Here I go again!
A new chapter. Yes! Actually, I should be reading several books for school, but I ain't animated to do that, so I'll either work on the story, watch videos or DVDs, read other books I like, listen to some music...the weather right now is shit, so any outside activity is not really entertaining. I watched 'The Island'. It's really good, after you have finished reading this chapter and reviewed, you should get that film.
Special thanks goes to:
stardina: Everything's explained in the next chapters!
Marie Crosby: You don't like to negotiate for a long time, do you?
RiNgLeS: Well, this one's a little longer, so take your time reading it.
Chunt69: Here I am!
I named this chapter 'Wanted: Time' because 'time' is a key word in every passage. So, read carefully and you may find out why!
Have fun reading, 'kay?
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Wanted: Time
Lilly breathed in deeply as she looked up from the shortboard she was waxing. It was several minutes to six o'clock in the morning, the sun had just begun to rise and coloured the dark water of the Altantic Ocean into a shade of blues, gold and orange. An offshore wind made the waves rolling in well formed and break cleanly on the sandy seabed. Several surfers were already out in the waters, catching wave after wave. The teenager even spotted a boy amongst them, who could not be older than thirteen.
Surfing early in the morning was a perfect way to start the day, at least for the blonde. It relaxed her, yet, she also considered surfing a good exercise before she would have to go to work at Tej's Garage. It was Monday, thus, Lilly would have to appear at the garage at quarter to eight. Normally, Tej did not open up before ten o'clock, however, the car fair had caused many people to order the crew's abilities to make their cars better in every possible way: new interiors, new electronics, new body kits, new rims and tires, but, what seemed worse to Lilly, was that most demanded a new paint-job, therefore, today, she had her first meeting with a customer at eight o'clock to get to know him and his wishes and to show him her designs.
And if he doesn't like any of them, Lilly focused back on the deck of the surfboard, I'll have to come up with something entirely new. Well, I can only pray that he's already got something in mind and doesn't go all 'Oh, I don't know, why don't you just develop some ideas for me?' I hate it, when customers are like that, expecting me to think of a design when I know them for five minutes. With the new one I drew for Suki, hell, I can tell that she's gonna love it, but that's only because she's a friend of mine, not some stranger. What really sucks most about my job is people who are indecisive! Oh, well, I can still pout later on, now, I'ma go catch some tubes!
Lilly had already woken up at 4:52 a.m. and she had not been able to fall asleep again afterwards, so, she had decided to go surfing. In the morning, the beaches in Miami were not yet as crowded with people as they were during noon and the afternoon and all the wanna-be and show-off surfers rarely came to this inlet. The blonde herself would have never found out about it, if someone had not told her where it was: Max. Maximilian Peter Firth.
Max danced at the only other real dance studio in Miami, "Rhythm", so, as a friend of Mouse', Lilly had met him several months ago at Phoenix. They had battled against each other over the bill for their drinks, a common sort of fun battling, because the bills were not that high for anybody to really lose money. The 18-year-old had the same calm appearance as Mouse, however, to him, Lilly's connection was different. With Mouse, the need to talk vanished due to the other one guessing what one was thinking; with Max, it was strangely enough pretty much the same, but, on the contrary to Julian, Lilly did not consider Max her brother. Between them, there was something else. They would talk like Mouse and the blonde did, still, it would be different. There would be smiles and mischieviously gleaming eyes, quick appreciating looks and hidden compliments, teasing and approving.
"Hello",a raspy voice with a light Scottish accent said and made Lilly smile.
Thinking of the devil, she told herself, then, she turned her head to the left where Max had just laid down his surfboard.
A new one, Lilly recognized as the young man began to wax its deck.
"Hey",she replied, "nice Thruster."
"Thanks",he grinned, "the credits go to my grand-parents, though. They visited and gave it to me for having graduated."
"How's it riding?"While letting her eyes sweep over the Santa Cruz Surfboard, the girl caught a glimpse of Max' strong hands working over the deck, and his toned arms. His smooth skin glistened golden in the light of the rising sun.
"Dunno, still a virgin",he ran a hand through his straight dyed hair. It was actually a coal black, however, when Lilly had first met him, it had been platinum blonde, now, it was a black gleaming blue as the light hit it. It matched his sparkling light green eyes which were normally hidden behind a set of sunglasses, but in the early morning, the time when dawn did not provide enough light, the man did not wear them. "I didn't have much time during the last weeks with graduation and parties 'n all a that",he eyed her, "haven't seen much of you lately. Heard of the shit that happened, though. So, you cool?"
"Yeah, 's fine",the girl nodded reassuringly, "got my hand injured and doctor said, it shouldn't get wet, so no waves and my bro was hovering all over me, afterwards, so I didn't get away that much. As for now, I'm actually grounded."
