Hitting It Home and Striking Out
Rating: M for sensuality and mild swearing. All characters are above the age of majority.
Setting: Kenosha summer carnival, 1979.
Summary: The annual carnival has returned to Kenosha, bringing with it two fast-paced cars and the potential for summer love for Acer and Grem.
Pairings: Acer/OC, Grem/OC
Author's Note: In Chapter 11 of the fanfic "When Life Gives You Lemons," during a conversation with the disguised Rod Redline, Grem makes an intentionally vague reference to paying for love at sometime in his past. This is how that incident might have gone down.
Cars and all canon characters are the property of Disney-Pixar.
You are free to use any original characters from this fanfiction in your own work (fanfiction, art, etc.) if you'd like.
"So tell me this," Acer asked, clutching and squeezing the beanbag from the carnival game in his tire. "If I make this shot, do I get a special prize?"
The AMC Concord running the game at the annual summer carnival could scarcely move her eyes from the Pacer's tire, the treads of which were still caressing the worn cloth of the beanbag in an almost sensual way. Much to the obvious chagrin of his Gremlin friend, whose fidgeting made it clear he'd rather be back on the midway working up a good case of motion sickness on the rides, Acer had spent the better part of a half-hour at her game, plying her with dollar bills, each representing another chance, and no small amount of sweet talk.
Lacie winked at the Pacer, thick lashes momentarily obscuring a bright green eye. "You can count on it, baby," she practically cooed. Acer was not the strongest nor the most handsome car on the carnival grounds that night by any stretch, but he had gone out of his way to charm her, going so far as to present her with one of the oversize plush toys he'd won. It was a corny gesture, as it had to have dawned on him that she had dozens more like it, but just like the rest of his grandiose personality, it had somehow worked, and she'd fallen for him.
"My shift's almost done, and then the late-night crew can take over," she informed him as the hatchback took careful aim. The bag sailed across the counter, striking the pyramid of cans in exactly the sweet spot guaranteed to bring them all down. One of his tires was already on her fender as he leaned across the counter, a confident grin on his face.
"Mmm, you really hit it home when it counts, don't you?" Lacie asked, her voice husky as she considered the possibilities of the night. Joining the AMC on the other side of the counter, she felt that familiar thrill just standing alongside him. There remained only the formalities of passing the game off to the next crew, and then she and Acer were alone in the night, cruising slowly toward the line of trailers far from the din of the midway. She saw him give his friend an apologetic nod as they left the Gremlin behind, and she couldn't help but notice the scowl on his face as he found himself abandoned.
Lacie was left with no time to pity the other AMC, as Acer had scarcely brought her to the tall grass before he fixed her with a nervous but endearing grin. His tall cab and rounded frame were only attractive in a quirky, exotic way, but he somehow managed to work that to his benefit.
A breeze ruffled the field around them and played against her back window as he made his first bold move and caught her up in a kiss.
"Your friend got lucky tonight, didn't he?" The Concord's assistant, a Chevy Vega, regarded Grem with a wry smile before bending down to pick up the scattered cans. "In more ways than one." She worked with deliberate effort, enjoying the Gremlin's stunned expression in her rearview mirror as he caught glimpses of her exposed undercarriage.
"I should'a known he'd go an' pull something like this," the AMC grumbled. Like her own, his model was a rather ungainly hatchback style that bore more than a trace of wear and tear, but the rust speckles on his frame were already rimmed with the telltale signs of a deeper corrosion problem, one seldom seen on cars so young. Evidently personal maintenance was just not a priority for this guy.
Grem scowled at Acer's forgotten collection of foolish prizes. He was still sore because a loudmouthed pickup had teased him into parting with much of his money at the high-striker, taunting the subcompact's perceived weakness for all to hear until he finally grew incensed enough to wield the giant mallet in an attempt to prove him wrong. Ten bucks later, he had shuffled away from the game, poorer but no wiser, and still stinging from the insults hurled his way.
"Wanna try your own luck tonight, Gremlin?" The question snapped Grem out of his gloom.
"Huh? Nah, I always strike out at these games. They're just money traps," he protested, knowing full well that wasn't what she was talking about. The surprising feel of her tire sliding over his front bumper left her intentions more clear.
"Not tonight you won't," she assured him.
Grem paused, not entirely persuaded. Why did Acer manage to plow through these situations with his awkward charm, when one had yet to present itself to him? Although his friend had never directed an unkind word his way in regards to their mismatched levels of experience and had tried to encourage him to "put himself out there more," whatever that meant, it still didn't make things better on the occasional nights Grem came home to find a pair of fuzzy dice dangling from the doorknob of their shared apartment, a sure sign that his roommate was entertaining a female companion and didn't wish to be disturbed.
Then again, maybe he should put himself out there right now. The Vega was really cute by his standards, waiting for his decision with a smile that was anything but innocent. He'd been out of high school for half a decade and this was his first chance with a girl; when on Earth should he reasonably expect another?
"M-maybe not, Cassie," he finally countered, recalling her name from earlier.
"That's more like it." Ignoring the leers of the night-owl crew, she pulled around to the Gremlin's side and gave his tire a reassuring squeeze. There was a considerable pause before his treads clutched hers in return.
Once they were secluded in her trailer, Cassie let Grem initiate things, finding he wasn't as clueless as he'd first appeared. The hatchback pulled her into a hesitant, fleeting kiss, followed up by a more exploratory effort.
"You new to this?" she asked when she'd pulled away for a breath of air. He swaggered back on his shocks, preparing an obvious lie.
"Nope, it's just been a while," Grem replied, his eyes darting in either direction in search of her sleeping quarters. When his gaze returned to his partner, she was fixing him with a clever smirk.
"There's one thing I should tell you, Gremlin," she said, no trace of apology in her voice. "This little night is going to cost you."
"What?!" he sputtered indignantly, planting all four tires on the floor in sudden defiance. "You've got to be kidding me. Your friend's out there giving it to Acer for free. In a freakin' field, for crying out loud." At that very moment, a moan of pleasure drifted in through the open window, causing Grem to roll his eyes. "Real classy on both their parts."
"What can I say, he does 'cute' a lot better than you and Lacie's always a sucker for that. Plus, she's not as hard up for money. Now, do you want to go ahead with this or go back and waste the rest of your money on that high-striker?" Though the Gremlin's resolve was visibly weakening before her, he couldn't resist one last protest.
"If I wanted to wait in a long line for a lousy ride that'll probably leave me sick afterward, I'd be better off on the Tilt-a-Whirl."
Cassie laughed genuinely. "I love your attitude, Grem. So, what about it?"
The Gremlin's fenders slumped in defeat. "I guess, if that's the way it's gotta be. It's not like I need any more cruddy prizes from the midway anyway."
To be continued...