The Night

You jockey your way through the cars,
.....and you sit at the light, as it changes to green.
..........With your faith in your machine,
................Off you scream into the night.

Just as the clock hit nine PM, a flash of lightning streaked through the dark, Philadelphia sky and only seconds later was followed by a loud clap of thunder, seeming to shake the entire city. Another summer storm was just minutes away, ready to not only soak the entire city with heavy rain, but to cool down the hot and sticky August air.

Despite the late hour and the impending bad weather, a young woman sat in her office on the thirteenth story of a downtown high rise, her fingers seeming to ghost over the keys of the computer keyboard, quickly trying to finish a report that was due first thing in the morning and she had put off until the last minute.

Another lightning strike streaked past her floor to ceiling window, followed by an even louder clap of thunder, making her petite body jump as the sound shook her body to the core, the vibrations sending a nervous chill up her spine. Quickly finishing the last couple of sentences, she decided to leave proofreading it until the morning, when she would come in early to make sure the report was perfect and her reputation as a responsible worker was still intact.

She stood from her desk, pulling her black, short sleeve blazer on over her dark pink tank top. Her five inch stilettos clicked on the marble floor as she walked toward the elevator, a long manicured finger reaching out to press the ‘down’ arrow. She sighed as her blue eyes watched the small lights representing the floors below her light up until finally, the doors pulled open and she was able to step into the large elevator.

The lobby was dark and deserted when she stepped into it, heading for the front entrance. She reached inside her bag for her car keys as she stepped outside the doors, a strong gust of wind hitting her as soon as she did. Standing underneath the overhang of the entrance, the woman cursed under her breath, frowning as she watched the large drops of rain come down with ferocity.

Without an umbrella, the young woman had no choice but to run to her car, and in only fifteen seconds in the rain, she had been soaked through her clothes and to her underwear. Her hair was dripping and flat on her head as she sat in the driver’s seat and pushed the key into the ignition, grinning as the engine hummed to life.

She tapped her acrylic nails against the steering wheel as she drove, her head bobbing to the song on the radio, laughing when she realized she always played the ‘classic rock’ station instead of the current, top forty stations her fellow twenty-somethings would listen to. Continuing the drive to her apartment, the woman did not expect the sudden shaking of her car. She frowned and slowed down, moving toward the curb, when she heard a ‘pop’ from one of her tires.

Groaning in anger, she put the car into park, pulled off her seatbelt, and stepped back out into the rain, frustrated to see the rear, left tire completely flat. She squinted at the road she had just driven over, and sighed when she saw a pothole just twenty feet back. Feeling stupid for not noticing it and avoiding it, she popped the trunk, hoping to find a spare tire, the tools she’d need to change it, and maybe a detailed instruction book on how to change it. Finding none, she slammed the trunk closed and sat back in the driver’s seat.

Staring angrily out at the stretch of road ahead of her, her eyes lit up when she saw a lit up sign generically reading Auto Shop just a couple blocks up. The shop was empty and dark when she looked in the window, and she was beginning to feel more dejected and stranded than ever. Just as she turned to head back to her car, a light shining from above the auto shop caught her attention.

Walking around to the back of the shop, she noticed an old, wooden staircase leading up to the second floor, and what seemed to be an apartment above the work garage. Grimacing, she put a high heel onto the rickety first step and grabbed onto the railings as she climbed up to the outdoor landing.

She knocked on the door, pulling her bottom lip into her mouth as she contemplated how crazy she was going to look to the person inside if they came to the door.

She jumped as the old wooden door swung open and a gruff voice asked, “What?”

Squinting her eyes into the darkened apartment as she tried to make out a face, she let out a light cough as she contemplated her words. “This is going to sound stupid, but I blew a tire a couple blocks back and was hoping, that maybe,” she paused, feeling insecure as the faceless person stared ahead at her, “you could fix it?”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but the shop’s closed,” he answered, going to close the door, but the woman’s hand reached forward preventing him.