"Grounded?"His irises gleamed and a wicked grin crossed over his face. "But only as long as your bro's around, righ'?"
"That's one way of putting it",she returned the grin, "it's not like I deserve it, anyways."
This comment merely gained a raised eyebrow.
"Ready, then?"He asked and stood up from the sandy ground, yet, he bent down once again to close the leash around his right ankle, as did Lilly.
"I was already done before you came over",the teenager rolled her eyes.
"You waited for me, then?"Max' voice held a tease in it, however, Lilly decided against commenting on it when they picked up their boards and walked towards the water.
"How much time do you've got, today?"He obviously asked her to distract himself from the cold water. Even though Max wore ¾ board shorts and a t-shirt, in the morning, it would always take him some time to get used to the temperature of the sea due to the water not yet being heated up by the sun. From out of the corner of his eye, he regarded the girl next to him, as a wave passed them that had been high enough to brush their hips. Lilly wore short black boardshorts with white accents, also known as hot board pants among the male surfers, and a matching short-sleeved rashguard. Her hair was tucked away neatly underneath a white head scarf. Max knew from experience that, under the clothes, the blonde was probably wearing a bikini.
"I gotta be at work at quarter to eight",she told him while lowering her board onto the water, "and I rented the board for an hour, so I'll have to return it at",looking at her watch, which she hardly used, the girl scowled, "6:45, this means, I got about fourty-five minutes."
"I got a breakfast at 8:30, today",he sighed, "Country Club, so, I gotta be all cheerful and polite to those damn snobs! My mom hates Da' for having joined, only because he loves to play golf. I bet she fakes something to make us go without her, but if Mom doesn't go, I don't have no ally, there. I really wanned to have some time riding this board, but I'll have to keep that in mind for later."
"Let's enjoy some peace, then, even if it's only for half an hour",Lilly suggested and both of them laid down on their boards before beginning to paddle away from the beach.
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"No, Andy, it's really no problem at all",Lilly turned around in the office chair while talking into the receiver she held in her hand, "tomorrow, then?...Lemme see",the girl looked at her agenda for the next day, "there's still some space left for you...how about four o'clock?...no, the entire morning is all business...wait...",she checked another page, "yeah, Wednesday I got someone at nine and the next one at twelve, so how about 10:30?...okay, then",she took a pen from the desk she was momentarily sitting at and wrote down 10:30 – Andy (tattoo on arm on hood), "so, I'll see ya on Wednesday, bye."
Lilly hung up the phone and looked at the time her monitor showed. It was 11:43 a.m.. After having surfed, she had returned the rented surfboard, then, toweled herself as dry as possible before having changed from her board clothes into jeans and a very thin pullover to get warm fast. Of course, she had used the car Tej had given her the keys to. Back at home, both Brian and Roman had still been asleep, nonetheless, Lilly had showered and blow-dried her hair before changing again into clothes she could wear for work.
So far, the blonde had met four customers to discuss a new paint-job for their cars. Luckily, three of them had already found a design they liked in the girl's collection and the fourth one had at least an idea of what he wanted. Apparently, last night, he had seen the movie 2Fast 2Furious, thus, he know wanted his car to have the exact same paint-job as one of the cars in the movie, only with different colours, therefore, Lilly had spent the last twenty minutes searching for pictures of this car in the internet. Now that she had saved them on her computer, she merely needed to sketch them by hand, scan them in again and add the colours which had been demanded. The guy had asked for another appointment on Thursday, subsequently, Lilly did not think beginning at this time was necessary, particularly not when the next customer, who wanted to discuss a paint-job with her, arrived at 12:30 p.m..
I may as well go help the guys, she thought while getting up. This morning, the police had shown up right at the opening time...just like the three new co-workers Tej wanted to employ for the next weeks. As a matter of fact, the three young men had to get to know the different parts of the garage, thus, they were being shown around right now. Of course, the two officers had decided to join the round for them investigating the garage after the accidents.
"Hey",she smiled while coming closer to where Alex was standing next to a lift with a Ferrari on it, "need some help?"
"Hey, baby",the man grinned, "I'd like that, yeah. I's just about to change the wheels and tyres. Ya could help me carrying."
"Is this the one?"Lilly questioned, pointing her finger at the Ferrari.
"Yes, that's going to be the one with the million dollar rims, once we've put them on",Alex shook his head no, "straight show car, ya know? I may have a million dollar, but I would never invest that money into 250,000 for a wheel!"
"A wheel covered in Svarovski diamonds and Ferrari red rubies",she remembered having ordered the wheels and regarded them as a waste of money, "can I get the rims, then?"
"Diamonds are a girl's best friend, right?"Alex grinned before walking off to where they stored the tires. Lilly did the same, however, she took a different direction. The storage room for body parts such as rims was in the far back of Tej's Garage.
