I managed to keep Scott away from the car the next morning. I told him
that his gift was in it and since I hadn't seen mine, it would be polite
not to peek at his. He laughed and waved me off. Jerk. I knew why he was
laughing. It just so happened that the drawer in his toolbox was unlocked.
Okay, so it had some assistance, but the point is, Scott was supposed to
protect it from me and he didn't. I opened it and, covered in plastic, was
a black box. When I saw it, I stopped breathing for a minute. It was a
ring box. There's no mistaking a black velvet box that size of being
anything but. What the? I didn't wear jewelry. And what did he mean
getting me a ring? I dug it out carefully and opened it, my heart in my
throat. And then I wanted to kill Scott. There was a little note inside
that just said "gotcha!"
Anyway, the point is that I hadn't seen mine and so he shouldn't see his. For once, he agreed with me, no problems. Thank God. Since we weren't busy in the garage today and there was a bunch I had to do if I was going to cook, then he was going to have to hunt and gather the ingredients at the market. Scott was in a rare good mood and took off, letting me have a chance to see the Escalade in the daylight.
Daylight didn't make the damage look better. As a matter of fact, it looked much, much worse. I wanted to cry or scream or kick something when I saw it, but kicking it was just one more thing I would have to repair. The windshield wasn't broken. If it were, then I would be toast. The one we had in there now had taken us three weeks to get. I thought I knew where to get a new grill and the bumper was just going to have to be muscled back into place. Plus a whole new paint job. The glossy black was popular, so we had plenty of that, but it was going to take a whole day, plus the overcoat and drying time. And then I had to fix the interior where the jack scratched it up. If Scott said one negative thing about that jack, it was going to be placed where God had not intended large jacks to go.
I moved the car around back so Scott wouldn't notice. It took forty minutes, a good round of cursing, and the engine lift, but I managed to get the jack out of the back and hidden away until tonight. By the time I got done with everything, I really had to hurry to get the cooking stuff together for this evening. Rachel was coming over and we were going to have a real Christmas with the three of us.
I had asked Scott if he would be okay with her coming over. It felt right that she should be there, she was my girlfriend, but if he would rather it be just us, then that was cool with me too. Scott had laughed and said there should always be the black sheep cousin that showed up at holidays, so of course she could come. That wasn't exactly the approval I wanted, but still, she was now a planned guest. I had wondered if Scott was going to have someone, but he had shrugged when I "casually" asked and said there wasn't anyone else he could think of here that he wanted to share the holiday with. I wondered if he was thinking about Mr. Disappearing Zane and reaffirmed that the guy was going to get a swift kick in the balls if we ever met.
I had a bunch of pots and pans and other things I needed ready when Scott came back that afternoon. He found a ham. I wanted to know where he found the ham, but since it was still bloody, I decided to not ask questions and just figure out how to cook it instead. He had something else with him, but I couldn't make out what it was. I kept trying to look around the couch without him noticing when I realized he was wrapping something, but his rear was in the way the whole time. I would have thought something bad about him for blocking my view, but I had to admit, the view I did have wasn't bad at all. He was done and then slid it under the tree before running off to the garage. Finally! I finished putting the brown sugar on the ham and stuck it in the oven before looking. It wasn't very big, but you never knew what could be in a little package. I shook it lightly. There was glass in there. Okay. That was a start. And then I noticed the nametag. To Rachel, From Scott. The boy was trying to kill me.
I spent the rest of the afternoon cooking various foods. There wasn't a lot of variety, but Scott had impressed me with his resourcefulness in getting everything I had asked for. It was late in the afternoon when Rachel came in, carrying a huge box. She opened the door, overbalanced to catch the box, and had Scott not been coming up behind her and caught her, would have landed in a heap. She gave him her best smile. I had seen gay men change their minds at that smile. Scott was more interested in the pie she had balancing on top of the box. Typical male. If there were one thing that could get his attention, it would be food. I grabbed the pie before Scott could scoop off some of the whipped cream.
"Did you make this?" I asked Rachel.
"Maybe I wanted to do something special for you," she flirted.
"Rachel, if that's what you wanted, then you would have jumped naked out of that box," I countered. Scott was looking at the pie like some men look at their girlfriends. "If you made this, then chances are we'll end up in a hospital by morning."
She pouted playfully. "I might have learned, just for you." I just stared. "I got it from Ian," she finally admitted.
I let out a breath and then smacked Scott's hand that was reaching for the pie. "Don't even think about it, mister," I growled and then went back to the stove to take the ham out. I could trust Ian's cooking. "You get the table set up," I ordered Scott and then glanced at Rachel. She was sliding the box over to the tree. What was in there?
"And you," I said to her, "just sit somewhere and don't accidentally mistake salt and rat poison again."
She plopped on the couch and pouted. "That was just once!" she complained. "And you weren't even there."
"No, but the way Ian tells it it's like I was there." I teased, "I mean, you put three people in the hospital."
Rachel crossed her arms in a huff, "Well Ian wasn't one of them."
"Right." I rolled my eyes, "He was the one driving all the people to the emergency room."
"Okay, that's enough." Scott interrupted, "Rachel, no cooking. Kat," he eyed the food, "Get moving."
I shot Scott a glare before turning back to the food, "Just keep her away from the food if you want to live."
"Remind me why I decided to do this." Rachel muttered.
Scott sighed, "Food. Presents. Family. Holidays. Christmas. Anything ringing a bell?"
"Right." Rachel stood and started pacing then stopped, "Speaking of which, why don't we break out some of the traditional festivities early?"
Scott raised an eyebrow, "Traditional festivities such as?"
Rachel grinned and pulled a small sprig of leaves out of her bag, "Such as mistletoe!"
"Excuse me while I retreat into my cave." Scott said quickly before retreating.
"Chicken." I called to him as a small chuckle escaped my lips before sliding the last dish into the oven, "Okay, food is all set to cook. Ham needs to be in the longest and we need to keep track of the mashed potatoes and the stuffing. I refuse to let them burn."
Rachel saluted me and gave an 'aye-aye capt'n' look before sauntering my way, "How about a little mistletoe for my favorite chef?" She held the sprig up over her head.
I grinned and gave her a soft kiss under the mistletoe, "Thank you for showing up."
"Are you kidding?" Rachel laughed cheerfully, "I wouldn't miss your food and presents for the world."
