Blitz (Blast Brothers #3) - Sabrina Stark Page 0,27

that?"

With a sigh, I turned and asked, "Don’t you have somewhere else to be?"

She laughed. "What, and miss the show?"

Oh, I'd give her a show, alright.

If Emory had been anyone else from my old high school, she would've offered me a ride or least some moral support. But not Emory. No, what she wanted was to eat popcorn and mock me from the sidelines.

The thought had barely crossed my mind when she reached into her pink duffle bag and pulled out a small bag of nuts. She tore it open and plucked a single nut from the bag. She popped it into her mouth and called out again. "Go ahead. Don't let me stop you."

As if she could.

I looked back to the sunroof and frowned. Maybe I was prying at the wrong spot. I yanked out the screwdriver and moved it several inches to the left.

Once again, I placed the screwdriver's tip between the sunroof and the rubber gasket surrounding it. I pushed long and hard, but nothing happened.

Terrific.

Maybe if I had a hammer, I could pound the screwdriver down as far as it needed to go. But I had no hammer. Cripes, I couldn’t even buy a hammer, considering that Skeezak Hardware – the only hardware store within walking distance – had closed for good last August.

As far as getting a ride, calling anyone in my family was out of the question, because even now, I wasn't quite sure what I should tell them about the festival.

Damn it. If only Chase Blastoviak had given me an answer. But he hadn't. And I had no idea when he would. He did say it wouldn't be long. But what exactly did that mean?

From the steps, Emory called out, "I hope that's your own car."

Oh, for God' sake. She knew it was my car. After all, this wasn't the first time she'd seen me with my vehicle. Just a few weeks ago, in fact, we'd seen each other in the grocery store parking lot.

I'd been loading groceries into the trunk of this same exact car when Emory had parked directly across from me.

She'd been driving a late-model Cadillac. And of course, it was ten times nicer than anything I had ever owned.

Then again, Emory's things were always nicer than mine. Her mom had come from money – and had been marrying up for years. In the process, she'd acquired two gas stations and a car dealership.

If Emory ever needed a ride, she'd know exactly who to call. But I wasn't Emory.

I moved the screwdriver to yet another spot and pushed with all my might.

Nothing happened.

By now, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry – even more so when I looked up and discovered that Emory wasn't the only one watching me.

Sometime in the last minute or so, she'd been joined by someone new but annoyingly familiar. And who was this person?

Chase Blastoviak.

Of course.

Chapter 20

Mina

In his suit and tie, Chase looked strangely out of place – like a diamond in a turnip patch – as he leaned back against the grubby brick exterior of what used to be Hank's Deli.

He was watching me with quiet amusement.

At the sight of him, I froze with my screwdriver in-hand. When our gazes locked, I felt like crawling under my car until both of them went away – Emory and Chase.

Unlike Emory, Chase would have no way of knowing that the car beneath me was my own. Should I explain? And if so, where to begin?

I blurted out, "It's not what it looks like."

From the deli steps, Emory called back, "Are you sure? Because it looks like you're humping your car."

Oh, please. It did not.

I frowned. Did it?

And to think, I'd been worried that I looked like a thief. But noooooo. If Emory was telling the truth, I looked like a car-humping pervert.

With renewed dismay, I looked back to Chase.

He didn't think I was humping the car, did he?

From the look on his face, I wasn't so sure.

As far as Emory, she hadn't yet realized that she wasn't the only spectator to my humiliation. But even this bit of luck didn't last.

For this, I had only myself to blame.

When I didn't look away from Chase, Emory turned to see what had caught my attention. When she spotted Chase Blastoviak standing a few paces away, her mouth fell open, and she dropped her bag of nuts. The bag hit the top step and opened on impact, sending nuts rolling down the remaining steps and onto the pavement