2019-06-11 - Chop Chop!

It's well after normal business hours, which would normally mean lights out in the garages of Fox Automotives. But when you're half-staffed and trying to catch up with work, sometimes you just have to keep going. At least no customers around means one can have a beer while working away, so there's a 6 pack nearby. Zoe's covered in grease, her blonde hair pulled back and out of the way in a messy ponytail. The top half of her coveralls are tied around her waist instead, so she can rock a plain black tank top. The local radio station is playing Sabotage by the Beastie Boys, and Zoe's singing along with her head in the hood of a BMW sedan and tools in hand.

HONK HONK. It's loud, mostly because the car isn't. It's a slick looking sports car, convertible, and behind it is Jay wearing sunglasses what looks like, for fuck's sake, a valet uniform. It's red and he has a little bowtie; disgusting. He hops onto the seat and leans against the top edge of the windshield. "You Fox?"

Reaching for a towel to wipe her hands off with, Zoe emerges through the front service entrance and squints warily at the vehicle. She does star for a while, because it's pretty and probably goes really fast. "Yeah, but we're closed," she says at first, while still trying to scrape some grime off her hands and forearms. "What do you need?" Now it's her turn to size up Jay. It does not appear that she is a fan of bowties, given the scrunched look on her face.

"I'm pretty sure being closed for business is the best time for me," Jay says with a smile. "Do you have somewhere I can stick this bad boy that no one cruising by would see?"

"Maybe," Zoe blurts, not an outright denial but not confirmation, either. "I don't know you. What's the offer?" See, she's a businesswoman.

"Sixty/Forty," Jay says, pointing at her for sixty, and at himself for forty. "Since you're gonna have to take it apart and stash it meanwhile." He shrugs. He's fair! He knows which part of the work takes more time and sweat. He had the fun part!

There's a glance to the car, then back to Jay. The process is repeated. "Seventy/Thirty, the parts will take me some time to move." Zoe steps closer to the car, circling around it to get a better, more appreciative, look.

Jay takes a deep breath and raises both brows at her. "Sixty-five/Thirty-five, don't make me drive outta here, this thing hits 100 before you can reconsider," Jay informs her with a big smile and a tilt of his head.

"Like there's anyone else around here you could easily rope into it," Zoe points out with lifted brows, her expression skeptical. A hand extends expectantly to shake, however. She's cool with the compromise.

"You don't know my skills," Jay says with a laugh. He reaches out and shakes her hand firmly, and then he hops back into the driver's seat. "Lead the way, Greasarella." Because of all the grease smudges on her face. He winks.

"And you don't know mine, Bowtie," Zoe replies with a cheerful little smile. "Circle around back, I've got some longer term storage opened up." She leads the way through the dim light, sorting through some jingling keys in the process until she finds what she's looking for. With some wrangling, she hauls open a shed large enough for a few vehicles and a workbench. There's only one other car in there, and it's an early 2000s Honda Civic so nothing exciting to look at. Standing to the side, she does the Vanna White with her arms toward the empty space.

Vroom vroom. Jay circles around back and once the garage is open, he slides the car inside and turns the engine off, hopping out. "Very nice," he says, looking around. After a longer glance around, he turns back to her and smiles. "I'm Jay, by the way."

"Zoe. You new around here?" the blonde wonders with a tilt of her head. "Thanks," she adds, pride evident in her tone of voice. "You get a referral to me or something?" Once things are settled, she pulls down the garage door with a manual yank and dusts her hands off. "I've got beer," she adds, gesturing toward the interior of the main garage.

"Ooh, beer." Jay doesn't mind if he does. "Dude I pulled the bait-and-switch for the car tipped me on you. Jimmy? Jessie? Something like that. I don't know." Jay finds a place to sit and pops himself down like he's been invited. Because he has, kind of. You don't give beer to someone without them being welcome to sit. "Don't mind me saying but you're a little green about this whole illegitimate choppy-shoppy business, yeah?"