I gave Rach a warm smile before winking and going into the garage. Scott had opened up the hood to a random car and was tinkering around as I came up behind him. "You could have just refused Rachel's mistletoe offer as opposed to hiding away with the cars."
Turning he shrugged, "I know you're dating her, but she's not my sort of thing to fool around with at all." He looked back at the car, "And I figured that there's always something out here that is my sort of thing to fool around with in the mean time."
I placed my hands on the side of the car and leaned back, "Meanwhile you leave us poor women folk to fend for ourselves?"
Scott smirked, "Since when do you and Rachel worry about having a man?"
Laughing I nudged him, "Maybe we're up for a little excitement. It is the holidays, after all."
"Oh really?" Scott's voice rose a bit, and a slight tinge of pink colored his cheeks.
I placed a hand on his shoulder lightly, "I'm pretty sure Rachel has no objections but if it makes you feel better, I'll check with her first."
Scott's eyebrows rose again, "Is that an invitation?"
Pushing away from the car I winked at him before walking back inside, "Only if you set the table."
I'm not sure what got into me. Blame it on the holidays, I suppose. I was feeling very friendly. And I was happy. I had Rachel on the couch and Scott in the garage. My own little twisted family. I looked in the oven before turning to the couch, "So we've got about an hour before anything is done, what do we do?"
Rachel grinned at me. "I can think of something to do while he's out," she said suggestively.
I shook my head. "Oh no, not that," I replied emphatically. "Scott and I have come to an agreement on that sort of thing. And none of us are drunk enough to break it yet."
Rachel laughed. "You just need to invite him in so we can get him over his little hang-ups."
I couldn't help but smile. "I didn't know you ever thought of Scott in that way."
She looked at me incredulously. "Have you ever looked at him? The boy's hot when he wants to be." She sat back on the couch and gave me an appraising look. "How come you two never hooked up?"
"Hello, I do have a girlfriend," I reminded her. "Besides, Scott's like an older brother or something." I was feeling distinctly uncomfortable with the conversation. When I had been teasing Scott outside, it was just that, teasing. He knew I wasn't serious and I knew I wasn't serious. I had slept in the same bed with him for almost a year now and nothing had ever happened.
"A really hot, unrelated brother," Rachel clarified. "And you're not exclusively into girls. I taught you too well to limit yourself now. You know I don't mind some extra spice as long as I'm getting into the mix."
"Drop it," I ordered. "Even if there was a remote shred of being into that idea, there's still Scott. How many guys would have two babes like us in the house, cooking for him and still hide in the garage until the food comes?"
"One that hasn't been properly inspired," she countered and then, mercifully, dropped the subject. Instead we played cards for a while. Rachel wanted strip poker, but I vetoed that one. The girl was determined to get me into trouble. Finally the timer on the oven went off and we could eat. I yelled at Scott to come in and started doing the final touches.
Scott came in from the garage and set the table as I'd asked him, without a single complaint. He finished just in time to put the food on the table and start digging in. Rachel dug around in the huge box she had brought over and produced some white wine to go with our meal and our night officially began. As always, the food was fantastic, both Rachel and Scott letting me know their opinion of the meal with their moans of delight. Dinner conversation was light and happy with a few quick innuendoes and winks from Rachel. It was great, really. Or at least it was great until it was time to clear the table and all three of us were too stuffed to do anything but offer a few moans. I leaned back in my chair and drank the last bit of wine in my cup. Scott had managed to find his way to the bed in the corner and looked as if he was already asleep and Rachel had maneuvered to the couch. I glanced at the table. Well, worst case scenario, the food would be left out and we'd pick at it for leftovers later on. I set my cup down and stumbled to the bed. Sleep did sound oddly good at this time. And I admit to being beat. After frantically searching for some sort of wrapping for Rachel's present and then figuring out what I would need to fix the Escalade, and then preparing a full meal, I deserved a nap before a night of presents, laughs, and whatever else Rachel could whip up.
I fell onto the bed and crawled under the covers, my eyes fluttering closed as soon as my head hit my pillow. A few minutes wouldn't hurt.
I was positive I had only been asleep for a few minutes when I felt someone shaking me. I absently smacked at the hands touching me, muttering something about great plagues to come if they didn't leave me alone. Then the hands weren't shaking, but doing something far more pleasant. I gasped, my eyes shooting open. Rachel was standing there, grinning at me. I sat up and glanced at the clock, about to complain that she could have let me sleep for a little bit, but the clock claimed I had been out for two hours. Stupid, lying clock.
"Wake up," Rachel whined. "Scott needs something." I glanced over. Sure enough, the other side of the bed was empty.
"What does he want?" I muttered, falling back onto the bed.
"I don't know!" she said. "He just made a noise and pointed."
I blinked. "He's in the garage?"
She rolled her eyes. "Of course he's in the garage. I've been in there with him for an hour trying to get him to do something else and then he made that noise at me."
"What kind of noise?" Rachel did an imitation of one of Scott's grunts. "He wants some water," I translated, closing my eyes and stretching. She was still standing over me looking confused when I opened my eyes.
"Water?"
"Well, either he's hungry or he's thirsty. It's a little hard to tell since I didn't hear the exact grunt. But start with the water. It's easier."
Rachel just stared at me for a long minute. "I'm going to tell him that you're up and ready for presents." She turned on her heel and went back into the garage. I thought about calling after her and trying to find out what I had just said that upset her, but I didn't. She would deny being upset, despite the fact I knew her well enough to know when she was unhappy. It didn't happen often, but she would get cranky. I usually knew why and could cheer her up. This time I was still too full and sleepy and.presents! There were presents to be had. Rachel could wait. She would be cheer up anyway when we started unwrapping.
I clambered out of bed and washed my face, trying to wake up so I wouldn't be all sleepy and cute when we were trying to unwrap. I had a minute alone before Scott and Rach came back in and for a second, I could only stare in wonder around me. When I was little, I had dreamed at Christmas of a big house with lots of decorations and a table covered in food. And then everyone would gather at the huge, beautifully decorated tree with hundreds of presents under it. Mom would have gotten married to this wonderful man that had asked me to call him Dad from the start. I would have brothers and sisters and we would open gifts until late into the night. And then we would all get into our matching pajamas and be sent to bed, excited to wake up the next morning for a big Christmas Day breakfast and then play with our dozens of new toys.