“Please,” she nearly begged. “I don’t even have a spare, and I’m miles from home.”

The voice sighed, and she could see him nodding. “I’ll get the keys to the tow truck,” he said, backing away from the door and back into the darkened part of the apartment, leaving the woman standing on the porch in the rain. She had a mind to say something rude about that, but she was grateful for the help she was apparently getting, and instead, she kept her mouth shut.

The porch light flipped on above her head, as she leaned against the wall just outside his door, trying to shelter her already soaking and shivering body from the rain. She jumped as the door slammed shut, and she turned to see the man standing next to her, dangling the tow truck keys in his hand. Her blue eyes widened as she finally got a look at her savior, and she was surprised to find he was her age, probably just a year or two older.

He motioned for her to follow him down the stairs, and she held her breath as she slowly climbed down after him, her heels clicking against the wood. He stopped halfway down, turning around to look at her feet, his deep brown eyes narrowing in confusion as he glanced at her appearance for the first time, as well.

“I was coming from work,” she explained, unsure of why she felt the need to defend herself to some mechanic. He nodded and turned back around, hopping down the last few steps and climbing into the driver’s seat of the large truck, as she scurried behind and climbed into the passenger side.

He ran a hand over the now soaked red bandana he wore on his head, wisps of wavy brown hair sticking out the bottom and behind his ears. The woman smiled in gratitude, and told him to take a left out of the lot and back to her car. He pulled a sharp u-turn when she pointed out her car on the other side of the road, coming to a sudden stop just in front of it as he passed it and pulled ahead of it.

Shaking her head and again struggling to keep her mouth shut, she turned and watched out of the back window as he hooked her car up to the truck quickly before hopping back into the driver’s seat. Her blue eyes scanned over his appearance, noticing the stubble on his jaw line, chin, and upper lip, and the deep brown color of his eyes. Dressed in a pair of ripped and dirty jeans, a black tee shirt, and his red bandana, he looked every bit the part of a mechanic.

“Thank you,” she decided to say as they drove the two blocks back to the garage. “I must seem like an idiot,” she added, laughing lightly and hoping to lighten the mood.

The man only nodded, pulling back into the lot. When they were in the garage and out of the rain and her car was pulled up onto the lift, he finally slipped the lights on, making the woman’s eyes quickly close because of the unfamiliar brightness. When she blinked them open, she jumped in surprise when the man stood there, hands on his hips as he stared at her curiously. She cleared her throat uncomfortably, motioning to the dead tire on her car.

“Do you have the same kind of tires I do, or..?”

“Yeah,” he answered, shaking his head and motioning toward the wall of tires toward the back. Her eyes widened in surprise not having realized how big the no-name shop was.

“This is your shop?” she asked, following him to the back where he was lifting a tire off the wall with ease, his tan and muscular biceps flexing as he lifted the heavy rubber weight. She quickly looked away and around the shop again.

“Yeah, my grandpa opened it fifty years ago; passed it onto my dad when he died, who passed it onto me when he decided retiring in Florida with my mother was a better idea than running a family business,” he explained, carrying the tire back to her car as she again followed behind him.

“It’s a really nice shop,” she commented, truly meaning it.

“Yeah,” he agreed, setting the tire down on the ground as he rubbed his tan hands together. “Too bad people would rather take their cars to big chains; consistent business is hard to come by these days.”

“I’m sorry,” she responded. “And here I am showing up at nearly ten at night, being a pest.”

He laughed, his dark brown eyes lighting up. “It’s not like I wasn’t just sitting on my couch watching bad reality TV anyway.” She smiled, too, watching as he quickly undid the other tire, throwing it easily to the side, making her jump when it hit the floor with a loud noise. Even more quickly, he put the new tire on, screwing on her hub cap and giving the rubber a quick slap before he let her car down off the lift.