"Cool," Zoe's pace is brisk as she leads the way inside. There are more vehicles in various states of repair, and very little to indicate anyone else is helping her out at any other hours. The place is a little disorganized. Cracking open beers for them both, she hands Jay one and takes a chug of her own before moving to finish up the work on the BMW. The radio has since moved on to some AC/DC. "Don't mind," she laughs. "Bills stacking up. Don't have a whole lot of choice but to jump into the deep end. Aren't as many races these days, so income's a little shot right now."

Jay grins at her. "Well, good on you for having the ovaries necessary to take charge." He holds his beer up in cheers. "Next time don't take someone offering a deal like that at face value. If I were a cop you'd be in trouuuuubleeeee." He's not, though. "Just sayin'. Also, keep the place looking like this. The more legit you look the better."

"Dude, it's a small town. I know the cops here," Zoe points out with a wry smile. "Hell, I've helped with the cruisers before. Maybe I'm a plant too," she points out with a wag of her finger. "You could be behind bars right now." There's a glance around and she nods toward the far wall with most of the tools. "I'd like to think I'm 90% legit with a smattering of no one else's business. What brought you to town?"

"Fair enough." Her question gets a shrug. "Friend of mine is living here, and I needed a place to lay low." Which apparently stealing sports cars qualifies, somehow. He grins. "KNowing the cops is a good card to have. You're full-on local, then?"

"Born, bred, never got the fuck out," Zoe laments, leaning into the hood of the BMW again. "Not the worst place in the world, I'm assuming. Long as you play your cards right you'll skate by just fine. We were totally legit 'til Dad got sick, and now I'm just trying to keep things going. You know?"

He shakes his head. "No, not really. My family's never had money issues. I think I'm the only one scrounging to get by, mostly because I didn't want to get into the family business." Jay shrugs. "But I'm sorry about your dad, that sucks. I'm glad I could help? Sort of?"

"No cereal for dinner in your life?" Zoe teases with a lifted brow, peeking out at Jay from under the hood. "Family of accountants or something?" Pulling back from the car, she admires her work for a moment before closing the hood with a satisfying thunk. "Thanks. It'll work out," she doesn't sound particularly hopeful.

"Not exactly," Jay says, when she asks if the family is accountants. He shakes his head and smiles. Her less-than-hopeful reassurance gets a raised brow and then he smiles, taking a drink of his beer. "So what do you do for fun outside of breaking the law and speed limit?"

"Music," is Zoe's prompt response. "I jam a lot in my not-so-free time. Sometimes I hit up the open mic nights. Mostly just here though," she gestures upstairs with a quick wave of her hand. "You? Aside from stealing cars and dressing up like a valet or some ivy league jerk," her smile is wry as she steps around him to wash up in the industrial sink.

"Hey. This was part of the get up. How do you think I got the guy to give me the keys to his sports car?" Jay smiles big. "What kinna music? Like jazzy jazz?" He squints. "No. You look more like you like to rock out."

"Uh huh. I hope you have something better to change into," Zoe laughs over her shoulder. She's trying to look mostly respectable, but there's still grease in her hair and smeared on her neck. "Jazz is definitely not my thing. Rock all the way," she throws up the horns, hand covered in heavy duty pink soap. "You play anything?"

"Naw. I used to. I could probably pick it back up but I wouldn't trust myself around people with an axe until I'd had some time to practice. I don't mind making a fool of myself in most ways but not that. Once girls see you sucking at guitar, it doesn't matter how much you improve, your mystique is ruined." He grins at her.

"Drums. Take up the drums. If you can rock the arm thing where you roll your sleeves up your forearms and-- just trust me, that's hot as hell," Zoe insists while drying her hands off.

"I could probably. Is this a guide on how to impress you? Should I be taking notes?" He smiels as he finishes the beer, dangling it off his fingertips as he looks around for a garbage can or something.

