"Okay Twinkle, you ready?" I called out as he stood with a blindfold around his eyes, rubbing his hands in anticipation.
"Damn it women I've been saying I'm ready for the last ten minutes already, can I take this blindfold off now or what? And the name's Twinkie!" He informed me hotly, burning up to see his now completed and totally fixed up car which looked rather awesome, if I do say so myself. Making a face Han looked at Twinkie curiously.
"What's your real name? I don't think I ever asked."
"Me neither. Hey Twink, what's your real name?" Reiko questioned as she filmed us all on camera, smiling as Twinkie continued to shift from foot to foot impatiently as I pulled off the covering of his car.
"Nope, that's my real name, nothing else just Twinkie." He insisted rather strongly however I knew different and as the others tried to weed it out of him, I tossed aside the covering then dusted off my hands.
"His real name is Francis. Francis George Swift." I revealed and everybody looked at me. "What? I saw his ID this one time." I informed them before Earl and Reiko started laughing and Han snorted quietly to himself, chewing on some gum as Twinkie pouted impetuously at my general direction.
"Girl why you tell them that? My name is Twinkie, not damn Francis George, who the hell names their kid something like that anyway?" He demanded and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Obviously your parents Twink. Sorry, I thought it was a nice name, there's nothing wrong with it at all. Now, do you want to see your car or not?"
"Yes ma'am." Twinkie immediately changed his tune, grinning once again as I leaned against the body of the car then folded my arms.
"Alright then. Take a look." Immediately Twinkie ripped off the blindfold and the moment he beheld his bright green and purple monster he almost choked on air, giving a tight squeak as he gripped his fists against his mouth and stared in wonder. I'd done everything I could to bring what he'd imagined to life, going so far as to make the body indents look like fists and a massive foot that had kicked through it and I was glad to see by Twinkie's reaction that he loved it all.
"By god woman I would marry you here and now if it was legal. Tell me, do I get the woman and the car she's leaning against? Because that would be real nice." Twinkie asked and again I laughed as he hurried over and I slung my arm around his neck, knuckling his head carefully to tease him.
"How many times do I have to tell you kid that you're still way too young to be trying to hit on someone my age? Jeez, are cars and women all you boys think about?"
"Yes." Earl responded immediately and Han snorted again as I rolled my eyes. Twinkie wanted to take it out for a ride right away, Earl and Reiko both immediately agreeing and jumped into the car with him as I tossed Twinkie the keys, telling him to be careful whilst out driving and not to even think about breaking the speed limits.
"Sure thing ma'am. You sure you don't want a ride? I can take you places you only dreamed of." He wiggled his eyebrows at me as he leaned out his car so I shook my head and flicked my finger against his forehead to scold him. He never gives up, I swear he tries out all his pickup lines on me just to see if he had a chance using them on other girls. So far I think he's been widely unsuccessful. I waved them off as they sped rather unsteadily out of Han's garage, exhaling despairingly after them. I half expect that thing to come back in a wreck but I earnestly prayed that it wouldn't. I hope that boy has more sense than he lets on and doesn't crash it
"What's the chance of Twinkie crashing before he gets out of the street?" Han asked me and I shuddered.
"Don't even joke about that, I was thinking the exact same thing." I said to him as I turned around and started to clear up, picking up takeout boxes and throwing them into black trash bags in order to tidy the place since it seems to have been turned into a place to hang out rather than actually work. I rarely saw any cars in here that didn't belong to Han so I'm guessing he didn't exactly earn much through the actual garage. Maybe…maybe I could change that. "Hey Han, do you think…" I trailed off, thinking a little more about my suggestion before deciding it wasn't any of my business.
"What?" He prompted, curious now that I had started. "Do I think what?"
"It's nothing, sorry. It's just I got thinking that I don't often see many cars in here that aren't already yours." I explained to him as I started to pick up beer bottles and empty soda cans, collecting them up to throw them away too.
"And?" Han prompted me again to continue, knowing that there was more in my mind. We'd known each other less than three months and he was already reading me like a book. Damn it. "Come on Cora, I know there's more on your mind. Out with it. I'm intrigued." Pausing for a second I collected my thoughts and took a breath for courage before I turned around to face Han.