“Is this your car?” she asked, running a hand along the hood of a classic, black, muscle car. The mechanic nodded again, and she could tell he was swelling with pride like a typical guy. “Thank you, again, so much,” she told him, grinning at her brand new tire for her black Mercedes. She saw him eyeing the car as he wiped his hands on a rag. A shiver ripped through her body as the coldness of her clothes caught up with her. The man’s eyes snapped to look at her as she wrapped her arms around herself, shaking with coldness.

“God,” he mumbled, moving toward her. “You’re soaked.”

“So are you,” she commented. “Sorry about that.”

“I’ll survive; you look like you’ve been wet for a while with the way you’re shivering.”

She shook her head, “I guess so, yeah.”

The mechanic shook his head, ripping the bandana off his head as he shook out his wavy and shaggy brown hair. “Come on,” he said, putting a hand on her elbow, leading her toward a door, pushing it open to reveal another set of stairs. “I can give you something dry to wear.”

She wanted to protest, but the prospect of being dry and warm was too good to pass up, and she quickly followed the man up the stairs and to his apartment, realizing she still didn’t even know his name.

Like the garage, the outside was deceiving, and the apartment was bigger than it seemed and actually incredibly nice. The stairs led to the living room, dark, hardwood floors under her feet, a plush, dark red area rug sat in the TV area that also held a large, flat-screen, a plush couch, and a matching recliner. Through an open doorway she could see a large bedroom, decorated in the same color scheme.

She followed him into the bedroom, a large bathroom off to the side. He stood in front of his dresser, opening a few drawers as he pulled out a tee shirt, a pair of sweatpants, and a flannel shirt. “Thank you,” she started, about to head into the bathroom as he motioned her to. “What’s your name?”

He laughed. “Danny,” he told her.

“Danny,” she repeated, biting her bottom lip, watching his eyes flick down to her mouth. “Sophia,” she told him, offering her still shaking hand.

“Please go get changed,” he told her, laughing as he took her hand in his, practically shoving her into the bathroom, handing her a towel before he shut the door behind her.

He shook his head as he left the bedroom after quickly changing into dry sweats and a tee shirt as well, wondering how the hell a gorgeous, albeit soaking wet, woman had showed up on his door step at ten at night, needing a tire change. He laughed as he cracked open a beer bottle, downing nearly half of it as he laughed at the irony of having no customers when the shop was actually open, instead getting one when he was getting ready to hit his bed for the night.

“Danny?” he heard from his bedroom. He set his beer down and jogged back to where Sophia stood, dressed in his baggy (and way too big for her) clothes, her own wet clothes in her hands. “Do you have something I can put these in?” she asked, giving him a shy grin as he laughed and nodded, motioning for her to follow him into the kitchen.

Holding open an empty, plastic grocery bag, he watched as her slacks, tank top, blazer, and undergarments fell into it, his eyes widening when he looked at her, realizing she was wearing nothing underneath his clothes. A shiver, not from the cold, ripped through his body this time, as her big blue eyes stared at his face, an innocent expression settling over her features.

She took the bag from him, placing it on the kitchen table next to her messenger bag, pulling her wallet out of it and looking expectantly toward Danny. “How much do I owe you?” she asked, smiling lightly. He shook his head, though, placing his hands over her pale-skinned ones, shoving her wallet back into her bag. “But you said your shop was struggling!”

“It’s okay, really,” he told her, taking another sip of his beer as he handed her car keys back to her. “You should get home while the rain’s slowed down. It’s supposed to pick back up again soon.”

Feeling like she was no longer welcome, Sophia nodded and gathered her things, promising to bring his clothes back to him as soon as possible. Danny sighed and watched her leave, wondering why he had to be such an ass, wishing he could do over what had just happened.

-

Sophia tapped her pen against her desk as she looked out her office window. Despite last night’s terrible storm, the sky was perfectly clear and perfectly blue as the hot August heat raged on outside the high rise building. She groaned and leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms high above her head as her boss popped his head into her office.

He laughed as she snapped back into her normal position, giving him a sheepish look. “It’s one of those days, Sophia,” he told her. “Friday afternoons have virtually no productivity in this place, including me.” She laughed and agreed with him. “I just wanted to stop by and thank you for the wonderful work on your report. I read it over before lunch.”

