AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’d just like to point out that you’re about to break several traffic laws and asked me to watch out for the cops. Pot meet kettle.”
My jaw dropped. “Ugh!Not the same! I’m talking aboutnotgetting caught. You’re talking about manipulating the systemwhenwe get caught.”
“I suppose you have a point. Have I mentioned I don’t like losing arguments?”
An exaggerated shocked expression replaced the last one of irritation as my right hand went to cover my mouth. “What? A lawyer who doesn’t like to lose arguments to someone without a law degree?”
He laughed loudly, his head falling back. “Man,you’re a real asshole, you know that?”
“I do, actually. Now, shut up and watch for cops.”
That car was magic. I got it up to one hundred before I chickened out and slowed back down. Javier honestly looked like he might shit his pants a couple of times, but he said it wasn’t because of my driving. He said it was because he had control issues, and if he wasn’t driving, it freaked him out. It made the fact that he’d let me drive it and allowed me to speed in it even more special.
“Stop as soon as you pull into the driveway,” he said. “I need to switch you spots.”
“Afraid you’re gonna get in trouble for contributing to my delinquency?” I asked.
Another chuckle escaped him. He and Rick really did have a great sense of humor, and I enjoyed it. It helped me feel more comfortable since I was the type of person to joke when feeling awkward or out of place—and I had felt alotof that since I’d arrived in California.
“No. Just switch me spots. You’ll see.”
I parked the car at the end of the drive and got out to switch him places. As I got to the passenger side door, he pulled a piece of cloth from his jacket pocket.
“Don’t freak out,” he said as he walked behind me.
“Okay, nothing good has ever started with that phrase. Don’t freak out about what?”
The moment I finished that sentence, he covered my eyes with a blindfold. I reached up to pull it off, but he smacked my hands away.
“Just trust me. This is special.”
I sighed. There was something in his voice that was soothing, but that didn’t stop my anxiety from kicking up while wondering what it could be for.
He helped me back into the car and shut my door. I heard the other car door shut, and the car started back up and crawled forward. While I knew it didn’t take much time, the driveway still seemed ten times as long as usual. It parked soon, and I heard his door open about the same time mine did.
“Welcome back,” I heard Rick’s voice say.
“Hi! What is this?” I asked, desperately wanting to reach up and rip off the blindfold.
He said nothing as he helped me out of the car and guided me away. Rick’s hands appeared on my shoulders as he stood behind me, gently pushing me along for several steps before stopping.
“I know everything has been hard. Impossibly hard, actually. You’ve been through so much, and I want you to know how proud I am of you. Since you’ve been here, you’ve done physical therapy, displayed an impressive need for independence, and showed me you’re capable of things I didn’t know a woman your age could be. You’ve impressed me, and I’m proud to beanyonein your life that you need me to be. Even if it’s just a family friend.” He paused.
I thought I heard a tiny crack in his voice, but without seeing him, I couldn’t be sure.
“And in this family, we celebrate accomplishments. Big dinners. Maybe trips. We dosomething. However, I don’t know if you know this, but we might have missed one or two of your big moments and maybe a couple birthdays and Christmases.” He chuckled, and so did I. The anticipation was killing me! “Because of that, I wanted to do something really special for you.”
He pulled off the blindfold, and the moment he did, he said, “Happy eighteen past birthdays and Christmases, and congratulations on passing your driving test!”
My jaw dropped, and my eyes nearly fell from their sockets after widening so much. My hands immediately went to cover my open mouth as tears filled my eyes. I looked from the charcoal grey 1970 Chevelle SS with black racing stripes to Rick and back again.
“Oh, my God,” I managed to choke out as the tears spilled onto my cheeks. “It’s beautiful!” I looked over at him. “Is this mine, or is it just to drive? Because ask Javi back there. I’m good with either.”
I looked back in time to see him roll his eyes and shake his head before he crossed his chest and kissed his thumb as he looked to the sky. “I’m so glad we made it back alive.”
I laughed at his exaggeration and turned back to Rick.
His hand extended, and a set of keys dangled between his thumb and forefinger. “It’s all yours. I thought about getting you one to fix up, but then I thought, no. She needs something to drive, and she needs something that makes her feel like herself. Especially with you staying on campus this year. We’ll look into getting you a project car for Christmas. Something you can work on while you’re home on weekends and breaks.”
