Another request, I guess. xD Thanks to anon and MereMcQueen314 and Pancake3298(I don't remember if Pancake requested that), and of course to MissCarrera for some reference and inspiration! xD

I know I put Marlene in here and all that, but whatever on that. xD Erm…guess where this story lies in the Stevenson timeline and put it in a reviews?

Chapter Two

To the regulars, it was a version of Starbucks'. To newcomers and visitors, it was a rest stop. At any rate, Flo's V8 Café is where workaholics go for coffee and people go for comfort food. Today, a Miss Stevenson was working on her laptop, having two universal serial buses plugged in with a mug of caffeine to the side.

"Hello," someone crooned, and arms encircled her shoulders.

"Yeah?" she mused, scrolling through her article.

"What's that?" her friend asked.

"It's your interview," she replied, typing. "Thanks for that."

"Anytime," he told her.

There was a pause as she typed, until he spoke.

"Why don't you get out for once? You know, socialize?"

"Lightning, I have to finish this," she told him, and glanced sideways. "You know Mr. Earlwood." She turned back to her work. "Go and play with Mater."

Unfortunately, Lightning McQueen is quite persistent with her. "No, I wanna stay with her," he squeaked, and sat beside her in the booth.

She took a sip of her coffee. "What do you want?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied, his head leaning on her shoulder.

"Where's Sally?" she offered for conversation.

"Working on a case herself," he replied.

"And Mater?"

"Fixing a wreck with Ramone."

"And Mack?"

"Sleeping."

"So that leaves me?"

"Yup."

She pushed at the bridge of her glasses, bringing the lenses closer to her eyes. "Hmmm."

"What's wrong?"

She deleted a bit off the intro, replacing it with something better. "Never mind."

He smiled. "Still independent?"

"You know me," she replied as she sipped her coffee.

"Yeah, I still do." he watched her work, inputting other opinions and elaborations into the points of the interview.

Until she was finished. A total of three hours had elapsed. It was around four-thirty in the afternoon, and finally, Marlene slumped back onto the couch's backrest.

"Whew!" she sighed in relief. She turned to her friend, and her smile faded. He'd dozed off on the back-rest, his jaw slack.

She nudged him awake as she shut down her laptop. She fixed her papers, cords and serial buses as he struggled to wake. He'd gotten the fuzz out of his vision just as she finished stuffing everything but the coffee into her bag.

"So, what did you want to do today?" Marlene asked him.

"I dunno," he replied. "I was thinking more of a…quiet dinner."

Her eyes bulged. "Won't Sally mind?"

"No; we talked about it already, remember?" He stared at her. "You and I are friends. Just a dinner date. Nothing else."

She stared back at him. "No hooking up?"

"Ew, no!" he called, and she laughed.

"When do you think you and Sally'll tie the knot? It's been a few years."

He looked away. "I'm not sure," he replied. "We're just so busy these days 'sometimes' becomes 'most of the time' when it comes to getting a word in edgewise. I mean, races, cases, the motel and headquarters are enough."

She nods. "I know how you feel."

She nodded in agreement. "So, how about it? Wheel well?"

"I don't have anything to wear, Lightning," she told him flatly. "You know I don't pack dresses. At best I have a formal shirt."

"Just go in that, then," he replied, chuckling. "It's not like you're trying to impress me."

She nodded, pursing her lips. "Time?"

"Seven-thirty?"

"Sure."

He grinned. "That gives you three hours."

She nudged him playfully, and he laughed heartily. Picking up her shoulder bag she stood to retreat to the motel, talking with Lightning on the way there.

That evening, Marlene and Lightning were seated in a secluded corner of Wheel Well's new restaurant. Rich sax and percussion that denoted a happy jazz song rang gently out of the speakers, soft enough for conversation, but loud enough to be heard.

Marlene wore a dark gray blouse that resembled the dark gray of her beloved R8, the sleeves covering three-fourths of her arms, with black pants and her usual black canvas shoes. Around her neck was an intricate ring of small white pearls. Lightning, on the other hand, sported a formal, deep red button-up with a golden collar, as well as golden cuffs and hemline of the bottom cut of the shirt. He also wore a pari of straight black pants, and casual canvas shoes, too. They weren't formal or inform, but not stupidly casual either.

