Causeway Parking Lot to the Mainland; Later Tuesday Afternoon

[totalwildcard]

It might not have ultimately been too much of a surprise which car in the parking lot was Harley's current ride. At least if you happened to know the Chevy Impala was Dean's provided it was even present on Tuesday. The funky 1970s green Chevy Chevelle sedan (four doors, see what she'd said about the back seat?) was of course Harley's: a classic look, but not so flashy as to attract too much attention and immediately get her in trouble as soon as she'd grabbed it from where the very unfortunate previous owner had left it.

Although the main hint that it was hers was still probably that she'd parked her butt on the hood of the thing as she waited for Marc to get there.

Call it a freebie.

(for that guy, continued from here!

Comments

[totalwildcard]

"Oh, promises, promises," Harley replied, unaware of the narrative but definitely clocking the correct vibe all the same. "You haven't seen me eat pie, you know. You might have to work hard."

[hasaknightjob]

"I can take a challenge," Marc said. "Haven't backed down from one yet."

[totalwildcard]

"That's what I'm counting on."

And if she'd planned to say anything else, too bad: the waitress showed up with their impressive bag of pie, and the check.

And Harley's hand slid casually away from his (with one last casual brush of her thumb as it went), no big deal. "All yours, sweetie."

[hasaknightjob]

"Thought that was coming later," Marc replied. He reached for his wallet and put down enough cash to cover the bill and a good tip. "Or was that just you?"

[totalwildcard]

"That's for me to know," Harley retorted, as she was getting up, "and for you to hope to find out."

[hasaknightjob]

Marc snagged the bag with the pies in it as he got up to join her. "I dunno. Seems to me right now your dessert is in my hands."

[totalwildcard]

"Are we threatening my dessert, now?" Harley wondered, stepping up closer to him just to give him a nudge towards the door. No other reason. "Play nice, Marc."

[hasaknightjob]

"I'm not nice," Marc reminded her. He was still going to try to put an arm around her once they were outside though. No reason.

[totalwildcard]

While Harley slid her own arm around him just enough to slide her hand down onto his backside. Because what was even the point of letting someone hold you if you couldn't also then stake a temporary claim on a nice ass?

(Aside from the all kinds of good it made her feel, including ways she wasn't going to think about.)

"That's why I suggested playing," she replied, oh so cleverly.

[hasaknightjob]

"That's fair," Marc had to admit. If she was going to put her arm around him he was going to hold her closer. Because the positioning allowed for it. And that meant they were talking up less space for anyone who might suddenly appear and need to get around them on the way back to the car. Or something.

[totalwildcard]

So really they were just being mindful of everyone else! And not just being all touchy for selfish reasons! Which meant Harley was definitely walking slow only for some universally beneficial reason and not just to draw out the way to the car.

"See, I got you!" she said. "Wouldn't dream of calling you nice."

She held for a beat.

"While you have my pies hostage."

[hasaknightjob]

"See?" Marc said, looking down at her. Only literally because of the height difference. His expression was one that someone could call indicative of being fond of Harley's company. Only if that person didn't know Marc well enough to know he never had facial expressions at all, of course. "You don't romanticize it. Saves so much time."

[totalwildcard]

And Harley was just beaming up at him again. She didn't do subtle, after all.

"It's 'cause I'm smart, and I know to pick my battles."

[hasaknightjob]

Marc looked her over. "Are all of them good ones?"

[totalwildcard]

"Of course not!" Harley replied cheerfully.

There was apparently a limit to the kinds of claims she was willing to make.

"But some are!"

[hasaknightjob]

"Guess we'll see where I rank at the end of the night," Marc said.

Or tomorrow morning.

[totalwildcard]

Harley was hoping for tomorrow morning, personally. Privately.

"I guess so," she chirped, as they sadly ran out of parking lot and came up to the car. "And oh, here's our ride! No one dumb enough to steal this from me this time, either! Good."

[hasaknightjob]

"Not sure I like the implication about what it means that you stole it first," Marc said. He let go of her since she had to deal with keys and that boring stuff.

[totalwildcard]

Harley stole a little pat on his butt before her hand slid away to, sigh, yes, deal with the keys.

"It implies I was extremely smart to take this beauty off whatever chump had it before me," she said, unlocking the door. "And anyone trying to take it off me before I have a need to ditch it would be dumb."

And with that, she slid back into the driver's seat, so that she could lean over and unlock the door for him.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc got in. He put the bag down on the floor in front of the back seat as the potentially safest option in case of any sharp turns. "Long as that's what you meant. It's not a bad car for what it is."

[totalwildcard]

"It's a great car for what I need."

Which, to be fair, mostly came down to being able to withstand her reckless driving. Which he was about to see a lot more of, since Harley was invested in getting them back to the island quick.

Starting with the way she peeled out of the parking lot as soon as she'd maneuvered the car out of the spot.

[hasaknightjob]

"Any plans on how long you're keeping it?" Marc asked. He wasn't particularly invested in the answer so much as in learning about Harley's thought process.

He wasn't examining why he was curious about Harley's thought process.

[totalwildcard]

Harley shrugged. "Until it starts breaking down?" she offered. "Or starts pulling too much cop attention. Or has a minor case of getting crashed into a wall? Ooh, or if I spot one I want more than this one!"

Harley's thought process with this one was same as with many other things: jumbled and sprawling, allowing for many potential outcomes at once.

[hasaknightjob]

"Ever steal a bike?" Marc asked. Again mainly curious.

[totalwildcard]

"Sometimes," Harley replied, in a tone that would have been much too light and easy for regular people when it came to this topic, "but it's never my first option."