Page 110 of One Touch

Vlad scoffed, shaking his head. “It literally has ‘Vladmobile’ written on it. I’m Vlad. This is my mobile.”

Anger flared in my chest, hot and bright. I tossed the rag aside and walked over to the workbench, grabbing a paintbrush and a can of black enamel. Without a word, I stalked back to the car and started painting over Vlad’s name.

“What the hell are you doing?” Vlad demanded, his voice rising.

I didn’t even look at him, just kept painting. “Funny, I don’t see your name on here anymore.” I pointed to the newly painted decal. “This car belongs to Lily, and I’ll be damned if I let you have it.”

Vlad let out a bitter laugh. “Did she tell you it was hers? She's a liar. It’s my name on the paperwork, not hers. I’m listed as the car’s official owner.”

“She paid for it. So, far as I’m concerned, it belongs to her.”

“Doubt the police will see it that way.”

“I dunno,” I said, shrugging. “Officer Adams is a smart guy. You know him?”

“No.”

“Well, I do. If a dispute arose, he’d look into all the paperwork for the car, including bank transfers. He’d see that not only did Lily buy this car for you, but she bought you a shit-ton of other stuff, too. And then, for some insane, inexplicable reason, you cheated on her.”

“What’s your deal, man? You trying to be her knight in shining armor?”

I finished painting and turned to face him, my jaw clenched. “Lily doesn’t need a knight in shining armor. She’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But she does deserve someone who respects her and treats her right. Someone who doesn’t cheat on her or exploit her for financial gain.”

Vlad’s eyes narrowed, and I could see anger simmering beneath the surface. “Have you got a thing for her?” He let out a sardonic laugh. “Fuck me! You’re old enough to be her dad!”

I raised my eyebrows. “You don’t think Lily would be interested in someone like me?”

“Are you for real? A mechanic? An old mechanic? With a kid?”

“I probably have no chance, right?”

“She wouldn’t touch your wrinkly old dick in a million years.” He spat on the ground. “She’ll come crawling back to me in the end, anyway.”

“You think?”

“For sure. I’m the full package.”

“Is that why you cheated on her?”

“No.”

“So, why did you?” I could feel the rage growing in me. It was reaching dangerous levels. I had to keep reminding myself that hitting this jerk wouldn’t be a good idea, no matter how tempting it was right now.

Vlad sighed, swishing his greasy hair around his shoulders. “All her fucking book boyfriends, man. She never stopped going on about them. She doesn’t want to be with one man. She wants to be with every man. Do you know how many guys she went out with before me? Someone like that doesn’t just stop wanting variety. They always want it. So, I opened up the relationship. To keep things fresh.”

“Seems like that really made her happy.” I clenched and unclenched my fist.

His eyes widened. “How’s she paying for the repair work, anyway? Thought she was broke. Is she paying you a different way? Wait, is she fucking you, granddad?”

“You better get out of here right now, Vlad. You’re on thin ice.”

His jaw dropped. “You are, aren’t you? Were you fucking her before I dumped her?”

“Wait—before you dumped her?”

Vlad’s face twisted into a smirk. “Oh, shit. You love her, don’t you? And you’re scared. You really think a girl like Lily is gonnabe satisfied with your boring old-man dick? She doesn’t want whatever bullshit real life you have to offer her, man. She wants a fantasy. She wants to live in a storybook.”

“Get. Out.” I took a step forward.

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