That had been the dream. The reality was that I was in a little shack that had lights strung around it. There was a small rickety table with the food on it and a scraggly tree in the corner with just a few things under it. But there was a heart to it. Decorating had been done not because the neighbors expected it, but because Scott knew it would make me happy. I didn't have a Mom and Dad and siblings, but I had two people that I cared about more than anyone else in the world. Not because we were related and had to care, but because we had grown together and become part of each other's lives. I had cooked dinner for those people because I did love them and wanted them to have a nice holiday too. Not because it was expected, but because I truly wanted them too. And so what if the tree was small. Scott and I had decorated it ourselves, even making the ornaments. I didn't have what I had dreamt about. I had something better.
My moment of peace was short-lived when Rachel came back in, dragging Scott. He was trying to finish wiping his hands and keep hold of the cooler at the same time while Rach was pushing him from behind. "Come on!" she squealed. "The sooner we unwrap, the sooner we can play with everything." I cringed, wondering what she meant by that. Please let her have behaved, I prayed and then thought about Rachel. Let her have not gone too overboard, I amended.
Scott smiled at me and opened the cooler as we sat on the floor by the tree. And then I was the one squealing when he pulled out a gallon jug of eggnog. I love the stuff. Hadn't had it in forever, but I still loved it. I could probably take out the whole gallon myself. I remembered mentioning it once to Scott and I couldn't believe that he remembered. How could he have remembered something like that? We were working on the cars. Did he actually listen to me when we were out in the garage? If that was true, I was going to have to watch what I said. But that was for later. Right now I had Rach and Scott and a big glass of eggnog. Life was good. Mr. T.A. Barron's goons could burst in right then with machine guns because the green on a car wasn't the exact right shade and I wouldn't care. I would go happy.
All of us, even Scott looked like a little kid as we sat there for a minute, smiling and downing the eggnog. "Who first?" I asked. We looked at each other hesitantly.
Finally Scott leaned forward and grabbed a gift and handed it to Rachel. "Merry Christmas," he muttered, looking vaguely embarrassed. What *had* they talked about in the garage?
She opened it up with a big smile and then gasping with delight when she saw the contents. "Whiskey! Oh I love whiskey! Drinks all around!" She shrieked happily, holding up an expensive looking bottle of the original Jack Daniels. After digging a bit more she shrieked again, "I've always wanted one of these!" Scott and I exchanged a warm smile as she held up a pink tinted shot glass with her name engraved in silver letters. I had been the one to help Scott with the last part of the gift. He had said that a bottle of whiskey wasn't enough. Rachel probably would have been okay with it though. She was beaming, and she hadn't even gotten to my present yet.
Rachel studied the small glass for bit before grabbing a small box and dropping it in my lap. "You're really going to want to fuck me now."
I blinked and looked up at her with wide eyes, "Excuse me?"
She simply giggled, "Well, trust me, would you rather it happen now or later. I mean, I know you're going to just love it!"
I glanced at Scott, who was a nice shade of red and trying to appear calm, and then shook my head and winked, "You can't just rush into these things. And I don't even know what it is."
"Well, then open it silly!" she encouraged, taking my hand and placing it on top of the present.
I laughed and ripped the paper off. It was a small cardboard box. I have to admit, I was clueless as to what was in it too. I mean, could imagine here getting me something useful for her and me time, but nothing like that would fit into this small of a box. Slowly I opened the little box and saw a piece of white paper. My brow furrowed and I looked up at her, "Gee, thanks Rach. Just what I've always wanted. A piece of paper."
"Turn over the piece of paper, goofball." She rolled her eyes.
I did and then my brow furrowed even more. "I don't get it." The other side of the paper had a picture of a cartoon red devil twirling a halo around his middle finger. It was cute and looked as if it had been hand drawn, but I was at a loss as to why I was getting a piece of paper with a picture on it.
She sighed loudly, "Would you look harder?"
Scott even looked a little curious as I dug deeper. Another slip of paper appeared and my eyes widened. It was a gift certificate to the "Twizted Underground". A local tattoo parlor. "You got me a tattoo?"
She nodded with an excited grin, "Yes! And it's going to be of."
I handed Scott the piece of paper and gave Rachel a big hug. I had wanted another tattoo; one that was done by my choice, not one that was influenced by drunkenness. And Rachel had picked a kick ass tattoo. It was the exact type that I would have picked for myself.
"Hell yeah." I smiled and then looked under the tree, "Hmm, Rachel, I think that multicolored one is for you."
Rachel grinned and grabbed the gift, pausing when she realized what it was wrapped in, "Oooh! She squealed. "I like!" She held up several variously colored undergarments. And then a black and red teddy, "Kat! I love it!" She blew a kiss my way and waved the teddy in Scott's direction, "What do you think?"
Scott had grabbed my glass of eggnog, which I would impale him later for, and was mid drink. He continued drinking then wiped his mouth before smiling, "Well, I think it'll look great." He looked at me. "Though I hope you have mine wrapped in something a little more traditional."
Now, I realize it was forced, but still. He didn't have to. He was lightening up, which made for good times. "I don't know," I teased back. "I bet you would look great in a thong." He burst into laughter, managing to make Rachel pause in opening the rest of her gift. She looked at me, a little startled. I had heard Scott laugh like that a few times. She hadn't.
Rachel's next squeal overrode his laughter though as she opened the box. "A portable CD player!" she cried with glee. "I've been wanting one of these forever!"
"I know," I replied with a smile. "That's why I got it for you." She gave me a smile and a wink that told me of all the things she was going to be doing to my body later in thanks.
"Okay!" she giggled. "Scott's turn!"
I was curious about this. She had refused to tell me what she had gotten for Scott. The box was about eighteen inches high and three feet across. If it had been much bigger I would have been worried there was a girl inside. I knew from her smile alone there was something in there I would end up apologizing for, I was sure. But when Scott opened it, a big smile spread across his face.
"This is awesome, Rachel," he said, making her beam as he reached in and tugged out a new toolbox. He set it down and continued to admire it. "One of the drawers on mine broke the other day and it won't open all of the way. You must be psychic."
She smiled wider. "Well, yours was all scratched up and greasy." Scott glanced at me, trying to hold back a laugh. Having a toolbox like that was a sign that you were a real mechanic, not just someone that had the tools for status. Rachel didn't notice the subtle glance and continued, "but you have to look in the bottom drawer."
Scott opened it and instantly color flooded his face. "Um.well.that's.interesting," he managed to stutter out.
