Gone

“I still think this is weird,” Liam mumbled, shifting in my passenger’s seat so he slumped like a thug. When I’d scolded him about it, he claimed that it had been a matter of leg room, and I hadn’t wanted to argue. “You could be kidnapping me right now.”

“If I were kidnapping you, I wouldn’t drive the car that everyone in the town knows I drive,” I laughed. “And I don’t know why you think it’s weird. You took me out on a date to a diner, so I’m taking you out on a date of my own. This is normal.”

“I’ve always been under the impression that the guy controls the dates and what the couple does on those dates,” he explained. “So the fact that you just called me up and said, ‘I’ll be there in ten minutes. Wear clothes,’ kind of took me off guard.”

“Welcome to America,” I laughed as I pulled into a parking lot. “The girls are much more straightforward and equal-opportunity here. I hope you enjoy your stay.”

“Oh, please. You guys haven’t even had a female president yet. The UK has had a female prime minister.”

I decided to ignore that statement and parked my car around the back of the building before pulling my key out of the ignition. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Are you going to tell me where we are?”

I chuckled for a second and decided not to torture him any longer. “We’re at a vintage car dealership. My father owns a dealership of his own, and he’s good friends with the guy who owns this place. That’s how I got my car; otherwise, my father never would have been able to afford something so old in such good condition.”

“Okay,” Liam nodded, looking around the parking lot and finding nothing but cars made pre-1990’s, which validated my story. “So why are we here?”

“Because we can rent a car, and you can take it for a spin. I’d let you drive mine, but...” I shrugged, letting him draw whatever conclusion he wanted, and he tried to give me an offended look, but the excitement in his eyes betrayed him.

“Which car are we taking? Or do I get to choose?”

“Go pick one out. I’m going to say hi to Charlie to let him know that we’re here.” Liam didn’t have to be told twice before he darted to the first line of cars, carefully inspecting each one to see which he favored most.

Chuckling under my breath, I entered the office building, which was furnished comfortably, with muted colors that had an instantaneous calming effect. There were cushioned chairs stationed on the wall for people waiting for a meeting, and there was a small play area for children to keep the young ones entertained while the parents spoke to Charlie. The whole area just oozed home and comfort, which was probably the best possible strategy for easing customers into buying his incredible (though quite expensive) vehicles.

It only took me a second to find Charlie in his typical place behind the counter. He had some trust problems with his vintage cars, so he only hired a select few workers, who were usually related to him in some way, and they were kept to the janitorial kinds of jobs, while he worked with the customers.

Although, with his affable personality and his way of making himself seem like your father or your lovable uncle, nudging customers toward buying one of his reliable cars was certainly his specialty. Maybe he just didn’t want anyone else to ruin the incredible sale percentage he had going.

“Oh, Frankie,” he greeted affectionately, grinning at me as he put his phone back on the hook. “It’s nice to see you. Did you bring that boy of yours?”

“Of course. He’s out front, checking out the merchandise.”

“Make sure he doesn’t get fingerprints all over the models.” He gave me a good-natured wink to show that he was kidding. “You know, I don’t usually let people do this. You’re lucky you turned out so pretty, or I’d never allow it.”

“Like you could say no to me,” I laughed.

“Very true. You might as well be my daughter, I’ve known you so long.” He reached up and patted the spot on the back of his head where the hair was thinning, revealing a small spot of bald scalp. “Say, do you know where you’re going to college yet?”

I snuck a look out the window, a totally unconscious move, before turning back to Charlie. “Um, I’m not sure.”

“Does it depend on him?” Charlie nodded toward the window, so I followed his gaze, finding Liam on the ground, checking under a DeLorean from the 1980’s, an almost-exact replica of the one from the Back to the Future series.

“I wish it didn’t,” I admitted. “But he lives in England, and I’ve kind of been looking into schools there so that I could be closer to him. Did you know university is cheaper over there?”

Charlie made a disapproving noise, so I brought my focus back to him to find his head shaking back and forth before bringing his kind brown eyes to mine. “Frankie, don’t let a boy determine your future. He may seem really important now, but he may not be important forever. And where you choose to go to college could alter your whole life, where you settle down, how much you make. You know, the important stuff.”

I knew he was right, of course. I could see logic and reason in what he’d said. Maybe too much reason and logic. But there was still a part of me that wanted to explore the option, just in case things with Liam and I advanced to a place when the school year ended where we were sure we wanted to stay together. Which seemed way past possible.

Just as I was about to respond with what I thought of the situation, Liam burst into the room, a huge grin on his face. “I think I want to take the DeLorean. If that’s alright, sir.”

Charlie nodded and reached under the counter to pull out the key. “Just take care of it, son. If you’re a shit driver, maybe you should just appreciate sitting in the seats, and Frankie will take the wheel.”

“I’m a great driver,” he insisted. “I give you my word.”

Charlie shrugged and gave me a smile. “You two have fun. And remember, if you eat in the car and you spill anything, you have to clean it with your own money. That includes shampooing the carpets.”

“Will do,” I responded to assure him before Liam grabbed my arm and started pulling me back outside with the energy of a toddler on too much sugar.

“This is such a good fucking idea, Frankie,” Liam exclaimed as we neared the car. “You should plan more dates in the future.”

“What if I’m a one-hit wonder?” I suggested before flushing slightly at the sexual innuendo that could have existed in that statement.

And, much to my dismay, Liam seemed to have picked up on it easily. He shot me a smirk as he put the key in the ignition and started the engine, which revved to life like it had been asleep far too long. “I guess we’ll have to wait and find out how good you are, won’t we?”