The moment the girl searched her keys in her bottom pocket to unlock the door, she heard voices coming from the inside, thus, she opened the door and stepped inside.
"...so that much about being careful, now, the most important, the lists",Lilly listened to Diego, who was obviously showing the guys and the officers the storage room, "it works like that: if you take something outta here, you gotta note that in the pc that's right next to the door",he pointed over to the door which Lilly had just closed behind her, "oh, hey Chica",the Spanish smiled and waved, "because if you don't", he continued, "she's the reason you'll never have any children."
"Very funny",Lilly rolled her eyes while walking over to the section with the rims.
"Who are you, Miss...?"One of the officers asked her as she searched for the right package containing the wheels.
"O'Conner",the girl replied, after having found the correct boxes, then she came over, shaking the men's hands, "Lilliana O'Conner, I'm actually the sprayer here at Tej's, but I also work on the bodies and on the cars in general when there's nothing to spray. And you are?"
Seemingly, the men were a little startled by her casuality.
"I'm Lieutnant Andrews",the man, who had to be in his fourties, said, "and this is Officer Clay",he pointed at the young black man by his side.
"And these",Diego made a motion with his hands towards the three new co-workers, "are Rubens, Terence and Isaac. Guys, Lilly. She's sixteen, so don't get any ideas."
"Yeah, or Diego's getting jealous",she teased while shaking hands with the guys. Judging by their looks and the feeling they gave her, she knew what she had to expect. Rubens could not be much older than her, he was perhaps nineteen or twenty and probably only working over the summer. He seemed to be of Cuban origin, his dark looks giving him away. He had black curly hair that hung down to his ears, his eyes were a dark brown and his skin seemed to have a natural tan shade. His figure was not really thin, yet, he was not all too muscular either. He was also under 6 feet tall, his physical appearance reminded Lilly somehow of Jimmy. Rubens smiled shily at her, so she guessed she would get along with him because he did not look like a macho, more like an average nice guy.
Terence was another matter, though. Lilly had felt him checking every square inch of her body ever since she had stepped into the room. He was about 6'2 or 6'3 and rather muscular. His light brown hair was cut only an inch short and his gray eyes were not able to focus on anything else but the girl's breasts as she shook his hand. His skin was tan, but Lilly could guess this was deriving from time spent either at the beach or in a tanning salon. She did not know, if this guy would be willing to accept a female working together with him or telling him what to do.
The last one in the line, Isaac, had an appearance equal to Terence. He was about the same height and physical build, yet, he hid his dark blonde hair under a black baseball hat. His eyes were a friendly sparkling dark blue and by taking in his clothes, a wide t-shirt and trunks, Lilly could not help but think that Isaac and Brian would probably get along great.
"So, here I go",she said while returning to the boxes and picking up only two instead of four. She would have to walk a second time for the other ones. Feeling that the men watched her as she carried the boxes over to the desk, the blonde squared her shoulders. On the desk was a computer. She typed in the number that was imprinted on one of the boxes and hit the key saying Sold. Immediately, the colour of the window changed from light blue into a light orange, the line Sold Sold Sold blinking above.
"Is this them?"Diego asked, indicating the boxes.
"Yeah, it's them, two of four 250 G rims, covered in diamonds and rubies",she answered.
"So, gentlemen",Diego spoke to the group of men around him, "this is why only the members of the crew get keys to the storage rooms. If you let the fucking door open and something's gone, so if we canna find it in the lists, you gotta pay. A million dollar only for a set of rims. Remember that."
Lilly picked up the boxes again and left, knowing that later on, she would have to annoy Diego about being forced into becoming a nanny.
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"Yo, whaddup?"Jimmy asked Diego when the other man bent down next to him, acting as though he wanted to help fixing a part of the engine, however, behind the opened hood, he knew that their talk would stay unnoticed.
"I just handed them over Marco to show'em the machines",Diego answered, his voice low, "cops are gonna leave after they did the questioning. Then, we should get the babies to do some work together with us."
"First impression?"Jimmy wiped some grease off his hands with a cloth. Before Diego, he had show the new employees around and he like to talk about where they would let who work.
"Till now, I canna really tell",the Spanish shook his head lightly no, "we just gotta give'em some time to work with us, dawg. That Rubens said he was good with electronics 'n shit, so I'd say you're stuck with him. Isaac seems to be more into exterior. Wheels, tyres, bodies, also lights, still, he also mentioned that he could also work seats, if he had to. That guy won't be a problem."
"But that Terence, maybe",Jimmy finished for him, "said he could do everything. Inside and outside, but that he was more into outside. He was going on that he would like to work on paint, ya know? Still, I don't want him anywhere near Chica, got me?"
