"Woah, this is bigger than I thought it would be." Rachel is in awe.
"Yup, it's a nice space. Graham and I recently cleaned it out in the spring, hopefully we can maintain it," he chuckles. "We were able to fit his car, my car, and my motorcycle in here. Mom keeps her car in the driveway."
Garfield was showing Rachel his garage. Rachel recently returned from running errands, and upon her return to her house, she ended up over Garfield's side. Not that she was complaining.
The garage walls had versatile hanging storage, cabinets, bins, and overhead ceiling racks to keep all of the items organized. Rachel's eyes scan over shovels, cords, a ladder, and other utilities.
"This is Graham's car. A white Chev' Corvette." Garfield displays a clean, fresh, luxury sports car.
"That's pretty neat." Rachel states.
"Yep, and this is my car, which you've seen already. A classy, snazzy, black BMW. She's the smoothest whip in Jump City." he boasts with a youthful grin.
Rachel shakes her head with a dim grin.
"Of course she is."
"And this is my motorcycle, the KTM 790."
He shows her the vehicle with red, white, black, detailed designs.
"I like it."
"As you should." his easy going gaze meets her bashful one.
"We've got roller skates and skateboards, too."
Garfield walks over to a wall, then takes down a skateboard. It has an anime character on the top and Japanese lettering on the bottom. He stands on the board, and cruises effortlessly down the slope of the driveway. He flips the board before coming to a full stop.
"Okay, show off. I see you." Rachel asserts playfully.
"Nah, this ain't nothin'. If you want, I could teach you a thing or two." he suggests.
Rachel's eyes roam elsewhere, "I… don't really think…"
"Aw, c'mon, Rachel, give it a shot. Besides, you never know until you try."
With a sigh, Rachel adheres to his request.
She nervously stands on the board, and immediately grabs for Garfield's shoulder.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." she loosens her grip on him.
"I don't mind. Are you okay with doing this? You don't have to do this jus' 'cuz I bugged ya." he glances at her.
"Yeah, I'm alright. Just don't make me fall." she says.
"Never."
Garfield gently switches the position, now, his hand is on Rachel's side, and his hand envelopes around hers.
Rachel doesn't know what comes over her, but instantly, her pale cheeks are saturated with a blush. She hopes that her nerves won't make her break out into a sweat.
His touch was simple, and soft. Something she wasn't used to, and felt so weird to experience.
"Am I making you uncomfortable?" Garfield questions tenderly.
"Not at all. Don't mind me, I'm just a little shy."
"That's alright, I dig it," he smiles softly, "We've gotta practice your stance first. So, put one foot on the ground, and keep another on the board. It doesn't matter which goes where."
She finds her skate stance.
"Good. Now, use your foot that's on the floor, and push."
Rachel does as she is told, but tenses up.
"Easy, does it, I got you. Don't stress about it too much, just go with the flow."
"This is. So nerve racking." Rachel claims.
"I understand, this is your first time. It won't be this scary after a while, though. Before you know it, you'll be doing it with no problem."
Rachel gets the hang of her position and the technique.
"Hey, I'm doing pretty good." Rachel giggles delicately.
Her laughter is so infectious, his lips didn't hesitate to curve skywards.
"You're doing great. Would you like me to let you go on your own for a bit?"
"No, stay with me."
And he does.
They reach the end of the road, go back to the house, and down the road again. The colors of summer sunlight shower over them and a cool breeze washes through their clothes. After a while, they finish the activity.
Garfield opens a cooler in a corner of the garage.
"Take a drink."
Rachel picks a bottle of Snapple Fruit Punch, then thanks him. Being around Garfield was relaxing; Rachel thought, maybe more relaxing than it should be.
That's not to say she didn't have her tendencies of being introverted, but his vibe made any uneasiness seamless.
"How'd you like skateboarding?"
"It was fun, to be honest. Thank you." Rachel beams lightly at Garfield.
"No problem, Rach. Can I call ya "Rach"? It flows easier off of my tongue. Or "Rae"? Not that your first name is bad or anything," he adorably defends with hand gestures, "but, please? If you're okay with it."
"Sure you can. Thank you for asking."
Rachel silently admires the level of respect Garfield has demonstrated to her. As for him, he finds it so cute how sheepish, yet adventurous his neighbor is.
"Of course, and I'm glad you liked skateboarding. We can do this anytime you like, and if you want, I can teach you roller skating. Also, maybe you'll like the idea of buying your own skateboard and roller skates?"
"Woah, slow down there. Let me learn how to skateboard by myself to the bottom of the street, and then we can discuss that." she laughs.
He smooths his tattooed hand over his sleek hair with a teasing grin.
"Sorry, I'm jus' kinda excited. You're gonna be fun to have as a neighbor, I can tell already."
"I hate to say it, but you're such a flirt."
"It's natural for me, Rach. I promise, I ain't into you. Not yet at least." he elbows her softly.
Rachel lifted her left eyebrow, mentally shrugging off obvious tension between the both of them. For some reason, her conscience was telling her that Garfield was aware of it, too.
Not only was he aware of it, but he liked it.
She shyly taps her fingers on the juice bottle.
"Garfield, um…"
"What's up?"
"I just wanted to thank you for being so welcoming and all. You really don't have to make this transition easier for me, but you are, and it means a lot to me. Oh, also, I'm sorry that I kind of become awkward or distant, it has nothing to do with you."
"Ah, like I've said, it's no problem at all. Take your time to get used to things, and I'm glad I could help. If you ever need anything, anything at all, you know where to find me." he chugs down a gulp of Dr. Pepper, then winks at the girl.