"Do you really need a guide? You're doing pretty well so far," Zoe notes cheerfully, lifting her beer in a jaunty salute before taking a long swig. "You want another?" There's a jerk of her chin toward the remainder of the pack. "Shit, I should have ordered pizza or something."

Jay just smiles a little. When she offers another one, he inclines his head. "Yeah, sure. Never say no to beer when you aren't driving home. That's my motto." He just made it up. "We could still order pizza. Unless the pizza place in this one-horse town already closed."

"Of course," Zoe sounds amused, craning her head to one side. "Call it a one-horse town and you won't get annnnny," a finger wags in Jay's direction. Stepping off to the side, she reaches for her phone to pull up an app for a local chain. "Where's home, anyway?"

"Originally?" He rolls off the seat and goes to grab another beer. "San Francisco. Also, kudos for 'where's home' and not 'where are you really from'." He's Asian. He's probably used to the latter.

"I meant more where are you staying around here, but that's cool," one of Zoe's shoulders lifts high. "Could be quite a walk without a car," she cracks a smile. "Thirty minutes 'til pizza. Hope you like Hawaiian."

"Oh. Trailer park. Friend of mine is living there and I'm crashing with her because I'm very good at imposing and she's horrible at kicking me out." He eyes her. "I mean chances are you probably didn't actually order Hawaiian, but as a matter of fact, I do."

"Why wouldn't I order Hawaiian? It's the best pizza," Zoe states very matter-of-factly. "That on your resume? Imposing?" Amused, she reaches for another beer. "C'mon, I got a couch and TV upstairs. Why commute when you can live at work," she says casually. She starts waving Jay along after flipping a few of the interior lights off, but the front light illuminating the entrance is left on for the lucky pizza guy.

Jay should know better than to venture further into the den of a stranger that works with heavy machinery. He should. He doesn't, but he should. He takes a swig of the beer and then ambles after her. "I wouldn't say it's the best pizza, but it's definitely good. I like black olives myself. Sprinkled on, you know?"

Zoe should probably also not hide hot cars for strangers, so it's a bad decision kind of night. Beer in hand, she trudges up the stairs to the relatively spacious apartment. It's cleaner than the garage. Sinking onto the couch, she reaches for the remote and starts flipping channels. "Olives are the bomb, I'll give you that. Kalamata on a fattoush salad? Yes please."

Jay finds a post on her couch and plops down with her. After all, when in Rome. He takes another drink of his beer and says, "Well, yeah, but olives on pizza and olives on salad are two completely different things. I do like caprese pizza, though."

"I've never had that. Hm." Zoe looks thoughtful. "That sounds like it could be pretty legit. Now I'm just really hungry," she coughs out a laugh. "What d'you wanna watch?" Offering the remote, she glances sidelong at her phone to see the pizza ETA.

"I dunno. What do you usually watch? Are you a reality show sort'a girl? Or like, Netflix all the way? Or cable television." He gives a little gasp. "THE NEWS?"

"Reality?" Zoe leans in and squints at Jay. "I own a car shop. What makes you think I watch that shit?" she laughs brightly. "Honestly, I don't watch a whole lot of TV. Usually too busy. I'd rather go for a drive instead most of the time. But if I have to, yeah, usually something on Netflix." A wry smile follows. "I get my news on the internet like most people under the age of sixty."

"I don't know, man, there are a bunch of gearhead reality shows about dudes buying and selling classic cars or whatever. I don't know you. You might be weird like that." Jay grins at her.

"Here I was being judgmental and assuming you meant The Bachelor or something like that," Zoe takes a long swig from her bottle, glancing at Jay out the corner of her eye. "I'd totally watch that shit if I had the right channels," she grins. "What do you watch? Lemme guess... cooking shows?"

"Nah," Jay says, "I watch the Bachelor." He takes a long drink of his beer as if he's serious, but then he smiles. "Mostly movies or tv shows. New one based on some concepts Bruce Lee had is really good."

