"Come on, Riley! God, you take longer to get ready than I do!" Amber called as she banged on the bathroom door. "We're gonna be late. What are you doin' in there, anyway?"
The toilet flushed and the faucet ran. She heard the lock click and the door flew open in front of her. Out of the bathroom emerged a freshly showered, shaved and yet, still slightly disheveled Riley. "It's a bathroom, Amber. What do ya think I was doin'?"
"I'm afraid to ask."
"'When nature calls,' sweetheart," he shrugged. She shuddered at the mental image.
"Come on. My sister's gonna think we're dead." Amber grabbed his arm and pulled him to the Ferrari.
"I still don't know why I have to meet her. What's the point of this again?"
"She's my family. Since our parents are dead, think of it as Meet the Sister." Riley groaned and rolled his eyes. "Come on, she's gonna love you." He opened the door for her and she climbed in.
"How do you know?" he asked as he literally hopped into the driver's seat.
"Because I love you," she said with a big smile. He grinned, satisfied with that answer. They started to drive off. Shift, grrrind, grriiind, shift.
"I have to tell you, I'm not exactly good at these sorta things," he confessed after about five minutes of silence.
"Don't worry. Just be yourself…She's really excited about meeting you, ya know. Just relax."
They pulled up to a white rowhome in Downtown D.C. just a few blocks from Capitol Hill. A beautiful blonde with a stunning figure (large breasts and all), only exaggerated by her short stature, and brilliant blue eyes, stood leaning against the wall that came about waist high on her, that made the banister to the steps. She was dressed in black flared slacks and a pressed white top and open suit jacket.
"Anna!" Amber shouted. She didn't even wait for Riley to open the door. She bounded up the steps and threw her arms around her. Riley followed wearily, still a little nervous.
Wow, looks must run in the family, he thought. Damn.
"Take it easy, Amber, I'm not a stuffed animal. I need air eventually," she said. Amber pulled back and grabbed Riley. "Ah, this must be the infamous Riley Poole." She pulled him into a hug. "It's good to finally meet you," she said with a little bit of relief in her voice.
When their embrace ended, Riley had to ask, "Did you wait for us out here the whole time?"
Anna smiled. "No, I heard you coming."
"What?"
"The Ferrari, it's the only V-12 that's been in these parts. It's a pretty distinct sound. Even more unique given the transmission noise. From the look of you, I'd say you walked in, picked it out, paid sticker and drove it off the floor, never bothering to learn how to drive it," she added under her breath before continuing. "How many transmissions have you put in it since you bought it?"
"Uh…Two," he faltered. He looked at Amber for help, who smiled.
"She loves to show off. She's a U.S. Marshal," she whispered.
"Dude, she's the enemy," he quipped.
Not the F.B.I., she thought. "Your clutch is probably bad, too. I heard you grindin' the gears. Do you let it catch before you shift?"
"You know cars?" he asked stunned.
"Yeah. I can fix it for you if you like," she said opening the front door for them to go in.
"You can? You?" he asked, half referring to her appearance, half to the fact that she's a woman.
"Ya know, I can also dress, feed and bathe myself, too," she retorted sarcastically.
"I like her," he smiled at Amber.
"I knew you would," she said. A half relieved, half satisfied smile plastered itself across her face.
XXXXXXXXXXX
That was six months ago and Riley will never forget it. He and Anna had become good friends. They had learned a lot from each other, but Riley was the one who always seemed to be learning something new about Anna, rather than the other way around. She taught him how to shoot, how to drive the Ferrari without ruining the transmission, but his favorite was the fact that she liked the treasure hunting and history, too. And all this happened in one day.
"Your full name is Annamaria Gabriella Diadoro?" he asked looking at one of the many degrees that hung on the wall of her living room. It's beautiful, just like you, he thought, but kept his teasing ruse up.
"Yeah. Our parents were proud to be Italian and American. I got the Italian name, and Amber, the American," she answered nonchalantly. "She always got everything better, except the name," she added with a little hint of jealousy.
