Let It Be Me

Part 16

The fire was out and had damaged a chunk of the roof that created kind of an unexpected sunroof into the attic. It might make a nice place for stargazing. Maybe Darry would think so too, I thought hazily to myself. The only clue of its existence from inside was the strong scent of charred wood and soot that was wafting through the house. I laid back comfortably on the couch and inhaled deeply. It was a comforting kind of smell. It sort of reminded me of camping. It was nice.

Another comfort was that Felicia was still here. I could hear her somewhere down the hall in one of the bedrooms. The sound of her giggle was tickling my ears. She sounded like a tiny bell made of crystal tinkering down the hallway on silk. Nothing sinister was going on down there. I knew because the door was open. But from the sounds of it someone was trying to make a good impression on her and I was sure it was because they wanted a Soc trophy to brag about tomorrow. For a moment I wondered if it was Sodapop making that heavenly sound come out of her. I hadn't seen him since earlier in the front yard.

"Bullshit" Chad droned, rolling his eyes at me and propping his feet up on the coffee table in front of us. "There's no fucking way you know how to hotwire a damn car." I made a face and took another small sip of my beer. The glass in my hand was unusually smooth.

"Ok" I said with a shrug. "Whatever you say." His hand dropped to his lap and he rolled his head towards me.

"You could really get that started?" I shrugged again.

"Sure. If I had a Phillips head screwdriver, some wire cutters and electrical tape." He looked at me for another second with a small grin and then shook his head like I was full of shit.

"Get the fuck outta here." I laughed and threw my legs up next to his, missing the table on the first pass. After a minute he angled towards me more. "Where'd you learn how to do it?" he asked as though he was testing me.

"My cousin taught me. We used to restore cars and most of the time we didn't have the keys to start them up." He looked me up and down, still not convinced.

"What's your cousin's name?"

"Derek."

"Where's he from?" I laughed again.

"Santa Monica." His eyes stayed on me for another minute and I could see that he was starting to get convinced. A glimmer of excitement flashed behind his eyes.

'Well, fuck it. Let's go try it out."

I picked at the label on my bottle and thought it over. It wasn't like I'd never done it before. And it wouldn't be the worst thing I'd ever done. Why should the rich kids be the only ones who ever got to drive cars like that? She didn't earn it. She was just born into money. I had a specific skill. I had the knowledge and ability to make that car mine, if only for a little while. I figured I deserved to take it for a drive. Maybe.

"I'm not stealing her fucking car, Chad" I said into the neck of my bottle before taking another sip.

"It wouldn't be stealing" he coaxed. "We'll just take it for a ride, that's all. We'll take it out on the road and open it up, see what it can do, and then have it back before she even knows it's gone."

I dropped my beer onto my lap and stared straight ahead. Damn, if that didn't sound fun. And the point of tonight was to have some fun at long last, right? I could put the panel over the steering column back exactly the way I found it and she'd never even know we were there. Not unless she opened it up and looked. Cherry Valance looking at the inner workings of her car? Come to think of it, Cherry Valance looking at anything deeper than just the shiny surface? What was I worried about?

Chad noticed my long pause and knew he had gotten me. A smile slowly spread across his lips.

"Come on, tequila" he whispered with a glimmer in his eyes. "Don't be a pussy." I laughed and shook my head.