Operation: Stripped & Stranded

by E Kay Sims

  I froze in my tracks. “Niko?” I questioned, suddenly wary. “Am I going to have to fight this guy?”

  She laughed loudly. “No, Niko is quite ferocious and very territorial.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “And he loves me unconditionally….” Oh shit, she has a boyfriend. “But, he’s a purebred, long haired Chihuahua with ‘little dog syndrome,’” she grinned up at me, “and he’s extremely jealous.”

  Relief washed over me. “I don’t blame him one bit.” I leaned down and kissed her open mouth. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  EZEE

  Eric and I stepped out into the bright Las Vegas sun, so bright it stung my eyes. I reached into my bag for my sunglasses. “Yikes! I think the sun just fried my retinas.” I shoved my Ray-bans onto the bridge of my nose. “I’m not used to that being from Oregon,” I said, turning toward the valet and handed him my ticket.

  “Good morning, ma’am. How are you on this fine day?” he said in his thick Mexican accent.

  “I’m doing very well, and you?”

  “Excellent, thank you for asking. I’ll be right back with your car, ma’am.” He smiled, giving me a slight bow before heading off to get my car.

  Eric and I stood together near the curb waiting for my car in the already blazing sun, though it was only eight twenty-five a.m. He wore aviators and looked sexy as sin in a tight fitting gray T-shirt with an American flag on the sleeve and dark blue denim jeans. He was so damn handsome that I found it difficult not to stare.

  We didn’t have to wait very long, thank God. I heard the familiar deep rumbling of the 440 Six Pack engine before I saw her come barreling out of the parking garage. The valet was clearly enjoying himself with my baby.

  “Well fuck me sideways,” Eric breathed, clearly in awe, as the beast rolled up and stopped smoothly at the curb directly in front of us. “You’ve got to be shitting me!” Eric tore his gaze from the car and looked at me with a mixture of shock and awe. “Is this your car?”

  “Yep, sure is. I call her ‘The Beast,’” I said, proudly. “Everything on her is original, except the paint and the stereo.”

  She was a gorgeous deep purple with big, bold, black vinyl, 440 decals emblazoned on the front fenders and over the outside edges of the hood, up to the air intake vents. She had the original red and white GTX emblem on the right-hand side of the trunk and the original GTX hood ornament.

  “You own a 1971 Plymouth GTX?!” He looked back at the car. “In original condition?”

  “Yes, I do, with the original 440 SIX PACK engine.” The valet opened the driver side door and stepped out onto the sidewalk grinning from ear to ear.

  “Jesus!” Eric breathed. “I think I’m in love.”

  “Here you are, ma’am.” The valet held the door for me. “Can I just say, it was an absolute pleasure to be at your service today. What an amazing ride! How lucky you are.” I held out my hand with his tip. “Oh, no ma’am, I cannot take your money,” he held his hands up, shaking his head, “as I said, the pleasure was all mine.”

  “Well, thank you… Raphael.” I squinted to read his nametag as I put the cash back in my purse.

  “Let me help you with your bags, do you want them in the trunk?” Raphael asked.

  “Thank you, no, I’m just going to put my stuff in the back seat.” I moved to tilt the driver’s seat forward, hitting the side lever, then put my stuff on the back seat, careful not to scratch the black leather.

  “I better put my stuff in the trunk,” Eric said. “I don’t want to take a chance with those seats.”

  I put the driver seat back into place, then hit the button to pop the trunk. I stood up and turned to walk to the back of the car with Eric to the trunk.

  “Damn, I hate to admit it, but frankly, I’m blown away, doll face.” He set his stuff in the trunk and closed the lid down. “This car is un-fucking-believable!” He lightly ran his thumb over the GTX emblem. “Wow, just wow….” He kept looking from me to the car.

  “Get in,” I said, “we’ve got one hell of a long drive.”

  “I know, and I can’t believe you’re putting those kind of miles on this baby.”