“Thank you, sir,” she smiled, laughing at herself in her head, remembering how late she had to stay the night before to finish it. Her boss smiled and left her office as she frowned.

Last night, she thought.

Danny, the rather attractive mechanic, hadn’t left her thoughts since she had so abruptly been kicked out of his apartment. She wasn’t sure why she cared so much; she figured it was because he had been her knight in shining armor, or rather, greasy jeans, and had saved her ass.

She sighed and tried to push him from her mind as she opened up the accounting file she had been working on that morning, hoping she could finish it as long as her mind stayed focused on her task.

When she finally left work at five thirty, she was feeling exhausted despite having done nothing but sit at her desk all day. As soon as she stepped into her apartment, she kicked off her white and cork wedges, sighing in happiness as her aching feet hit the cold tile of her kitchen floor. Like any given summer evening, she threw a chicken breast onto the grill on her balcony as well as quickly whipping up a small caesar salad as a side.

She had turned down an invitation toward the end of the workday to go out with some friends. After her boss had stopped in and she returned to her work, she had made up her mind to head back to the auto shop after she had dinner, to give Danny back his clothes, sure, but to also just see him again. Maybe then, he’d stop plaguing her every thought.

Soon after she finished her food, she pulled Danny’s clothes out of the dryer, having washed them for their return to him. She put them in a bag, and set them next to the six pack of beer she had bought for him as a small thank you (since she had seen him drinking the same brand the night before), and went to change. Taking off her formal ‘work’ jeans and shirt, she put on a pair of jean shorts and a floral tank top. Slipping the wedges back on, she grabbed her things and headed to her car, driving the few miles from her place to his.

Pulling into the lot, she could tell the shop was already closed, but she didn’t know whether or not he was in his apartment. Climbing up the stairs, she knocked a few times on his door, frowning when she received no reply. She knocked again, more loudly, making sure if he was home that he could hear her. She frowned when the door cracked open. She pushed the unlocked door open, calling his name as she walked into the kitchen. Checking the entire apartment, she was feeling dejected when she didn’t find him. She could, she knew, leave the clothes and beer on his table, sure he would see it and know she had been by, but she wasn’t satisfied with not seeing him.

A piece of paper stuck to his refrigerator caught her attention as she walked back toward his door, deciding to come back the next day with his clothes and her thank you. Her blue eyes narrowed as she read the note, already feeling like he was invading his space, but her curiosity got the best of her.

Semi-final race Friday at nine PM
Maple Grove Raceway. Reading, PA

A nervous feeling bubbled in Sophia’s stomach as she reread the words, pulling her cell phone from her pocket and quickly dialing her older brother’s number as she carried her things back down to her car. When he answered, he wasn’t able to get a word from his mouth before she asked, “Do you know anything about the Maple Grove Raceway in Reading?” she asked, quickly turning her car’s GPS system on and searching for her destination.

“Uh, I think it’s a drag racing track, why?” She groaned at his words, looking on the clock on her dash to realize it was a quarter after seven, giving her just enough time to make the sixty mile drive from Philadelphia to Reading for the nine o’clock race. “Sophia,” her brother said again. “Why?”

“I think this mechanic guy I know is racing tonight,” she said, pulling onto the highway. “I've got to go,” she added, quickly disconnecting the call.

She turned her radio on softly as she listened to her GPS’ instructions as she sped down the highway, getting closer and closer to Reading with every minute. She hoped Danny was not racing himself, and instead worked on the cars; she just wasn’t sure why she hoped that.

The parking lot was crowded and full of people when Sophia finally arrived at eight forty five. She rushed from her car and to the ticket window, buying herself admittance. “Do you know where I could find the drivers?” she asked. “A friend of mine is racing,” she explained. The ticket boy directed her toward where the trailers were, giving her a good luck, as if he knew she wouldn’t be allowed admittance to the area.