Rachel laughed and I knew the thing I would be apologizing for was in that bottom drawer. "Well, I wanted to make sure there was something for every tool, including your favorite one." If possible, Scott's face got even redder. I peeked over Rach's shoulder and saw what was in the drawer. She had put in a bunch of porno magazines. It went from some artistic ones to ones that would make me blush. And on top, an accident I am sure, was one of two girls and a guy all making out. Scott looked up at me, realized that I had nothing to do with this and then closed the drawer.
"I.thanks Rach," he said simply. She laughed again, enjoying this thoroughly.
"Okay, my turn!" I said quickly to get things back into the holiday mood. I jumped up. "I'll be back in just a second with yours," I said to Scott. He went to say something, but stopped when I headed towards the garage instead of the front. I rolled my eyes. "No strippers, I swear."
He smiled, shook his head, and waved me on. I came back a few minutes later, dragging the jack by the handle. I had just wrapped a bunch of paper around it and left the handle sticking out. Rachel wasn't there and Scott looked a little flustered. I looked at him questioningly.
"She ran to the bathroom with one of the things you bought her," he said quietly. I smiled. His face hardened.
"She's playing," I said. "I told her no earlier and now she's being a tease."
Scott relaxed. "Can you tell her to not?"
I shrugged. "Sure. But we are talking about Rachel. If I try to talk her out of this, she'll find something worse. Cheer up, Sparky. You're going to spend Christmas with two girls, one of which is wearing sexy lingerie. That's got to be in one of your new magazines."
Just then Rachel emerged from the bathroom in the black and red teddy and struck a pose in the doorframe. Oh yeah. That's the kind of hot I'm talking about. I picked good. I mean, seriously, for someone that doesn't care what she's got underneath as long as it holds up and covers what it's supposed to, I picked some seriously good stuff. Rachel was, by legal standards, covered. But the way it left enough uncovered and showed off every curve made her hotter than had she walked out stark naked. She twirled around, the sheer robe trimmed in fake fur twirling about and I got a glimpse of the black lace against her back and thong covering her bottom. Even Scott had noticed how hot my girlfriend was. It was the first time he had ever really checked Rachel out.
"I think you're drooling," I whispered.
"So are you," he whispered back, making us both laugh.
Rachel sauntered out. "Now this is a happy holiday," she grinned and then tucked the stem of the mistletoe into her cleavage. I couldn't help but laugh as she settled down between us.
Scott shook his head. "Okay, now that I've gotten to see her unwrapped, may I?" He gestured towards what I was dragging. I pushed it towards him. He ripped off the paper and then stopped dead, looking at me with wide eyes.
"Kat.there's no way! Do you know how many places I looked?"
"Yeah!" I said, grinning like a loon at his pleasure.
"I went everywhere! There wasn't one of these to be found in this city!"
"I know!" I laughed.
He looked at me suspiciously. "I thought you were going to a party the other day."
"I lied!" I chirped. "We went to San Francisco. Rach had a friend that had one."
Scott was too happy with his gift to be mad about a little white lie. "This is great, Kat," he said, staring at it. "I can't believe you did this. I mean.this has got to be the best gift I've ever gotten."
He smiled at me warmly and I knew it wasn't just a rather expensive gift. Yeah, it was something he had really wanted, but it was the fact I had to search high and low and taken a lot of time to get it for him. For once, it was the thought that really did count more than the gift. I couldn't believe how happy I was seeing him so pleased with the jack. I just hoped he remembered that when he saw the Escalade.
"Okay," he said. "Kat's turn. He fished under the tree and got the last unwrapped thing. It was a small box, only a couple of inches long. After how much he had hidden it and teased me about not being able to find it, I was wildly curious.
I opened it up, blinking a couple of times in confusion. Keys? Two keys were on a key chain, lying on some white cotton. Okay. Scott was looking at me with such anticipation; I didn't want to act like I was clueless. And then I noticed the key chain had been flipped over. I righted it and all the breath whooshed out of my body. The logo on the key chain was two crossed flags. I knew those flags. I knew that logo. It only meant one thing. Corvette.
"Scott?" I squeaked, praying I hadn't gotten it wrong.
"Want to go out front?" he asked. I was out the door in a flash, stopping dead at the sight in the yard.
A 1972 Corvette was sitting in the yard. I couldn't breathe. A Corvette. *My* Corvette. Rachel came up behind me and made a disappointed noise. "It's not shiny," she commented.
It wasn't. The fiberglass was cracked and broken in several places, one of the body panels was completely missing, the paint was scratched and peeling and the tires were bald, I noted as I gingerly circled the car. I knew the engine was going to have to be rebuilt. Maybe the transmission as well. I opened the car door and slid behind the wheel. The leather was cracked and torn, one of the t-tops cracked and the dashboard was buckled and broken. The interior smelled like pee and vomit and I was positive there were rat droppings on the floorboard.
I looked out the milky window at Scott and Rachel. Rachel was still confused as to my ecstasy but my eyes met Scott's and he understood perfectly. I wasn't seeing the car as it was. It currently was a piece of crap. I was seeing it as it would be. Not broken down in a junkyard, but whole, shining with black, no, silver paint as I cruised the cliffs near the ocean at sunset. I could see the interior clean and new and hear the refurbished engine growling when I pressed the accelerator. And it would be mine. My work and sweat and blood would go into rebuilding this baby. I would bring her back to life.
"I am going to name you Lucy," I whispered to the car, running my fingers over the cracked steering wheel. "And you will be dubbed Lucy and you will be mine." My face lit up with a grin, "You shall be my Lucy."
I bounded out of the car and threw my arms around Scott, giving him a huge hug. "Thank you," I whispered in his ear. "How did you know?"
He shrugged. "It's the same model and year as the first big restoration we did together. You talked about how much you loved it for a week."
I pulled back, looking at his suspiciously. "You actually listen to my babbling in the garage?"
He gave me one of his characteristic shrugs. "Just because I don't act like I'm listening doesn't mean I'm not."
I smiled at him sweetly. "If you ever touch my new baby, I'm likely to kill you."
Scott returned the smile. "I understand."
"Um," Rachel interrupted, "As soon as it's fixed, can we have sex in it?"
I laughed and then realized I was still clinging to Scott. I would have let him go earlier, but he was still holding me as well. Oh boy. That was strange. "Sure," I said to her, sliding away from Scott.
