Page 35 of Out of Place

She laughs. “No, definitely not. Although I wasn’t sober enough to remember most of those.”

I’m quiet for a minute to see if she’ll keep talking, but she doesn’t.

“Do you miss it?” I finally ask.

She thinks about it. “Not as much as I thought I would. I miss my friends. I miss getting dressed up. I miss the shopping. Oh god, the shopping.” We both laugh at that. There are a few small boutiques in Thundersville, but for the most part, it’s Walmart or bust around here. “But I don’t miss the blackouts. Not knowing how I got somewhere at the end of the night.”

I’ve had my fair share of drunken nights, but they’re few and far between because of my job. Waking up so early and working long hours makes it hard to do any partying.

“Do you feel better being away from all of that?” Selfishly, I know what I hope her answer is.

“I don’t feel better that I haven’t had my nails done in weeks and they’re caked in dirt. But I guess I needed to get away. Gain some perspective or whatever. I think that’s what my parents said after they called me an embarrassment.”

“Hmm.” It pisses me off that her parents would say that to her, but their decision led her to Thundersville, which led her to me.

“So, now I’m here. Getting down and dirty on a freaking farm. Never in my life did I think I would say that sentence.”

I laugh. “Well, you’re doing a great job. I think your parents would be proud.”

“Let’s hope so.”

I pull into Dottie’s drive. All the lights in the house are out. I’m sure Dottie’s been in bed for hours at this point.

Olivia waits for me to help her down, and we walk to the front door.

“Do you wanna come in?” she asks me slowly, like she’s nervous to ask. A lot is implied with that question, and as badly as I want her, I can’t have her just yet.

I smile. “You have no idea how much I want to come in. But not tonight.”

Her smile falls. “Oh.”

My hand cups her face, and I lean in toward her ear. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. When I finally have you, you’ll beg me for it.” I kiss her cheek and take a few steps back. “We have our second driving lesson tomorrow. I’ll see you then.”

She watches me walk to my truck, and then I wait for her to go inside. I see her stand at the door for a minute through the window, probably wondering why I didn’t go inside with her.

I want to make sure she knows I’m not just in it for the sex and show her how she deserves to be treated. I want her to see me for me and not just because I’m here and convenient. And I want her to show me who she really is so I can hand her my heart on a silver platter.

CHAPTER 13

Olivia

As excited as I am for my next driving lesson, driving Landon’s truck is a little intimidating, even if I’m only driving around in this parking lot. The truck is so big, I’m afraid I’ll hit something, but Landon seems to have enough confidence for the both of us.

“Alright, we’re going to turn out of the parking lot and go for a little drive down the street,” he tells me casually like it’s no big deal. No big deal to drive on an actual road?

I slam on the brakes and look over at him with wide eyes. “What? Are you freaking kidding?”

“No. There’s only so much you can do in a small parking lot. We’ve got to get you out there,” he explains.

“I don’t know. It feels a little too soon for that.” My palms are already sweaty from gripping the steering wheel so hard.

“You’re in an expedited course, and you’ve been doing great so far.” I roll my eyes at him, but all he does is smile. “You can do it. I know you can.”

How am I supposed to say no to that? I give him a tiny nod and let him tell me what to do.

I stop at the entrance of the parking lot. He instructs me to turn my blinker on and turn right when no cars are coming. Inching out as slowly as I can, I turn onto the street and feel the truck lift before coming down with a big thud on the passenger side, which makes me screech.

“Alright,” Landon says calmly. “You ran over the curb, but that’s okay. Keep going straight to get you used to being on the road. Just stay between the lines.”