“Wait,” Alec said, stepping forward. “You’re not going with Felicity?”
The sound of his voice made me turn in surprise. Amid my concern for Boomer’s truck, I’d completely forgotten about him.Again.What was wrong with me?
“I want to,” Boomer replied and crossed his arms, “but she won’t let us.”
Alec turned his intense gaze back to me. “Why would you go by yourself? That’s not safe.”
“Thank you,” Boomer said, sighing in exasperation. And for the first time, he looked at Alec with what appeared to be acceptance, as if he recognized they were on the same side. “That’s another point for Team Common Sense.”
“Not you too.” I groaned, ignoring Boomer. “We’re talking about San Francisco here, not the murder capital of the world. Besides, I can’t go anywhere if the truck doesn’t start.”
Nobody said anything, a silent acknowledgment of the hopelessness of the situation, and Asha pulled me into a side hug. I checked my watch and swallowed hard. There was no way I would make the bus on time, which meant I wasn’t going to find my sister.
Alec studied me. I must have looked majorly pathetic because his eyes softened and he cleared his throat. “Of course you’re going,”he said, stepping forward. “I’ll drive you.”
I’d completely forgotten he’d driven here until now. I glanced at the car, a Cadillac ATS, parked on the street in front of the house. Obviously it was Alec’s. It was new-car shiny and much too expensive to belong to anyone who lived in my neighborhood.
“Really?”
He nodded.
“Thank you so much, Alec. You’re seriously a lifesaver.” I turned to Asha and said, “Did you write down the address for the station?”
“No, you misunderstood.” Alec waved Asha off when she started digging through her purse. “I’m not taking you to the bus. I’ll drive you to San Francisco.” He straightened his shoulders as he said this, as if he knew I’d argue and was prepared to stand his ground.
“Oh. Um, that’s super nice of you, but I already bought a ticket and—”
“You’re not going alone,” he said, unrelenting. I opened my mouth to respond, but Alec crossed his arms over his chest, and it was impossible not to notice how the sleeves of his shirt crept up over his biceps. “I have a car, and now that you’re not going, there’s a party I want to avoid.”
“But won’t your dad be pissed if you miss it?” I asked. I didn’t want Mr. Williams to dislike me.
Whoa. Slow down, Felicity.
I was getting way ahead of myself. I’d have to stop turning down Alec’s company if I ever wanted to make it to the meet-the-parent stage. Not that I focused on that sort of thing. My mind was onRose, one hundred percent.
He hesitated for a moment but said, “All the more reason to not attend.”
Before I could come up with another excuse, Asha grabbed me by the arm and said to the boys, “Can you give us a moment?” Then she pulled me out of earshot. “Did someone hit you over the head? There’s a fine-ass boy offering to take you on a road trip, and you can’t say no fast enough. What is wrong with you?”
“I want to go with him,” I said, glancing at Alec. He still had his arms crossed.God, why does stern look so good on him?“Trust me, I do. But I already paid for my ticket, Asha. I can’t waste it.”
“Who cares? It’s only sixty bucks, Felicity. For once, can you stop thinking about money and have some fun?”
Her words stung. Did Asha really think all I thought about was how much I had in the bank? She made me sound like my mom.
“Fine,” I muttered. “I’ll let him drive me, but you’re wrong. I don’t just think about money.” I marched back over to the boys and announced, “Alec, I hope you’re a good driver, because I get carsick easily.” Although I’d already experienced Alec’s driving, I couldn’t say I remembered much about it. I was too distracted by him and his car to be nauseous.
Alec scoffed and pulled his keys out of his pocket. “I’m a great driver.” He spun the key chain around his finger. “We can head out whenever you’re ready.”
“All right, just let me say bye.” I turned toward my friends and found them huddled together a few feet away, speaking in hushed tones. “What’s going on?”
Boomer glanced up, and I knew from his expression that the two were up to something. Asha turned around to face me with a fierce gaze and set jaw.
“We’ve made a decision.” There was her I-mean-business voice again.
I raised an eyebrow. “About what?”
“You wouldn’t let us come along before because you didn’t want us spending money on tickets,” she said. “But since Alec is driving, that isn’t an issue anymore, is it? We’re coming along, whether you like it or not.”
