Rough Around the Edges by Ranae Rose Read Free Book Online

he’d raked in the past Friday night’s middleweight division prize money – that helped to offset the cost of the repair some.
    The guy behind the counter handed Ryan his keys. “Got someone bringin’ it around now.”
    Ryan turned to face the large glass window by the garage’s door, the pane of which was lightly blackened around the edges by the airborne grime of however many cars had been in and out of the facility since it had last seen a thorough cleaning. Despite the fact that he was now five hundred dollars poorer, a sense of familiar satisfaction welled up inside him when a sleek blue Mustang emerged from one of the garage stalls and came to a rolling stop directly in front of the window.
    “Nice car, by the way,” the man behind the counter called out. “You ever race it?”
    “No.” Even after a week in the shop, his car was a lot cleaner than the garage window, though he thoroughly intended to take it through a wash before he picked up Ally.
    “That’s a shame. You could have some fun, maybe make a few bucks, you know? I saw that thing’s engine earlier today – about pissed myself.”
    Yeah, the Shelby Super Snake was basically a street-legal monster, but funnily enough, he’d never really treated it that way. That wasn’t to say that he’d never taken it out onto a few of New York’s countryside highways and surpassed the speed limit just for fun, but that seemed like ages ago and he didn’t exactly like the idea of getting in trouble with the law for street racing. It was enough just to enjoy the car. “Seven hundred and twenty-five horses. It’s nice just to drive.”
    “Damn! How much did that set you back? I know they don’t come off the dealer’s lot like that.”
    “Sent it to Vegas to be modified at the official Shelby facility after I bought it.” He purposely avoided the man’s first question. He’d been estranged from his old life long enough that thinking of the cost of the car and its modifications made him feel strangely detached not only from who he’d been then, but from who he was now. The super-charged coupe was his only physical tie to his New York life, and he liked it too much to give it up, even if the insurance threatened to bankrupt him. He’d live in the car before he sold it to pay his rent.
    “Damn,” the man repeated, this time in a tone of soft awe. “You’re one lucky sonofabitch.”
    “Yeah, I guess I am.” He shrugged and strode out the door, the words lingering uncomfortably on his lips. Was he lucky? To be able to drive such a nice car despite his low-paying job, sure. But for a while – nearly a year – the car had been his one joy in life.
    Now, approaching the vehicle with every intent of picking up Ally in less than an hour, he felt truly lucky for the first time in a long time. The feeling had become alien. Hopefully Ally would let him stick around long enough to grow used to it. Tonight would be their first date, but it wouldn’t be their last if he had anything to say about it. That was already clear; the sense of certainty that accompanied his every thought of her was a visceral thing, a want so basic it felt like a need.
    As he climbed into his car and waved goodbye to the technician who’d brought it around for him, he was vaguely aware that it was strange how sure he was that he wanted her. But he was long past questioning strange. Shifting the car into gear, he pulled out of the parking lot at a moderate speed, revving the engine a little for the sake of showing off for the man behind the counter, who was probably watching him drive away.
    He pulled into the first carwash he passed and stopped inside a concrete stall, where he pushed up his sleeves and hosed off the Mustang, washing it until in gleamed while trying not to get his clothes wet. He succeeded, for the most part, which was a good thing because he didn’t have time to go home and change before picking Ally up. He’d promised to be there at seven-thirty.
    He did