I drive over to her parents’ house. On my way there the events from the night before replay in my head.
That feeling of Laney in my arms… it was so different.
I can’t deny the charge I felt, but just because I felt something it doesn’t have to mean that everything has changed. It didn’t mean anything. It was because it’d been so long since we’d seen each other in person that was all.
I park on the street in front of her parents’ house, noting that Laney’s dad seems to be working on his truck in the driveway. “Hey, Jerry!” I say as I walk up on him standing at the open hood of his Bronco. And even though I intended to continue up to the house to see Laney, I find myself offering to help Jerry with the truck.
“I imagine you’re here to see Laney. You sure you have time for this?” Jerry asks, gesturing to the engine under the open hood.
I don’t want to explain that I’m stalling for a little more time to let the events of the night settle into place before I see Laney. Instead I ask, “How is Laney this morning?”
“She’s doing just fine, all things considered,” Jerry answers. “Right now, she’s up in the kitchen with her mother making breakfast. I bet it’s about ready too. You hungry?”
I’m not all that hungry, but I’m not about to turn down a home cooked meal, especially since I like and respect Laney’s parents. Having breakfast with Laney in the company of her parents is a great way to get things back into our friendship groove. “I am, and there’s no way I’d turn down a home cooked meal if you’re offering,” I tell him.
Jerry nods and points out the issue he’s having with the engine. Jerry is a smart man, but he’s all thumbs when it comes to mechanics, and this isn’t the first time I’ve had to go in and undo the mistakes he’s made trying to fix it.
Rolling up my sleeves, I disconnect the hoses that Jerry’s confused and reattach them to the correct port. That’s just where I get started, though. Come to find out, he meant to change the oil and give the air conditioning some extra Freon to really cool things down. Luckily he hadn’t gotten around to adding the Freon yet, because topping off the refrigerant is not going to make his AC work better, it’s going to blow it because there are pressure factors involved, and it takes knowing what you’re doing when it comes to the AC in vehicles.
Once I figure out the problem, I tell him, “I can give the AC a look at if you bring it down to the shop. But since you’ve got the oil on hand, I can change it now as thanks for breakfast.”
“Best hurry then. The women are gonna be calling us in any minute.” Jerry, who likes to make his wife Julia think that he knows how to fix his truck, thrusts the bottle at me. But I’m looking under the hood and not at Jerry, and as a result I get oil splashed over my shirt.
“Now I’ve done it. Sorry about that, Austin,” Jerry says.
I laugh it off and take off the shirt before the oil seeps into my skin and soaks into my jeans. I take the bottle from Jerry and recap the lid while I drain the oil first and then begin the refill. There’s black oil on my hands from working on the car and I’m trying to clean some of it off with the towel Jerry had on hand when Julia’s voice carries to my ears.
“Did you tell them breakfast is ready? What are you looking at?”
Looking up, I find Julia and Laney on the porch. But Laney is ignoring her mother. Instead, she’s staring at me with a look of appreciation. I get caught up in that stare, forgetting the fact that it’s my best friend up there. Forgetting the fact that both her parents are here, watching us. It’s like lust is burning in my brain and I can’t think of anything else. The heated charge that I felt the night before ignites again. It’s like a tug, low in my belly. I can feel my heart start to race, my palms get sweaty, and for the life of me, I can’t drag my gaze away from her.
The way she’s looking at me mirrors everything I’m feeling right now. I shouldn’t be looking at my best friend like this. I shouldn’t be thinking the thoughts I’m having right now, but there’s nothing or no one that could fully convince me of that. All I do know is, I can’t fuck this up.
Laney
How long have I been standing here staring?
I retrace my steps in my mind. I left the kitchen to come out and let my dad know breakfast was ready. The next thing I know I’m watching Austin climb out from under the car, shirtless, a smudge of black grease on his tight pectoral muscles, and good heavens his arms! His hair is off his shoulders in a ponytail. On anyone else it would look girly, but on him it’s only sexy. He’s always been fit, but Austin doesn’t look like an almost-man anymore. His shoulders are wider, his muscles are the lean, sexy kind that come from hard work. He’s on an all new level of sexiness and it has literally stolen my breath. All I could do was stand here and stare at him like a lusting, drooling fool.