  “It’s mostly freeway, and Gramps made me promise when he left her to me, that I’d drive her until she needed a new engine––he left me an extra one of those, too.” I paused, remembering that day vividly. “‘She was meant to be driven, wild and free, like you, EZee. You’re wild and free,’ he’d said that to me the day he handed me the keys. He passed away a week later.” There was an unmistakable catch in my voice as I slid into the driver’s seat.

  Eric opened the passenger door and got in beside me. He took my hand for a moment. “I’m really sorry you lost your Gramps, EZee.” His fingers squeezed mine then let go.

  “Thanks.” I sniffed. “I really miss him, he’s been gone for five years.”

  I cranked up the radio, my favorite song immediately started playing. The Sound of Silence by Disturbed came through the Bose speakers I’d had installed just last week. Then I reached for the pistol grip shifter and pushed in the clutch, releasing the parking brake.

  “You ready?” I looked over at Eric with a shit-eating grin.

  “Oh, baby! Let it rip!”

  With one hand on the wheel and one hand on the gear shift, I revved up the engine a few times, catching the admiring eyes of the valet and several passersby on the street. It was loud enough to make more than a few people stop and stare. Then I shifted into first gear, pressed on the gas, and let out the clutch, burning rubber just a little for effect, impressing the hell out of Eric.

  “Yeah, baby!” he shouted out the open passenger side window as I drove down the Las Vegas Strip headed toward the freeway.

  LEAH

  I

  woke the next morning to Gil’s voice. He was clearly talking to someone and he wasn’t happy. Concerned, I crept over to the doorway between the bedroom and the rest of the apartment and found him pacing back and forth with phone pressed to his ear.

  “I left you instructions, Kylie. Clearly laid out instructions for everything. Are you so stupid that you can’t even follow those?”

  Kylie? Who was Kylie, and why was Gil talking to her like that?

  “I’ll call you whatever I bloody well like, if it’s the truth!”

  I yawned and wiped sleep from my eyes.

  “Nothing’s gotten into me,” Gil grumbled. “I just wish you’d pay more attention. You can’t fuck up Dad’s medication like that, it could fucking kill him! Yeah, well, you’re lucky this time around, aren’t you?”

  Gil glanced at me and made an apologetic face toward me. I waved it away and began to clear up the cold pizzas as quietly as possible.

  “I’m not coming home, Kylie. You can put that idea right out of your head. It’s time I made a go of things on my own. It’s your turn to step up. If you mess up like this again, I’ll have you for negligence. This is inexcusable. Be more careful. I’ve gotta go. Goodbye.”

  Gil ended the call and tossed the phone onto the table, cursing as he did so.

  “So… Kylie… is your sister, I’m guessing?” I ran my fingers through my sleep-tousled hair.

  “Yeah, and a bloody useless one. Most of my family’s useless. They’ve expected me to do everything for far too long, and I’m sick of it.” Gil leaned on the back of one of the chairs.

  I wandered back to him. “Is that one of the reasons you came over here?”

  A sheepish look crossed his handsome face. “Yeah. A bit silly, isn’t it? I’m like a kid running away from home.”

  “Not running away. Putting some distance between you, that’s all.” I shrugged.

  Gil raised his eyebrows. “Twelve and a half thousand kilometres of distance?”

  I twisted up my mouth. “What’s that in miles?”

  “No clue.”

  I went back over to him. “Well, whatever. I think this is good for you. All you have to do is call your parents once every couple of weeks to check in, and maybe
they could come and visit once you’re settled and everything will be great.”

  “Not sure if they could visit with Dad’s chronic pain. But I understand what you’re saying.” Gil straightened up and put an arm around me. “I need to start being a man. I need to be there for Eric and not make jokes about his situation. I need to walk the walk and talk the talk. I need for him to trust me again. I need to be the type of man who’s worthy of your love.”

  “You are,” I assured him.

  Gil shook his head. “I need to be able to take care of you, provide for you.”

  “Okay, stop right there,” I exclaimed, leaning away from him so I could look him square in the eyes. “You don’t need to do anything for me except be the man I’ve fallen in love with. The sweet, kind man that I see in you. I can help you with the confidence thing, but promise me something, okay?”

  “Okay…” He waited patiently for my answer.