As she rushed over there, a big security guard stopped her and told her she wasn’t allowed in. “Its ten minutes until race time, miss. I don’t care if you know someone; you’re going to have to wait until after the race to see him.”

Glaring at the man, she moved to the side of the track, where some fans stood, ready to watch the race. The two cars were already on the track, and Sophia let her blue eyes scan over every person standing around them. They widened she saw Danny, dressed in a fire suit, much like ones guys in NASCAR wore from what she had seen of them on TV. She cursed under her breath as he pulled a helmet onto his head, her eyes shutting tightly.

As he stepped into the car, strapping himself into the seat, she turned to the people next to her, who had just cheered. “Excuse me,” she said, getting the attention of a man a little older than her. “That driver, Danny—”

“Danny Carcillo,” he interrupted, a wide grin on his face. “He’s a new guy, but that’s not stopping him from beating everyone.”

Sophia smiled lightly, “and if he wins, he goes to the finals?”

The guy nodded, “winner of that gets a hundred thousand dollars.” Her eyes widened as the guy laughed. “If he wins tonight, he gets ten thousand. There’s a lot of money in drag racing,” he explained. “Word has it Danny’s using it to save his family’s auto repair shop,” he added, making her smile but at the same time feel even worse for not giving him any money for the work he had done.

“Isn’t it, like, really dangerous?” she asked as the clock counted down to just thirty seconds before race time.

“Oh yeah, of course, but accidents don’t happen as people think,” he told her, noticing the worried look on her face. “Do you know him, or something?”

“Kind of,” she answered, watching the clock tick down from ten seconds as everyone cleared off the tracks. She grabbed onto the fence in front of her as the light turned green and both cars peeled down the raceway, flames shooting from the backs of the dragsters.

Only twenty seconds later, the race was over and Sophia’s eyes whipped to the replay screen to see that Danny’s car had just edged out the other. She saw the fans she had been standing with hop over the rather short fence, and the guy turned to her, offering her a hand as she climbed over. “Thanks,” she told him, running toward where people were flocking around the newcomer and her savior from the night before.

Shoving her way through the crowd of people, she loudly called Danny’s name, causing him to look her way. She smiled as she shoved through a few more people, watching his eyes widen as he caught sight of her. “Sophia?” he asked, reaching a hand toward her. She grinned and placed her hand in his as he stared at her curiously. “What are you doing here?” he asked, ignoring the people around him who wanted pictures and interviews.

She felt silly, laughing as she told him she had gone to his place, snooped around when she realized he wasn’t there, and drove an hour out to see him. His eyes widened and he smiled, giving her hand a tight squeeze as he turned toward the interviewers, finally giving them the few words they wanted.

“Come on,” he told her, pulling her with him to the racers’ area, laughing as she shot the security guard a look as they passed him. “I can’t believe you showed up here,” he told her, laughing as they climbed into a trailer and he unzipped his fire suit to his waist, revealing his bare, tanned, toned, and tattooed chest.

She bit her lip, shaking her head as she watched him drink an entire bottle of water. Suddenly, though, her slight anger from being kicked out came back, and she laughed bitterly. “Why’d you kick me out?” she asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him.

“I don’t know,” he told her, shrugging his shoulders, but she knew he was lying.

“Whatever it is, just tell me, Danny. If you have a girlfriend or wife, or just didn’t find me attractive like I found you, just tell me, because I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you,” she told him, biting her bottom lip as she let the bold words escape from her mouth.

“I felt like such an ass for kicking you out last night, Sophia,” he told her, moving closer to her. “I didn’t want to,” he continued.

“Then why did you?” she asked, breathing heavy as he continued to move closer to her until his body was against hers.

“I wouldn’t have been able to control myself if you stayed,” he answered darkly, watching her head tilt to the side in curiosity. “You don’t have any idea how fucking hot you looked in my clothes, do you?” he asked.

