Bad Idea (Stonewall Investigations Miami 1)

“Ready, Mr. Kardashian?”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Fox, I only took—”

“An hour and fifteen.” I raised the stopwatch I had started on my phone. “I kept track.”

“Bastard,” Jonah said, smiling and snatching the phone from my hand. He cleared it and handed it back. “There, like the shower never happened.”

“I’ve got a screenshot.”

“Mega bastard.” Jonah laughed, running a hand through his wet hair. I could smell the lavender soap he used, the coconut shampoo he had lathered. He smelled good, although Jonah always smelled good, coconut or not. I was attracted to every single thing about this man.

My friend.

A friend.

Friend.

“So what’s the big thing you wanted to show me?” Jonah looked around the living room, taking stock.

“It’s not in here,” I assured him. I motioned for him to follow me and led him toward the door to the outside.

“Fox… what did you do?”

I opened the door and stepped out into the summer heat, the humidity taking my breath for a split second.

I heard a gasp from Jonah when he stepped out and looked to my driveway. He had a hand over his mouth, another behind his head, his eyes wide. “What the… Fox! How the hell?” He ran over to the white Mercedes Benz, its classic frame bent and rusted, but the soul of the car still there. I could tell it was an expensive model, especially for back in the day when it was made. It had a smooth and curved hood with two big rounded headlights, one of them cracked and clouded. There were dents in the bumper and a couple of scratches on the doors, but other than that, the car looked like it had been incredibly well kept.

“How’d you get this thing over here?” Jonah was walking around the car, looking as if he was witnessing a ghost starting up a conga line.

“I called your brother. He gave me your parents’ info. I knew you were keeping the car in their garage, so I asked if I could get it towed to my driveway. I told them I had space and wanted to work on the car with you.”

“They must have been so happy to get this thing out of there.”

“I think I saw your mom shed a tear.” I laughed, feeling overcome with the shock and happiness that was flowing off Jonah like a river. “I wanted to work on it with you. I know you and your grandpa were close to getting it street ready. I didn’t want you giving up on it.”

“Fox… Jesus, you’re… I can’t… thank you.” He came over to me, opening his arms and pulling me into a tight embrace. Before letting go fully, he surprised me with a kiss on the side of my neck. Something very intimate, powerful, and something that further made me want to throw our “friendship” label into a fucking garbage disposal.

I watched as Jonah took appraisal of the car, walking in wide circles around it before getting in close, as if seeing a long-lost friend for the first time in years. His eyes were wide and reflecting the sun that beat down on us. There was a palm tree on the sidewalk that offered some shade and relief.

“All right,” I said, clapping my hands. “Let’s get to fixing.” I went over to my garage door and opened it by tapping the password into the panel. The big white door rose, creaking and groaning as it did. I ducked under and went for a box of tools I had sitting on a shelf. There was a decent layer of dust on the box’s red exterior. I blew as much off as I could and returned back to Jonah, who was currently on his knees examining the front tire.

“Here, not sure what you need exactly.” I placed the box gently down by his feet. He looked up at me, gratitude still flowing freely from his expression.

“Fox, you really don’t have to.”

“I want to.” I got down on his level. “I want to get greasy with you.”

“There are easier ways to do that, you know? Ways that involve air-conditioning.”

“I don’t mind a little sweat.”

Jonah smiled, that baby face of his looking a little different to me now. He still had a youthful look about him, that was for sure, but now, when I looked into those depthless blue eyes, I saw a grown man, one who had the power to complete me and devastate me all in the same breath.

“Okay,” he said, grabbing the toolbox and clicking the locks open. “If I remember right, last time I worked on this, I was checking all the spark plug wires and making sure the electricity worked.”

“How do we do that?” I asked, staring blankly. I had no idea how to fix a car, besides the basic tire change and oil check.