"I bet you get all sorts of great tips from that show. In a screwed up way, I can see why a show about a horde of women fawning themselves over one dude could be appealing," Zoe snorts. "New one, huh? Is it on Netflix?" she tosses Jay the remote as car lights from the pizza guy's arrival can be seen through the window. "Be right back." It doesn't take long to head back down and answer the door, and she returns promptly with cheesy goodness.

"Nah. Airs weekly." Jay catches the remote and turns his head to check her out as she wanders out to go get the pizza. He pokes around through Netflix and then findsa movie about a chick who wants to buy a unicorns. "Hey," he says, as she walks back in. "This one's got Samuel Jackson."

"Oh, cool." Zoe comments upon return. She pauses by the kitchen (really more of a kitchenette, but whatever) and brings with her some plates and napkins. All of it is dropped with a thump onto the coffee table. "I'll watch anything with Samuel L. Jackson." There's a curious look at the TV. "Huh, she kinda looks like me."

Jay narrows his eyes at the screen and then turns to look at her, and then the screen, and then her. "Mmmmm. I don't knooooooow..." He grabs a slice of pizza, still unsure.

"I always knew my doppelganger was out there. Somewhere. Ha," Zoe beams, easing comfortably onto the couch and diving right into that slice of pizza. "She's just got less grease," she points out.

"I guess," Jay says, as if he's trying to see it but just failing. He's an okay jester, but the smirk betrays him. He takes a bite of the pizza and chews quietly. Someone was taught manners. "I'll never be able to say 'mother fucker' like Sammy J," he laments.

"Not with that attitude," Zoe lightly bumps his leg with her foot. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained, or something like that," a hand waves off that trite comment just after it leaves her mouth. "You could always try ranting about snakes on a plane."

"Or quoting Bible verses, I guess," Jay says with a laugh. He reaches out with his own foot and shoves her leg back. Quid pro quo, yo.

"Royale with cheese," Zoe grins, then waves the remnants of her crust in Jay's face. "So you're shiny too," she points out after a moment. Maybe he'll get it. Maybe he won't! Maybe she gets weird with too much beer.

He snorts. "Shiny?" He doesn't seem to get the term, but there's something of interest there. He lifts a brow. "What's that?"

"You've stumbled into Weird Town," Zoe points out between bites. "Looks like you fit right in. Literal - shiny sparkly," her fingers wiggle around Jay. "It's a sign that you can do Weird Shit." Obviously those are the technical terms. "We can usually pick each other out in a crowd."

"Oh." He squints a little bit. "I didn't... hrm." He picks up another slice of pizza and then says, "Good to know." It's obviously not a subject he's too particularly used to talking about.

"It's just a thing around here. Sorry to uh, pop your cherry on that one?" Zoe's head tilts to the side a little, shoulders shrugging. Too late now. "Better to know than not, I guess?" Done with pizza, she resumes with her beer.

"No, yeah, it's fine. I just didn't really --I haven't talked to anyone about it. So it caught me by surprise." Jay shrugs. "It's cool." He takes a drink of his beer. "Has it always just... been?"

"I kinda figured," Zoe dips her head. "Far as I know, yeah. I realized it when I was, uh, a teenager? But not sure if I just didn't -notice- it before or- you know what I mean?" There's a pause. "I'm not the most researched on it, I just know that we're not the only ones. Which is awesome yet terrifying. But yeah, there's just always been odd stuff around here."

"Huh. Well, good to know." He considers for a long moment and then asks, "What do you do? I mean, like, what's your thing?"

"Me? Mostly break stuff, fix stuff, it's.. kind of broad. People, things, it's all about structures for me." Zoe's head tilts, and she twists on the couch to face Jay with a curious expression. "What about you?"

"Yeah. Same, I think? Move things. Not people." He shrugs. "I've had a few accidents but I haven't really explored it much, to be honest."