"Same here, bro",Diego bit his lower lip, "I don't trust that jock with authority, especially not when a girl's got it. For today, I'd like him to work with Marco, alrigh'? See how he's with former bouncers."
"Good idea, but I heard Chica talking about her jobs, this morning",the young man sighed, "only today, she got three new orders, one wants to come back in a coupla days, but that one's gonna stay, for sure, too. Up to now, she's already fixed four that were scratched on Saturday and Sunday. She's got lotsa work right now, and that Terence is sure as hell gonna notice."
"And offer his fucking helping hand",Diego looked at the polished engine in front of him, "Chica's not gonna like him in her quarters, not at all. Nonetheless, she may give him a chance. I hope he won't jeopardize it."
"So, Rubens with me, Isaac with Chica and Terence with Marco",Jimmy concluded, shutting the hood and ending the conversation.
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Finally, the blonde teenager took a deep breath. The police had just ended their interrogation and a feeling of relief came over her, as she watched the two men get into their car and drive off. Lilly looked at her watch, showing 1:23 p.m.. She had been the last one to be asked questions, what had not really been as horrible as she had imagined it to be, due to her having met with a customer at half past twelve. Fortunately, this one had also found a design he liked.
So, this means, I gotta spray four today, but two of them also ordered new body kits. Maybe the guys have already done those? I hope so. Ballet starts at four, I'ma leave at half past three, then and I'll be back at quarter past five, half past five. Seems like I'll have to skip lunch today, if I wanna be done before we close down. I would so need more time! Okay, I'll just grab a Pepsi to load my batteries and then, off to work, girl!
Lilly lifted up the copies of the designs and the demanded body parts from her desk, crossed the room to get a Pepsi from the fridge and left once she held the wanted item in her hands.
The car, on which she was planning to work on first, stood already close to the large dual winged door leading into the spray room. The girl checked the list in her right hand.
"Okay",she mumbled to herself, "I need a Ground Dynamics front and rear bumper, side skirts and a spoiler. Well, we got all of that stored. I'll just get the tools to remove the old parts, first."
She laid down the papers in her hands as well as the Pepsi on the floor next to the car. Afterwards, Lilly began to search through the toolboxes they kept at an empty wall near the storage room for body parts.
"Hey, baby",Alex rose from his squatted position adjacent to a rim he had been polishing. When he walked towards her, the girl noticed that one of the new guys, Isaac, was with him, "I wondered, if you needed some help. I can't have Isaac polishing wheels the entire day, right?"
"You good with body kits?"Lilly asked the young man standing in front of her.
"Yeah",he grinned at her, naturally content with the fact that he no longer had to polish cars.
"Then, I got some work for you",she returned the grin.
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At 3:14 p.m., Lilly pushed the car she had finished spraying out of her quarters. Unfortunately, she had, until now, only gotten two cars done and she would need to leave soon for her ballet class. Changing the body kit from the first car had not been all too difficult and with the help of Isaac, who had worked rather quick and skilful, they had gotten it done even before two o'clock.
After having observed Isaac while working on the first car, she had not seen any problems with him working alone on the body of the other vehicle she would still have to paint. As she stepped out into the bright sunlight, the blonde squinted her eyes lightly.
"Hey",Isaac came over to her to help her pushing, "I already finished the other and wrapped it up for spraying."
"Thanks, man, really, thanks",she smiled at him, honestly grateful for his attempts to make her work easier, "I'ma push it in, then",she told him once they had parked the newly painted car on an empty spot.
"Okay",without second thought, the young man went over to the next car and began rolling it into the direction of the still opened dual winged door.
"You're crazy",she shook her head no as she joined him, "you really don't have to do this, ya know?"
"But I gotta work",he grinned, "and working with you is nice."
"Alex ain't your type?"
"Cleaning cars ain't my type",he laughed.
"Okay, stop",Lilly said the time the car stood exactly the way she needed it, "seems like we're done. For how long do you stay, today?"
"Till you guys close, I guess, and that would be at six or no",he shook his head, "Diego said we still gotta clean up, after work, so I'll stay as long as that lasts. How about you?"
"Well, I gotta stay longer than that, I fear",she told rather herself than him while they left the room and Lilly closed the door fromt he outside.
"Why's that? There are only two cars left",Isaac sounded irritated.
"I have to leave at 3:30 to run some errands, you know? Some people don't have the time to come here to get their cars done, so I gotta find some time to come to them",somehow, Lilly did not like lying to him, but her running errands was the official version for her attending to her ballet course. Even Brian believed it. Thus, Lilly left every Monday for about two hours in the afternoon and every Thursday for about three hours.
"Oh",the man's face was covered in realization, "so that's why the guys said we wouldn't have to ask you, what you want for lunch."
