“I need to borrow your car tomorrow,” I said casually to Ty while flipping through channels on my TV.
“Go back, go back,” Ty shouted.
He loved baseball and I had clicked right through a game that was playing. I didn’t mind watching sports, but I wasn’t a fanatic like Ty. He loved placing bets on different games, so he always wanted to see if he would win anything. I tossed him the remote and stood up to get a drink from the kitchen.
It was Friday night and Ty had come over to try and drag me out to a club since his date fell through. I just wanted to stay in and not have a late night for once. I didn’t mind hanging around at my place every now and then. I had an Upper East Side penthouse apartment in one of the many apartment complexes my father owned. It was secure, modern, and in a nice location, so I was thrilled to move there—away from my parents’ mansion, which was ceaselessly brimming with staff, the smell of stale cigarettes, and my sister's constant harassment. My mom had hired a decorator to take care of every detail, right down to sheets and soap, so I showed up with only three suitcases of my own things and a laptop. Admittedly, I did buy myself a coffee grinder, though—I loved a good cup of coffee first thing in the morning and was content to do small things like that on my own. My coffee was always brought to me when I lived at my parents’ house.
“Sure, if you tell me why,” Ty said, distracted by the game on the TV.
“It's for a date,” I hollered from the kitchen. I had used Ty's VW for my last dinner date with Skyla, so I didn’t want to show up tomorrow with a different car or, even worse, with my own expensive Maserati, especially after the watch fiasco.
“Wait, what!” Ty clicked off the TV and came over to the kitchen. “Do tell,” he said coyly. He stood against the bar island that separated the kitchen and living room, arms crossed, while he waited for me to spill the story.
“Nothing to tell yet,” I said, washing my drink down with a tall glass of water. “She's a Pure L I plan on turning.”
“No way!” Ty exclaimed. He had managed to move one Normal toward darkness, but no L Glow had ever been interested in dating him.
Ty reached into his pocket and held out his keys. As I went to grab them, he put them behind his back.
“Details,” he demanded, the keys still behind his back.
“Come on, Ty,” I moaned. “It's not a big deal.” I honestly didn’t want to get into too many details with Ty. He had a big mouth, and the news would spread like wildfire. I considered wrestling him to the ground for the keys, but decided against it since Ty was more proficient at martial arts than I was.
“This is the second time you’ve borrowed my baby, so I deserve some info. A picture—at least a picture?” Ty brought his car keys to the front of his body and jingled them.
“Your baby? Please,” I scoffed. “You’re only driving it because you pissed off your dad when you totaled your second Porsche in less than a year. Besides, I don’t have a picture.”
“Not even on social media?” Ty's mouth dropped in disbelief.
“We’ve only emailed, texted, or called,” I confessed.
“How quaint,” he teased. “Then a name.”
“Stella,” I lied instinctively. I wasn’t sure why I lied; it just came out of my mouth before I could stop it.
“Stella? That sounds like an old person's name.” Ty threw me a look of disgust.
“She's twenty-three.”
“Oh.” Ty paused as if thinking about the situation. “Is she hot?” he suddenly asked, raising his eyebrows up and down.
“Yes.” I grinned, then sighed. Ty could be so immature at times.
Ty tossed me the keys and held out his hand.
“What?” I shot.
“Uh, the keys to your car. How else do you expect me to get around?” Ty said, overly dramatic.
I frowned at him and took the keys to my Maserati off the key shelf, tossing them to Ty.
“Try to stay within the state of New York this time.”
Last time he drove his date all the way to Rhode Island and I was stuck with his dump of a car for two days. “And don’t you dare get into an accident.” I pointed my finger at him and gave him a warning look.
“I’m going to need another more permanent car solution if I continue to date Sky—uh, Stella,” I mused, quickly correcting myself.
“Why don’t you just buy yourself another car?” Ty asked, ducking his head into the fridge.
“Yeah,” I sighed begrudgingly. “I guess I’m going to have to get a beater.”
“Or,” Ty said, grabbing a yogurt and shutting the fridge door. “Trade your car for mine.”
“Dark, no.” I just got my Maserati last summer and wasn’t giving it to anyone. I loved it.
“Your Dad must be happy about this.”
A red flag went up in my head. My father! Why did I mention this to Ty?
“Ty, I need to ask you a favor,” I said tentatively.
“You mean besides taking my car?” Ty said as he rummaged through my drawer for a small spoon.
“Borrowing,” I corrected. “And it's a great deal for you since you get my Maserati—you should be thanking me. Anyway, could you not mention this to your dad or anyone in my family just yet?”
“Why not?”
“Well…you do understand the consequences I would face if I failed, right?”
Ty slowly stirred the yogurt, contemplating what I said.
“Come on, Ty,” I snapped impatiently when he didn’t reply.
“OK, for one thousand dollars, I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
“What? You’re joking.” I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn’t.
I grabbed the yogurt from his hand before he could dig his spoon in it.
“Hey!” Ty protested.
“You can’t come to my house, eat my food, and blackmail me!” I complained. Of course, I could easily afford to give him a thousand dollars if I wanted to, but I didn’t want to.
“Chill, man,” Ty said, holding up his hands. “What kind of D Glow would I be if I didn’t seize an opportunity when I saw one?”
“You’re right,” I said, tilting my head. “And what kind of D Glow would I be if I didn’t threaten your life for blackmailing me?”
“You wouldn’t,” Ty said dubiously.
“I see it going down like this: I would tell my father that you stole money from me, and then he would ensure you got the message to never to steal from his son again.”
“The security team works for my dad,” Ty jeered.
“Who works for my dad,” I retorted. “Besides, if your dad heard you stole from me, he would personally beat your ass.”
“I could just tell him you were lying and why,” Ty replied slyly.
“You know what, Ty? Go ahead, I don’t care.” I was irritated that Ty was giving me such a hard time about this. I didn’t want my dad to know, but I certainly wasn’t giving in to blackmail either.
Ty grabbed the yogurt I had set on the counter and sat down on one of the bar stools.
“OK, fine, I’ll keep my mouth shut,” he sighed. “But for the record, I was just going to take the money one time and not keep blackmailing you.”
“Oh, a blackmail special?” I rolled my eyes and hid my relief that Ty backed down. I should’ve just kicked his ass. Ty was a great liar, but I could tell, in this case, he was telling me the truth.
“Are we cool?” Ty asked with a spoonful of yogurt in his mouth.
“Like a dark winter's night.” I crinkled up a napkin and threw it at him. “Oh, and for the record, I wasn’t going to have you killed, just roughed up a little.”
“How light of you,” Ty said, scraping the last of the yogurt out of the container.