"Don't be upset, Kar," Franklin told her as he looked at the clipboard that had notes scribbled everywhere. "At least we know what the problem is."
Karen wasn't upset. She was pissed off. The old, blue pickup truck she had used ever since she learned how to drive was the only thing she had of her father. She knew that asking a Bobcat from thirty years ago to work in pristine condition was too much, but damn it, she wanted something to remember her father by.
"Just look at it this way," Franklin continued when she hadn't said a word. "You could get a new car. Because you know as well as I do that replacing the engine in that will cost more than what the truck's blue book value." He placed the clipboard down on the marred, wooden work bench. "I know it belonged to your father, but maybe it's time to let it rest. It's done some hard work over the years."
She ran her hand over her hair, brushing the loose strands out of her face. "True, but what am I going to do with it? I can't just get rid of it. It's the only thing I have left."
"How about I have it towed to your house, and we can leave it in the garage? That way, it's safe from the weather, and maybe one day, we can fix and replace everything that needs it."
"Yeah," she said with a sad nod. "Sounds like that's the best option. I just refuse to scrap it."
"No, you don't have to," the mechanic in the garage said. "I'll make sure it gets to your house before the day ends, Miss V."
"Thanks, Cesar," she said with a smile. "Guess I'm going to use my van for a while."
Franklin's cell phone rang, the distinct voice filling Karen's ears when he answered the device on speakerphone.
"Hey, is Karen with you?"
"Yeah, man," Franklin replied, turning to look at her. "We're at the garage. Just got word that it's the engine in her truck that's gone fucked up."
"Is it going to be replaced?" Trevor then asked.
"Nah, she decided to leave it in her garage for now. I'm going to have Cesar take it on over soon."
"I'm going to swing around and pick her up," Trevor said. Karen's head tilted and her eyes narrowed. "I have a surprise for her."
"A surprise?" Franklin repeated with humor in his voice. "I don't want to have any part in that."
Karen blocked out the rest of their conversation. Trevor had a surprise? For her? She could only imagine what it could be. The wait seemed to drag on forever, the seconds ticking by as if they were minutes. The guys had gone back to their work, leaving Karen to stand around with the anxiety of Trevor finally showing up. It seemed like hours, but it was only a half an hour or so before the familiar rusty red truck appeared in the dusty entryway of the garage.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen," Trevor said with an enthusiasm she wasn't quite used to hearing from the man. His eyes shifted over to where Karen stood, and she felt like her heart plummeted to her stomach. "And lady."
Trevor made his way over to the workbench where Cesar was filing down some sort of custom fittings.
"How you doing, Mr. T?" Cesar asked politely, ever the good-natured man that was a steady and confident worker. As their trusted mechanic, there hadn't been one thing that Cesar was not able to perform and complete.
As Karen zeroed in on Trevor, the conversation, much like the one on the phone just a bit ago, was missed. The smutty man that had somehow captured her attention stood with an air of self-assurance and authority. She was a walking contradiction when it came to Trevor. On more than one occasion, she had tried telling herself that their trysts were just that... A roll in the sack, meaningless rendezvous. But she saw the charm in him, and it didn't help that his admittance of love for her swayed her like a school girl with a crush.
He was standing directly in front of her before she fully snapped out of her thoughts. His hand was held out, his lips twitched, and his eyes looked at her expectantly.
"Ready for your surprise?" he asked, his hand still itching to feel her skin.
"What is it?" she coyly asked, skirting around taking his hand.
"Well if I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"
"No, but I'd at least know what I'm getting myself into," she shot back, the corner of her mouth twisting into a half of a smile.
"Sweetheart, you never know what you're getting into with me."
She grabbed his hand, ignoring the look on Franklin's face at the odd exchange. Franklin had become her best friend shortly after she set foot in this state, but she wasn't going to make herself look like an idiot in front of him. Not until she knew she had a leg to stand on with Trevor. Until she knew she could trust him. She had already told Franklin way too much of the situation, albeit without Trevor's name.
Knowing the rough terrain of the roads out in the dusty, sandy area of where she and Trevor called home, she dreaded taking any length of ride in his pickup truck. It had been bad enough in her minivan, and she had even placed a pad down in the driver's seat before leaving to meet Franklin at the garage hours ago. The hand marks that had turned a deeper red that Trevor had left on her derriere had horrified her. And to say that the entire area was radiating with soreness was the understatement of her life. She had never felt so tender before, and it was all because of the man who now held the passenger side door open for her.
"Wait a second," she said in a low voice. "I have to get my pillow."
"Pillow?" Trevor echoed, although the moment she turned, allowing him to get a glance of that perfect rear-end of hers, he knew exactly what she meant.
Franklin, however, was out of the loop.
"What pillow?" he asked, stepping out the garage for a minute.
"The pad I used to sit on so I could drive comfortably," she told him, heat spreading through her face.
"You needed a pad?" Franklin pushed on. "Is something wrong with your ass?"
"Nothing's wrong with her ass, Franklin," Trevor then commented, taking the padding from her hand and placing it neatly down on the seat for her. "A little extra comfort never hurt anyone."
Karen glared at him, then took the step up into the truck.