"Yup, I'll have to skip, but it's alright",she shrugged, "I'll just eat later. Now, you should go get a drink from the fridge in the office and ask Jimmy or any of the others for something to do, okay?"
"Okay",he answered before walking into the working area of the garage, whereas Lilly strolled to the '98 Eclipse. She had parked it back at Tej's after having returned from surfing. As the blonde got it, she checked that her bag containing her dance gear was still lying on the passenger's seat, then, she shut the door, fastened her seatbelt and drove to 'The Club'.
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"So, y'are saying that we gotta hide ya from that chit, if she shows up",Sugar repeated as they warmed up in the hall next to the room in which their course would begin.
"I'm dead, if she finds out",Lilly replied while continuing to thrust her pelvis up and down. On Mondays, they merely danced for one hour, thus, Jennifer demanded that they were already warmed up when the class started. Fortunately, in the hall where the only room for all the ballet courses was, the owners of 'The Club' had built up a barre at one of the walls, so a proper warm up and stretching were possible. Lilly, Sugar and Marisa had already chosen a place far away from the door leading into the room and in the opposite direction to the stairs, knowing that Suki would go that way to get to the changing rooms.
"Don't worry, puppy",Marisa told her while running on one spot to warm up her legs, "she won't see you. The hall is full of people and we're at its end."
"Still",the blonde was now doing quick sit-ups, "how late is it, anyway?"
"Six minutes left",Sugar answered, rolling her shoulders back in circles as she started to do leg-curls.
Lilly had already worked her legs and shoulders. She had run the stairs up and down several times and then continued with some aerobic steps the same way her friends were doing it now. The girl got up from the floor and used the barre at her side for stretching. All over the hall were dancers preparing for class, on the floor laid various pairs of toe shoes.
I wonder how Suki did during her first lesson, Lilly thought, either, she's still at Tej's when I come back and I'll hear it from herself, or she's already left and the guys may tell me, or I'll hear it all tomorrow. I hope she leaves right away after her course is over. I hope that Jennifer doesn't allow them to watch us! That would be very cruel...for me! I just know that Suki wouldn't keep her mouth shut, even if I begged her on my knees. Perhaps, she'll be all into annoying us for the next coupla days with learning the basic positions at the garage. Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq...well, Jennifer is a great teacher, everything Suki needs is the will to accept criticism and to work herself very hard. That's all it takes...and time, of course, time and feeling. Yeah, feeling is the most important. If you don't feel the music, you can't really dance to it, then, you can forget about it! But one can learn to feel the music, I guess.
Suddenly, Lilly's thoughts were interrupted by a door opening and loud chatter filling the hall. The beginners were leaving the room, saying goodbye to Jennifer and hurrying down the stairs. Lilly spotted Suki among them, yet, the Asian was too occupied talking to another student that she did not pay any attention to her surroundings.
"Ladies!"Jennifer clapped her hands twice to make the women in the hall listen. "I will have my coffee, now, and you will be ready, when I return",with the sentence spoken out loud, although it was not necessary because Jennifer drank a coffee each Monday after the beginners were done, the teacher descended the stairs to drink a coffee in the teacher's lounge. The women in the hall hurried into the large room, which had two walls consisting of mirrors. In the centre of the room, a barre on rolls, that had obviously been used by the other class, had still not been put aside, so Lilly helped another girl in her course to push it out of the way, while the others already tied the ribbons of their pointe shoes around their ankles.
Lilly went over to Marisa and Sugar, next to her towel and her water bottle, she had laid her shoes. Before slipping into them, though, the girl eyed them suspiciously.
"They ain't gonna last much longer",Sugar commented, "neither are mine. The box has gotten too soft."
"The ones I use for Sunday are still great",Lilly took two thin squares of white linen cloth out of the pockets of her black ¾ cargo pants. There were several brown stripes on them, the colour of dried blood. She wrapped one cloth around the toes of her right foot – the blonde had already taped her toes at the places where she knew she would receive blisters, if she did not – and slipped into her light gray satin shoe. She had to lift her black leg warmer a little to be able to tie the ribbons properly together. Then, she repeated the action with her left foot.
"I do need new ones",she stated after having gotten to her feet, "but I ain't got no time for getting them."
"You only work till four on Saturdays, puppy",Marisa reminded her, "Pesos is opened till six, so we could there after work."
"You would go there with me?"Big blue eyes underlined a plea as they lined up at the barre.
"Of course, puppy",Risa smiled, "I need some new ones, too, for the class on Sunday. The ones I got last months just make my toes curl. I wonder why I didn't notice in the shop."
"Thanks, Mommy",Lilly grinned while looking at her reflection in the mirror to see whether her posture was correct during the Grand Plié. At the beginning of the lesson, Lilly was wearing black leg warmers, ¾ long black cargo pants and a dark blue spaghetti straps top over which she wore the thin white pullover from this morning. Once she would be warm, she would take off the pullover and the leg warmers. Her hair was twisted up neatly into a little ball at the back of her head.
