I rolled into the Taylor Auto parking lot at 7:30. Since it was spring in northern Michigan, the weather had turned from sunny and warmish to bleak and cold. It was raining and my Southern California acclimated ass was freezing. I had been tempted to pull on two pairs of leggings, but decided to go with my thickest pair. Thankfully I had my grey cardigan, since the buildings in Cali would sometimes over blast the AC, so I put that over my burgundy short sleeve tunic. I had to frantically dig through Hannah's closet to see if she had a pair of rain appropriate shoes I could borrow. We may not be anywhere near each other in clothing size but we could wear each other's shoes. I settled on a cute pair of black rain boots that had blue fish all over them. My mom let me borrow her trench coat and I tied the belt around me tightly as I got out of the car.
This time I made sure to pay attention to the instructions on the door and made it in without incident. The girl at the front counter was different. She wore her brown hair in a pixie cut and had pretty brown doe eyes. Her name read "Ashlie" and she greeted me warmly.
"Good morning. I'm Sara Diaz. I'm here to pick up my car," I told her, placing the keys to the BMW on the countertop.
"Of course, let's take a look. Okay, looks like you're all set to go, let me just grab the keys." She walked over to the key box, exchanging the loaner keys for mine.
"Thank you," I said as she placed my keys on the counter. "What's the charge?" She looked at the screen, clicking around for a bit and looked back at me with a smile.
"No charge. You're all taken care of." Oh Kade.
"Are you sure?" Ashlie nodded and handed me some paperwork she just printed. It showed all the work done and in the cost column there were nothing but zeroes. In the technician column, it read "Kade" straight down the paper.
"Okay, well thank you. Please tell Kade thank you for me. I really appreciate this."
"You're welcome," Kade's deep voice broke in. He was walking in from the garage, coffee mug in hand. My breath hitched seeing his hair down, framing his face rough with a five o'clock shadow. It gave him surfer vibes. People paid good money for the natural highlights in his hair. The sleeves of his coveralls were rolled up to his elbows, leaving taut forearms and tattoos on display.
"You didn't have to do this. I'm happy to pay," I told him, the words tumbling out of my mouth faster than I meant them too. He just shook his head.
"I know you could, I just don't want you to." His grey eyes held mine and I could feel my face growing warmer.
"Do you want me to show her to her car boss?" Ashlie asked, unknowingly coming to my rescue.
"I'll take her," he said, setting his coffee on the desk and grabbing my keys off the counter. He leaned over and pulled an umbrella from a box under the desk before turning down the hall, motioning for me with the umbrella to follow. I thanked Ashlie again and followed him to the back. When we got to the exit, he stopped and turned to me.
"How was the first day?" he asked. I smiled.
"Good. I really like the people and the atmosphere." I was painfully aware of the small space we were in. The hallway was narrow and his shoulders almost touched both walls.
"It's a really nice place. It's been a real attraction for Cadence."
"Yeah, I imagine it's a great place for a wedding." I watched him grimace at my final word. "What? You don't think so?"
"I think it would be just fine, if someone were actually getting married," he answered evenly.
"I suppose a person would need to be engaged first." Kade raised an eyebrow.
"Sara?"
"Yes?"
"Do you want to know if I'm engaged to Katy?" My heart stopped. Damn, I didn't think he'd actually engage. I was hoping for playful banter but I knew it was a gamble. Did I want to know? Was it natural curiosity or did I care? I shouldn't care…right?
"It's none of my business, so no," I said with a shrug. He leaned forward, his lips almost brushing my ear.
"Liar." He turned away and went through the door to the outside, leaving me with a shiver down my spine. He opened the umbrella and held it over our heads as we walked to my car.
"I'm not lying. It really isn't any of my business," I told him, annoyed that he had the balls to call me out.
"You're right, it's not," he agreed and I could feel my frustration growing. The close proximity of being under the umbrella didn't help. My arm kept bumping his, sending sparks to my fingertips.
"Kade stop. This is ridiculous. One minute you're making me cds, the next you're baiting me with the fact that you're in a relationship. Regardless if you're engaged, you do have a girlfriend and this is inappropriate." There. I put my foot down. Now I could get into my car and drive away with the last word.
