by Ashley Munoz
He looked back at it again, and his face contorted. “Yes, it is. I was with him when he bought it and, trust me, that car right there was his first major purchase after he started making decent money; it's his baby. The love of his life. I know because the license plate reads ‘MINE’.”
I looked over his shoulder, I looked back toward my bedroom. I looked at Jimmy, who also looked confused. Jimmy’s phone dinged, and he looked down to read the message that came through. I could see from where I was standing that it was Jackson. He read the text out loud. “Man, I guess I have the crazies in spades. This girl I had over last night stole my fucking car!”
I told Jimmy that I would handle this. I could handle this. The idea that our best friends might be interacting was weird, but the fact that Jackson might actually call the police on Laney was a problem. Jimmy left and said that he would handle Jackson, and I walked back to my bedroom, not totally sure how to handle Laney.
I opened the door and found Laney in her PJs, watching Gilmore Girls, eating ice cream from the tub. I walked over to my dresser and found some pajamas and went to change in the bathroom. I tried to remember all the things that Laney had told me about 'this guy' that she didn’t like; she never said she might love him before. He was the guy she ripped in half, so I was really confused how that led to them possibly falling in love. I replayed dates and conversations in my head. That was just last weekend when Jackson came to visit, it was the same weekend she told me she had ripped some guy a new one, and she was embarrassed because she thought he liked her. And while she was upset, I was on a fake date with Jackson. Great.
This whole thing was weird. I walked back into the room and snuggled under the blankets with Laney. It felt so good to be with her again, to hear her laugh, even hear her breathing. She was the closest thing I had ever had to a sister, and I couldn’t believe that she thought I would just move on from being her friend. I was watching the show with her when I asked, “So, how does one go from total hate to possible love?”
She didn’t look at me, and I knew that Laney might not answer me—sometimes she was in the mood and sometimes she wasn’t. I could understand that.
She let out a sigh. “Cereal.”
And after a few minutes of silence, I realized that “Cereal” was all I was going to get from her. I knew Laney might need a few days, and maybe she didn’t even want to tell me, I could understand that too.
Finally, after a few more minutes, I turned to her. “Laney, you don’t have to tell me everything, but aren’t you at least worried that he might press charges against you for stealing his car?”
She groaned and pulled the covers over her face, and answered from underneath them. “Maybe, but at least I know where we stand, right? If he wants me in jail, then I know he doesn’t want me.”
I rolled my eyes at her logic and that short temper. As long as I had known Laney, she was impulsive and could go from zero to sixty in less than one second flat. I pulled the covers back and glared at her. “That is not acceptable! You can’t go to jail, that doesn’t work for me.”
She gave me a weak smile. “Ramsey, I don’t know… I really don’t think he will call the cops. I had to get out of there, and I needed to talk to you, but you weren’t answering, so I just took his keys.”
I looked back at the TV and allowed her to slowly situate herself again amongst the pillows, when I asked, “Where were you that you had access to his keys?”
She was quiet again, and answered, “At his house.”
This was just getting better and freaking better.
“And you had an overnight bag on hand, because…?”
I saw her throat move, like she'd swallowed water, but her gaze stayed on the TV. Finally, she whispered, “Because I was planning to stay at his house.”
I felt like I was pulling her teeth to get this information out. “And where was he when you took the keys?”
She slid further down in the bed. “He was in the shower.”
She was going to go to jail.
“Laney, please tell me that you didn’t sleep with the poor man and then steal his car!” I practically yelled at her.
“No, no, no, I wasn’t going to sleep with him, or maybe I was, I don’t know. I was staying there because I had nowhere to go, and I couldn't afford a hotel, because of my stupid renter's insurance situation. Anyway, our relationship is confusing and some stuff happened and it just confused me, and I snapped. So, while he was in the shower, I just took the keys and left. I don’t know why.”
