car and knocked on the hood. “Pop it.”
I did. He lifted the hood and chocked it up with the metal brace.
“Should I turn it again?”
“Yeah.”
I did. Same. I got out and stood next to Robert as he shone his phone’s light at the engine, analyzing the mass of wires, compartments, and hoses. I knew what most of it was but not how to fix it.
“All right. If you got a bad starter, I can bang it while you kick it over. Sometimes that kinda gets it going. But you need a new one, probably.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, except… It should be right there. Just back of the battery and down, past these wires that serve the electricity. But there’s bolt holes. No starter.”
“What do you mean?”
He looked more closely then got under the car. I leaned down, amazed at how he would just crawl under a chassis out of curiosity.
“Do you want a proper flashlight?” I asked. “I think I have one in the trunk.”
“Nope. I’m telling you. There’s no fucking starter on this car. It got jacked.”
“My starter ? Are they expensive?”
“Three hundred. Two? Look, I know it’s weird but...” He shrugged.
“Oh my God,” I said, realizing who would do the surgery required to remove a starter from a twelve-year-old Japanese car. “Fucking Jonathan. Son of a goddamn bitch.”
He’d stranded me. I couldn’t get out to Venice without a car. A cab would cost a fortune, and if a bus that far out of town even existed, it would take hours one way. I couldn’t get the car fixed in time for a meeting in Culver City in the morning. That was why he’d left so easily. He walked away accepting that I had no intention of keeping any promise I made while my legs were spread. I should have known better.
“I gotta get to work,” said Robert. “You wanna call a tow?”
“Nope. I’ll figure it out.”
“How you getting home?”
“I’m not. I’m going to go upstairs and get a whiskey. Then I’m going out. If I can’t drive, I can drink.”
“Debbie’s gonna make you pay for it.”
“Fine. I’m not too broke for a little alcohol.” I took out my phone when we got to the back hall and scrolled to Jessica’s last text. I didn’t want to talk to her. The ice in her voice put me on edge. I had no idea how I would handle our conversation tomorrow.
“You can get some guy at the bar to buy you a few,” Robert said, stopping by the lockers.
“No way.”
—Sorry. Can’t make it out to Venice tomorrow. Maybe somewhere more east?—
“Why not? It’s just a drink.”
“It’s cheating.”
“Girls are crazy. I’m tellin’ you, if I were a girl and I had a nice pair, I’d never pay for a drink.”
—My studio in Culver City, then?—
I loved how she managed to keep it on her turf. If I asked her for an Echo Park location, she’d probably manage to find a place she rented, owned, or regularly patronized.
“If you were a girl with a nice pair,” I said, “you’d be the one all the guys wanted to fuck but hated. You’d have a string of one-night or one-week stands until the guy saw you letting someone else buy you drinks. Then you’d only attract the guys looking to spend a little money and put their dicks somewhere comfortable. You’d wake up one morning at fifty years old with a pair that wasn’t so nice any more, and you’d wish you’d bought your own.”
—Great. Thanks for the change. See you at ten?—
Robert and I walked up together. “You don’t know nothing about men. Sure, we might get a drink for a girl like you to get laid. But being seen with you? That’s what gets other girls. See what I’m sayin’?”
“No. I’m still buying my own drinks.”
“Whatever.”
I sat in the corner in the same spot Jonathan had been known to occupy and tried to arrange a car for the next morning. Darren had work the next day, but once he found out what I was doing, he refused to let me drop him off in the morning and borrow his car, texting me like he was my fucking
I did. He lifted the hood and chocked it up with the metal brace.
“Should I turn it again?”
“Yeah.”
I did. Same. I got out and stood next to Robert as he shone his phone’s light at the engine, analyzing the mass of wires, compartments, and hoses. I knew what most of it was but not how to fix it.
“All right. If you got a bad starter, I can bang it while you kick it over. Sometimes that kinda gets it going. But you need a new one, probably.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, except… It should be right there. Just back of the battery and down, past these wires that serve the electricity. But there’s bolt holes. No starter.”
“What do you mean?”
He looked more closely then got under the car. I leaned down, amazed at how he would just crawl under a chassis out of curiosity.
“Do you want a proper flashlight?” I asked. “I think I have one in the trunk.”
“Nope. I’m telling you. There’s no fucking starter on this car. It got jacked.”
“My starter ? Are they expensive?”
“Three hundred. Two? Look, I know it’s weird but...” He shrugged.
“Oh my God,” I said, realizing who would do the surgery required to remove a starter from a twelve-year-old Japanese car. “Fucking Jonathan. Son of a goddamn bitch.”
He’d stranded me. I couldn’t get out to Venice without a car. A cab would cost a fortune, and if a bus that far out of town even existed, it would take hours one way. I couldn’t get the car fixed in time for a meeting in Culver City in the morning. That was why he’d left so easily. He walked away accepting that I had no intention of keeping any promise I made while my legs were spread. I should have known better.
“I gotta get to work,” said Robert. “You wanna call a tow?”
“Nope. I’ll figure it out.”
“How you getting home?”
“I’m not. I’m going to go upstairs and get a whiskey. Then I’m going out. If I can’t drive, I can drink.”
“Debbie’s gonna make you pay for it.”
“Fine. I’m not too broke for a little alcohol.” I took out my phone when we got to the back hall and scrolled to Jessica’s last text. I didn’t want to talk to her. The ice in her voice put me on edge. I had no idea how I would handle our conversation tomorrow.
“You can get some guy at the bar to buy you a few,” Robert said, stopping by the lockers.
“No way.”
—Sorry. Can’t make it out to Venice tomorrow. Maybe somewhere more east?—
“Why not? It’s just a drink.”
“It’s cheating.”
“Girls are crazy. I’m tellin’ you, if I were a girl and I had a nice pair, I’d never pay for a drink.”
—My studio in Culver City, then?—
I loved how she managed to keep it on her turf. If I asked her for an Echo Park location, she’d probably manage to find a place she rented, owned, or regularly patronized.
“If you were a girl with a nice pair,” I said, “you’d be the one all the guys wanted to fuck but hated. You’d have a string of one-night or one-week stands until the guy saw you letting someone else buy you drinks. Then you’d only attract the guys looking to spend a little money and put their dicks somewhere comfortable. You’d wake up one morning at fifty years old with a pair that wasn’t so nice any more, and you’d wish you’d bought your own.”
—Great. Thanks for the change. See you at ten?—
Robert and I walked up together. “You don’t know nothing about men. Sure, we might get a drink for a girl like you to get laid. But being seen with you? That’s what gets other girls. See what I’m sayin’?”
“No. I’m still buying my own drinks.”
“Whatever.”
I sat in the corner in the same spot Jonathan had been known to occupy and tried to arrange a car for the next morning. Darren had work the next day, but once he found out what I was doing, he refused to let me drop him off in the morning and borrow his car, texting me like he was my fucking
Similar Books