Her face brightened. "Great! Group hug!" she yelled and then practically jumped on us so that we were all three embracing. I thought Scott would be embarrassed with a nearly naked Rachel in his arms, but he was laughing. She pulled back and put her hands on her hips. "Okay," she declared firmly. "Nobody is going to be working on a car tonight. I've got a bottle's worth of celebration in there and I say we get started on it now."
I grinned and looked at Scott. He gave me a "what the hell" kind of shrug and we let ourselves get led back into our little shack.
Anyway, the point is that I hadn't seen mine and so he shouldn't see his. For once, he agreed with me, no problems. Thank God. Since we weren't busy in the garage today and there was a bunch I had to do if I was going to cook, then he was going to have to hunt and gather the ingredients at the market. Scott was in a rare good mood and took off, letting me have a chance to see the Escalade in the daylight.
Daylight didn't make the damage look better. As a matter of fact, it looked much, much worse. I wanted to cry or scream or kick something when I saw it, but kicking it was just one more thing I would have to repair. The windshield wasn't broken. If it were, then I would be toast. The one we had in there now had taken us three weeks to get. I thought I knew where to get a new grill and the bumper was just going to have to be muscled back into place. Plus a whole new paint job. The glossy black was popular, so we had plenty of that, but it was going to take a whole day, plus the overcoat and drying time. And then I had to fix the interior where the jack scratched it up. If Scott said one negative thing about that jack, it was going to be placed where God had not intended large jacks to go.
I moved the car around back so Scott wouldn't notice. It took forty minutes, a good round of cursing, and the engine lift, but I managed to get the jack out of the back and hidden away until tonight. By the time I got done with everything, I really had to hurry to get the cooking stuff together for this evening. Rachel was coming over and we were going to have a real Christmas with the three of us.
I had asked Scott if he would be okay with her coming over. It felt right that she should be there, she was my girlfriend, but if he would rather it be just us, then that was cool with me too. Scott had laughed and said there should always be the black sheep cousin that showed up at holidays, so of course she could come. That wasn't exactly the approval I wanted, but still, she was now a planned guest. I had wondered if Scott was going to have someone, but he had shrugged when I "casually" asked and said there wasn't anyone else he could think of here that he wanted to share the holiday with. I wondered if he was thinking about Mr. Disappearing Zane and reaffirmed that the guy was going to get a swift kick in the balls if we ever met.
I had a bunch of pots and pans and other things I needed ready when Scott came back that afternoon. He found a ham. I wanted to know where he found the ham, but since it was still bloody, I decided to not ask questions and just figure out how to cook it instead. He had something else with him, but I couldn't make out what it was. I kept trying to look around the couch without him noticing when I realized he was wrapping something, but his rear was in the way the whole time. I would have thought something bad about him for blocking my view, but I had to admit, the view I did have wasn't bad at all. He was done and then slid it under the tree before running off to the garage. Finally! I finished putting the brown sugar on the ham and stuck it in the oven before looking. It wasn't very big, but you never knew what could be in a little package. I shook it lightly. There was glass in there. Okay. That was a start. And then I noticed the nametag. To Rachel, From Scott. The boy was trying to kill me.
I spent the rest of the afternoon cooking various foods. There wasn't a lot of variety, but Scott had impressed me with his resourcefulness in getting everything I had asked for. It was late in the afternoon when Rachel came in, carrying a huge box. She opened the door, overbalanced to catch the box, and had Scott not been coming up behind her and caught her, would have landed in a heap. She gave him her best smile. I had seen gay men change their minds at that smile. Scott was more interested in the pie she had balancing on top of the box. Typical male. If there were one thing that could get his attention, it would be food. I grabbed the pie before Scott could scoop off some of the whipped cream.
"Did you make this?" I asked Rachel.
"Maybe I wanted to do something special for you," she flirted.
"Rachel, if that's what you wanted, then you would have jumped naked out of that box," I countered. Scott was looking at the pie like some men look at their girlfriends. "If you made this, then chances are we'll end up in a hospital by morning."
She pouted playfully. "I might have learned, just for you." I just stared. "I got it from Ian," she finally admitted.
I let out a breath and then smacked Scott's hand that was reaching for the pie. "Don't even think about it, mister," I growled and then went back to the stove to take the ham out. I could trust Ian's cooking. "You get the table set up," I ordered Scott and then glanced at Rachel. She was sliding the box over to the tree. What was in there?
"And you," I said to her, "just sit somewhere and don't accidentally mistake salt and rat poison again."
She plopped on the couch and pouted. "That was just once!" she complained. "And you weren't even there."
"No, but the way Ian tells it it's like I was there." I teased, "I mean, you put three people in the hospital."
Rachel crossed her arms in a huff, "Well Ian wasn't one of them."
"Right." I rolled my eyes, "He was the one driving all the people to the emergency room."
"Okay, that's enough." Scott interrupted, "Rachel, no cooking. Kat," he eyed the food, "Get moving."
I shot Scott a glare before turning back to the food, "Just keep her away from the food if you want to live."
"Remind me why I decided to do this." Rachel muttered.
Scott sighed, "Food. Presents. Family. Holidays. Christmas. Anything ringing a bell?"
"Right." Rachel stood and started pacing then stopped, "Speaking of which, why don't we break out some of the traditional festivities early?"
Scott raised an eyebrow, "Traditional festivities such as?"
Rachel grinned and pulled a small sprig of leaves out of her bag, "Such as mistletoe!"
"Excuse me while I retreat into my cave." Scott said quickly before retreating.
"Chicken." I called to him as a small chuckle escaped my lips before sliding the last dish into the oven, "Okay, food is all set to cook. Ham needs to be in the longest and we need to keep track of the mashed potatoes and the stuffing. I refuse to let them burn."
Rachel saluted me and gave an 'aye-aye capt'n' look before sauntering my way, "How about a little mistletoe for my favorite chef?" She held the sprig up over her head.
I grinned and gave her a soft kiss under the mistletoe, "Thank you for showing up."
"Are you kidding?" Rachel laughed cheerfully, "I wouldn't miss your food and presents for the world."
I gave Rach a warm smile before winking and going into the garage. Scott had opened up the hood to a random car and was tinkering around as I came up behind him. "You could have just refused Rachel's mistletoe offer as opposed to hiding away with the cars."
Turning he shrugged, "I know you're dating her, but she's not my sort of thing to fool around with at all." He looked back at the car, "And I figured that there's always something out here that is my sort of thing to fool around with in the mean time."