"Had."
"Excuse me?"
"Had a girlfriend. You said have but the correct tense is `had'." He pushed the button on my fob to unlock my car and opened the door.
"Oh. I thought, since you two were together at the party…" My voice trailed off. I wasn't sure what to say. I also wasn't happy that a part of me was doing cartwheels over this news.
"It went downhill fast after that night." His words came out terse.
"I'm sorry. Really, that sucks." It probably sucked as much as having a conversation with the girl who broke up with you about your current break up.
"It is what it is," Kade said with a shrug. I didn't know what else to say, so I just slid into the car, putting my bags in the passenger seat.
"Thanks again." It was lame but it was the only thing I could come up with.
"You're welcome. Be safe." He closed my door and walked back into the garage. I mentally kicked myself for the way that whole conversation went. He had given me free service and in return, I stuck my nose in something that wasn't even my business.
"Way to let the past be the past Diaz," I muttered under my breath. I turned the car on and pulled out of the parking lot, lecturing myself the whole way to work.
***
The rest of the week remained as busy as the first day. I picked up my keys to my apartment successfully, cursed the proximity to Taylor Auto again, and was glad for casual Friday in the corporate offices. I pulled on my favorite pair of jeggings and a Cadence Mustangs t-shirt. My mom let me borrow her University of Michigan jacket since it was still raining. Hannah got tired of me taking her rain boots, so she bought me a blue pair that had pink stars.
It was the first day I didn't have lunch plans and I was trying to figure out whether to text the girls to see if they wanted to meet up when my phone vibrated on my desk. A text notification flashed. It was from Brady and my heart skipped a little.
'Hey, how's it going?'
'Pretty good. TGIF.'
'Hell yeah. Have you had lunch yet?' My heart began to beat a little faster.
'No was just trying to decide what I wanted to do.'
'Would you want to have lunch with me? I could come there.' The Wisteria had a great dining room but since it was a Friday, it would be packed.
'It's really busy here today. What about BJs?' The Burger Joint, or BJs for us locals, was right up the road, not even five minutes, and while it would be busy, they specialized in getting you in and out.
'Perfect. Meet in ten?'
'Yep. See you then.' I took a deep breath. Now this did feel like a date. I silently cursed myself for dressing too casual today. If I had least gone with a more business appropriate shirt, I'd be prepared for this. Oh well. This is what he gets, take it or leave it.
"Riley, I'm going to head out for lunch now. Feel free to do the same." Riley looked up from his screen and smiled at me.
"Gotta a hot date?" he teased and I stopped in my tracks. How did he know? Oh right, he didn't, I was just being paranoid.
"Hey, a girl has to eat." Riley nodded and I took off. Why was I acting like this was a big deal? People meet other people for lunch all the time.
'Yes but do those people always have unrequited crushes or find the other person stupidly attractive?' my conscience asked.
I fired off a text to Hannah letting her know I was on the way to meet Brady. Her response was a water drop emoji and an eggplant. Real mature.
I arrived first and sat in my car waiting since it was still drizzling. Even with the rain and lack of indoor seating, the line was still wrapped around the building. It was moving quickly though and I wondered if I should go ahead and jump in. A knock on my window interrupted my thoughts. Brady stood there, a big smile on his face. I got out and we walked to the end of the line.
"Thanks for meeting me. The shop has been super busy so I usually take lunch a lot later," Brady said, leaning up against the wall as we waited. It struck me that he was wearing coveralls identical to Kade's. With a Taylor Auto patch, I was reminded that he worked there. Shit, I completely forgot. My brain was clouded by lust.
"Well I'm glad we could do this," I replied lamely. We made small talk as we moved closer to the beginning of the line. When it was our turn to order, he got a double decker with fries and a coke and I went with the same but with a Dr. Pepper. He insisted on paying and I finally relented, telling him I'd get the next one. Oh man, I was already talking about a second date.
We decided to sit in his truck while we ate, since the cab had a little more room. It was an older Dodge Ram and the inside was immaculate. I expected nothing less from a car guy. Kade's truck was always so clean you could eat off the floor. I tried to push the comparison of the two out of my mind. I was here with Brady and needed to focus on Brady.