Mikey nodded. “We’re gonna suck so fuckin’ bad if we trade The Big D for a bag of pucks.”
“Heh,” was all Vaughn had to say.
Dane shrugged. “Sorry, boys. It’s out of my control.”
“Thatstupidfucking interview,” Reavo snarled. “I can’t believe that girl did that to us. I’m so pissed.”
“It wasn’t her fault,” Dane said. “She said she didn’t know it’d be like that. I believe her.”
“Bullshit!” Reavo snapped. “You never should’ve trusted that girl in the first place. I told you not to, but youhadto try tosleep with her—”
“Okay. Whatever, man.” Dane tossed the remote in Reavo’s lap and stood. “If you’d rather watch this crap and get all angry, be my guest. But I wanna hang out with everyone else and try to have a good time.”
Dane stormed off.
“Dane!” Eva, one of the boy’s girlfriends, was looking for him. “Hey, Dane?”
“What’s up, Eva?”
“I was having a cigarette on your front porch. One of your neighbors is parked out front, and she can’t get her car to start. I asked if she needed help and she said her battery was dead. I’d give her a jump if I knew how.”
Dane peeked out the front window.
It wasn’t a neighbor, it was Austen.
“Thanks. I’ll see if I can help her out.”
***
Dane grabbed the portable jump starter pack from the trunk of his Maserati and walked down the driveway towards the old red Hyundai.
Austen sat in the driver’s seat and was staring at her phone. She was dressed in a hoodie and a ballcap, like she didn’t want to be seen. He tapped on the window. She didn’t exactly look happy to see him. She rolled down her window.
“Hi, Dane,” she said after a heavy breath.
“Hey there. Heard you need a jump.”
She waved her phone in the air. “I’m fine. Just looking for a tow truck driver to come help.”
“No need. I’ve got this.” He held up the pack. “Go ahead and pop your hood for me.”
The hood popped free with athunk. Dane lifted the hood, attached the cables to her battery, powered up the pack and told Austen to turn the key.
But nothing happened. The engine didn’t turn and the starter didn’t click.
“Turn on your headlights,” he told her.
She did, and the bulbs lit perfectly bright.
“Try to start it one more time,” he said. Again, nothing happened. “It’s not your battery. It’s your starter.”
“How would you know that?” she asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously.
“Because I’m a car guy. Have you had problems starting your car recently?”
“No.” She paused. “Well, maybe, I dunno. I guess a few times over the past few months it wouldn’t want to start—but it always did if I waited a few minutes. But now it won’t, at all.”
“Sounds like a bad starter, alright.”