  “Promise me we can be equals, that we can take care of each other, provide for each other, and don’t block one another from reaching for our goals or achieving our dreams.” I wrapped my arms around his waist.

  Gil pressed a kiss to my hair. “I think I can manage that,” he whispered into my ear.

  “Then I think we’re good.” I kissed his collarbone. “Let’s pack the car. Then we’ll hit a highway diner for breakfast and hightail it to wherever we’re hightailing it to.”

  “Corvallis, Oregon.” Gil’s voice shook with fear.

  I rubbed his chest. “It’s okay. We’ll work things out with Eric, I promise.”

  “I hope you’re right. I want him to be my best man when I marry you.”

  My mouth dropped open as Gil quickly pulled away and picked up a box. “Did you just propose to me?”

  Gil stepped out the door.

  “Gil Barlow, you answer me right now!” I quickly scooped up another box and raced after him.

  ERIC

  A

  fter seven hours on the road and endless desert with almost nothing in between for miles and miles, during the hottest part of the day, we’d finally made it to Reno. Thank God her car had air conditioning. We’d had to stop and get fuel a couple of times at roadside truck stops. I’d insisted on paying for the second tank of fuel––‘The Beast’ was a gas hog. While on the road, I’d listened to EZee talk about her grandfather, fondly recalling stories he’d told her over the years. She’d told me about family fishing and camping trips with her grandparents and cousins. How her gramps had served in the Marines, and how he fought in the Tet Offensive—one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War, launched by the Viet Cong and the People’s Army of Vietnam back on January 13, 1968.

  “When he’d finally come home from the war in 1972, he went car shopping. He found his dream car at a second-hand lot just outside of San Francisco. He’d been saving up for years and wanted to buy himself a homecoming present. He drove it off the lot and all the way back home to Medford, Oregon and straight to my grandmother’s house to propose.”

  The timbre of her voice was smooth and sexy, another thing about her I found so alluring. I loved the way she wasn’t afraid to make eye contact and the way she spoke with her hands, reminding me of her Italian heritage. She sat across from me in the booth at the P.J. & CO. restaurant. She’d been here before and it wasn’t too far out of the way. We’d ordered burgers, fries, and a couple of iced teas.

  I finished chewing and swallowed a bite of burger. “That’s an amazing story. Your grandfather sounds like a pretty cool dude, aside from being a bad-ass Marine.” I smiled, then took a drink of my tea before continuing, “I can tell you really loved him.”

  “Yeah, I did––do. I miss him every day.” She looked away to hide the glistening in her eyes, but I saw it.

  “I should probably take a turn driving so you can rest,” I said, changing the subject.

  “You just want to drive The Beast.” She laughed, bringing her gaze back to mine.

  I chuckled. “I’m usually not that transparent. But, seriously, I don’t mind driving for a while so you can take a break.” I took another bite of my burger.

  “You sure you can handle that much power?” she teased.

  “Oh, I’m confident I can handle her just fine.” My voice dripped with innuendo. “You’d be amazed at some of the military combat vehicles I’ve had the pleasure and sometimes displeasure, of operating.”

  “Yes, but I bet none were as beautiful or as sexy as my Beast,” she gave me a crooked smile, “and probably not as old, either.” She laughed, biting into a fry. “I’ll let you drive as long as you promise not to hot-rod her.” She gave me a sexy wink and ate another fry.

  “Deal.” I reached across the table holding out my hand for her to shake on it.

  She gripped my hand and shook just once. “I am pretty tired, actually, and sore. Constantly shifting gears and pushing in the clutch makes my hip ache after a while.”

  “Everett, you should’ve have said something. I would’ve taken over sooner, if I’d known.” How had I missed that? I felt like kicking my own ass. I leaned forward, bringing her hand to my lips, I kissed the top just above her delicate knuckles.

  “It’s okay, no worries.” She smiled before she pulled her hand back to grab another fry.

  “You hide it very well, you know?”

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “Your pain,” I said, and I wasn’t just referring to her hip pain. I had sensed she was still grieving her grandfather, though he’d been gone for five years.