I placed my hands on the side of the car and leaned back, "Meanwhile you leave us poor women folk to fend for ourselves?"
Scott smirked, "Since when do you and Rachel worry about having a man?"
Laughing I nudged him, "Maybe we're up for a little excitement. It is the holidays, after all."
"Oh really?" Scott's voice rose a bit, and a slight tinge of pink colored his cheeks.
I placed a hand on his shoulder lightly, "I'm pretty sure Rachel has no objections but if it makes you feel better, I'll check with her first."
Scott's eyebrows rose again, "Is that an invitation?"
Pushing away from the car I winked at him before walking back inside, "Only if you set the table."
I'm not sure what got into me. Blame it on the holidays, I suppose. I was feeling very friendly. And I was happy. I had Rachel on the couch and Scott in the garage. My own little twisted family. I looked in the oven before turning to the couch, "So we've got about an hour before anything is done, what do we do?"
Rachel grinned at me. "I can think of something to do while he's out," she said suggestively.
I shook my head. "Oh no, not that," I replied emphatically. "Scott and I have come to an agreement on that sort of thing. And none of us are drunk enough to break it yet."
Rachel laughed. "You just need to invite him in so we can get him over his little hang-ups."
I couldn't help but smile. "I didn't know you ever thought of Scott in that way."
She looked at me incredulously. "Have you ever looked at him? The boy's hot when he wants to be." She sat back on the couch and gave me an appraising look. "How come you two never hooked up?"
"Hello, I do have a girlfriend," I reminded her. "Besides, Scott's like an older brother or something." I was feeling distinctly uncomfortable with the conversation. When I had been teasing Scott outside, it was just that, teasing. He knew I wasn't serious and I knew I wasn't serious. I had slept in the same bed with him for almost a year now and nothing had ever happened.
"A really hot, unrelated brother," Rachel clarified. "And you're not exclusively into girls. I taught you too well to limit yourself now. You know I don't mind some extra spice as long as I'm getting into the mix."
"Drop it," I ordered. "Even if there was a remote shred of being into that idea, there's still Scott. How many guys would have two babes like us in the house, cooking for him and still hide in the garage until the food comes?"
"One that hasn't been properly inspired," she countered and then, mercifully, dropped the subject. Instead we played cards for a while. Rachel wanted strip poker, but I vetoed that one. The girl was determined to get me into trouble. Finally the timer on the oven went off and we could eat. I yelled at Scott to come in and started doing the final touches.
Scott came in from the garage and set the table as I'd asked him, without a single complaint. He finished just in time to put the food on the table and start digging in. Rachel dug around in the huge box she had brought over and produced some white wine to go with our meal and our night officially began. As always, the food was fantastic, both Rachel and Scott letting me know their opinion of the meal with their moans of delight. Dinner conversation was light and happy with a few quick innuendoes and winks from Rachel. It was great, really. Or at least it was great until it was time to clear the table and all three of us were too stuffed to do anything but offer a few moans. I leaned back in my chair and drank the last bit of wine in my cup. Scott had managed to find his way to the bed in the corner and looked as if he was already asleep and Rachel had maneuvered to the couch. I glanced at the table. Well, worst case scenario, the food would be left out and we'd pick at it for leftovers later on. I set my cup down and stumbled to the bed. Sleep did sound oddly good at this time. And I admit to being beat. After frantically searching for some sort of wrapping for Rachel's present and then figuring out what I would need to fix the Escalade, and then preparing a full meal, I deserved a nap before a night of presents, laughs, and whatever else Rachel could whip up.
I fell onto the bed and crawled under the covers, my eyes fluttering closed as soon as my head hit my pillow. A few minutes wouldn't hurt.
I was positive I had only been asleep for a few minutes when I felt someone shaking me. I absently smacked at the hands touching me, muttering something about great plagues to come if they didn't leave me alone. Then the hands weren't shaking, but doing something far more pleasant. I gasped, my eyes shooting open. Rachel was standing there, grinning at me. I sat up and glanced at the clock, about to complain that she could have let me sleep for a little bit, but the clock claimed I had been out for two hours. Stupid, lying clock.
"Wake up," Rachel whined. "Scott needs something." I glanced over. Sure enough, the other side of the bed was empty.
"What does he want?" I muttered, falling back onto the bed.
"I don't know!" she said. "He just made a noise and pointed."
I blinked. "He's in the garage?"
She rolled her eyes. "Of course he's in the garage. I've been in there with him for an hour trying to get him to do something else and then he made that noise at me."
"What kind of noise?" Rachel did an imitation of one of Scott's grunts. "He wants some water," I translated, closing my eyes and stretching. She was still standing over me looking confused when I opened my eyes.
"Water?"
"Well, either he's hungry or he's thirsty. It's a little hard to tell since I didn't hear the exact grunt. But start with the water. It's easier."
Rachel just stared at me for a long minute. "I'm going to tell him that you're up and ready for presents." She turned on her heel and went back into the garage. I thought about calling after her and trying to find out what I had just said that upset her, but I didn't. She would deny being upset, despite the fact I knew her well enough to know when she was unhappy. It didn't happen often, but she would get cranky. I usually knew why and could cheer her up. This time I was still too full and sleepy and.presents! There were presents to be had. Rachel could wait. She would be cheer up anyway when we started unwrapping.
I clambered out of bed and washed my face, trying to wake up so I wouldn't be all sleepy and cute when we were trying to unwrap. I had a minute alone before Scott and Rach came back in and for a second, I could only stare in wonder around me. When I was little, I had dreamed at Christmas of a big house with lots of decorations and a table covered in food. And then everyone would gather at the huge, beautifully decorated tree with hundreds of presents under it. Mom would have gotten married to this wonderful man that had asked me to call him Dad from the start. I would have brothers and sisters and we would open gifts until late into the night. And then we would all get into our matching pajamas and be sent to bed, excited to wake up the next morning for a big Christmas Day breakfast and then play with our dozens of new toys.
That had been the dream. The reality was that I was in a little shack that had lights strung around it. There was a small rickety table with the food on it and a scraggly tree in the corner with just a few things under it. But there was a heart to it. Decorating had been done not because the neighbors expected it, but because Scott knew it would make me happy. I didn't have a Mom and Dad and siblings, but I had two people that I cared about more than anyone else in the world. Not because we were related and had to care, but because we had grown together and become part of each other's lives. I had cooked dinner for those people because I did love them and wanted them to have a nice holiday too. Not because it was expected, but because I truly wanted them too. And so what if the tree was small. Scott and I had decorated it ourselves, even making the ornaments. I didn't have what I had dreamt about. I had something better.