"How would you like to make a somewhat honest living?" I asked him and he arched an eyebrow and sat back on one of the work benches to signal he was listening. "You have this shop which is barely used, plenty of tools and basically every mechanic's dream come true. Sure you probably earn plenty doing what you're doing right now, but there's no harm in earning a little more plus it'll provide cover for any unusual financial activity. People are going to start wondering how you're able to afford everything you can without actually working on any cars and soon enough you're going to attract unwanted attention. Now, since I'm out of work and quite honestly have almost given up finding another job that isn't minimum wage and quite frankly killing my brain cells by the minute, I can do all the work for you. I can work on repairs, keep the books and voila, perfect cover." I spread my hands as I pitched him my idea before I then bit on my lip. "Completely your choice. Shoot it down if you don't like it."
"No, actually, it's not a bad idea." Han agreed and I blinked at him in surprise.
"Wait, what?"
"You sure you shouldn't be going into real estate? I bet you could sell Bibles to the devil." Han teased me as I blinked at him again, completely taken aback at how he'd actually agreed with my idea. It was just a spur of the moment thing, I hadn't expected it to actually be a good idea. I rarely had one of those but I wasn't going to back out just because I hadn't needed to actually win Han over to the plan. "So does that mean I'll technically be your boss?"
"In a manner of speaking yes, I guess so." I agreed before collapsing into a seat. "I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to actually have a job." Coming over to me Han grabbed two drinks out the fridge and handed one to me, clinking them together as he too came and sat down on one of the sofas.
"You've run into a rough patch, there's nothing wrong with that. Personally I think they're all idiots to not hire someone like you. You work hard and give it your all. I could definitely use more hands like yours around here anytime." He told me and I watched him for a moment as he saluted his drink. "Let's say…to new beginnings. I'll leave this shop to you to take care of, so do whatever you feel's right." Jolting after a moment or so of Han holding up his drink I did the same, saluting him back before I snapped the can and took a long drink. "Guess this means I'll have to move my cars elsewhere."
"Afraid so. Unless you're willing to risk them getting damaged somehow." I said to him as I leaned back against the chair and closed my eyes for a moment, relaxing into the comfortable atmosphere of Han's place. "I love this place, you're lucky to have somewhere like this to come back to Han. My dad would have wanted something just like this when he dreamed of opening up his own shop." I murmured nostalgically, eyes still closed as I waved my hand dreamily towards the doors. "He always said he wanted a large spacious place with large doors to let the light in, somewhere that felt open and welcoming with an area for everyone to relax in."
"Why don't you bring him down sometime? You know that your family is always welcome here as well, Cora." Han said to me and I looked towards him, touched at his words as he looked rather meaningfully at me, eyes burning into mine. "Family is always family, that's what Dom taught me and it's what I go by so I mean what I said. Bring your dad around any time. You don't need to ask." Feeling myself go a little lax I gazed at Han with heartfelt affection, feeling my pulse throb a little hotly as I looked at him.
"Thank you Han. I don't care what anyone else says about you. You're a good guy, even if you do steal stuff." He chuckled at that as I hid a yawn behind my hand, feeling sleepy and before I knew it, I was passed out on the couch. I woke up when it was dark, a blanket neatly tucked over me and my drink left on the table in front of me. For a moment I lay there calmly, happily dozing until I heard the music from the club next door so I groaned. Damn vibrations. Don't people sleep?
"Yo Cora! You awake yet? You been sleeping all day come dance or something!" I swear to god Twinkie if you try pull me from this sofa I will Hulk smash you into your car. "Cora? Hey Cora, wake up. Wake up already girl!"
"Twinkie you idiot, don't wake her up!" Reiko hissed however I was already opening my eyes to glare at Twinkie. "You're a dead man."
"Reiko's right Twink. If you ever wake me up again I swear I will end you." I warned him and he gulped before hastily apologising as I sat up and stretched, shaking out my hair and sweeping it back uncaringly. "What you going on about anyway? You know I can't dance."
"Yeah but you're missing out on all the fun. How do you know you don't like something until you try it?" He reasoned with me so I just looked at him blankly.
