And again.
And again.
“Come on, now. Don’t do this to me.”
The ignition continued to do nothing. I muttered obscenities under my breath and tried it one more time, putting every little ounce of magic in my body behind it…
Nothing.
My car had apparently broken down, stranding me here at this awful place, with both the parents who had inadvertently ruined my love life, and the lover whom I could never have.
Well, this is just fucking fantastic.
“You’re having engine issues again, aren’t you?” Dalton asked, almost aloofly.
“Yeah,” I groaned, climbing out of the cabin.
“Want me to take a look?”
“Only if you can be bothered.”
Dalton reached inside, popped open the hood, and took a look at the engine. He came back around and tried the ignition again, then checked some of my fluids.
“Hmm. I can’t really tell what’s going on with this. Maybe it’s just old age by now. Listen, do you have a reliable mechanic?”
I groaned. “I have neither that, nor the money to replace this stupid thing, or anything that breaks on it. This is just my fucking luck.”
“Well, when’s the last time you took this thing for an oil change? A tune-up?”
“I don’t remember. Ages ago.”
“Wait, you’ve been skipping oil changes?”
“Hey, don’t give me the third degree here,” I grumbled. “So what if I missed a few of them? They’re optional, anyway.”
Dalton closed the hood and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Thinking that oil changes are optional is exactly what got you into this mess,” he told me in exasperation. “No wonder this thing’s giving you trouble. You’ve probably totally fucked the engine up.”
“Well, that’s just perfect,” I threw my hands up in disgust. “I rely on this thing to get home, to get to work… what the fuck am I going to do now? This piece of junk car is all I had left!”
“Listen, this might be salvageable. I know a guy in town who works at a reputable auto shop. I can have this towed there, and you can assess the damage after he takes a look. Sound good?”
“Do you remember the bit where I don’t have any money?” I reminded him tersely.
“Forget about the money. It’s on me.”
“Oh, no it’s fucking not.”
He flashed me an angry look. “Clara. You can suck up whatever bullshit is running through your head, accept my help, and get back on your feet… or you can cling to your pride and watch your life crumble around you.
“Personally? It’s your choice.”
I was livid, but he was right.
“You know what? Fine.”
“Fine is not how you convince me to shell out for towing fees and an estimate on repairs,” Dalton told me, crossing his arms angrily.
“…Would you please help me?” I relinquished.
“Of course,” he replied, letting his crossed arms sag against his chest. “I’ll make a couple of calls now, and get you set up.”
“Alright,” I nodded. “And… thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” he shrugged.
With that, he stepped aside and pulled out his phone. I decided to venture back towards the festivities, pretending to have changed my mind from a “lack of plans.”
About twenty minutes after I’d rejoined the group of people, Dalton pulled me aside with the good news.
“Tow truck’s on the way. Your car’s being left in good hands. It’s late on a Tuesday, so you’re going to have to wait until later tomorrow afternoon to find out the damage.”
“But… what about school?” I muttered. “How the fuck am I supposed to get to school like this? And I’ve already signed up for banquet shifts, out of town…”
“You’ll need to consider cancelling those,” he answered. “No telling what the consensus will be, thanks to your maintenance plan… or lack thereof. But I can get you to school and back.”
“With what, your motorcycle?”
“Yeah,” he shrugged. “I keep a spare helmet around that’ll probably fit you. We have the same first-hour class anyway. How late in the day do you stay?”
“Until about 4 o’clock.”
“Cool. I get out of my last class an hour before then, so I can just stick around in the union for the meantime. Sound like a plan?”
Begrudgingly, I agreed.
It was pretty rock-solid… but I’d already decided to cut my ties with this guy. The last thing I needed was to be relying on him, not only to get around, but also to solve my vehicular problems for me…
Maybe he was right about that ‘destiny’ stuff.
I tried to kill the thought before it could finish, but it was too late. We’d been thrust together, him and I, and now that the fun and games were over and I decided to leave…
Something cataclysmic happened to drive us back together, no matter what.
With everyone focused towards the back patio and the kitchen, nobody noticed the tow truck pull up in front and scoop up my shitty little car. It also helped that everyone was drinking copious amounts of wine and liquor. Even Dalton’s grandparents seemed to have lowered that tremendous stick up their collective asses just a few inches.
When Dalton had paid the tow driver and the car was gone, we went into the back and said our goodbyes to everyone. Nobody seemed to find it strange that we were leaving together… nobody except his grandparents, who looked at us curiously for just a moment.
Dalton didn’t seem to notice that, thankfully.
When we were done, we walked back around to the front. With great care, he guided me onto his motorcycle. It felt strong and untamed between my legs.
“That’s right, squeeze it with your thighs,” he instructed me, watching how I grew comfortable on it. “I’m going to be in front, so just hold on around my abdomen. I’ll drive safely. Here’s hoping nobody pulls us over…”
After a moment, he was seated with his back to me. I wrapped my arms around him as Dalton revved the engine and kicked up the stand, pulling us onto the road.
Riding behind him was incredible. I loved how the wind filtered through my hair, and the sounds of the road as we navigated towards the main highway, took some turns, and wound up meeting the interstate.
But it wasn’t just that. Holding him close, practically clutching onto his body, sent a shiver down my spine that I couldn’t completely attribute to the wind.
His muscles were hard beneath his clothes. Dalton had arrived in his suit earlier, only pausing to remove his helmet and straighten his attire after parking his motorcycle. This meant that there wasn’t any thick leather or bothersome layers to come between us.
My stepbrother was built broad, tough, and with powerful muscles that lined his entire body. I’d known this as a fact when I’d straddled him during our night together, but I’d tried my hardest to push that aside.
It was hard to avoid being reminded, over and over, for the entire hour that we were on the road.
Part of me expected Dalton to try and bring me to his place. I wondered how I’d react to that… and decided, ultimately, that I’d be okay with it. After all, we had school in the morning. It made more sense for me to sleep on his couch or something.
Instead, he didn’t make the appropriate turn, and he brought me back towards Natalie’s apartment. Dalton didn’t bother killing the engine as he parked, letting me unwrap myself from around him and climb down from the throttling beast.
“So, this is goodnight, huh?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I’ll be back in the morning. You’re not far, so I don’t have to get up too much earlier. When do you need me?”
“How about seven o’clock?”
“Don’t you think that’s cutting it a little short?” He questioned, tilting his head.
“Okay. A little earlier than that.”
Dalton shook his head. “Be down here at a quarter to seven,” he instructed. “
Think you can do that?”
“Sure,” I replied, quietly admonishing myself for choosing a class so early in the day. What the hell was I thinking?
“Alright. See you in the morning,” Dalton muttered offhandedly, sailing off on his ride towards the falling sun.
“Yeah… in the morning,” I sadly, quietly responded after him. He hadn’t bothered to wait up, or to even try to convince me to come home with him.
But that’s what I want, right?
Of course it wasn’t.
I knew it even then.
Rather than try and summon him back or wallow self-piteously in the encroaching darkness, I plugged in my key code, entered the building, and took the elevators up.