Bey tapped her foot against the metal part of the chair she was seated on as the air conditioner a few from her blew with intensity to ward off the summer heat.
She was contemplating calling her boyfriend but her pride was getting the best of her.
She had mentioned getting her car looked at to him before , so when he brushed it off saying he'd do it when his schedule cleared she figured she just save him the time and energy and take it to a local shop to get it taken care of.
Bad idea
She had no idea what she was doing and it showed from the minute she pulled into this establishment. She hadn't driven the car her father bought her for her sixteenth birthday in years, but because she assumed it wouldn't be that hard she drove it anyway without someone tailing her in case she needed help.
She completely forgot how to drive a stick shift, but somehow by the grace of God himself she made it , her only problem being pulling into the garage in a straight line without running over the men standing on the sides staring her down or the metal racks on either side of her.
She wanted to cry when she pushed the gas too hard and jerked forward knocking over trash can that held the dirty rags.
It wasn't anything that couldn't damage the car but it damaged her pride when she had to hand over her keys and let one of the nice mechanics pull her car in for her.
She knew exactly what she came for but now they were telling her all these things that needed to be fixed and taking stuff apart that she didn't even know the name of and no one would explain it for her.
She knew what she had to do but she didn't really want to Since she knew Shawn would've still been sleeping after a late night of working but she was sure he wouldn't mind just answering the phone real quick for her.
She was his life , what else could he possibly be doing that he couldn't stop for her?
"Hey baby"she greeted smiling as soon as she heard him breathing.
"What time is it?"he asked wiping his face with his hand trying to wipe some of the crust out so he could see.
"It's early, but that not the point. I think these guys are over charging me for shit-"
"Stop cussin!"he said cutting her off . She was way too pretty to be talking like trucker and she knew he didn't like that. She thought that because he said a lot of bad words that she had to keep up with him.
When he first met her she was too scared to even say "hell", but now she would start the morning off talking reckless and had the biggest potty mouth.
"You're not my dad"she said rolling her eyes.
"Okay but I'll still beat your ass for cussing , stop playing with me"he said in a deep sleepy voice that was making her nipples hard and poke through the crop top she was wearing.
He was definitely daddy but she wasn't going to let him know that.
"Wait- what you mean some dudes overcharging you? Where are you? Give them the phone so I can talk to them and don't give them no more money Beyoncé"he said making her gasp and her lower lip tremble.
Did he just call her by her first name? It was always Baby or Babe, maybe the occasional BB because it sounded close to baby but not never her government name.
Not unless he was mad at her.
"Are you mad at me?"she asked immediately.
"No , I'm not mad. I'm just trying to figure out where you are and what's going on"he said a little softer.
"I'm at the car shop-"
"The car shop?! What are you doing at the car shop when I said I was going to look at your car when I got the time? It still runs so it's not too bad off. It's not a junk car so tell me exactly what they told you"he asked sitting up.
He was wide awake now and started to get pissed off.
This was the exact reason he didn't want her to go asking people about things that he was supposed to be taking care of. She wasn't even planning on driving that car so he had no idea why she was in a rush to get it fixed up. When did she even look at a shop and why didn't she call him first so they could both go?
She didn't know anything about cars other than they go vroom when she pressed the gas. She didn't even have to worry about what side her pump was on because either he pumped her gas or she rode with him and now she was at a shop getting cheated out of her money.
"That's the problem. They keep using big words and terms I don't really know about , but I've been using Google and trying to get in touch with my dad so that he can translate for me but he's not Answering his phone"Bey whined not liking the tone he was using.
"Okay. Let's start with different parts of the car"he sighed. "What did they say about the tires? Are they gonna rotate them? Only the back two need some air in them , the other two are fine. That should've either been free or cost you less than a dollar"he explained.
"I know how much air cost in tires Shawn, but I needed all three done so he offered me premium air and-"
"Premium air?"he repeated confused.
"Yes premium air , and I got a deal. He only charged me $250 for all three and shined my tires for me while he was down there"she smiled knowing she did good.
"Two hundred and fifty as in dollars?! He charged you two hundred and fifty damn dollars for free air? You can't even polish tires, they just get dirty when you ride around. Put him on the phone right now"Shawn said trying to keep his cool.
"Why are you so pressed? And I can't hand him the phone. He's working on the car right now with his guys. I told him to just fix whatever he could at once so I wouldn't have to come my car up later and once I told him my price range he got right to work . He didn't charge me but half price either so I'm actually saving money. I just needed to ask you-"
"He gave you another deal? Did you ask what the original price was or why he was cutting it in half? He could be doing things that don't even need to be done Bey"Shawn asked trying to figure out what she was even talking about.