"Because I hate too many people close to me and most people piss me off regardless of the proximity. You need any more reasons than those? Because I got a whole list of them ready and waiting." Twinkie tried to reason with me, bless his heart he tried but I stubbornly refused. Not even to take a look. It wasn't until Reiko started to chime in that I began to feel a little outnumbered and slowly realising that they weren't leaving me until I agreed to go so I tried to think of excuses. "I'm tired."
"Woman you just slept for six hours."
"I'm cranky."
"You always cranky."
"The music sucks."
"The music always sucks but that's not the point, you can still dance to it."
"I can't dance."
"You don't have to dance, you can just shake your hips and wiggle your butt a bit."
"I don't have anything nice to wear." Without a word Reiko grinned and dove into her bag, rooting around and throwing various garments all over the lounge area before she picked up a slinky black shirt which sparkled delicately and looked like it would expose quite a lot of my midriff. "I'm not wearing makeup. My hair's not done. I'm covered in grease. I only have my boots. Are any of these excuses working for you at all?" Grinning at me they shook their heads as Reiko then pulled out an entire arsenal of makeup, wipes, her shoe collection and hair straighteners. "My god you kids today are terrifying. Reiko, do you ever go anywhere without your entire room packed up in one bag?"
"Nope, now sit still and let me get to work. Twink, you wait downstairs for a while until I call you back up." Reiko ordered, sending him away despite his protests and suddenly I found myself being ordered around by a girl five years younger than me. Begrudgingly I did as she told me, already planning to slip away the moment they were distracted. I mean how hard would it be to lose someone in a crowd of people? My guess is I could slip away within seconds without anyone seeing me then I can just hide for a while. As I cleaned myself up from the grease of the shop Reiko straightened my hair and did my makeup, smiling and chattering away all the while as she painted my lips in a sticky substance which I guessed was lipstick though it seemed an oddly dark looking colour. Wasn't lipstick usually bright red? After that she did my eyes and defined my cheekbones with a bronze toner, making a few last minute touches before finally declaring me ready and holding up a mirror.
I looked at myself but instead of some miraculous transformation, I just felt odd. Sure the makeup was great and all and I did look very different, but it still didn't feel like me. Reaching up almost instinctively to tie back my hair Reiko scolded me in Japanese, telling me not to ruin her canvas and ordered me to get changed into the top and high heels she'd given me. "But Reiko, I can't walk in heels." After putting them on to just prove a point, she let me borrow a pair of sneakers instead. Dear Christ, anything with a heel just felt like a monstrosity, I bet they were made by men just to make a woman's butt look rounder and make it more difficult for us to run away. I'll admit though, the top did feel nice. It was slink and soft against my skin with an underlay of lace which hugged against me tightly, teasingly exposing a little more skin at my ribs with the material angling to one side.
"Twink! Come take a look at this." Twinkie was up in a flash and the moment he looked at me he whistled.
"Damn! Now had I known you could look like that, I would be chasing after you more seriously. Think you can turn that frown upside down?" He questioned however I just frowned further at him.
"Twink, for the last time, you're still a minor which means it's never going to happen. Anyway, I feel ridiculous. Can I wipe it off now that you've had your fun?"
"What? No way we gotta go show everyone! Come on, come on!" Reiko and Twink both grabbed my arms and pulled me towards the door connecting us to the club through I complained all the way. Quite honestly I'd rather be working on a plan to actually set up a proper shop for Han rather than parading around with a bunch of girls who all looked like they could be fashion models. I swear they genetically breed these kind of beautiful girls in a lab or something just to make us ordinary people feel worse about ourselves.
Reiko held onto me as Twinkie disappeared off into the crowds, yelling to anyone who could hear him that he was selling American candy and chocolate which people were readily buying off him. That boy seriously knew how to sell something, if he makes a business of this he's going to set himself up for life. With one of my captors now gone, all that was left was Reiko but she clung onto me as if she knew I was planning to run away and rather forcibly dragged me over to where Han was talking to a few guys, all of whom had girls draped on their arms and I immediately felt very uncomfortable.
