Free The Fine Line by Alicia Kobishop Page A

“Sorry.  Just rambling.”
    I grabbed the little flashlight that was sitting on Carter’s Craftsman tool chest and looked under the hood, instantly remembering all those times helping Adam.  The familiarity of the engine brought back memories of our talks.  Maybe I could help Carter.  Who knows, maybe something about the actual reconstruction of Adam’s car stuck in my mind.  It wouldn’t hurt to try. 
    Carter’s face lit up as he watched me study the machinery under the hood.  Clearly entertained, he chuckled.  “You gonna save the day, princess?”
    The power tool noises from the bay next to us stopped, and I noticed heads turn our way out of the corner of my eye. 
    I rolled my eyes at him and continued to examine the under-hood.  As I tilted my head to get a better look at the back of the engine, I shined the light way in the back and noticed a white, rusty corroded wire attached to it.  I remembered Adam talking about this same ground wire when he was replacing the engine on his car, and I instantly realized that this was the reason the starter wasn’t working for Carter.
    “You’ve got a corroded ground wire here, Carter.” 
    His amused expression quickly morphed into a WTF expression.  “Huh?”  He came up next to me and looked at the spot where my flashlight was shining.  Reaching down to grab the wire, it broke into pieces from his touch. 
    “Well, fuck a duck.  You’ve got to be shitting me.”  A dumbstruck Carter said, shaking his head as it dropped down.  “I can’t believe I didn’t look back there.”
    “Oh, now I’ve seen it all!” yelled James, as he walked toward us with a grin from ear to ear.
    “Carter just got schooled by a girl!” shouted Casey, erupting in laughter.
    Carter stood upright and pointed at Casey.  “Fuck you, shithead!”
    On the other side of the shop, Logan stopped wrenching under the hood of one of the cars and walked over to us.  “What’s going on?”
    “Your girl knows cars, that’s what’s going on!” Jimbo laughed.  “She just gave Carter a lesson!”
    Logan studied me attentively as a smile crept onto his face.  “Really?”
    I shrugged.  “No, not really.  It’s no big deal.”
    “My ass it’s no big deal!” Casey interrupted.  “Carter was all ‘oh what to do? What to do?’ then Liv strolled over and dominated his ass in zero point two seconds !  She’s all ‘it’s the ground wire, dumbass!’”  He used a feminine voice to portray Carter, and deep, manly voice for me.
    The others all laughed hysterically at his remarks.  Logan grinned and his eyes were slightly squinted as he watched me like he was processing information.
    “It literally took her less than 30 seconds to figure that shit out, dude.” Casey continued between laughs. 
    I shook my head.  “As much as I love that interpretation, Casey, it was just a corroded wire, anyone could’ve missed it.  It’s no big deal!”
    Casey’s laughter filtered down to chuckles.  “If you say so sweetheart.” 
    After several more stabs at Carter, the commotion eventually died down, and the men went back to their work.  Logan stayed by me.  “Damn, a pool shark and you know cars?  Any other surprises I should know about?”
    “Nope, that’s it,” I replied.  “And I don’t know that much about cars!” 
    Defeated, Carter looked over at me, then Logan.  “That was pretty fucking cool.  For a girl.”  He patted Logan on the back.  “She’s a keeper.”  Then he excused himself to go have a cigarette out in the parking lot.
    “We’re just friends.”  Logan and I called after him in unison.  Carter turned around and chuckled, then kept walking.
    “Care to explain?” Logan asked.
    I rolled my eyes.  “There’s nothing to explain!” 
    “It’s not everyday someone like you”—he looked me up and down—“can school an experienced mechanic on auto repair techniques.”
    I sighed.  “It was just a corroded wire,” I said for