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“Sasha,” she warns.
“Just tell me one thing,” I plead. “Is he worth it?”
Erin tilts her head and looks at me with the love of a friend. “I think you already know the answer to that.”
32
TELENOVELA
CASH
Enter Sandman by Metallica
Ipull into the parking lot ofDeSoto Customsin Boyle Heights, just southeast of downtown L.A. It’s an industrial style building with large open bay doors; the heavy, hard riffs of aMetallicasong spilling into the parking lot.
I lift my leg over the seat and leave the bike parked in front of one of the bays while I go inside looking for Emiliano. I push my glasses to the top of my head and ignore the stares I get as I walk by some of the guys working on bikes. They talk amongst themselves in Spanish, not even bothering to whisper because they already know I don’t understand. I can only guess, and it isn’t good when I hear the wordgringo.
“You lost?” asks a girl with long dark hair and beautiful dark eyes as she straightens up from an impressive sport bike. She wears dirty coveralls, much like the other mechanics in the shop, with the sleeves rolled up, showing off a colorful sleeve tattoo on her left arm. She cocks an eyebrow at me. She’s gorgeous, but looks like trouble.
I can’t help but admire the bike. “Is that an H2?” I crane my neck to see around her as she stands in front of it, blocking my view. “Custom pipes,” I whistle. “Those must have cost the owner a pretty penny.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and her lip curls. “Not when you do it yourself,” she says.
“This is your bike?” I ask, getting a better look at it.
I’m not some asshole who thinks a girl can’t ride a bike, but it’s a very fast, very expensive bike.
“You come here to eye-fuck my bike or do you need something?”
Why does everyone think I eye-fuck things I like? I shake my head, thinking about Jack saying I eye-fucked Sasha at the festival.
“Amigo!” Emiliano says excitedly, walking through the shop with a huge smile, and gives me a half hug when he reaches me. His demeanor is so different from Gabriel; carefree and playful whereas Gabriel walks around with a chip on his shoulder most of the time.
He looks just like his cousin, Gabriel, except he’s taller and his hair is thick and wavy.
“Mariana,” he motions, “there’s a delivery in the back.”
“I’m not your fucking errand girl,” she spits as she gives him the middle finger.
“You’re gonna love this new exhaust on your bike. Come check it out!” He ignores her and pulls me through the shop.
I follow him to the back where the opened box for my exhaust sits on the back bench.
He pulls the cardboard apart showing me the shiny metal, and I’m already excited. Since I’ve had this bike, everything on it is original. It sat in storage for a long time until I finally decided to pull it out as my primary transportation. It’s so much easier getting around L.A. on a bike, and being able to pull it into the store at night means it won’t get stolen or vandalized.
“How long will this take?” I ask, wondering if I need to catch a ride back to the store.
“Don’t worry; I’ll take care of you.” He puts his arm around my shoulders. “It’ll only be a couple hours. I’m gonna do it myself. Hang out.” He steers me towards a set of metal steps that lead to a lounge overlooking the shop. There’s a refrigerator and a couple of couches pushed together.
“We got beer, soda, water… whatever you want.” Emiliano points to the refrigerator.
“I’m good.”
“Sit tight,Amigo, I’ll take good care of your bike.” He holds his hand out for my keys, and reluctantly I drop them into his waiting palm.
Emiliano exits the room, and moments later, I hear the familiar sound of my bike start up over the wailing metal music as he pulls it into one of the empty stalls. From this vantage point, I can see the whole shop. Emiliano gets to work pulling the exhaust down from my bike, and I decide to sit back on one of the couches.
In the corner of the room hanging from the ceiling is a TV tuned to a boxing match. I’m not into sports and notice the remote sitting on a table near the couch. I flip through the channels when someone enters the room, causing me to sit up further.
