She draped the apron over her arm as she dug in her purse for her keys, still not stopping the momentum of her feet propelling her quickly to the parking lot until she could see her all white Jeep glistening under the streetlights. She fumbled in her purse for a moment until she grabbed hold of her keys and pressed the automatic start. The car rumbled, and Justine heaved a sigh of relief. She walked closer, and when she was finally close enough to open the door, she stopped. From the corner of her eye, she could see that her front driver’s side tire was sinking into the ground.
“Shit.”
She had a spare, but she had only changed a tire once in her life when her father had taught her how to do so. She wasn’t sure if she knew how to do it again, but she had to try. She turned her car off, grabbed the key for the spare in the trunk, and then bent down on her hands and knees as she peered underneath. She could see her tire up under the back bumper. She popped open the key slot and stuck the key in, turning it, trying to lower the tire to the ground. But at each turn, the tire did not fall. She tried again and again, but it didn’t budge.
She sighed as she looked around the parking lot. There were only four cars. Three of them were owned by customers who were finishing their last drink at the bar before the restaurant officially closed, and the other car belonged to Craig. He was the manager, and there was no way Justine was going to ask him for a ride. It was common knowledge among the waitstaff that he was creepy, and to make matters worse, he had already asked her out on a date. There was no way she would sit through an awkward car ride with him. She knew her even asking for a ride would be seen as interest. It was how he seemed to view every gesture, if it came from a female.
She reached in her purse for her phone as she opened her car door and took a seat inside. She could call her roommate, she decided as she scanned through her contacts and dialed her roommate’s number. The phone rang and rang, but finally it went to voicemail. Justine tried again, but just like the last time, her roommate didn’t answer, and she sighed in frustration. She’s probably sleeping, Justine said to herself. Her roommate was known for always putting her phone on silent when she went to bed. It was something Justine had always warned her about. “What if there’s an emergency?” she would say, but her roommate was more concerned about getting an uninterrupted sleep.
Justine weighed her options. Her parents lived over two hours away. It didn’t make sense to call them, and she didn’t want to worry them either. She could call an Uber. She didn’t like the idea of renting one alone, especially with everything that had been on the news, but it was either that or asking for a ride from Craig. She opened the app on her phone and put in her locations. She waited for it to find the nearest Uber, and when the app finally did, Justine bubbled with frustration. It was over an hour away.
She shot her head backward, hitting the headrest. She was going to have to ask Craig. It was her only option. Her stomach twisted into a knot.
Suddenly, a knock on her window made her jump, and she spun her head. She wasn’t sure who she was expecting to see, but when she saw a familiar face, she relaxed. He smiled at her with his perfectly chiseled jaw and celebrity-white teeth.
She rolled down her window.
“Looks like you have a flat,” he said. He was a recurring customer that Justine had served many times. He was well known not only in the restaurant, but in the town as a whole, and he was loved by everyone he met. He was charismatic and charming, and Justine always looked forward to serving his table. He often sat alone at the bar, chatting with anyone who was there. But sometimes he’d come with friends and get a table. He gave good tips. He was kind and handsome.
“I know,” she admitted as she shook her head and rolled her eyes. “I tried to get my spare out, but it seems to be stuck.”
He ducked under the car as if taking a look himself and then moments later popped back up by her window. “It looks like it’s rusted over. That happens sometimes. You’ll probably need to take it somewhere.”
Justine let out another frustrated grunt.
“Do you have a ride?” he asked.
Justine shook her head. She wasn’t even going to count Craig as a possibility.
“If you don’t live too far, I can offer you one.”
Justine looked over at his BMW parked not too far away. She had always admired it when he rolled into the parking lot, and the thought of being driven in it excited her. She knew enough about him to know that he was trustworthy. No, she didn’t know him on much of a personal level, but he was well respected in the community. He was everyone’s friend. This was the exact gesture that would be expected of him, and with everything that had been reported on the news, Justine knew it was smarter to go with him than wait over an hour for an Uber.
“If you don’t mind,” she replied with a smile.
