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“You don’t have to hold that.”
“Huh?” I blinked and looked away from the window.
“Your drink. I have cup holders.” Without taking his eyes off the road, he pressed down on one of the glossy center panels and it lifted up.
“Thanks,” I murmured, setting my pop in the back holder.
“You cold?” he asked next.
“A little.”
He reached out and tapped a few buttons to adjust the temperature on my side of the car. Warmth immediately replaced the cool air that had been blowing through the vents. “Better?”
“Yeah, thank you.”
“I was surprised to see you tonight.”
“Me? That’s what I was going to say to you.”
“Well one of us hardly ever leaves their house.”
I grinned, secretly wondering how often he paid attention to my comings and goings to know that. “That’s a good thing, isn’t it? Can’t let too many people see me in Grandpa’s big ugly truck.”
The words had more bite than I meant them to, but I didn’t bother apologizing.
It wouldn’t have been genuine.
He was quiet for a minute, adjusting his grip on the steering wheel. “I’m sorry if I came off like a self-entitled dick. I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
“At least you know what you sounded like.”
He laughed and shook his head. “You don’t give an inch, do you?”
My stomach became inundated with stupid little flutters. I tried and failed to hold back another smile. He looked at me and his faded, the same unnervingly closed-off expression he’d had back at the petrol station smoothing it away.
“What is it?”
“Nothing. I have an extra car you can use, free of charge.”
Of course, he did. His family-owned dealerships here and elsewhere. I wasn’t sure whether I should be offended by the offer or grateful. “Are we backtracking?”
“I’m not being an asshole, or maybe I am. The offer still stands. If you’re going to be out on the road in that... The point is I want you safe.”
“What’s giving you the impression I’m not? I’ve never had any issues with that truck.” I didn’t dare admit Rusty sometimes hesitated to start. What mattered was that when he was running, he would go to the ends of the earth, I was convinced of that.
“Not yet you haven’t,” he pushed back. “Life can take a shitty turn without any warning. Why leave an open opportunity for it to do so?”
His words conjured the memory of my parents. I reached for my drink, needing to hold onto something.
“Let me do this for you, Rose.”
I so badly wanted to point out how often I’d been driving my grandpa’s truck before now, but the sincerity in his tone stopped me. I was somewhat caught off guard by it.
We’d gone from barely speaking to him offering up free cars. I didn’t know where it was coming from. Maybe his younger sister had said something. Victoria was one of the ‘friends’ I didn’t associate with unless we were in the same vicinity. He had no other reason to care about my well-being.
I took another sip of pop and rolled my lips together as I sat it back down. “My grandpa might feel a way about me accepting that, and I won’t hurt his feelings over something this trivial. I know that might sound petty to you.”
“I wouldn’t invalidate you like that. I’ll talk to Earl.”
From his tone, I could tell he was pleased, which both annoyed me and made me happy. “You know that truck is probably safer than this metal space shuttle? It may not be as pretty, but it’s for sure made better.”
“Space shuttle, huh?”
I laughed and glanced out the window, somewhat disappointed as I realized this was almost over. Being around him wasn’t nearly as awkward as I’d thought it would be. No anxiety bubbled to the surface and made me want to hide inside myself or count down the seconds until I got home.
“Will me driving one of your cars cause issues between you and your girlfriend?”
He was silent for so long that I wasn’t sure he was going to answer me. “Do you want it to?”
“Do I—Do I want to cause issues in your relationship?”
“Yeah, do you?”
Puzzled by the question, I repeated our conversation back to myself, twice. “Why would I do that?”
“You’ve never wanted to cause trouble?”
Yes. “I’m not sure how to answer that. Maybe. Never at the expense of someone else, though.” Lies.
“Not even if they have something you want?”
I started to laugh, breaking into a cough when I realized he was being serious.
“Well?” His eyes darted over to me, then back to the road.
“Are you supposed to be what I want?”
“I am what you want,” he retorted matter-of-factly.
“Not if I have to traumatize another woman to have you.”
He grinned and I realized what he’d done.
“Wait, that’s not what I meant.”
He laughed softly. I growled frustratedly, like a damn animal, and he started to laugh harder.
