Page 111 of One Touch

Vlad raised his hands. “I’m leaving. Starting to stink of desperation around here anyway.” He swung his leg over his bike, revving the engine. “But don’t come crying to me when she leaves you for the latest model.”

With that, he sped off, leaving me standing there in a cloud of exhaust and doubt.

***

Later that evening, I finally had the chance to see Lily.

Ava had just come from a jujitsu class, so after Lily picked her up from the community center, we met at the Lighthouse Diner to grab a bite before heading home. Since Susie was away, one of the more senior students was taking the martial arts lessons in her absence. Ava seemed to enjoy the slightly more physical nature of the lessons.

“And then I flipped Tommy right over my shoulder!” she exclaimed, eyes shining with pride.

Lily reached across the table to high-five Ava. “That. Is. Awesome!”

“Tommy’s way older than me.”

“Oh yeah?”

“His birthday is, like, two months before mine.”

I managed a smile, but it felt stiff on my face. My mind was still on my encounter with Vlad. “Just remember, Ava, you should only use those moves in self-defense.”

Ava rolled her eyes. “I know, Dad. You’ve only told me a million times.”

Lily gave me a supportive smile.

After we’d finished our burgers and shakes, Ava headed off to the arcade corner to play some games before we left. I seized the opportunity to talk to Lily alone.

“Hey, can we talk for a sec?” I asked, trying to keep my voice casual.

Lily’s brow furrowed behind her glasses, but she nodded. “Sure, what’s up?”

“You’ll never guess who came by the auto shop today.”

“Some kind of man/car hybrid?”

“How did you know?”

She laughed. “I just had a feeling.”

“No, sadly, it wasn’t a Transformer. It was Vlad.”

Lily’s face paled. “Seriously? What did he want? Did he know about us?”

“No. Well, not to begin with.”

“You told him?” Was that a hint of a smile on her lips?

“It just came out. He tried to trick me into giving him your car.”

“Ah. Course. That makes sense.”

“Said it was registered in his name—”

“That’s true.”

“Oh. Well, you paid for the car, right?”

“Right. And a ton of other stuff he made me buy him.” She sighed. “I mean, technically, in a way, the carishis because I gave it to him. But also, he sort of coerced me into buying it, telling me he’d pay me back for it as soon as his band hit the big time, and since that’s clearly never going to happen, I—”

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