Chapter Fourteen: Not A Date…Maybe A Fig?

"Why'd you run off like that?" Soda demanded. It was just past nine, the sun long set over the horizon. They were parked in the deep mud beside Lake Logan, where Soda had brought many a willing girl.

But tonight was anything but romantic. He had just wanted a place to talk to Sonia alone with no distractions. As he had quickly found out, such a place was nonexistent in their house with the gang walking in on them all the time.

So he had asked her to come down here. "Not a date," he had added hastily, seeing the look on her face. "Maybe a fig?" he tried to make her laugh.

She had turned away, but not before Soda saw the half-smile his half-baked joke had brought on and said, "All right. But only because we don't get any peace around here."

No one ever came down here. It was peaceful, their only company the gentle gurgling of the water and the cicadas.

Sonia didn't answer, so Soda repeated his question.

"I don't know," she said finally, and nothing after.

"That's it?" Soda said heatedly. "Jesus, Sonia, after all that and you don't even have an explanation as to why or what the hell—?" He was so angry he wasn't making any sense to himself.

It had been a week or so. Sonia had brought everything back from Philly and it seemed that she would never be going back. She had allowed Seamus to put her and her mother's former house up for sale.

"I can't explain it, okay?" Sonia said, still calmly but with an edge. Soda couldn't understand why she was avoiding his every question, and normally he would have backed off, but tonight he couldn't seem to stop himself.

"I don't know, okay?" Sonia snapped at last. Soda closed his mouth, astonished that she had exploded like that.

They sat there for a long while, Sonia fuming and Soda shocked into silence. It was all quite funny actually, now that he thought of it, and he had to stuff his fist into his mouth to keep from laughing. He hoped Sonia was too wrapped up in herself to notice his red face and shoulders shaking.

No such luck. "What's so funny?" she demanded.

"Nothing," Soda said, his chortles subsiding. She didn't question him further.

"Can you take me home?" she asked.

Soda considered refusing until he got his questions answered, but then realized it wouldn't work. Sonia would just get out and start walking. Every other girl in Tulsa he had threatened with that was always too lazy to do so.

"Okay," he said. He turned the key. He turned it again. And again. And again. He swore.

"We're stuck, aren't we?" Sonia sighed. "Car died, right?"

Soda grinned sheepishly. His charm had no effect on Sonia. "Okay," he said. "Let's start walking. Me and Steve'll come back out here and he can start it up again."

Sonia leapt out of the car and landed like a cat. Soda walked around to the other side and, in mock gallantry, offered her his arm. Playing along, she took it. Soda thought he saw her roll her eyes in the pale moonlight.

Steve was on their couch when Soda walked into his house after dropping Sonia off at home.

"Hot date?" Steve teased.

Soda smacked him with a pillow. "You know it was no such thing."

"You wish it was, though."

Soda smacked him hard with the pillow again, knowing that he was right.

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Just to get back into writing. Wow it's been a while.