"Do I detect a little sibling rivalry?"
"Just a tad. It's not that Mom and Dad loved her more, it's just that they paid more attention to her growin' up. She's the baby, so she got babied."
"I know what you mean," he said sadly. She looked at him quizzically. "My brother and I always competed as kids. Don't get me wrong, we were tight, it's just that he was always better at everything." He looked at the floor, depressed by the memory.
"Not everything," she smiled. She reached for his cheek and turned his face to hers. "You have the bigger heart…And you're funnier," she said with a brighter tone than the first part.
"How would you know? You never met Alex."
"By the way you talk about him. He seems like a pretty cold guy," she finally said. Almost caught again, she thought.
"Well he wasn't!" he said defensively. "He was a great man! He was smart, loving, funny, everything a man should be!"
"'Was'?" she asked confused. Please believe this.
He relaxed his frame and said quietly, "He's dead. He died seven years ago." His eyes returned to the floor. He put his face into his hands.
"I'm sorry," she said sitting next to him. She put a hand on his back and the other around his arm in an attempt to comfort him. Whew, she thought. "It's okay to miss him," she said, somehow reading his thoughts. "C'mon, drink this, you'll feel better." She handed him the glass she had just gotten.
"Thank you," he said almost inaudibly. That's when his gaze fell upon a book on the coffee table. His book. "You borrowed your sister's book?"
"No, it's mine," she said, sitting straighter in the realization that he'd be okay for the time being. Just then, her cell phone rang. "Excuse me…Diadoro…" she answered.
Riley took it upon himself to put in on the shelf when something about it caught his eye. There were black marks on the edges of the first two pages. Curious, he opened it. "To Amber, a gem in the Black Hills—Riley Poole." Then it hit him, or so he thought. Amber must've borrowed it to really read. Anna only has it because she's a Marshal, he thought, a little more saddened.
"Riley? What's wrong?" she asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.
"Huh? Oh, nothin'." He closed the book quickly and placed it on the shelf, hoping she didn't notice.
"You sure?"
He nodded. "Uh, yeah," he said quickly spinning around. "What's up?"
"I gotta go. Duty calls, I'm sorry. We'll go to target practice tomorrow, okay? I promise."
"Sure, no problem," he answered, still a little distant.
"What, do you and Amber have plans? Cuz if so, you pick a day, I'll ask off—"
"No, no, it's fine," he interrupted quickly. He smiled. "I'm gonna go, then. See ya tomorrow."
"Bye," she said, walking him out. She watched him leave, then, left herself.
The next day at the shooting range, everything seemed to be back to normal. At least with Riley.
"I feel kinda like James Bond. How do I look?" he asked, doing his best spy pose, gun in hand.
Anna laughed. "Ridiculous."
"Hey," he said pretending to be hurt. "Just because you really are a spy doesn't mean you have to crush my dreams."
"I'm a Marshal, not C.I.A."
"And I still don't feel safe around you. I know you could kick my ass with no problem, but yet somehow, that gives me no feeling of security."
"Thanks a lot."
"You're welcome. Don't worry, at least we'd be alive if it were up to you to protect us. If it were up to me, we'd both be dead."
"What does that mean?"
"You've seen me fight. I lost to a punching bag. Then, the mannequin kicked my ass before I finally just knocked it over!"
"And even then, it came back up and hit you in the face." She laughed at the memory.
"Shut up!" His face reddened. "I'm changin' the subject. Why do you have a copy of my book if your sister has one, too?"
"Actually, Amber borrowed my copy. No offense, but I have it because I work for a government agency and—"
"I get it, it's a book about conspiracy theories so you only read it because they gave it to you," he said disappointed.
"No, I said, 'I have it because they gave it to me.' I read it because I wanted to."
He looked up with a little smile. "Because you had nothin' else to do, right?"
"You're just a 'glass half full' kinda guy, aren't ya, Riley?" she smiled.
"Yup, that's me!"