I waited and let the episode continue on while I thought of what she'd told me. Finally, once I'd gathered all the information in my head, I turned my head towards her and replied, “I think I know why.”
She snapped her head in my direction, her green eyes wide with question.
“Why?” she asked accusingly.
“Laney, you want to know if he will chase after you.”
She laughed. “Well, I have his car, so he doesn’t have much of a choice there, does he?”
I smiled, and her words must have hit her because her face turned red. After a second or two, she quietly confessed, “I do want him to have a choice.”
She trailed off, picking at the comforter on the bed. I waited, knowing she wasn't finished. Finally, she looked over at me and whispered, “I just want the choice to be me.”
I felt like she had just punched me in the ribs with that confession.
I gently grabbed her hand and asked her, “Lane, you just met him. Why is it already this far between you two?” I knew I was being a hypocrite because things had gone just as fast between Jimmy and me, but I had to know.
She squeezed my hand while looking at our joined hands, and answered, “I can't explain it. I feel like I know him, deep down. Like the second he wasn't being a total jerk to me, I was able to see him. When I saw him, I saw us. Is that weird?" she asked, confused and out of sorts. Her bottom lip was pulled in and her eyebrows were drawn together as she watched our hands.
I shook my head because I couldn't say anything. Unlike my friend, who dove into everything headfirst, I was forcing friendship on the only guy I had ever seen like that. I decided to change the subject because I was starting feel like an idiot.
I told her about Jimmy and what I had decided and how he took care of me, and how I am forcing us both to only be friends for six weeks.
She laughed, and then laughed some more. “Rams, are you a masochist? Do you like putting yourself through pain? Why would you do that to yourself?”
I smiled. I missed her so much. “He has kids!” I exclaimed.
“They wanted you to be their mommy from day one, so don’t blame this on them,” she said, like I was an idiot.
Because I was one.
“I know, but I can’t just open my heart up to some hot guy and hope he loves me, and doesn’t just want some fling, and then what? My mom dies and that’s too much for him, so I get cut loose? No thanks. I would rather him put in the work to be my friend and earn it, then have that happen.”
She gave me a sad smile, and I heard those words as I said them. Honesty was sometimes such a bitch. I guess Laney and I both were messed up in our expectations of relationships. We both decided that we'd had enough boy talk. So, the rest of the night we gossiped about work. I talked about Jimmy’s kids and how freaking sweet they are, and afterward, we fell asleep.
I woke up the next morning to a text from Jimmy.
Jimmy: Take the day and enjoy your friend. No need to come into work unless you'd like to show her the bar. You're more than welcome to come as guests this evening and enjoy whatever you'd like, on the house.
Dang it, six freaking weeks! I smiled and texted back.
Me: Thanks, I think we will do that.
He responded almost right away.
Jimmy: What time? I will have a table reserved for you two. Friday nights can get pretty busy.
Me: I hadn’t talked to Laney yet, but I knew her pretty well. 7 pm work?
&nbs
p; Jimmy: Sounds good, I will make sure you ladies have a spot.
Once I told Laney about our evening plans, she jumped up and down with excitement and demanded that we take “the car”… as in, the stolen car.
When I asked if she was worried about getting pulled over and going to jail, she responded with, “At least I’ll know where he stands.”
She still hadn’t told me what happened between them, and I was fine with that, Laney wanted to take her time. I figured that she mostly just needed a distraction this weekend. We spent the day shopping and getting pampered, and I even splurged on a new dress for tonight. She agreed to dip into savings for one too. Her income level may be much higher than my own because she still had that Dyson and Reed kind of money, but she was over her head with student loans.
I really wanted her to meet Jimmy and the kids, but I didn’t want to weird them out. Still, I thought maybe Jasmine would want to hang out with us at some point. I couldn’t stop gushing about Jasmine and how cute Sammy was.
At one point, Laney just looked at me, hit me on the forehead hard, and yelled, “Six weeks, Ramsey!”