"It's Baby"she corrected."And he's just being nice because I'm his first costumer of the day and because I told him my dad bought me this car "Bey explained.
"What are you wearing?"Jay asked out of nowhere.
"Why? It's not important right now , I just need you to tell me what this word means. I have on leggings and a plain old crop top top-"
"And that's why you got a deal"he said seriously.
"Think about it Beyoncé. You're a pretty woman and you came in by yourself. They know you don't know what you're talking about and they were probably looking at everything but your face when you were telling them what you needed done"he groaned.
"Not everything is like that. He lifted the hood and showed me some real things that were going on and asked me if it made noises so I cranked it and it went Bhshejdyehe"she said animating the noise with her hands.
"Bey , I'm sure whatever that was could've been an easy fix. There's no car business in this city that could possibly fix everything in one day which is why they have the option to leave you car in the shop for a few days. With the car you have they'll have to order some new parts from the company that makes them and I know for a fact they don't have them at the shop"he reasoned with her.
"How do you know they don't have the parts? It's an older car so Maybe they already have that stuff here and just want to help me out since I'm paying up front"she asked.
"What did they charge you upfront?"he asked pinching the bridge of his nose.
Bey looked at the double digit number and all the zeros before she shook her head knowing he was about to go off on her.
"Did you keep the receipts? When you pay them they give you a piece of paper that lists everything they're charging you for so you can keep up with it In case you need a refund. Go over and ask him if he didn't already give you one and keep the phone on speaker so I can talk to him myself"Jay said slipping a pair of boxers on and his chains .
He grabbed a pair of joggers and a crisp white tee before closing the drawer and heading to his closet to grab a pair of shoes and a cap.
This woman stressed him out like no other, but that was his baby and he was about to whoop everybody ass in that shop that took advantage of her.
"Nooooo"she dragged.
"No what? Bey I'm coming up there . Just send me the address so I know where I'm going"he said with finality.
"I'm not telling you"she said stubbornly.
"Your location is already on, I'll be there in two minutes"he said before hanging up.
—-
"You still mad?"Jay asked as he drove them back to his place.
Bey nibbled on her fries as she sat in her seat still in a daze.
"You didn't have to try and fight the man"she said lowly.
"He took 5,000 dollars from you and wanted more. He better be glad I didn't whoop his ass for real. He need to be out of business if this how he treat people like you"he argued opening his mouth as she held out his burger for him to take a bite.
"People like me? What does that mean?"She asked slightly offended.
"People who think premium air is a real thing"he said trying not to laugh.
"It's not funny. If there's premium gas why wouldn't there be premium air?"she said sinking into her seat clearly embarrassed.
"It's okay baby"he said leaning over to kiss her face but she moved.
"You should kiss someone that knows premium air isn't a real thing"she pouted.
"Bring them lips here"he said pulling her in so that her head was trapped In his arm while she slobbed.
She wasn't trying too but she was laughing so hard and she was trying to chew her ice.
"Just wait until we have a little girl and she run into the same problem"Bey said finally breaking free from his grasp as she fixed her hair.
"Ima teach her all about this. She gonna know her daddy is the only mechanic she'll ever need" he swore.
///
15 years later
"You should call your dad"China said as she stood outside of the car with her shades on.
"So he can yell at me about messing up my tire again? No thanks. It just needs a little air in it"Blue shrugged.
She knew she ran over something but refused to get out and check the damage in fear of seeing a scratch on the brand new car she had gotten as a deal with her Dad for passing her permit test .
So far she's backed into another Parked car and gotten a ticket for going over the speed limit so she wasn't trying to push her luck.
"Can I help you young lady?"A man asked making both girls jump a mile high.
"I think um ... I think-"Blue stuttered suddenly feeling intimated when she saw there were a few cars behind her waiting to be serviced.
"She ran over something when we left the school parking lot and the back tire is
Looking a little lower than the rest of them. Can you just put some air in it and we'll be on our way?"China interrupted.
The mechanic eyes nearly bucked out of his head when he saw the model of the car and the custom pink interior, only seeing dollar signs as he focused on the Porsche itself.
He had never seen a matte black Porsche in all his days , especially one driven by a teenager.
"Can you fix it or not?"China asked rolling her eyes.
"Don't be rude"Blue scolded her friend. "Sorry about my friend, we're kind of in a rush so we were hoping this wouldn't take long"she smiled kindly.
"Told you we should've just stopped at a gas station"China mumbled as Blue turned the car off.