The mood wasn't awkward, but it wasn't too comfortable, either. It had been years since both the journalist and the racer had gone out for dinner together. Because when they talked, it was usually over coffee or hot chocolate with others.

"So, how's the championship going? I've had so much work lately I've not seen a bit of news," she asked, popping a leaf into her mouth.

From the dish set between them, Lightning speared a crouton with his fork. "Doing well as usual."

She chuckled. "Does winning get boring after a while?" she teased.

He smiled at her. "Yeah, it does," he replied sarcastically, and they laughed.

"I hear you've got a double interview this month," he said. "Or is it next month?"

"Next month," she told him, affirmation in her voice.

"Who's the other one?"

"You know Jeff, right?" she smirked at him.

He smiled. "Jeff Gorvette?"

She nodded. "He agreed to share his secrets to Cars Today," she informed.

"Really?"

"M-hm."

There was a moment of silence between them as Lightning formulated a question. "I don't want to intrude or offend or anything," he said, and she looked at him calmly, "but you and Jeff…?"

She shook her head, looking away as she flushed. "I know you're trying to help Lightning, but Jeff isn't really my type."

He snickered. "You have a type?"

She kicked him lightly, touching her foot to his, and he jerked, laughing. She couldn't help but smile, too.

"I mean, Jeff's nice and funny and awesome to be with, but…he's just a friend."

"'Just' a friend?" he said, smirking at her.

"Yeah, I mean, whatever on that," she stammered, chuckling.

"Admit it, you like him," he teased, nudging her. "Admit it," he encouraged, and she snickered, head bent as she tried to hide her blush. "Come on," he goaded grinningly.

"Alright, alright," she said, uncomfortable but happy. "Maybe Jeff is cute," she murmured, and he laughed aloud.

She kicked him again as she continued to eat. "Shut up."

"Sooo, did anything happen?"

"Well, we had dinner," she offered.

"Did he…tell you anything?"

"Well, he told me a few more things," she said, "you know, out of the interview."

His eyes widened as he leaned forward. She rolled her eyes, and he snickered as he leaned back. "At any rate, what happened?"

"We had dinner, and, well, we had dinner. End of story."

"Marlene, you and I know you shed details when we talk," Lightning told her flatly.

She sighed, waiting a few moments as she poked through their salad. "Maybe he did drive me home," she told him. "Maybe he is sweet." She popped a leaf into her mouth. "Maybe we did kiss."

His eyes widened. "Really?"

She blushed. "Maybe," she said casually.

"Wow."

"Yeah," she said wistfully. "Wow." She sipped at her shake.

He sighed. "I know what you mean." She nodded in agreement.

"But he's not what I'm looking for," she told him. "I mean, he might be a racer and all that, but he's not what I'm looking for."

He cocked his head to the side. "How come?"

"I don't know," she replied. "He's blond, I guess."

"And does that have anything to do with me?"

"No," she replied immediately. "Well, maybe."

"Still hurts?"

She nods. "Sorry."

"I can't blame you." He sighed. There was a bout of awkward silence, until he spoke. "I know a few guys from the World Grand Prix and from the Dinoco 400," he put in. "Maybe I could, you know, hook you up, and…you can go on a date."

She shook her head. "No thanks," she replied.

Just as the main course to be shared was set in front of them, his phone rang, and they found Mia had texted him. His eyes widened.

"Don't tell me you didn't tell her," Marlene growled, glaring at him.

"It's not that," he said, freaked out. "Someone has announced his visit to Radiator Springs."

"Who?"

"Francesco Bernoulli."

Erm...review for dating Jeff? xD Yes, I had to put that in to extend the chapter. And maybe to let you guys know Marlene was still looking for someone at this point. If you guys haven't read at least My Best Friend yet, then please do so. :) Italian Love isn't really required. ;3