I needed that. The day went on in a timely fashion after that, and it was already nearing six in the evening when we started getting ready. My dress was just a plain black one, but it was short, with one arm that had a full sleeve, leaving the other side bare. I had paired it with a pair of black high heels. I curled my hair and braided a few strands towards the back. I had never told anyone, but braiding my hair was a nervous tick for me.
There was a time when I was a kid that I needed to do something with my hands. I would touch everything or mess with things until it drove my mother and teachers crazy. Finally, a friend of my mom's suggested teaching me how to braid or knit. She did both, and when I wasn't braiding parts of my hair, I was knitting squares. I never progressed past squares for some reason. Now, as an adult, I am just used to having at least one braid somewhere in my hair—it makes me feel in control.
It felt good to get all dressed up; plus, I hadn’t gone out with my best friend in ages. Laney was wearing a red dress that fit loosely on the top but hugged her tight around the hips, with black high heels. Her hair was down and curled, and the red in her hair looked divine against the red dress. We were about to leave when Laney stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked down at her shoes. I laughed, knowing that she probably just remembered what car we were taking. She took off her heels and grabbed her converse shoes and slipped them on. As I laughed, she just sent me a scathing glare, and said, “It’s because of the stick shift!”
I laughed again.
We got into the car, which wasn't easy because it was a tight fit for my tall body. I hated small sports cars, but I guess it was classier than my beat-up SUV. We took off and as we pulled into the parking lot of Jimmy’s I felt anxious. I had never been here as a customer, and I was excited to get to see the restaurant in action. We parked the car and walked up to the bar where several other people were waiting in line. I didn’t know if Jimmy would be there or not, but I assumed he wouldn't because of the kids.
We made our way towards the front, and I saw Jenny the hostess. She was a younger college-aged student, who was handling the masses like a champion. I told her that we had a reservation. She checked the book and smiled at me, then handed us off to another member of the waitstaff, Jessica, who was a little older, but just as sweet. I honestly liked everyone that worked here. She walked us towards the back wall, while chewing gum and looking over her shoulder.
"It's good to see you here as a customer. You know, letting your hair down and all," she said while looking forward, then back at us as we maneuvered around a few tables. "You should come out with me and my friends sometime. It'd be so fun." We went up a few small steps until we were at a cozy table set for four.
"Thanks Jessica, I'd love to sometime," I lied, and kind of felt bad about it, but I had no intention of going out with her and her friends. Jessica was nearly ten years younger than me and I just wasn't ready for that kind of energy. I eyed the table and the four chairs around it curiously.
"Hey Jessica, are you sure this table shouldn't be used for a bigger party?" I pointed between Laney and myself. "We're good with a table for two."
Laney nodded her head in agreement.
Jessica smiled, her red lipstick shiny under the lights. “No, Jimmy said to put you both here tonight. It’s one of our best tables. Also, just so you know, sometimes there is dancing out on the patio if either of you feels like it.” She left, not even taking our drink orders. This felt weird.
Laney didn’t notice that anything was off; she just put her purse down and took in the atmosphere. Every table was full, and there were several people milling around and hanging out at both bars. The back patio seemed to be where the most action was happening. Music was playing inside, but not too loud. Before we knew it, we were being served small appetizers and our glasses were being filled with champagne. The busboy who filled them smiled and said, “Mr. Jimmy sends his regards and says he will see you shortly.”
Then he turned and left. That sent butterflies, kangaroos, eagles, the whole freaking animal kingdom, running through me. Laney must have noticed because she giggled and started to make fun of my swooning. We chatted for a few minutes about the physical anatomy of swooning and couldn’t stop talking about how good the food was. I told her that I would introduce her to Rav before we left.