Eventually, Jennifer returned from her break and they started.
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"Beat?"Diego questioned when Lilly joined him at one of the white tables where he read the paper.
Instead of replying, though, the girl merely let herself fall into a chair, acting overly exhausted and moaning out loud.
"I'll take that as a yes",the man chuckled.
"Is Brian around?"Lilly cracked one eye open at him. She had not seen her older sibling the entire day, but she did not think it was possible that he had not been at Tej's.
"Yeah, he's in the back",he turned the page over, "talked about wanting to go to the movies with you, so be warned."
"Movies?"She rolled the word on her tongue. "But I'm grounded. Oh great, he's changing the rules again. Yeah, let's confuse me even more. I ain't gonna go today with him, then. I just wanna sleep",she looked at him, "you guys already done with cleaning and prep-talk for tomorrow?"
"Chica, it's almost seven",Diego shook his head no, "do you honestly expect us to tear you outta your room, when we know exactly that you're still working in there? That we would knowingly force you to discuss shit with us, if this meant you doing overtime?" His facial expression and voice changed into an act of hurt and sadness. "Don't you know how much we love you? How can you think such thing of us? What have we done to you!"
"So, you're all done?"
"We are all done, Chica, we, as in the entire crew",he eyed her sternly, "don't you think we didn't know that you already started at eight and not, like us lazy asses, at ten? So, don't you go like making up for having missed the cleaning."
"Where are the babies?"She asked, looking around for any of the new guys.
"In the back, having a drink like everybody else. Except for Alex, he's off home",Diego took a sip of the bottle of Salitos standing on the table in front of him.
"And you enjoy the silence with your paper and your beer?"
"Yup."
"With nobody around but me?"
"Yup."
"Nobody disturbing?"
"Yup."
"Wanna make out?"
"Yu...Chica!"Diego yelled out the moment he realized what she had asked him. Of course, Lilly was squealing in delight and laughing loudly, especially when the man joined in.
"You're insane",he coughed, "go annoy the others and leave me alone."
"Okay",Lilly stood up from her chair and entered the area of the yard, leaving a head shaking man behind.
The back yard was still crowded, but, somehow, the blonde managed to find a way through the people passing by, so that she reached the crew sitting on chairs and loungers. Brian and Roman were also there, talking about Roman's new apartment.
"Hey",she greeted them, the exact same moment that she felt her older brother sneaking his arms around her waist and pulling her onto his lap, however, Lilly did not mind that her brother was apparently in the mood for cuddling. She was tired and beat, so cuddling seemed nice.
"Hey, baby",he kissed her right temple, the one that was turned towards him. Actually, Lilly never really sat on his lap, but Brian would always spread his legs a little until she fitted in between. It was the perfect position to snuggle under his chin or into his chest.
"Hey, Kitten",Roman nudged her calf lightly as she usually swung them over one of Brian's upper thighs, "y'all done?"
"Done, beat and tired",now that Lilly was resting her head against her brother's chest, breathing in the scent of his shirt, she truly began to feel like falling asleep the next moment, therefore, her voice held more sleep in it than she had intended to. She cracked a smile, "Could be the consequence of me not having gotten enough sleep because somebody forgot his..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that story",Rome cut her off quickly, the group around them laughing, though. "But I's lucky to have stayed at yours, cos I happened to be around when you guys' neighbour showed up",he squared his shoulders mockingly and grinned proudly, "I rented that rooms for some time."
"You're gonna be our neighbour?"Lilly sounded shocked before tugging fast at Brian's shirt. "Didn't you say you wanna move outta there for something bigger?"
"Don't worry, baby",the blonde tightened his grip gently around the girl, "I won't let him eat you."
"Well, then",she cuddled back against him and closed her eyes, "but no parties, no girls, no leaving or staying out late without asking and no loud activities."
"You think we can get him to do all of that?"Brian grinned into her hair.
"Nah, but we can still annoy the hell outta him by trying",she grinned as well.
"Thank you very much",Roman folded his arms in front of his chest, feeling offensed, "don't worry, I won't even go bothering you people helping me move in."
"Like you would get it done on your own!"Brian teased his friend.
"Ey, Chica",Tej spoke up before the two men would begin to argue, "I need da keys for da Eclipse, girl."
"Why's that?"Lilly craned her neck to look at him. He had given her the car for the times when she was in need of one, so why would he want to have it back, now? She had never gotten a scratch to it, she had always filled up the tank and even washed and polished the car. He had no reason to want it back, had he?
"While yar spraying, someone took it for a spin an' he liked it",Tej's eyes told her that he did not want to take the car away from her, but that it was his business and both of them had known from the beginning that he had always intended to sell the car, "he comes tomorrow to get it, so I need da keys. Ya'll get another for yar errands in time, sure."