"Oh. Hey. That's pretty cool," Zoe's eyes widen. "Well, you're in the right spot for uh. Exploration," her smile is sunny and bright. "Aren't you glad you picked my shop to chop your car up?"

"I mean," Jay says, "weird talk, hot blonde, pizza, beer." He shrugs. "Yeah, I mean, I usually make really bad choices, so there might be another shoe dropping soon, but for now..." He holds his beer up. "Cheers."

"Cheers," Zoe beams, clinking her bottle of beer against Jay's. "I'd offer to make out or something since you called me hot, but I've got an allergy to bowties," she explains, pointing a finger at his neck.

"What." Jay deadpans at her. "Bowties are cool," he says, very serious.

"They. Are. Hideous. It's an instant boner killer, I swear," Zoe frowns at Jay in a sour fashion.

"But it's adorable. It frames my youthful visage!" Jay claims, holding up his hands after setting the beer down. "See?" He puts his hands on either side of his face. "Fine. I mean, if it's such an eyesore you can just get rid of it."

"Are you trying to emulate a ten year old boy from Savannah?" Zoe snickers freely, one brow lifting as she stares at him oh so skeptically. "Maybe I will," she starts to reach for it, but her hand recoils. "Oooh, it buuuurns."

"Maybe I am. You don't know what gets me off yet." Yet? He watches her hand come close, and then recoil. "Back, demon. Back." He he wags his brows.

"If you're into quoting Gone With the Wind or some shit..." Zoe takes it in stride, pretty much left laughing as she leans an arm on the back of the couch. Her hand slides in for attempt #2, but rather than mess with it much she just swoops in for an experimental kiss. Unless he starts with a Georgia accent, then fuck that.

Maybe he expected it, maybe he didn't; either way, Jay doesn't move or turn away. Her mouth catches his and the tangy mix of pineapple and cheese press against their mouths. He grins against her kiss, and then slides his tongue out, licking along her lips as he lifts a hand and wraps it around her neck. "See? Bowtie." He grins.

"In spite of," Zoe insists in a grumble, but her eyes are pleased. "See, now I've got to compare without," she points out, fingers lifting to undo the damn thing and fling it somewhere on the other side of the room. Probably to be found when moving the TV stand to vacuum one of these days.

Jay barks a laugh when she tosses the bowtie somewhere. He slides his hand up along the back of her head, digging his fingers into her blonde hair and then pulling on it a little, just enough so when he bites her lip it tugs.

Zoe makes a low, pleased noise. Fun fact, there's still grease in her hair, so they'll prooobably need to clean up later. Since there's no point in playing coy, she swings a leg up and over his lap so she's straddling him outright. There's a playful glimmer in her eyes before she leans into another kiss, this time with her fingers fisted in his shirt.

"Taking charge. I kinda like it." 'Kinda'? More like definitely. He laughs whern she fists his shirt and he kisses her back, this time letting his tongue slide into her mouth as he slides his hands up between her arms and then around her neck, fingers digging into her hair.

"Kinda," Zoe echoes against his lips, leaning back a bit with a challenging - but amused - expression. "You'll get used to it," she assures him slyly, fingers shifting then to undo the buttons of his shirt because the valet uniform just even doing it for her. Even though one would never know that, considering how close their mouths are right now.

"Yeah?" Jay laughs a little bit. "You plan on taking charge a lot?" He digs his fingers deep into her hair and then he starts to pull slowly, prating their lips just so he can press his mouth against her neck, starting to nibble and bite and lick at it. "Maybe I wanna be in charge."

"How 'bout we take turns. Compromise," Zoe offers with a smirk, biting down hard on her lower lip as his wander to leave marks along her neck. "I think I can get with you being bossy sometimes. Long as we share." Once the de-bowtied shirt is open, she lightly rakes her nails along his skin and looks up at a spot on the ceiling.

Jay laughs and then lowers his arms to wrap around her, tilting to the side and flopping on the couch to roll on it. "We'll figure it out."