AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He caresses the dashboard, like I’ve just insulted her. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve touched in my whole life.”
“I’m sure all your ex-girlfriends appreciate that.”
Easing on the gas, he takes us down Oliver’s driveway at a crawl, stopping at the main road. “My dad had a customer who raced Camaros,” he rambles at a nervous gallop, looking both directions for cars. “On my sixteenth birthday I was going to visit the track and drive one but he went to Hawaii at the last minute, so I ended up having a sleepover instead, which wasfine, but I’ve always wanted—”
“Jonah?”
“Uh-huh?”
“You’re stalling again. Calm down, take a deep breath, and drive.”
He wriggles anxiously in the seat. “I don’t want to wreck your car.”
“Then don’t wreck it. I believe in you.” His eyes widen at those four simple words, a thoughtless joke, like they mean everything. Then he checks left and right one more time and pulls out so fast my head bangs the headrest.
“I’m sorry,” he yelps. “I can’t help it. It’s just so sensitive.” After considering a moment, he adds, “That’s what she said.”
“I’m going to leave you out here in a cardboard box withFreewritten on it.”
He flashes his teeth smugly. “I’ll get adopted so fast and they’ll pet me and feed me all the cookies I want.”
“Good riddance.” I do my best to ignore the mental images he just conjured up.
As we drive down a narrow road thick with overhanging trees, I can sense him sneaking glances at me. “Princess Twilight, huh?”
I shake my head. “I’m very close with one of the foster sisters I had growing up, and her daughter is Megan’s age. She’s a big fan; I’ve watched more than a few episodes with her.”
“You know all the ponies’ names, don’t you? Every one. You know the words to the fucking theme song.” He sounds disgustingly pleased with himself.
“It’s a lawyer’s job to cultivate knowledge on a variety of topics.”
“Low oil sensor alert. Please check oil levels.”
Jonah balks at the soft, robotic voice, glancing around the car. “It talks?”
“Fuck. Pull over.” I point to a gravel turn off, where he parks carefully. “I don’t have time to be stranded.” He switches off the engine as I dig out my phone. “We’ll have to wait for roadside assistance.”
Jonah props his forehead on the steering wheel, watching me with a small, amused smile.
“What?”
“Can we do what the nice lady said and check the oil levels before you start freaking out?”
“That,” I point emphatically toward the engine, “is my baby, and also worth six figures. I will let someone who knows what they’re doing handle it.”
He studies the instrument panel, then taps the hood release button. His grin widens when it opens backwards from a normal car, hinged at the front. “Cool.”
“What are you doing?” I complain as he opens his door and hops out, shoes crunching on gravel and damp leaves.
“Come here. I’ll show you how easy this is.” He pulls off his jacket, eyeing me through the open door when I don't move. “If you don’t hurry up, I’m going to come get you.”
I have absolutely no idea what he means by that, but I shove open my door and stretch out my legs. It’s unseasonably warm, the sky blue and the trees full of the sounds of insects and birds enjoying the weather.
“God that’s beautiful.” Jonah is bent over the engine, his tie thrown across his shoulder. He looks back at me. “Have you seen how gorgeous this thing is?”
“No. Don’t touch anything.”
“Once you learn how to do this,” he explains cheerfully, “you can change your own oil and save some money.”
