Page 137 of Happy Hour

“Sway...Jesus...how do I say this without sounding like goddamnHallmarkcard?” I mumbled into her shoulder.

It took her a moment but she giggled snapping out of my trance.

“Okay...Hallmarkbe damned.” I sat her up to face me, my hands moved to her face. “I’veneverbeen in love before. I don’t know how to be a boyfriend and have a career at the same time.” I paused looking at her nervous expression. “I don’t know what to do.”

“You’ve never been in love? What about—” she began.

I shook my head quickly, interrupting her. “I didn’t know what love was back then...I was seventeen. But looking back at it now, no, it wasn’t love at all, not even close. Chelsea, all those other women, they didn’t mean anything to me.”

She was looking at me so earnestly that I fell in love with her that much more.

“So...” I continued with a smirk. “I have no clue what I’m doing but I’m willing to try for you. I may stumble along the way but I want to do that with you...as your boyfriend.”

“Does this mean we’re going steady?” Sway asked between giggles.

I laughed freely. “I think it does, Joanie.”

“Kiss me, Chachi.”

14.Fresh Rubber–Sway

Fresh Rubber – A new set of tires acquired at a pit stop.

I woke up to the soft sounds of Jameson playing his piano. I hadn’t heard him play in years, at first I thought I was dreaming. Propping myself up on my elbows, I looked towards the piano situated in the far right corner of his massive gray bedroom.

I had to laugh at his décor. Everything in the room was white, gray, or black.

Total man pad.

He even had an intake manifold in the corner of his room.

When my eyes found him, I sighed contently reminded of how happy I was that this dirty heathen was my Chachi.

And my Chachi was currently serenading me.

His head bowed as if in submission to what he was doing, his long masculine fingers gliding over the ivory keys. I was entranced by how he moved on the bench, his head bent barely looking up. It was a beautiful combination with dulcet tones of the piano.

He’d memorized this song over the years; it was one of his favorites.

There are no words to describe how Jameson played, I envied his talent, his eyes closed and it was easy to see how much passion he had for playing just as he did for racing. I could feel it in my bones.

After a few moments, he began singing in that low rich voice.

His fingers picked up pace when the song went into a climb, his head leaned back belting out the lyrics, and I could feel my eyes stinging with tears.

Listening to the words, I could tell why he chose this particular song.

He was telling me he was scaredbutready.

Jameson played the chorus for a good ten minutes while I observed in awe that someone could have that much natural talent in everything he did.

When he began to sing again, his voice was lower than before, almost a whisper drawing me in. When he finished, his head hung and he just sat there running his fingers gently over the keys. His hands stilled on the keys, a discordant cadence echoing in the room.

Without wearing a damn thing, I strutted my no longer pit lizard bare ass over to him to show him a thing or two about talent.

I wonder what I would call myself now since I couldn’t really be considered his pit lizard. Clearly, I waswaymore now.

Pit lizard girlfriend...Joanie girlfriend...pigizzle...ha ha ha...good one Sway.

---