Buckle Up

Story Submitted by Grace:

On my date with Tim, he picked me up from where I worked. On our way to dinner, I noticed that he wasn't wearing a seat belt.

I asked him about it and he said, "I don't wear seat belts. My best friend's brother died in a car wreck after the seat belt he was in jammed while the car was on fire."

I asked, "Don't you think you're far more likely to die in a crash because you're not wearing one?"

He replied, "Ask my best friend's brother. Oh wait! You can't! He's dead! Thanks for bringing it up."

I was silent after that, and we made it to dinner without incident. Dinner was a bit awkward, as he didn't say much, and when he did, it was all about how I shouldn't wear a seat belt.

He said, "And what you said before was false. You're actually far more likely to die if you are wearing one. I read it in some magazine. They did this huge study. Seat Belts Monthly magazine, or something."

"Seat Belts Monthly?"

"Yeah. I'm positive."

I was unaware that there existed such a magazine. We talked about a few other topics, he paid the check, I thanked him, and we climbed back into his car.

I put on my seat belt and he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Putting on my seat belt. You don't have to."

He replied, "First of all, I know for a fact that I don't have to: my car, my rules. That being the case, I don't want you to wear yours. Try riding without it."

I told him, "I'm putting my seat belt on. You do what you want."

He stepped out of the car and said to me, "Step out with me, for a minute."

I did. He walked around his car, opened the trunk, pulled out a short hunting knife, came over to my side, and sliced through the passenger-side seat belt, letting it flop down, onto the seat. "That fixes that, then," he said.

He tossed the knife back into the trunk, closed it, then walked back to his side of the car. He said to me, "Ready to go, now?"

I said, "I'm going to call a friend to pick me up."

"Whatever," he said, then jumped into the car and drove away. I then called a friend, who came by to pick me up. We had a good laugh over Tim.