Two men in suits started walking towards us. They walked liked they owned the place, with total swagger and confidence. I bet if I got close enough, they'd smell like money and expensive choices. It took me a second to realize that it was actually Jackson and Jimmy. I noticed that Jackson gave Laney a smile that was almost comical, or suicidal, like the joker. He slid into the chair next to her, and Jimmy claimed the one next to me. I was silent, because, what the hell was going on? Things could get really messy in about one second flat, which was how fast Laney went from normal to crazy.
It was quiet between the four of us, and I was still in shock as I looked at Laney, who was looking at Jackson who was looking at the table. I glanced over at Jimmy and saw he was already looking at me, and with a non-friendly kind of expression. No, it was most definitely a date night, “let's get it on” kind of look. That made me feel all warm and tingly, but then I remembered Laney and the fact that she might go to jail or murder Jackson. Before I could say or think of anything to keep the peace, Jackson spoke up.
“Ramsey, good to see you again.” Laney’s eyes cut to me and her face turned red. Shit on a stick. I never told her about Jackson. She's gonna kill me. She started to get up when Jackson’s hand landed on hers and he gave her a serious look. “Stay won’t you, Laney? Seems like we have a few things to discuss.”
Things were tense, really tense. Tense between Jackson and Laney, tense between Laney and Ramsey, and tense between Ramsey and me. It occurred to me, just a little too late, that this whole surprise dinner thing might actually be a terrible idea. After I'd left Ramsey yesterday, I called Jackson. He was in hysterics, saying he was going to use the tracking feature in the car to find “her” and then went on about some nonsense regarding women and relationships. I stopped him mid-ramble and told him that his car was in front of Ramsey's house. That stunned him silent, so I continued to tell him that a woman named Laney had taken it. When he asked why it was at Ramsey's, I laughed and told him because she's Ramsey's best friend. Then we went silent, because what were the odds?
When Jackson arrived, I had to calm him down and talk him into waiting for my crazy dinner idea. Him accepting it, and not going to get his car and see Laney as soon as he got into town was a whole different story. The kids and I worked all day to keep him busy, and now we're finally here, where I tricked Ramsey into coming with her best friend to confront the man she stole a car from.
Laney's face hadn't turned a different shade from red since we'd arrived, and she kept looking around the room, like she was searching for an exit. I turned my head sli
ghtly and saw Ramsey's eyes, big and round, silently pleading with Laney. I glanced back at my best friend, and noticed how calm and collected he appeared. I watched as he carelessly reached for Laney's glass and took a sip of her champagne. Finally, he broke the silence.
“First things first, Laney. I'm going to need my keys.” He watched her carefully as he put a stuffed mushroom into his mouth.
Laney straightened her spine and opened the purse next to her, pulling out a small black fob for the keyless ignition to Jackson's car. She slid it over to him, but made an effort not to touch him.
“Thank you,” Jackson told her as he cracked a smile. Laney crossed her arms and looked down at her small appetizer plate.
“Did you call the police?” Ramsey asked, a little panicked and rushed.
“Of course not, why would I?” Jackson answered with a slight look of confusion. He glanced at Ramsey, then back at Laney.
Ramsey waited to see if Laney would answer, but she didn't, so Ramsey continued, “Because she stole your car—your baby, as Jimmy put it.”
Jackson took a sip of water, then looked at Laney. “I wouldn't have called the cops, Laney, if that's what you thought… I'd never do that to you.” He said it gently, like he wanted to be careful with his words.
Laney's gaze cut back to Jackson. “Why not?”
Jackson gave her a small smile. “Because I wouldn't need to. I'd just come get you. That doesn't change the fact that we need to talk.”
Laney stared at Jackson and then at Ramsey, giving her an anxious look, like she wasn't sure what to say. A couple from the back patio opened the glass doors and a soft chorus of music filtered in, along with a small gust of wind. I wanted to take Ramsey out there and dance with her.
I looked back over at Laney and noticed that her face had taken on another hint of red. She pulled herself straight as she responded, “We don't need to talk, I'm sorry I took the car. I'll never touch it again. But I'm here with my friend, and I think maybe we should get going.”