"I wanted to read it because I love that stuff. History was my minor in college. Then, I got a Bachelor's in it a few years ago. Conspiracy theories were my parents' thing. They embedded them into Amber and me. So I woulda bought it anyway. Feel better?"
"A little." Anna just shook her head.
"It's gettin' late, we should head back," she said finally. There was a distant look in her eye that told Riley something was wrong.
"What's up?" he asked, a little concerned.
"What? Nothin'. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night. What time is it?" she asked. She looked at her cell phone.
"It's only twelve thirty," he answered, not even having to look at his watch. "C'mon, it's not late at all. What's wrong?" he pushed.
"I just—I need to get back, okay?"
"C'mon, I'm just gettin' the hang of this!" He wasn't satisfied with the answer, but he knew he'd get nowhere with her. He'd figured out that that was Anna. There's a problem, I'll go to work, not deal with it. Especially if it required talking to someone. She wasn't that type. He just figured it came with the nature of her job.
"You wanna stay? Fine, I can't stop you, but I gotta go." She started to go outside.
"How are you gonna get home? I drove."
"Yeah, badly," she scoffed.
"Hey, you wanna get pissed off about whatever's botherin' you and not talk about it, then fine, but don't take it out on me!"
"Shut up, Riley! You have no idea what this is about!"
"You're right. But that can change, not to mention your demeanor, if you just tell me," he pleaded. He tried to joke to brighten her up a little.
"I don't wanna argue with you, but I can't tell you."
"Yes you can." He took her hand, not even realizing what he was doing. "Please."
Her eyes saddened. "You're gonna think this is my automatic answer for everything, but this time it's true. I can't discuss an ongoing investigation."
"This is about the phone call you got yesterday, isn't it?"
"Yeah. I thought shootin' out my frustration would help, but I was wrong," she confessed.
"See, now that's an answer." She smiled. "We'll go wherever you wanna go," he said trying to get her mind off of whatever this was about.
She thought for a minute. "How 'bout the old abandoned warehouse just outside of town?" she asked hopefully.
"What for?" he asked confused.
"You'll see."
"Okaay…" he said cautiously.
They walked to the car. He was excited he was giving it to Anna so she could fix it today. They had agreed she would take him home and drive his "baby" back to her place when they were done for the day. The car started up and he grinded his way into gear.
"You're in reverse," Anna piped up.
"No I'm not."
"Yeah, you are."
"No, I'm not."
She had her arm resting on the door. She put her head to her fingers in frustration. "Fine," she said. "Drive."
He started t move—backwards. "Whoa!" He slammed on the brakes and the clutch before they hit anything.
"Told ya," she said. Her position never changed. She looked over at him after a moment. "That's part of your problem. You don't let the clutch catch and you don't know your gear box. Look—" She took his hand and guided him through a trick her father taught her when she was learning how to drive.
"What are you doin'?"
"Now you know why I wanted to go to the parking lot of the warehouse. It takes practice. Now go on, go."
They made it there, slowly, but surely. Teaching Riley how to shift without grinding his gears proved harder than it looked. Or so she found out…The hard way.
"No, you're not listening. Nice and smooth: clutch down, push away the gear shift." Grrr-cruunk. She put her head down in exasperated defeat. "You're in fifth gear. You skipped two gears. You're not listening to me, you're not listening to the car, I don't know what to do with you, I swear!" Her hands went up in an "I give up" motion.
"The car's not talkin' to me and you're yelling at me. I don't like it when people yell at me," he confessed. "It makes me nervous."
"Sorry. Look, the car is talking to you, you're just not listening to it. I want you to put it back in first and listen to the engine. I'll stay quiet, I promise." He gave her a funny look, but did what he was told. "Okay, now start to drive. Don't shift!"
"Okay," he said nervously. He started to move. The tachometer climbed. He moved to shift, but she swatted his hand away. Higher it climbed and the engine made a funny noise and started to jerk.
"Here that? I know you feel that. Let off the gas. Do it again, but when you hear it start to sound like it's strainin', shift. Nice and smooth." He started again. He began to hear and feel the change before it got too bad and shifted. Then, to third gear, then he anticipated it, fourth gear, smoothly into fifth gear, and even smoother into sixth. "See? It's simple. You just had to listen."