"""""
"A little extra comfort never hurt anyone?" Karen sarcastically repeated as they cruised through the bustling city. "It's been three days since you hit me – "
"Disciplined," he corrected.
" – on my ass and it still burns. It hurts to the touch. I can just barely wash my ass!"
"You'll think about it twice though, won't you, before you put yourself in the situation to be alone with another man." He held his finger up to stop her from responding. "And before arguing with me."
Karen huffed out a short breath, looking around at the surroundings. "Why are we at Simeon's? You know he irritates me."
"You won't have to talk with him," Trevor said, pulling the steering wheel in order to turn into the car sales lot. "Everything's all done. I just needed you here to pick it up."
"Tell me that you didn't get me a car," she quickly said as the truck came to a stop. Opening her door, she looked at the cars through the huge glass windows, her eyes swiftly moving between each vehicle.
"Okay, I won't," Trevor told her. "But, I got you a car."
"I don't need a car from anyone."
"I want to give you a car," he pushed on stubbornly. "It's all done, Karen. Just accept it."
She stopped in her tracks. "What do you want?"
Trevor looked genuinely confused, his lips pursed. "For what?"
"In return for the car? You must want something."
"Why yes, I want you to have a car." He didn't let her continue on with the bickering, taking a hold of her hand and walking her to the inside of the lot, where an overly zealous Simeon greeted them.
"Ah, Mr. Philips, I've been waiting all morning," he said, holding his hand out and waving them in to join him in the office area. "Come, come. All Ms. Karen here has to do is sign."
She snatched her hand away from Trevor's. "I'm not signing anything," she said defiantly. "Besides, none of these cars are something I would even look at."
"But sweetheart," Trevor teased as he walked over to a compact car. "Don't you like the Weeny Issi I got you?"
She grit her teeth. "Not funny, Trevor."
"It's not meant to be funny, dear. You'll love it!" Animatedly shuffling over to her, he grabbed her hand again, tugging her into the office space. "Now come on and claim your prize!"
"No! No, Trevor!" She struggled against his grip. "This is not funny, Trevor Philips!"
Simeon, fully noting the despair clearly written on Karen's face, intervened with an idea of his own. "Mr. Philips, perhaps you should let the lovely lady first see exactly what she's getting, ehh? She might be a little more... receptive of the sentiment."
Trevor paused to consider Simeon's words. From the short time he had known Karen, she was never the one to accept or even ask for help. She certainly wouldn't be open to blatant handouts. Trevor's heart twisted at the thought that she would take it as some pitiful handout because her father's truck was in the ruin now. He would never want Karen to think that he believed she couldn't handle her own. Looking down at her pretty brown eyes, he saw just that – the wretched look of someone wanting to prove to the world that they could make it on their own.
His face softened and he pulled Karen to him. "This is a gift, sweetheart. I want to do this for you."
Simeon gave them a moment, still not totally convinced that Karen would be accepting. But he lead them to the garage area, showing them the vehicle Trevor picked for her.
"See," Trevor said, waving his hand to the sedan. "It's even your favorite color."
Karen walked over to the Cheval Surge, running her hand along the shiny, candy apple red paint job. It looked like a pearlescent apple. She glanced down, noticing that the rims were also red.
"I had the wheels done in a powder coat," Trevor told her. "And there's a metallic coat over the body of the car, just to break up the monotonous color of just a plain red." He moved around to the front of the car, running a hand over the front. "I had the headlights enhanced, too. Makes it easier to see at night."
He looked over at her with such a proud look on his face that she couldn't help but soften at the idea of receiving such a car. Biting the inside of her cheek, she considered the upsides to it. It was indeed her favorite color, and it was an efficient vehicle – one of those hybrid gas-electric cars. She would definitely save on gas. On top of saving money on gas, she had seen some reviews on this particular model car. The video she watched of the guy who took cars out for test drives said that it packed quite a decent punch in speed, and that the steering and handling were excellent.
Moving closer to him, she grabbed his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"I like it," she said, a smile moving across her face. "Thank you, Trevor."
"Yeah?" The excitement in his voice overpowered the hesitation he saw in her eyes. Still, if she was willing to accept it, then he wasn't going to argue. "Great! Let's go sign, Kitten!"
"Oh, no," Simeon interrupted. "You two go ahead. We can sign later. The paperwork is still here and ready whenever you'd like to come back."
"Want to follow me back to Sandy Shores?" Trevor asked Karen as Simeon disappeared into the office again to retrieve the keys.
"Yeah, I can make lunch once we get back home."
Back home. It made Trevor's heart lurch in his chest. She made it sound as though they lived in a cozy, warm, loving house together. That couldn't have been further from the truth. In fact, she wanted to move away from him. But he could pretend for the time being that the hours he spent at her house were because they were a loving couple. That they were together, forming a life with one another. She was young and waiting for the best life had to offer. His time had already passed by him, the best years of his life spent trying to get over betrayals and lies.
Trevor watched as Simeon dropped the keys into Karen's hand, helping her settle into the car and showed her some features on the dashboard that would help her make using the system easier. If Trevor didn't have as much sense as he did, he would have told her to follow him to a jewelry and bought her a ring to propose to her. But he knew better. He might have been able to push her in the bedroom, but pushing her around in everyday life wouldn't work in his favor.