Sophia sucked in a deep breath, wondering where this intense attraction to the mechanic had come from, and why it had developed as soon as she met him. Feeling better knowing that he felt the same way about her, she smiled shyly and nodded her head as he stared down at her, his hands gripping her around the waist as he leaned his head down to press his lips against hers as her hands pressed against his bare chest.

His lips stayed locked against hers as he moved a hand to her shoulder, brushing her black hair back so he could touch the smooth, pale skin of her neck. She melted into him, her body pressing as far against his as it would go. Her hands played with the wavy strands of long, brown hair as his lips moved against her own.

A knock on the door followed by a gruff voice saying, “We have to get these trailers packed up, kid,” pulled them apart. Sophia’s eyes were wide as she looked at Danny, who ran a hand over his face and sighed, silently nodding his head. She smiled at him, moving to give him a kiss on his cheek as she grabbed the permanent marker from the counter, writing her number on the back of his hand. “Call me,” she told him, giving him another smile as she opened the door and left him alone in the trailer.

-

With her hands tucked into the back pockets of her white jean shorts, Sophia paced back and forth through the same spot. Her gold gladiator sandals dug into the dirt below her as she trudged over the same spot again and again. Her blue eyes were filled with worry as her thoughts ran wild, completely blocking out everything going on around her.

People were quickly moving past her, finding seats, talking animatedly with one another, and bouncing excitedly in anticipation for the race. Sophia, however, was not excited or anticipating the race; she just wanted the whole night to be over, to find herself back in Danny’s apartment, her body curled against his as they watched a movie or simply sat in silence—something they had done every night since he had called her the day after the race she had followed him too.

The second she got out of work, Sophia was on her way to Danny’s shop and apartment, helping him work out ways to advertise the shop in order to get more business with the money he had already won, as well as helping him look for a few good workers to employ, despite not knowing anything about cars or the auto body business.

Despite only knowing him a week, she would choose being with Danny over everything else, and she hoped that somehow, that feeling would stay with her for a very long time.

Lost in her thoughts as she paced, she suddenly stopped her movements when she felt a nudge on her arm. She turned to see the same guy who had explained the race to her the week before. “I see you came back,” he smiled, coming to stand next to her as she leaned against the fence, her eyes on the two dragsters and the people surrounding them.

“He wanted me here,” she told him, letting out a big breath of air. “And I guess I wanted to be here, too,” she added with a laugh when she saw the man’s smirk.

“He’s going to do it,” he grinned, watching her eyes light up as she thought about the possibility of it. Danny climbed into his car as the clock hit a minute, and Sophia watched nervously as he pulled his helmet on and strapped himself into the seat. Grabbing onto the fence, she bit her bottom lip as the clock continued to count down, the fans in attendance yelling out the numbers as they decreased from twenty.

She looked up at the dark night sky and closed her eyes for a brief second as she let out another large breath before sucking it back in, holding it as the light turned green and the cars sped down the raceway. “Oh, Danny,” she whispered, her eyes widening as she saw his car pull way ahead of his opponent’s. Gripping her hands tighter around the fence, she let out a holler of happiness as Danny crossed the finish line well before the other driver.

Rushing toward the end of the raceway where hundreds of people were already swarming around the winner, her winner. “Danny!” she called as she ran toward the people as fast as she could through the maze of people. When she reached the winner’s circle, he was turning in every direction, and she smiled knowing he was looking for her. “Danny,” she called again, flinging herself at him as he caught her with ease in his muscular arms.

He grinned as he pressed his lips against hers, his grip on her tightening as the race marshal handed him the large, cardboard check for a hundred grand. “For the shop,” Sophia whispered, her lips spreading into a smile as she wrapped her arms around Danny’s neck.

He laughed and faced the cameras and reporters, saying, “I’m the big winner tonight.” And he wasn’t just talking about the race or money, he thought, his brown eyes looking at Sophia’s smiling face.

You know she’ll be waiting there,
…..and you’ll find her somehow you swear.
………Somewhere tonight you run sad and free,
…………..until all you can see is the night.