"Okay",the girl responded tiredly and searched for her keyring in her pockets. She held it in one hand while, with the other, she took the key of the Mitsubishi from it, then, she threw it over to Tej, "here."
This means no more surfing or going clubbing, if I don't get picked up. Great! Just great, in a way, the energy she had to bring up to be mad on the inside and calm on the outside made her even more fatigue and eventually, she yawned.
"Wanna go home?"Her brother looked at her, a slight smile parting his lips.
"Yep",the blonde replied while getting out of his lap, "Tej?"She addressed the man sitting opposite to her. "I've got someone coming at 8:30 tomorrow, so I'ma open up, then, okay?"
"Whoa, Chica, slow down",he frowned, "y'already showed up at eight, today, what's gotten into ya?"
"I just wanna get the people done in the morning, so that I can spray the cars in the afternoon",Lilly shrugged, "or ain't ya gonna pay me doing overtime?"
"Nah, I'ma get something real neat for ya, ai? So, y'ain't coming tonite? We miss ya, Chica, ya gotta be back, soon",he told her with a raised index finger.
"Don't tell me, man, tell him", she pointed at Brian standing behind her.
"Ah already did that, girl", he flashed her a content grin, "see ya, tomorrow, then. I'ma here early, too."
"That's a first",Lilly rolled her eyes before walking away, "bye, guys."
Brian also said goodbye or rather a see ya, tonight when Marco and Isaac came with them, stating they wanted to leave as well.
"Ciao",Marco quickly went to his car and drove off.
"So",Brian looked challengingly at Isaac, "you're on, tonight?"
"Nah, man",Isaac scratched the back of his head, "I mean...perhaps, I dunno. I'll come 'round, though, to meet some people. The guys said that would be good."
"Where's your ride? I haven't seen it, yet",Lilly noticed as they walked over the parking space. The girl wondered what sort of car Isaac owned.
"It's over there",he pointed into a direction, "the Skyline."
"May I say that this paint-job is...",the teenager shook her head in disbelief while regarding the Nissan Skyline. The entire outward appearance of the car was perfect: the body kit was one of the latest, just like the tyres and rims, but the paint-job was terrible, in Lilly's opinion. The base coat seemed to be a silver metallic, on top of that was a coat of straw yellow Kandy and the light green racing stripes on the hood and the sides did not convince the girl that Isaac truly liked his car.
"Yeah, it sucks",he said for her, "but I got neither the money nor the time to get it done. I'll just have to wait before I...oh, wait a sec",the man reached into the front pocket of his trunks as the sound of a cell phone vibrating had interrupted him. He held the mobile to his ear and answered it. "Hello?...No, I'm still at work, was just leaving...yes, I'm as good as there, alright?...I'll see you, then...bye",he hung up and was about to put the phone back into his pocket, when Lilly demanded to see it. Isaac gave it to her, wondering why she wanted to have a look at it.
"It was my brother",he told them, "we wanted to go eat somewhere together and I'm kinda late, so could you...?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry",Lilly handed the cell phone back to him, "I could spray that on your car, if you want me to."Naturally, she referred to the design on Isaac's mobile phone shell.
"No, I mean, it ain't my phone, ya know? I got it from an ex-colleague,"he eyed first her and then the back of his phone. He could not imagine that the girl was able to transfer the head of the white wolf onto his hood.
"Well, if you'd like an animal to be on your car, I'll just search for some pics in the internet and draw some sketches for you to get an idea of what it could look like",she shrugged, "or would you like something else? I got lotsa designs, so..."
"No, no, the wolf's fine. I always liked it, that's why I got it",Isaac replied while running his thumb over the crack in the back of his phone, tracing the line down from the upper left corner down to the left eye of the wolf, "sounds cool. I'll tell you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay, till then",she smiled at him and walked off.
"See ya",Brian called over before laying his arm around his sister's waist as they both crossed the street.
Isaac looked after them for a little while, then, he got into his car and the second he had left Tej's Garage behind him, he took out his phone again, dialing a number.
"Yes, boss, it's me",he said in Spanish, "I just left the garage...well, I wasn't alone, there were some people with me...the girl and her brother...yes, I talked to them...no, not about Verone, Sir, I thought, it wouldn't be wise to mention this without any of them having told me that it happened...yes, seems like I'm in...no, Sir, I didn't manage to give her the second package, there were too many people around to notice...yes, the police was there...no, I haven't heard Parker talking about it...I guess they still think it was just an accident, but I'm not sure...well, they asked me to come to their races, this night, so I will be able to get some more information...yes, boss, of course, I will be careful not to be seen with our mechanics...even if it's in the middle of the night?...do you still want me to come over?...alright, after the races, then...no, she won't be there, her brother grounded her...yes, I will deliver the second package, then, after I saw him leave, understood...no, Sir, I won't make the same mistake Leo made...yes, boss, goodbye."He pushed a key to end the connection and smug smile parted his lips.
