Page 10 of The Sweetest Devotion

Admittedly, the cab of the truck wasn’t as filthy as I thought, but I wasn’t going to take off his jacket just in case.

Five minutes later, Keith returned to the truck and climbed in behind the wheel. With the door closed, we were immersed in his scent and presence. In a way, it was overwhelming, intoxicating, a rush of blood to the head, but I liked it. Something about him felt warm, like a shot of Cognac—bad, but then it was good.

He glanced my way as he started up the truck. “You straight?”

His informal way of asking if I were okay left me nodding as I buckled in. “Yeah.”

Keith didn’t speak again as he started driving to the repair shop. There wasn’t a chance for an uncomfortable silence. No, a rap song was playing from his stereo. The rapper spoke about violence without emotion toward his deeds, sounding ruthless. A glance at Keith found him bobbing his head to the music as if it wasn’t offensive. The screen on the radio said it was a rapper named King Von.

Not wanting to hear more of his rhymes, I leaned forward and pushed a button on the radio that changed the station. Tony! Toni! Toné! was playing on the new station, “(Lay Your Head on my) Pillow.” A much better soundtrack for the ride.

Keith kept his eyes on the road, but I noticed the way his fingers curled around the wheel even tighter as he drove with one hand.

“You know, for someone who doesn’t want to be in this truck, you sure don’t seem to mind touchin’ shit.” His eyes shot to me as he bluntly called me out, but he didn’t change the station, thankfully.

I sat up, wanting to apologize, but my pride had me being petty and silent.

Tony! Toni! Toné! crooned on and I welcomed their harmonies as opposed to the brass and gruff raps from before.

We reached the garage, a place called Rod’s Repair, and Keith circled the brown-bricked warehouse looking building and pulled in the back where he let up one of the three garage doors to pull in.

I opened my door and got out of the truck and carefully stepped down from the lift. The smell of oil and gasoline permeated the air, and the sight of a few cars waiting in the garage greeted me as I took a look around. I didn’t make a move, afraid of getting dirty, jacket barrier or not.

Keith came around the truck my way and gestured toward a door leading into the main building of the repair shop.

“I’ll be sure to get on this in the morning,” Keith said to me.

My jaw dropped. “Themorning?”

Keith nodded. “We’re closed now.”

It was Sunday, I was sure I was fortunate as it was to have caught him at all, but still.

“I need that car fixed now,” I begged.

Keith wasn’t moved. “Like I said, I’ll make it a priority in the morning.”

“I…I don’t care if you overcharge me, I just really need that car fixed. I don’t even have a phone to call an Uber.”

Keith came past me, and I was almost positive I caught him rolling his eyes. “I’m not a cheat. I’ll get you a spare set up, in the morning, so you can drive to your nearest Lexus dealer.”

He wasn’t going to fix my car tonight, leaving me even more stranded.

I followed after him as he entered the main building and led me down a brightly lit hallway to the lobby area. A couple of vending machines were along one wall, offering soda in one and snacks in the other. It all served to remind me I hadn’t eaten.

There was a flat-screen TV mounted to the wall in one corner where the chairs and couches were for guests to wait at. ALaw & Orderrepeat was on.

“I’m going to make a phone call,” Keith announced as he came by me after locking the front doors and switching theopensign toclosed.

He left me alone and I contemplated getting a snack. The fact that the vending machine held a bag of Garden Salsa Sun Chips was all the incentive I needed to dig through my bag for cash. I walked over to the reception counter to set my clutch on it as I rummaged around in my wallet for a small bill.

It was an off chance my gaze flickered over to the desk behind the counter, but there was no missing the landline staring back at me.

Why hadn’t he used this phone to make his call?

Something told me he was making a personal call, but then an ugly inkling of doubt reared its head. I peered down the corridor Keith had gone, the doubt growing.

My curiosity won the best of me as I grabbed my clutch and stealthily made my way down the hall. I told myself I would just use the excuse of needing to use a phone as well, which was mostly true seeing how I had to get ahold of Jadyn or else I’d be on my own.

---