Page 7 of Suits and Spark Plugs

“Uh-huh.”

“I’m hoping she’ll be inspired by her name.”

“I’m feeling very uninspired right now.” Blaine shook his head, his expression serious. “Seriously, Olivia, you need to get this car looked at. Maybe even consider scrapping it and getting a new one.”

There it was, the reminder that we lived in two very different worlds. I hated it when I had to be reminded of that, rather than floating along in la-la-land. I shrugged casually. “I work at a diner and I’m going to school. This is my life right now. Old Reliable will get me where I need to go.” I pulled up in front of his apartment but left the engine running. I didn’t want to take any risks of not getting the car started back up. “Thank you so much for a lovely evening. I really did like the theatre, and dinner, and being with you.”

He leaned over and took my face between his two warm hands. “You were the prettiest girl in the city tonight.” He pressed his lips to mine, and I felt soft warmth flow through me. Kissing someone regularly was a new experience, and in my mind I compared kissing Blaine to putting on a pair of comfy socks and wrapping up in a blanket. It felt dang good. “Drive safely. Please call me when you get home. I’m going to be worried until then.”

“Nothing to worry about. Now get out of my car.” I pushed at his chest playfully.

He gave me one more quick kiss before stepping out onto the snowy street. At the doorway to his apartment building he turned and gave me a wave. I waited until he was inside before I pulled away from the curb, grinding and knocking the entire way.

* * * * *

I was lost in my own thoughts the next night as Kelly and I sat in the back corner booth of Jake’s, rolling silverware. The diner was closed and all the lights were off except for where we sat prepping the fork and knife sets for the following day. The background music was still playing softly, and I’d kicked off my work shoes and tucked my feet up under me.

Silverware rolling was one of my favorite jobs. I loved the stillness of the closed diner, the mindless task, and the chance to chat with Kelly. Although tonight I wasn’t saying much because my mind kept seeing the swirls of color and hearing the soaring music of the night before. I knew it would be something I’d think of often over the next little while.

The squeaking of the vinyl broke the silence as Kelly shifted her weight back and forth. Then she tapped her feet a few times. I looked up in time to see her chew her lower lip.

“Out with it,” I demanded.

“Well, I did a thing last night while you were off at the theatre with Mr. Rich Dreamboat Pressed Suit...”

“That’s a long name,” I interrupted.

Kelly quirked an eyebrow. “As I was saying, while you were on your super classy date last night, I maybe did a thing.”

“What kind of thing are we talking about here?” I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my lips. Kelly and I had been having conversations about her escapades since the third grade when she’d told off a substitute teacher and then left class and walked home alone. The entire school had been sent out to search for her, but it was her mom who’d found her coloring in her room.

One brightly manicured hand reached up to her throat where she rubbed unconsciously. “Well, this is sort of your fault. I mean, I would have called you to chat about it first, but you weren’t available, so...”

My smile died as immediate understanding flowed through me. “You did not.”

“I stopped by Mainstreet Mechanic and had a little chat with Connor Hunt.”

I stopped wrapping silverware and looked with big eyes across the booth at Kelly. Silly, naive, never-listens Kelly. “Why?”

“Stop looking at me like that and get back to rolling.” Her hand fell away from her throat, and she tossed a napkin at me.

I threw the napkin back at her. “I hope my look says you’re insane,” I grumbled as I refocused on my job.

“Well, I’m not. I’ll have you know that when I told him I was interested in going out sometime, he was very kind and let me down easy.”

My gaze shot back up to hers, shock making my mouth go slack. “He turned you down?”

She nodded. “He did. Thanks for being so surprised by that. I was starting to wonder if I’m losing my touch, although...”

“You’re not losing your touch,” I jumped in. It was true. It would be impossible for Kelly to lose her touch. To me, at least, she was the whole package. Beautiful, funny, kind, intelligent, loyal, and up for adventure. She was one of those women that men loved and women didn’t get jealous of. She made everyone happy.

“Yeah, Connor told me that I’ve still got it.”

“What?” I set down the silverware and gaped. “Who says that after...Never mind, just start at the top and tell me everything.”

She held tightly to the silverware in her hands and leaned forward, happy to finally share everything. “Okay. I got all cleaned up after my shift and strolled into the garage bay where he was working. I told him I’d been noticing him coming into the diner for a while and said I thought maybe I was the reason for that. He didn’t say anything, so I asked him if he’d like to go out.”

“So you just brazenly walked in there, dressed to kill, and told him you were interested in dating him?”

---