  I suspected that wasn’t the only thing she was sad about. She had skimmed over her childhood stories, not going into too much detail, other than memories of her grandparents and cousins. I didn’t press her for more info. Perhaps another time––I sure hoped like hell there would be another time in the near future.

  “Yeah, well, I’ve learned to manage it for the most part. The yoga helps, but I refuse to take pain medicine for it. Sitting on my ass for hours and hours straight doesn’t help it any.”

  We finished our food and our waitress came back with the check. “Here ya go. Let me know if ya need anything else.” She smacked her gum, chewing loudly, as she gave me the once over and waited for me to pull out my wallet.

  EZee reached for her purse. “Here, let me.” She tried to hand the waitress a couple of bills.

  “No, my treat.” I stopped the waitress from taking her money. “I got this,” I said, handing the waitress some cash. “Keep the change.”

  “Well, thank you, darlin,’” she purred, not even bothering to hide her lust. The woman was old enough to be my mother. I sighed in disgust, refusing to respond, and she finally flounced off in a huff, clearly pissed off by my rejection.

  I slid out of the booth and helped EZee to her feet. She wobbled slightly as she stood, but only I noticed. I gripped her elbow until she was steady on her feet.

  “Thanks,” she murmured, then lead the way to the exit, unable to hide her limp.

  Out in the parking lot, I helped her into the front passenger seat, making sure she was settled in before I shut the door firmly. Then I went around to the driver’s side, excitement building at the prospect of driving this magnificent piece of machinery. I slid smoothly onto the plush, black leather seat, adjusting it back to accommodate my long limbs. Then, I gripped the wheel in one hand with the other on the key that EZee had just slid into the ignition. I felt the grin spread across my face as I looked over at EZee who watched me with a smirk on her beautiful face.

  “Alright, mister, I’m trusting you with my most prized possession.” She gave me a mock scowl of warning, squinting her eyes at me.

  I pushed in the clutch and turned the key over––my heart skipped a beat at the loud roar of the engine. The deep, throaty purr she made while idling nearly gave me a hard-on. Damn! This car was the real deal and hot to boot! With a sexy as sin owner! I couldn’t believe my luck.

  I had to, had to rev up the engine a couple times before shifting int
o first gear. I eased out the clutch as I gave her the gas, careful not burn rubber. We were back on the road again. We were about halfway to Eugene––another seven hours or so––about eight for me to get home to Corvallis. Then I’d have to deal with Gil and his stripper fiasco. Last time I checked my phone, I’d had about eight missed texts from him and at least two missed calls––no voice messages––all were lame, half-assed attempts at apologizing. I chose to ignore them, not bothering to respond.

  Some of my anger had dissipated since that morning, but not by much. I was still royally pissed at him. I knew we’d need to talk eventually, hell, he was supposed to be moving into my place. Fuck! This had turned into a real shit show.

  Just as I had the thought, my phone buzzed again. I pulled it out of my pocket to see that it was Gil, again.

  “Hey, do you mind reading that text to me since I’m driving?” I handed EZee my phone.

  “Sure.” She took it from me. “Uh, it’s password protected.”

  I reached across and pressed the home button to unlock the screen so she could read the texts.

  “‘Hey, mate. I’m sorry for how I acted back in Vegas. I didn’t mean to joke about your situation and I apologize for not being a good friend.’ Then ‘I fucked up. I’m a total bloody moron,’” EZee read aloud.

  I sighed in resignation, knowing that I had to talk to him before this escalated any further. “Tell him I will talk to him in person once we get back to Corvallis,” I instructed.

  Her fingers flew across the keypad as she typed out my text. “Okay, I sent it,” EZee replied.

  The phone buzzed again after a couple of moments. ‘Sounds like a plan. Safe travels.’

  “Thanks, would you please shut it down? I don’t want to hear from him anymore for a while.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I nodded. “Yep.” She did as I asked and handed the phone back. “Now, find some good music to listen to for the next few hours and please, don’t let it be any of that ‘my dog ran away, and wife left me alone in the trailer so I got drunk,’ country music shit.” I grinned, looking over at her.