My moment of peace was short-lived when Rachel came back in, dragging Scott. He was trying to finish wiping his hands and keep hold of the cooler at the same time while Rach was pushing him from behind. "Come on!" she squealed. "The sooner we unwrap, the sooner we can play with everything." I cringed, wondering what she meant by that. Please let her have behaved, I prayed and then thought about Rachel. Let her have not gone too overboard, I amended.
Scott smiled at me and opened the cooler as we sat on the floor by the tree. And then I was the one squealing when he pulled out a gallon jug of eggnog. I love the stuff. Hadn't had it in forever, but I still loved it. I could probably take out the whole gallon myself. I remembered mentioning it once to Scott and I couldn't believe that he remembered. How could he have remembered something like that? We were working on the cars. Did he actually listen to me when we were out in the garage? If that was true, I was going to have to watch what I said. But that was for later. Right now I had Rach and Scott and a big glass of eggnog. Life was good. Mr. T.A. Barron's goons could burst in right then with machine guns because the green on a car wasn't the exact right shade and I wouldn't care. I would go happy.
All of us, even Scott looked like a little kid as we sat there for a minute, smiling and downing the eggnog. "Who first?" I asked. We looked at each other hesitantly.
Finally Scott leaned forward and grabbed a gift and handed it to Rachel. "Merry Christmas," he muttered, looking vaguely embarrassed. What *had* they talked about in the garage?
She opened it up with a big smile and then gasping with delight when she saw the contents. "Whiskey! Oh I love whiskey! Drinks all around!" She shrieked happily, holding up an expensive looking bottle of the original Jack Daniels. After digging a bit more she shrieked again, "I've always wanted one of these!" Scott and I exchanged a warm smile as she held up a pink tinted shot glass with her name engraved in silver letters. I had been the one to help Scott with the last part of the gift. He had said that a bottle of whiskey wasn't enough. Rachel probably would have been okay with it though. She was beaming, and she hadn't even gotten to my present yet.
Rachel studied the small glass for bit before grabbing a small box and dropping it in my lap. "You're really going to want to fuck me now."
I blinked and looked up at her with wide eyes, "Excuse me?"
She simply giggled, "Well, trust me, would you rather it happen now or later. I mean, I know you're going to just love it!"
I glanced at Scott, who was a nice shade of red and trying to appear calm, and then shook my head and winked, "You can't just rush into these things. And I don't even know what it is."
"Well, then open it silly!" she encouraged, taking my hand and placing it on top of the present.
I laughed and ripped the paper off. It was a small cardboard box. I have to admit, I was clueless as to what was in it too. I mean, could imagine here getting me something useful for her and me time, but nothing like that would fit into this small of a box. Slowly I opened the little box and saw a piece of white paper. My brow furrowed and I looked up at her, "Gee, thanks Rach. Just what I've always wanted. A piece of paper."
"Turn over the piece of paper, goofball." She rolled her eyes.
I did and then my brow furrowed even more. "I don't get it." The other side of the paper had a picture of a cartoon red devil twirling a halo around his middle finger. It was cute and looked as if it had been hand drawn, but I was at a loss as to why I was getting a piece of paper with a picture on it.
She sighed loudly, "Would you look harder?"
Scott even looked a little curious as I dug deeper. Another slip of paper appeared and my eyes widened. It was a gift certificate to the "Twizted Underground". A local tattoo parlor. "You got me a tattoo?"
She nodded with an excited grin, "Yes! And it's going to be of."
I handed Scott the piece of paper and gave Rachel a big hug. I had wanted another tattoo; one that was done by my choice, not one that was influenced by drunkenness. And Rachel had picked a kick ass tattoo. It was the exact type that I would have picked for myself.
"Hell yeah." I smiled and then looked under the tree, "Hmm, Rachel, I think that multicolored one is for you."
Rachel grinned and grabbed the gift, pausing when she realized what it was wrapped in, "Oooh! She squealed. "I like!" She held up several variously colored undergarments. And then a black and red teddy, "Kat! I love it!" She blew a kiss my way and waved the teddy in Scott's direction, "What do you think?"
Scott had grabbed my glass of eggnog, which I would impale him later for, and was mid drink. He continued drinking then wiped his mouth before smiling, "Well, I think it'll look great." He looked at me. "Though I hope you have mine wrapped in something a little more traditional."
Now, I realize it was forced, but still. He didn't have to. He was lightening up, which made for good times. "I don't know," I teased back. "I bet you would look great in a thong." He burst into laughter, managing to make Rachel pause in opening the rest of her gift. She looked at me, a little startled. I had heard Scott laugh like that a few times. She hadn't.
Rachel's next squeal overrode his laughter though as she opened the box. "A portable CD player!" she cried with glee. "I've been wanting one of these forever!"
"I know," I replied with a smile. "That's why I got it for you." She gave me a smile and a wink that told me of all the things she was going to be doing to my body later in thanks.
"Okay!" she giggled. "Scott's turn!"
I was curious about this. She had refused to tell me what she had gotten for Scott. The box was about eighteen inches high and three feet across. If it had been much bigger I would have been worried there was a girl inside. I knew from her smile alone there was something in there I would end up apologizing for, I was sure. But when Scott opened it, a big smile spread across his face.
"This is awesome, Rachel," he said, making her beam as he reached in and tugged out a new toolbox. He set it down and continued to admire it. "One of the drawers on mine broke the other day and it won't open all of the way. You must be psychic."
She smiled wider. "Well, yours was all scratched up and greasy." Scott glanced at me, trying to hold back a laugh. Having a toolbox like that was a sign that you were a real mechanic, not just someone that had the tools for status. Rachel didn't notice the subtle glance and continued, "but you have to look in the bottom drawer."
Scott opened it and instantly color flooded his face. "Um.well.that's.interesting," he managed to stutter out.
Rachel laughed and I knew the thing I would be apologizing for was in that bottom drawer. "Well, I wanted to make sure there was something for every tool, including your favorite one." If possible, Scott's face got even redder. I peeked over Rach's shoulder and saw what was in the drawer. She had put in a bunch of porno magazines. It went from some artistic ones to ones that would make me blush. And on top, an accident I am sure, was one of two girls and a guy all making out. Scott looked up at me, realized that I had nothing to do with this and then closed the drawer.