When Han saw me, I actually watched him do a double take, staring at me in shock as I rather grumpily allowed myself to be dragged forwards by Reiko. Someone please shoot me or something, anything to just get me out of here. There's too many people, too many hormones and way too much alcohol which meant it was a recipe for disaster. Something always happened at these kind of clubs. A fight, a brawl, a row, all it took was some broken glass and an accident and there could be blood everywhere. It's too hot, there are people pressed up against me and like I said, the music sucked.
"Wow no way, is that you Cora?" Earl questioned so I shot him a deadly glare.
"Who else would it be Earl? I'm all dressed up and being paraded around like some kind of performing monkey. I'm having the time of my life right here." I drawled sarcastically however he was too used to my bite to take it seriously, grinning at me and taking a picture as he and Reiko chattered excitedly about how great I apparently looked but right now, I felt horrible. The moment both Earl and Reiko were distracted with looking at the pictures I ducked down and quickly disappeared, wanting to get out of there as fast as I could however almost immediately I got lost among the swarm of people.
This is exactly why I dislike this kind of place. It's not real, it's just a place where people go to get drunk, take drugs and most probably find sex. If I wanted to go dancing, I'd find a concert or a rave or something like that where I actually knew the kind of music I was listening to and enjoyed with everyone else there. Smoke and mirrors. That's all this was and I couldn't have felt more out of place if I tried. Suddenly I felt a warm hand grip mine and pull me against them and before I could start fending them off me I realised it was Han, staring up at him as he gave me a comforting smile before his arm went over my shoulders and before I knew it he was walking me through the crowd.
People parted aside for him, allowing him to effortlessly lead me through a clear path with casual and easy steps whilst I staggered slightly next to him. He made it so easy and with a jolt, I remembered how my brother had used to hold my hand and lead me through the crowds by using his large and broad frame to make people part, acting as my shield to keep me secure and safe. It was different with Han. He was neither broad nor tall, however people parted for him all the same out of respect. The way he carried himself, it was like they naturally accepted that he was either going past them or through them and they had best step out his way.
Within moments Han was opening the door and letting me past first, glancing behind him before following me through. "You okay?"
"No I am not okay. I have this weird stuff caked all over my face and it feels like it's melting off my skin and also makes me feel stupid, the music was loud, there were too many people and I'm pretty sure someone touched my butt." I complained loudly as I stomped back through to the lounge and grabbed Reiko's makeup wipes, going over to the sink and running the water to splash my face and started to scrub away at my lips, cheeks and finally my eyes however by that point Han had reached me and quickly gripped my wrist.
"Hey calm down, you're only going to hurt yourself if you do it like that." He told me softly before placing his hand on my shoulder and pushing me backwards until I was sitting down on one of the seats and he pulled free a fresh wipe which he then began to carefully dab and smooth over my face, cleaning away the mess I had made, down to the last smudge and smear. "There. You look just like you now." He told me, affectionately ruffling my hair with a smile so I thanked him quietly, kicking off Reiko's shoes and searching around for my shirt which I pulled towards me and turned my back to Han so that I could take off the black one and change back. After that I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and finally I felt more relaxed, more comfortable. More me.
"Sorry I freaked out on you. I tried to tell them I didn't like those kind of clubs." I said to him a little sheepishly as he brought me a drink of water which I gratefully accepted, gulping most of it down in one go.
"That's okay, I was getting bored anyway." He excused however I gave a little teasing smirk.
"Didn't look like it to me. I saw you with those two girls hanging off your every word, and you weren't even talking to them. Who knew you were so popular?" I said to him, poking at him playfully before I sat down on the sofa and tucked up my feet.
"What can I say? I have great cars." Han spread his hands proudly and I glanced up at him as I swallowed back the water I had just taken a sip of.
"Hm, plus you're attractive. Though the cars don't hinder you at all, that's also true." I told him bluntly and he looked at me sharply, seemingly surprised that I had just come out and said my mind. "What? Have you not yet figured out that I'm blunt? Here I thought you knew me Han. That's disappointing." I teased him a little further, chuckling to myself as I put my empty cup down and pulled on my own time-worn and comfortable shoes which shaped my feet perfectly. "I'm going to get started on some plans for the shop. I'll be down in the office if you need me."
