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comfortable.
    He was confident that’s for sure.
    Charlie eyed the two of us, a warning I’m sure, but I could give a rat’s ass what
     Charlie thought about whom I dated. He thought for sure he was supposed to protect
     me but he was nothing but a friend and I wasn’t going to have him interrupt this.
    Hold up, dated? Who said I was dating him?
    Control yourself you slut. You have no clue if he’s actually thinking of you that
     way. Oh, but wouldn’t that be nice.
    I had to take a deep breath to calm myself. That’s when I took a looksee at Casten
     who was still smiling at me.
    “You look like you’re thinking something dirty?” I spit out before my tongue could
     stop me. I don’t know where that came from.
    You’ve lost it. Officially.
    Casten laughed again, scratching the back of his head with the wrench in his hand.
     His head bent forward and then he looked up at me through dark lashes. “First I’m
     up to no good, and now I’m dirty? I’m a lot of things this morning, aren’t I?”
    I nodded, thankfully keeping my mouth shut but smiled despite my muted self.
    “Well … I guess you’ll have to see for yourself about that pretty girl, won’t you?”
    I guess I will, won’t I?
    Turns out having a job might be amazing.

Gearhead – A device that reduces motor speed and increases motor torque.
     
    When I got off work on Tuesday, I rushed home to get changed and grabbed the spare
     set of keys to my dad’s Ford truck he didn’t know I had.
    Rosa was there, not cleaning, and watching a movie in the movie room. Peeking my head
     in, I laughed at her lounged in her sweatpants and one of my dad’s t-shirts I was
     sure he didn’t know she had stolen. “Stealing clothes now?”
    Rosa sat straight up and looked over her shoulder, mid-drink of what I was sure wasn’t
     just Pepsi. “I didn’t take this shirt. He gave it to me.”
    I laughed, rolling my eyes. “Sure he did. What happens when he comes home?”
    “I’ll take it off. It’s just …” Rosa sighed and flopped back against the leather recliner,
     her legs kicked out, “his shirts are comfortable.”
    “So buy some like his.” It seemed like an obvious solution to me.
    Not to Rosa though. “How else would I annoy him?”
    “Good point, Rosa. Very good point.”
    We always agreed with each other and I know she wasn’t a good maid and honestly had
     no idea why my parents kept her around. I think she was like a stray dog. You don’t
     need a dog, but they grow on you and then you can’t get rid of them. They become part
     of your family despite the fact that they piss all over the place and infested your
     house with fleas.
    Rosa lived in the guesthouse above the garage but spent a lot of time in our house
     and no one but my dad thought it was weird.
    “What are you watching?”
    She didn’t look back at me hanging inside the door with just my head. “Nothing in
     particular. Wanna watch a movie tonight?”
    “Sure. I’ll be back in like three hours.”
    We agreed on our date night. I had a lot of movie dates with Rosa. We always seemed
     to have the same tastes in what we liked to watch and she didn’t judge me that I enjoyed
     romantic comedies.
    I left after that and met up with my grandma at Tenders Fresh Foods. She loved their
     milk shakes. And, I have to say, they’re pretty tasty.
    When I got to the restaurant, my grandma’s Mercedes my dad and Uncle Spencer bought
     her for her birthday last month, was parked outside.
    I parked my Ford truck next to hers. All the guys in our family had Fords. Naturally.
     They still sponsored Dad’s Cup cars so we got good deals on them. This one I bought
     with my own money and his discount. It felt good to have something of my own.
    Inside I found her at a table in the back, same spot we always sat. Her rusty loops
     were fading to gray these days but she didn’t let them go completely. Being gray scared
     her. She’d just turned sixty-seven and you’d never guess it