It barely did and the engine finally roared to life, louder than it should since he needed a new muffler.Jake drove the money box down the beach highw...ay to the main store. It was crowded with tourists browsing for t-shirts, beach towels, sea shells and other cheap beach souvenirs. He carried the money box inside and shouted, “Hey man,” to Ronnie the manager. Then Jake strolled past Ronnie into the office and locked the money box in the closet.“Busy today Jake?” Ronnie asked as Jake walked. She was the kind of woman that I was too scared to approach, because I knew my failure would ruin everything. And besides, she had a steady boyfriend. Nevertheless, during my high school years we did develop a friendly relationship that was unfortunately completely platonic.After high school we both went to the university and moved to the big city. She asked me if I would want to live with her and naturally I said yes. I never thought about how frustrating it would be to live with somebody you. Vanessa shrugged, “The best that Mario had today.” Knowing her, I bet the apricot mostarda will migrate to another dish.The winner that night — a unanimous hit — was fish chicharrón. Pilar told us Vanessa had worked hours getting it just right. I said, “I love this. What in the world is it? I’ve never had anything like it.”“Sheathes of sea-bass skin.”“Skin? That’s it?”Vanessa smiled, “There’s a little bit more to it. First you deep fry it until it’s crackly. Then coat it in salt, pepper,. I don't know what happened on that date, but she must have told half the girls in the county because within days, girls were calling Travis, asking him out for dates. In a way, I was kind of jealous, partly because of what we had done together, and also just by virtue of having spent so much time with him driving around. But whenever I wanted to be close to him, I only needed to knock on his bedroom door and he would welcome me with open arms. Of course, I knew why all the girls were calling.