Irreplaceable

11

"What is that?" Nathan was watching me as I spun the small piece of white paper in my fingers. I blushed a little.

"You remember that guy at the shop? The one when I rescued his car?" I asked him. He raised a brow and gave me a funny look.

"Yeah. What about him?" He said irritated. I shrugged innocently.

"He gave me his business card and asked me out. You know, to thank me." I mumbled. I tucked the card back in its spot on my desk. Nathan was frowning at me.

"Uh, okay. When are you meeting him?" He asked me. I cleared my throat.

"Ah, yeah, about that. I don't know. I think I am supposed to text him or something." I admitted. Nate gave me a funny look.

"So he didn't set a date?" He asked. I shook my head no. "He just gave you his business card." I nodded my head yes. He blew out his breath and gave me that weird look again.

"What?" I said. He shook his head with a wry smile.

"Nothing." He replied. It wasn't nothing. I could tell something was bothering him. I pursed my lips and gave him a look back. "Okay, just make sure you tell your mom when you go meet up with this guy. Alright? He could be some weirdo. Oh and make sure you tell him you are underage." He was pointing at me and I glared at him.

"What the hell Nate? I am perfectly safe going out with some guy to say thanks. Besides, now you know I am going and we both know Dan has his information on file at the garage. It'll be fine." I huffed and flopped next to him on the bed.

"I'm just worried about you." He grumbled. I batted my eyelashes at him.

"Awww, I love you too Nate." I watched with fascination as his cheeks pinked a bit before he looked away from me. I shoved him a little and laid back on my bed. He didn't retaliate. He never did though so I don't know why I half expected him to shove me back. What was this?

"Boys!? Dinner is ready!" My mom called up to us. I hopped up off the bed, ignoring the uncomfortable silence that had stretched between us. Nate was staring at a picture of us as kids on my dresser, seemingly lost in thought.

"You coming?" I stopped at the door and tilted my head at him. He jogged out of it and smiled over at me.

"Yeah, I'm coming."

*

Derek was meeting me for coffee after work. I actually did tell my mother I was going, not because Nate told me to but because I would be late getting home. He was annoyed that I agreed to go in the first place. I don't know why. The guy wasn't half bad. Not only was he rather good looking, but he seemed really nice when I texted with him.

I was worried that I wouldn't be very clean when I met him. I brought a change of clothes and gave myself an extra scrub in the employee washroom. I smelled a bit like the heavy duty orange soap. I refreshed my deodorant. I even checked my teeth. I didn't want him to think I was a slob after all.

I walked down the street to the small café on the corner once I was done. It was a little bit pretentious on the inside, with a black and white 50s theme that included giant posters from old movies. Not my usual scene, but coffee was coffee. I stared at the big board that had their menu and grimaced at the dumb names for things.

"Hey, did you just get here?" I heard the guy at my elbow and I glanced over at him. He was wearing almost the same thing he had last time I saw him. Button down shirt and expensive superfine dress pants, black dress shoes and shiny silver watch. He looked good.

"Hey. Yeah, I was just deciding what to have." I looked back up at the board. He looked at his watch and commented.

"I recommend the Marilyn. Oh, or the Truman." He snickered at my raised brow. We stepped up to the counter and gave our orders. He paid for both of us. I took my strange drink and sat with him at a booth. I wasn't sure how to drink it with the pile of foam on top. Any way I thought about it I was going to embarrass myself trying to take a sip.

"Uh, how was your day?" I asked awkwardly. He smiled at me.

"It was great thanks. I closed a fantastic deal at work, I got a free muffin at breakfast, and my dry cleaners called early so I was able to get my assistant to pick it up at lunch for me." He replied. I stared at him. What was I supposed to say to that? That was kind of boring. Did adults talk about this stuff normally? Probably.

"Okay. Great." I replied lamely. I poked at my coffee with my spoon and scooped a little of the foam so I could taste it. It was pretty good. A little sweet.

"How was your day at the shop? Were you busy?" He asked politely. I had just put the spoon in my mouth, so I licked my lips quickly before answering.

"Not really. Steady for a Wednesday. I had a classic come in, so that was exciting. It has been awhile since I was able to be so close to one. My dad took me to a car show last summer, but that is nothing compared to getting to work on one." I told him with a grin. He nodded, but I could tell he didn't care. I mean sure, he had a brand new fancy car, but it was obvious he didn't actually know much of anything about them.

"You really love your work huh?" He mused over his cup before he took a sip. He was watching me closely now. It made me a little uncomfortable. Wasn't that what you were supposed to do? Choose something to do for your future that you loved? Put your all into it? Greg taught me that. He told me that if you put your heart into your work you couldn't fail.

"Of course I do. I chose it because I love it. Even if I had been bad at it, I think it would just make me want to try harder to become a mechanic because I love working on cars." I said with a smile. He gave me a huge, genuine smile.

"You are a seriously adorable guy. You know that?" His voice sounded a bit teasing and I wasn't sure how to take it. I blushed and looked away. More and more I felt like this was more of a date than just a 'thank you' coffee. I thought that would elate me, but I felt kind of uncomfortable. I recalled Nate telling me to let the guy know I was underage and I wondered if that was what was bothering me.

"Thanks? I guess I just haven't had time to get jaded yet." I quipped. He laughed as though it was the funniest thing he had heard and that just made my face redden more. I half thought he might be laughing at me, but when he grabbed my hand on the table and patted it, the thought flew from my head.

"Stay this sweet Bradley and you will never sleep alone." He was definitely flirting with me. His voice had dropped a bit and the look he was giving me was strangely dark. I gulped. I wanted to pull my hand back but he didn't give me a chance to before he let go. He downed the last of his cup with flourish and excused himself.

I watched him go and then realised... I never told him I was sixteen.