"I.thanks Rach," he said simply. She laughed again, enjoying this thoroughly.
"Okay, my turn!" I said quickly to get things back into the holiday mood. I jumped up. "I'll be back in just a second with yours," I said to Scott. He went to say something, but stopped when I headed towards the garage instead of the front. I rolled my eyes. "No strippers, I swear."
He smiled, shook his head, and waved me on. I came back a few minutes later, dragging the jack by the handle. I had just wrapped a bunch of paper around it and left the handle sticking out. Rachel wasn't there and Scott looked a little flustered. I looked at him questioningly.
"She ran to the bathroom with one of the things you bought her," he said quietly. I smiled. His face hardened.
"She's playing," I said. "I told her no earlier and now she's being a tease."
Scott relaxed. "Can you tell her to not?"
I shrugged. "Sure. But we are talking about Rachel. If I try to talk her out of this, she'll find something worse. Cheer up, Sparky. You're going to spend Christmas with two girls, one of which is wearing sexy lingerie. That's got to be in one of your new magazines."
Just then Rachel emerged from the bathroom in the black and red teddy and struck a pose in the doorframe. Oh yeah. That's the kind of hot I'm talking about. I picked good. I mean, seriously, for someone that doesn't care what she's got underneath as long as it holds up and covers what it's supposed to, I picked some seriously good stuff. Rachel was, by legal standards, covered. But the way it left enough uncovered and showed off every curve made her hotter than had she walked out stark naked. She twirled around, the sheer robe trimmed in fake fur twirling about and I got a glimpse of the black lace against her back and thong covering her bottom. Even Scott had noticed how hot my girlfriend was. It was the first time he had ever really checked Rachel out.
"I think you're drooling," I whispered.
"So are you," he whispered back, making us both laugh.
Rachel sauntered out. "Now this is a happy holiday," she grinned and then tucked the stem of the mistletoe into her cleavage. I couldn't help but laugh as she settled down between us.
Scott shook his head. "Okay, now that I've gotten to see her unwrapped, may I?" He gestured towards what I was dragging. I pushed it towards him. He ripped off the paper and then stopped dead, looking at me with wide eyes.
"Kat.there's no way! Do you know how many places I looked?"
"Yeah!" I said, grinning like a loon at his pleasure.
"I went everywhere! There wasn't one of these to be found in this city!"
"I know!" I laughed.
He looked at me suspiciously. "I thought you were going to a party the other day."
"I lied!" I chirped. "We went to San Francisco. Rach had a friend that had one."
Scott was too happy with his gift to be mad about a little white lie. "This is great, Kat," he said, staring at it. "I can't believe you did this. I mean.this has got to be the best gift I've ever gotten."
He smiled at me warmly and I knew it wasn't just a rather expensive gift. Yeah, it was something he had really wanted, but it was the fact I had to search high and low and taken a lot of time to get it for him. For once, it was the thought that really did count more than the gift. I couldn't believe how happy I was seeing him so pleased with the jack. I just hoped he remembered that when he saw the Escalade.
"Okay," he said. "Kat's turn. He fished under the tree and got the last unwrapped thing. It was a small box, only a couple of inches long. After how much he had hidden it and teased me about not being able to find it, I was wildly curious.
I opened it up, blinking a couple of times in confusion. Keys? Two keys were on a key chain, lying on some white cotton. Okay. Scott was looking at me with such anticipation; I didn't want to act like I was clueless. And then I noticed the key chain had been flipped over. I righted it and all the breath whooshed out of my body. The logo on the key chain was two crossed flags. I knew those flags. I knew that logo. It only meant one thing. Corvette.
"Scott?" I squeaked, praying I hadn't gotten it wrong.
"Want to go out front?" he asked. I was out the door in a flash, stopping dead at the sight in the yard.
A 1972 Corvette was sitting in the yard. I couldn't breathe. A Corvette. *My* Corvette. Rachel came up behind me and made a disappointed noise. "It's not shiny," she commented.
It wasn't. The fiberglass was cracked and broken in several places, one of the body panels was completely missing, the paint was scratched and peeling and the tires were bald, I noted as I gingerly circled the car. I knew the engine was going to have to be rebuilt. Maybe the transmission as well. I opened the car door and slid behind the wheel. The leather was cracked and torn, one of the t-tops cracked and the dashboard was buckled and broken. The interior smelled like pee and vomit and I was positive there were rat droppings on the floorboard.
I looked out the milky window at Scott and Rachel. Rachel was still confused as to my ecstasy but my eyes met Scott's and he understood perfectly. I wasn't seeing the car as it was. It currently was a piece of crap. I was seeing it as it would be. Not broken down in a junkyard, but whole, shining with black, no, silver paint as I cruised the cliffs near the ocean at sunset. I could see the interior clean and new and hear the refurbished engine growling when I pressed the accelerator. And it would be mine. My work and sweat and blood would go into rebuilding this baby. I would bring her back to life.
"I am going to name you Lucy," I whispered to the car, running my fingers over the cracked steering wheel. "And you will be dubbed Lucy and you will be mine." My face lit up with a grin, "You shall be my Lucy."
I bounded out of the car and threw my arms around Scott, giving him a huge hug. "Thank you," I whispered in his ear. "How did you know?"
He shrugged. "It's the same model and year as the first big restoration we did together. You talked about how much you loved it for a week."
I pulled back, looking at his suspiciously. "You actually listen to my babbling in the garage?"
He gave me one of his characteristic shrugs. "Just because I don't act like I'm listening doesn't mean I'm not."
I smiled at him sweetly. "If you ever touch my new baby, I'm likely to kill you."
Scott returned the smile. "I understand."
"Um," Rachel interrupted, "As soon as it's fixed, can we have sex in it?"
I laughed and then realized I was still clinging to Scott. I would have let him go earlier, but he was still holding me as well. Oh boy. That was strange. "Sure," I said to her, sliding away from Scott.
Her face brightened. "Great! Group hug!" she yelled and then practically jumped on us so that we were all three embracing. I thought Scott would be embarrassed with a nearly naked Rachel in his arms, but he was laughing. She pulled back and put her hands on her hips. "Okay," she declared firmly. "Nobody is going to be working on a car tonight. I've got a bottle's worth of celebration in there and I say we get started on it now."
I grinned and looked at Scott. He gave me a "what the hell" kind of shrug and we let ourselves get led back into our little shack.