friend’s location for the past ten minutes. It was supposed to be on this street, conveniently right next to another car rental place.
“No, something better.” Darius pointed to a couple cars that were parked outside a garage bay. “See the old Grand Wagoneer at the end?”
Gray flicked a glance at the lights before following Darius’s gaze. Okay, so, two vehicles. One pickup truck and one ugly-as-shit behemoth from before the wheel was invented. His grandparents used to have one like that. It was a dark burgundy and had the wood paneling on the sides that you thankfully didn’t see much anymore.
“What about it?”
Darius smiled. “It was my first car. Jake and I fixed her up over a summer—though not nearly as well as whoever restored this one.” He paused. “I wanna take a look at it. There’s a for-sale sign in the window.”
He was nuts. They were supposed to find the place where they’d drop off the Jeep, rent another car, then hopefully make it to Monterey before it got too late. But the sun was already dipping low, and Monterey was four hours away.
The light turned green, and Gray checked the rearview before switching lanes and driving ahead of the truck that was coming up behind them. Then he pulled into the auto shop and parked next to the two vehicles that were for sale.
Darius stepped out of the Jeep before opening the door for Jayden. “Come on, buddy. I’mma show you a cool car.”
Darius didn’t know what cool was, but he sure as fuck was cute.
Gray followed and looked up at the bright blue sky. Not a cloud in sight, not even a single breeze.
It was summer in Bakersfield. Well, summer by Gray’s definition. He could even smell barbecue.
“Come check this out, Gray,” Darius said. “It’s fucking gorgeous.”
Gray made a face and trailed over. Now he was going to start questioning Darius’s taste in everything…
“The one I had was an older model,” Darius went on. “This one’s an ’89.”
“Jesus, I wasn’t even born,” Gray muttered. He could feel Darius’s flat stare from behind his Ray-Bans, and Gray smirked. The man didn’t always like being reminded of their age difference.
“Anyway.” Darius cleared his throat and returned his focus to the ugly car. “It’s beautiful, Jayden, innit? New stereo, and look, custom-made bench seat in the front. That means you can sit three people up there.”
“It’s big,” Jayden said with a nod.
“It’s…brown,” was what Gray could offer.
“It’s black cherry,” Darius corrected. “Perfect condition.”
Gray watched him ghost a finger along the metallic surface. It did, admittedly, appear brand-new. There wasn’t a single scratch. Everything metal, like the bumpers and rims, gleamed in the sun.
“I gotta know what the catch is.” Darius looked over toward the open garage bay, presumably to find someone in charge.
“I think you’re looking at it.” Gray gestured at the vehicle. “Twenty-seven thousand dollars for a shiny pile of ancient junk. You can get a brand-new car for that kind of money.”
“Ooof,” someone said behind them. “Don’t let my brother hear you say that.”
Gray whipped around and spotted a smirking man Darius’s age stepping out of the garage bay.
“Sorry we didn’t hear ya come in,” he said. “We’re just fixin’ up some chow in the back.” So that was why it smelled like barbecue in the air. The man wiped his hands on a dirty rag. “Can I help you, guys?”
“Did you restore the Wagoneer?” Darius asked.
“No, that would be my brother—Cam. You interested? He’s in the back if you want me to get him.”
“I’m definitely interested,” Darius replied. “There’s gotta be a catch. She seems to be in excellent condition—and less than a hundred thousand miles for that price…?”
The man chuckled and retied the coverall sleeves around his waist. His white tee was nowhere near white anymore. “A lower price means a quicker sale. A quick sale means Cam can restore more cars.” He paused. “He and his hubby—they have a girl who dreams about the Ivy League. You could say it lit a fire under their asses to save more for her college fund.”
“Ivy League would do that,” Darius murmured in agreement. “Well, take me to your brother, eh? I wouldn’t mind a chat.”
“Sure thing.” The man nodded toward the back. “I’m Landon, by the way.”
“Darius,” Darius said. “Gray and Jayden.” He pressed a kiss to the side of Gray’s head before he walked ahead, following Landon.
Jayden snuck closer to Gray.
They walked underneath a car that was raised on some…apparatus. Gray didn’t speak Car Mechanic. He