Page 6 of Kenzi's Little Christmas Wish

Chapter 4

“Come on, you bastard.” Kenzi cursed at her car, turning the key in the ignition one more time and still getting the same hiccupping sound it had made the last dozen times. She needlessly stared at the gas gauge, as if to assure herself that the half tank she had put in had not mysteriously evaporated overnight. The blinking of the check engine light returned the blame squarely on her head. For a moment, she considered calling Debbie and asking to join her. But her roommate was going to a party with Jimmy, and half the workers in the store, it would seem. God only knew how long she planned on staying at the party, but knowing Debbie, it was probably long enough to put even the host to bed. So no, calling Debbie was not an option. Besides, she was definitely not in the mood to be around a bunch of partying people.

She tried it one more time, and cursed when she got the same response.

“I was not aware they implemented a voice control feature on this model,” came a voice from the passenger side of the car, and Kenzi screamed in fright. A mortifying, high-pitched whine that had her new audience chuckling.

“Why the hell would you sneak up on me like that?”

“I did not sneak up on you,” Damon said, with a wag of his finger in her face. “You probably didn’t hear me over the sound of your car begging for mercy.”

Kenzi stared at him balefully, before turning her eyes back to her dashboard.

“So what’s wrong with it?” he asked.

“Do I look like a mechanic to you?”

“No, you certainly don’t.” It sounded like he was teasing her, but Kenzi was too frustrated to dignify his comment with a response.

“Just leave me alone.” She began to stuff some things from her glove box into her purse, deciding that she would leave the car there until tomorrow, when she could call for it to be towed.

“Sorry,” he said, and really did look apologetic this time. “Come on, let me give you a ride home.”

“Don’t bother,” she replied acidly, as she pushed the driver door open and exited the car, only to find herself face-to-face with him. She had no idea how the hell he had moved that fast, and considering how much older he was than her, she had to admit, it was damned impressive.

“Come on, lock up and let me take you home.”

“I said I don’t need your help. I’d rather spend the money on a cab than take a ride with the devil.”

Rather than the amused expression that usually followed one of her jibes, Damon looked actually serious.

“There is no way I’m letting you get into a cab at this time of the night. So when I said I was taking you home, it wasn’t up for debate.”

Maybe it was the shock at being spoken to like that, or the fact that she was actually responding to the command in his tone, but Kenzi stared dumbly as he collected her car keys from her and made sure all the windows and doors were locked. Then he took one more look at her, before making his way towards his car.

Grumbling behind him, she followed, the sound of her stomping her feet, her own form of silent protest. Irritation quickly gave way to surprise when he finally stopped at his car; a silver Mustang with a black racing stripe down the middle. It was far from the car she would have associated with him, and yet, it was the perfect fit. She knew next to nothing about cars, but seeing him standing beside that car in his brown leather jacket, one hand holding the door open and the other stretched in invitation, Kenzi suddenly got the sexual appeal associated with beautiful cars.

“She looks even more beautiful from the inside.” Damon’s teasing tone had her looking up from the car to the man, and she noticed that even though he was back to teasing her, his smile had not returned.

She almost made a crack about men and their response to midlife crisis, but stopped herself at the last minute as she realized how laughable such a statement would be. Clamping her mouth shut, she walked forward and got into the car.

A few seconds later, she was joined by Damon, as he sat in the driver’s seat.

“Don’t forget to call your auto repair service first thing tomorrow, okay?”

“Auto what?”

“You know, the people that help you service your car, so they can come and tow it to their shop.”

She didn’t say anything, and that in itself was reply enough.

“When was that car last serviced?”

“I don’t know, whenever the last owner took it in.”

“That is irresponsible,” Damon chastised her, and she slunk a bit low in her seat.

“Well, it never gave me any problems, so I didn’t think I needed to. Besides, nobody services their cars anymore.”

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