"Can you start it back up?" The man asked.
"Like this?" Blue asked pressing the push to start button .
"You hear that?"he asked leaning in.
"Hear what?"Blue asked confused. The car sounded just fine to her but then again she didn't know anything other than how to turn it on , off , and how to work her windshield wipers. Anything else , and she would have to call her mom and dad and get a step by step guide on how to do what.
"Yeah what exactly do you hear? We just came to get her tire filled not to play doctor to her car Mr."China said folding her arms.
The man put his hands in the air showing he was surrendering.
"Let's get a look at this tire"he said motioning for China to show him which one he was supposed to be looking at.
"What air do you normally put in here?" He asked kicking each tire with his foot as he took out a pen and scribbled nonsense while both teens looked on waiting for him to say something.
"My dad normally puts air in my moms car but this one is brand new so nothings been done to it after it was driven off the lot"She said looking around nervously as she heard the shrill sound of a drill being used on the car on the next rack.
"There it is"he said making both teens turn their heads to see what he was seeing.
"What is it?"Blue asked readjusting her purse on her shoulder.
"There's a small hole here . All I have to do is plug it unless you want a whole new tire-"
"I'll take a new one"Blue said immediately. She couldn't risk driving on a plugged tire, not if it would just deflate if she ran over something again.
"Do you know what tires you use?" He asked.
"The round kind...?" She said confused.
China sighed before crouching down to read the number on the tire.
"225-57–R17"she read easily.
"Do my other ones need to be filled so it's level with the new one?" Blue asked curiously.
"If it were me I would do it , but like you said you're in a rush and I don't want to hold you up any longer"he threw In.
"How long will it take to do all of this? I need to be home by 5:30 so I can go to a game"Blue inquired.
"How about I cut you a deal. I'll get two of my guys to help me out so we can be done in no later than fifteen minutes"he offered.
"That's perfect!"Blue cheered as she looked to china who didn't seem as excited but found no need to complain.
Yet
"How much is this gonna be?" China asked.
"Well for staters, a new tire will be around $170 , then I have to pay my workers, there's a small fee for holding up this spot, I'll change your oil while I'm at it, and add premium air"he explained.
"Premium air?" China repeated knowing it didn't sound right.
"Can I talk to you real fast?" China asked already pulling Blue away so they could talk in private.
"What are you doing? He's giving me a deal and we're getting the best air for my tires"Blue complained.
"That doesn't even sound remotely real and since when do mechanics charge extra fees for workers? This comes out of their literally paycheck"China said taking out her phone.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Blue asked when she saw her typing.
"Googling premium air"she said before she felt her phone get snatched away.
"Let me call my mom real quick and ask her"Blue said dialing the number.
"Mom?"
"You thought!"Sir laughed as he handed the phone to his mother.
"Mama why does he always have your phone? I was trying to call you and it could've been an emergency-"
"What is it Ivy?" Bey asked as she added some seasoning to her meat.
"I'm at the car shop and the guy is telling me that he'll give me a deal but China thinks he's making stuff up" Blue vented.
"Did he offer you premium air?"Bey sighed already knowing this trick.
"How did you know? I told you it was real"Blue said putting her hand over the speaker on the last part so only China could hear.
"Mom, mom?"she repeated when she didn't hear anything.
"What's your location?" Shawn Asked grabbing his keys.
"Daddy? I don't need your help. I was just asking mom a question about the deal I just got. I don't wreck my dad or anything so don't freak out"Blue rushed out.
"It's okay baby girl, I'm on my way"Jay assured her before he hung up.
"Thought you said you wouldn't have to do this again"Bey snickered as she grabbed the baby from the his high chair and put him on her hip.
"Look at daddy, he's got Deja Vu" Bey cooed as she tickled their sons belly until he laughed.
"Ha ha . So funny"Shawn said grabbing his keys and his wallet. "She get this from you. I don't know how you gave birth to yourself all over again, but she's literally you in a sixteen year olds body and now I have to go save her from getting bougee air in her tires"he said kissing her forehead.
"What's bougee air? Can I come?"Sir asked as he took a piece of fried chicken from the bowl and took a bite.
"Tell your sister to come too. I guess I'm going to have to educate everyone at one time"Shawn said as Sir went to go find Rumi.
"I don't need your help Shawn"Jay mocked as Bey flipped him off.
"I didn't sound like that, now Go get my baby"Bey said rolling her eyes playfully.
Fifteen years and four kids later and he still hasn't let that day go.
"My baby is right here"he said wrapping his arm around both her and Dallas.