"I can definitely see why Verone wanted that girl, still, I doubt that she will refuse Señor García once she has met him, what should be some time soon."
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"So, you're really tired, hm?"Brian laid his head on top of his sister's when she leant it against his shoulder. Actually, he had wanted to go to the movies with her, but now he feared that she might fall asleep in her seat, then.
I'll just have to ask her tomorrow, he thought, she's too down for this, tonight. She'll most probably go to bed once we're upstairs. Oh well, that way, I won't feel bad for leaving her alone again and she won't be around, when the guys and I continue picking a car for her. I'm glad Tej sold the Eclipse, today, Lilly will experience how useful it is to have a car and she might want an own one.
"Yeah",she sighed, "can I just get into the elevator, please? I dunno, if I'll make the stairs."
"You're this tired? Oh, my poor baby",he kissed her hair, "what have you been doing all day?"
"Dunno, this and that",the girl watched her brother opening the door and stepped inside, "nothing really strenuous, just work, you know? I need either sleep or some caffeine."
"Sleep is healthier",he told her while closing the door. Lilly had already pushed the button for the elevator to come down and the doors opened immediately.
Brian pressed another button on the inner wall, the doors closed and they went up.
Eating something would have been healthy, Lilly was determined to keep this information to herself, knowing how Brian would react. As soon as he heard word of her not having eaten, he would think at once that either the bulimia or the anorexia was back. Lilly remembered that it had begun with bulimia, but she had felt so disgusted by vomiting that she had stopped eating, anorexia had settled in. Sometimes, the blonde still caught herself feeling bad after having eaten a meal with too many calories, fast food, for example, but she always did sports, especially, after such a meal, to burn the calories instead of throwing up.
"Rome wants to move in next week",the blonde man tried to end the silence surrounding them, "he thought that, maybe, you could help him with decorating 'n stuff. I mean, you're really good when it comes down to being creative and he's got a damn lack, there, concerning interior design."
"Yeah, sure",she rubbed her eyes, "I'll just have to safe some time for that. I doubt that I'll get a day off from work, so I'll do that in the evening, help him painting the walls 'nd so. 'S okay."
The lift reached the floor they lived on and they got out into the little clean hall. The gray linoleum squeaked under their sneakers.
I also gotta get new street shoes, Lilly looked down at her feet the moment Brian opened the door, I already fixed the sole of these with super glue. But when? Perhaps on Saturday, together with the girls? I do so need some time to get a clear head. Shopping alone would do that. Just me wandering through the shops, have a look at this and that...that would be cool. But I said that I would go with them on Saturday, so...I'll have to force Tej into letting me out for some hours still this week. Friday sounds nice...I canna recall having any appointments that day...let's keep Friday in mind, then.
She followed her brother into the apartment, kicked off her shoes in the hall and merely walked into her room, to let herself fall onto her bed, clothes still on. The man only chuckled.
"You want me to wake you, when I leave?"He asked while taking off his shoes.
"Mmm",the girl's voice was muffled against the covers. Could he not see that she was trying to get some sleep!
"Alright, then",Brian closed her door before going into the kitchen in order to prepare something to eat for himself. When he roamed through the fridge, though, he was not thinking about food.
She's been up on her legs for more than twelve hours, now, the blonde sighed, but as he opened a box of Chinese take-out, his face changed into a disgusted grimace, fuck, man! The last time we had some Chinese was, like, two weeks ago! So, this comes outta here, he put the box on the table, I remember that evening. Rome was here, I guess and we're all sitting together in the living-room. My baby teased him for not eating with chop sticks and I joined in...we went to the races afterwards, without Lilly, of course, it's not as if I could make her go there with me, somehow, lately. She needs to drive again. Maybe not exactly when there are these things happening, but in general. She hasn't even driven the Evo, yet! This ain't normal! When was the last time we pair-raced? That must have been over a month ago...I really need some time together with her, just the two of us, to figure out what's going on...I'll ask her about going to the movies tomorrow and after the film, we could go eat somewhere. We always did that in L.A.. At least once per month, we would go to the cinema, watch a movie and eat afterwards. I need to spend more time with her, especially right now, with the trial coming up, but she ain't got no time! Work's completely exhausting her! However, if I dare going to Tej to tell him how down she is, she'll be on my back. Just one day off, not more. We could go shopping or drive along the Ocean Drive...go down to the beach, whatever, I just wanna have some time together with her.
Brian looked into another box of take-out food. "What the hell was that once!"
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Djaly