"I don't have an office." Han frowned in confusion so I turned a grin back at him.
"You do now. You know that storage area that you throw all your junk and files in? Well I'm turning it into the office and will attempt to work out a sensible filing system, if that's okay with you." I waited for an answer as Han continued to just look at me before suddenly realising I was waiting for his go ahead.
"Sure, go ahead and do whatever you like. I'm not exactly boss type material, so you can do whatever you want."
"Even set my own wages?" Now Han grinned, pointing at me warningly.
"Now that is a discussion we will have when I'm a little more sober." Chuckling together I nodded my head before climbing down to the ground floor and head over to the office type alcove with frosted glass and a door that lead into the room that tucked neatly into the corner. I set to work cleaning things up a little setting up things on the desk so that I could start on a list of things I needed to do. I'd grown up around a garage and pretty much learned the trade from my dad, it shouldn't be too hard plus I have plenty of experience marketing to people. If I can get this place on the map then I know Han's reputation alone in the driving world would have cars flocking in here, let alone mine though admittedly it's not as famous as Han's.
I worked for a few hours into the night, my bunk already set up with the others so I could crash whenever I wanted. My parents had got used to me sometimes not making it home at night and I was an adult anyway so they didn't really mind. In fact when I get home tomorrow and tell dad about this new job, he's going to be over the moon. Maybe I can ask him advice and he can help me plan out a few things. If I ask Han nicely, he might even be willing to let dad come here as a part time employer, though maybe that's pushing it a little. Han's been wonderful, beyond amazing but I don't want to take him for granted. I don't want to appear to be leeching off him, because that's the last thing I want. I'll pay my dues fair and square. If there's one thing I learned from racing it's accepting that you had to settle up afterwards, especially after losing.
"You know…you could just…not work tonight?" Han suggested as he stuck his head round the door. "You don't have to be responsible and sensible all the time. Why don't you relax a bit?" He suggested as I finished up my second list of things to do and my flow diagram of how things needed to be done as well as several plans that I wanted Han to look over.
"Well considering I had a six hour nap I'm not exactly tired and I wanted to do something useful. Since you've let me crash at your garage a few times and let me use pretty much all your stuff to fix up Twinkie's car, I figure I owe you one." I said to him and he tilted his head at me curiously as I tapped my pen against the thick wad of paper I was steadily building up. The corner of his mouth tilted upwards and I relaxed into the warmth that Han seemed to naturally give out. Lifting his hand he held it out towards me and I looked at it, contemplating for a moment before giving in.
Taking his hand I let him pull me towards him out of the newly established office and out into the open where he lifted up the remote for the sound system and hit play. Listening for a moment a gentle thrum of music began to sound through the speakers, playing music which I wouldn't ordinarily listen to however it was nice and slow, the steady beat giving me a definite rhythm which I could follow as Han placed my other hand on his shoulder before he took my waist, closing the distance between us.
At our closeness I felt my heart begin to pulse with the music, powerfully thumping in my chest as my blood raced through me, the breath catching in my throat as Han leaned his forehead against mine and slowly began to sway with me to the music, eyes closed as if to also revel in our closeness. A strong surge of attraction flared through me, borne through affection and friendship which now began to become more defined and obvious to my own mind as I looked up at Han. I was right. He really was attractive and god damn, I have him all to myself right now with no interruptions, no one else pressing against us and no toneless music blaring senselessly in our ears.
With our fingers closely interlocked together, I started to feel that attraction deepen further as Han began to tilt his head slightly, still swaying with me and I closed my eyes instinctively, gently breathing as I felt his head dip towards me. All at once his head suddenly crashed against my shoulder and I was jarred out of the moment with a jolt, lunging to catch him as he slumped against me. "Jesus!" Struggling with Han for a moment I finally had him balanced against me, helping him to stand upright as he groaned. "And here I was thinking that was going in a whole other direction. God damn you Han." I complained quietly to myself before beginning the long, arduous task of getting Han back upstairs and onto one of the sofas, tucking him in with the blanket until finally, I let myself sit down.
