be stupid and get in my truck,” he countered, all traces of nicety were removed from his voice.
I really wanted to tell him to go fuck himself. I didn’t want him thinking he was going to win this argument. That he could speak to me this way. I was my own person. I could make my own decisions. As stubborn as that sounded with my current predicament. Plus, I had been feeling sick and rundown for the past week. I had no idea what it was from. Hell, it could have been a combination of things really. But the last thing I needed was to be walking around in this level of heat. It was stupid and reckless, and I couldn’t afford to end up in the hospital from a heat stroke.
“Fine,” I caved, and he gave me a satisfied smirk.
I grabbed my duffle bag that had all my possessions. I wasn’t going to be carrying it if I had to walk, but now I was getting a ride, and it would be best to not leave it in my car until I could get it hidden in the forest. The last thing I needed was my car being towed, and I lose everything I owned. I tossed my bag into the backseat before I got into my own. He started the truck back up, and the AC was blasting. Instantly, I started to cool down and feel a bit better.
“You can just drop me off at the first gas station or something,” I said. I didn't need him to know where I was going. Not that I knew where I was going.
He pulled back onto the road as he spoke, “I’m not leaving you at a gas station. I'm taking you to my place where you can get something real to eat and then we can figure out what to do about your car.”
“No. I’m not going to your place. I didn’t agree to that.” There was no way in hell that I was going to his house. I wasn’t some charity case. I could look after myself. The last thing I was going to be doing was going to his home.
“Then consider yourself kidnapped,” he said with a smirk. “Sit back and relax; we’ll be there in twenty.”
Asshole.
Charlie
Oh,shewaspissed.I could have been blind, deaf, and dumb, and I would still know she was pissed. I kept waiting to see fire coming out of her from the corner of my eye. I understood why she was pissed. I was basically kidnapping her. Sure, I wasn’t going to be putting her in my basement or anything, but she didn’t want to be at my place. I didn’t care though. Not because I was an asshole, like she was most likely thinking, but because I was a good person. It was nearing a hundred and twenty degrees outside. It was too hot for her to be hanging around Houston while she tried to figure out what to do about her car. I doubted she had the money for a new transmission hose or for a motel room. It was just easier and better for her to be at my place, and then we could figure out what to do about her car.
I understood she wasn’t used to people helping her which was a sad thought in itself. One thing my grandfather made a point of teaching me was that you helped people when you could. Good people don’t let others suffer and think it was someone else’s problem to deal with. You helped, and in return when you were in a rough patch, people would help you. I knew most of the world’s population didn’t follow that same belief, but I have always continued with it, and it was something I made sure to constantly teach Zoey. I had no idea what happened to Maya to put her in this position. To be living in her car and not really having much work, but I knew no one picked this lifestyle. It wasn't like she was a nomad living in a van and working a freelancer gig. She was one step up from being homeless living out of a cardboard box in some alley. I didn’t want her to reach that point, even if she drove me insane.
I had to admit though, I never expected to be seeing her again. When she had left that night roughly a month ago, I figured my one chance at getting a fake wife that didn’t care about who I was went out the window. Now she was here and maybe that was a sign that I needed to pay attention to. Maybe this was the universe’s way of telling me she was the one to not give up on.
The second I pulled into my driveway I could see her tense up. I could also see the surprise on her face. My house wasn’t exactly what she pictured, but it wasn’t what anyone pictured. I turned the truck off as I spoke, “Come on, the house is nice and cool.”
I got out, and I knew she would follow. She wasn’t going to sit in an increasingly hot truck. She also wasn’t going to leave my property. She would have to walk an hour in this heat before she arrived at a business. I heard the sound of her door close followed by her footsteps against the gravel. The second I opened my front door, I was blasted by a wave of cold air.