"I think she's thanking me right now," he laughed.
"You're a weird kid, ya know that?"
"Why? Because I called the car a 'she'?"
"No, I do that, too. Because you actually bought that bullshit!" She started to laugh a little harder.
"Hey, as long as it works!" The laughter settled down when Riley got serious and asked, "Hey, you wanna drive? I mean, she's gotta get used to you in the saddle if you're gonna fix her up."
Surprised, Anna asked, "Really? You sure?"
"Yeah, here," he said getting out. "Slide over." She did so as he got in the passenger's seat. "Wow, I've never sat over here before. Feels kinda weird."
Anna let out a little giggle. "You ready?"
"For what? Umf!" he said as he was thrown backwards with her take off. He looked at her in awe as she shifted gears at full throttle. She made it look easy.
"Sorry!" she shouted, obvious thrill in her voice. "Hang on!"
The car jerked to the right, then, everything was spinning. Next thing he knew, he was being pushed backwards again. His eyes wandered to Anna, who was enjoying this to no end. She kept shifting, in and out of gear, into neutral, back to first, into reverse. Riley got a little dizzy, then, felt sick to his stomach. Then, the car came to a screeching halt an inch away from a tree on his side. He instinctively crouched. When the car finally stopped, he cautiously sat back up and looked around.
"You okay over there?" he heard from his left. He turned to see that Anna was still laughing with a bit of giddiness. She stroked the steering wheel as if it were an animal. "Nicely done, girl."
"Are you insane?! What the hell were you doin'?"
"Driving," she answered simply. "You didn't shit yourself over there, did ya?"
"No…But I was about to." He sat up straighter and raised himself to see the skid marks on the pavement. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear they spelled out "Annamaria D."
"I can do that in reverse, too. Wanna see?"
"No! No, it's fine," he said, still trying to calm his breathing.
"It's gettin' dark, anyway. You wanna go back now?"
"Yes, please." He closed his eyes, trying to get the images out of his head. She put the car into gear and drove off.
"You still with me?" She glanced over at him at a red light. His eyes were still closed, head back, resting on the seat, and he hadn't spoken a word since they left the parking lot.
He let out a heavy breath. "Yeah, I'm okay." He wiped his face with his hand. "You are aware you coulda killed us back there, right?"
"Nah, we were safe. Besides, we're in a Ferrari 360 Spider, this is the car to do that in. You just don't appreciate her for the work of art she really is. You're afraid of her, aren't you?"
"After that? I'm afraid of you! Where'd you learn how to drive like that?"
"My dad. He taught me a lot of things my mom didn't approve of. Partly because she thought they were dangerous and partly because I'm a girl. When Amber was born, she sheltered her from all that stuff as best she could. That's why I find it so nice to talk to you about it. I can't talk to her…" she paused for a minute. "Before you, she was really my only friend."
Wow, he thought, but all he could do was listen.
They drove in near silence the rest of the way home. The only break in the sound was the occasional shift in gears Anna had to make. Riley was actually lucky nothing more had happened to the car in the past six months. Anna had promised to fix it when they first met, and was going to, when she was called away. This was the first chance she'd gotten since then to take the project on.
"I promise, I'll take good care of her!" she called as Riley got out to go inside.
He stopped and returned to the passenger side. "You, uh, wanna come in for a minute? I'll make you a drink or somethin', uh…anything you want." His face blushed a little, embarrassed by his stutter.
Anna smiled warmly, "No, thanks. I have early hours tomorrow, I really should go."
"H-How early?"
"Midnight early." He fidgeted a little and put his hands down on the door. She looked him over. "What's wrong?"
"Uh, nothin', I was just…just wonderin'. Uh, well, good night," he said, waving a hand.
"Good night," she replied with furrowed eyebrows. What's up with him? she thought.
That was smooth, Dude. Real smooth, he thought as he watched her drive away.