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There’s a beat of silence. I end it by saying, “Today was nice.”
A warm smile rises on Hunter’s lips. It’s not a sly smile, or a teasing smile, or a naughty smile. It’s just genuine, nice, like it comes from somewhere deep inside him. “Yeah,” he says. “It was.”
I walk close to Hunter as we head back to his car. Every couple paces, the sleeve of my jean jacket glances against the sleeve of his hoodie.
I’m close enough that his presence in palpable, that I feel the warmth of his body slightly, that his masculine and woodsy scent teases my nose.
“You know, this is the furthest I’ve driven in a car in … months,” I admit as we approach his car.
“Really?” He shrugs. “I guess Ridley is pretty walkable. I go weeks without using mine.”
“Yeah,” I say. Then, something surges within me, an inexplicable desire to share something with him that I’ve only shared with few people. “But, that’s not really the reason why. I’ve been … I don’t know, nervous about being in a car.”
Hunter stops and turns to me, the square between his eyebrows furrowed with concern. “Why?”
“Because of the …” my answer falters.
But realization flashes in Hunter’s eyes. “The accident,” he says, quietly, and I nod in confirmation.
Hunter’s jaw ticks. He shakes his head, a motion of self-reproach. “Shit. I’m so stupid. I should have realized. I can’t believe I made you get in my car when you might not have been comfortable …”
But I cut him off by placing my hand gently on his elbow and smiling at him. “I’m glad you did. I had a great time. And when I got in your car earlier this morning, I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t nervous. For the first time, it just felt … normal.”
Hunter’s eyes light up. “Why don’t you try driving home, then?”
Worry pangs in my chest, and I’m quick to shake my head. “No. I couldn’t.”
“I think you could. You already overcame one of your fears today, why not make it two?”
I roll my eyes. “It’s not the same thing.”
“I know it’s not,” Hunter answers, understanding laced in his voice. “But I think you can do this. No, I take that back. Iknowyou can do this.”
When I woke up this morning, the thought of sitting behind the wheel of a car and actually getting onto the road would have utterly mortified me.
And even right now, it still makes me nervous. My stomach is dipping, and tension is coiling up my back at the thought.
But I’m not utterly mortified. It doesn’t feel like something that’s impossible for me to do, like it would have hours ago.
With Hunter looking at me the way he’s looking at me, like he believes in me the same way he believes the sun will rise tomorrow morning, I feel like maybe I can do it.
“How about this,” he says. “Try. For however long you feel comfortable. The roads around here aren’t busy. We can pull over at any time. Seriously, the second you feel like it’s overwhelming for you, tell me, and we’ll switch places. What do you say?”
I take a deep, deep breath, filling my lungs with air as I try to untangle the big, messy knot in my stomach.
“Okay,” I say on a heavy sigh.
Tension prickles at my nerves as I settle behind the driver seat, my stomach going up and down like I’m riding a boat on choppy waters.
Hunter’s big right hand clasps me on the shoulder. He squeeze gently. “You got this, Pheebs.”
I nod, trying to keep my breathing steady.
“Catch!” Hunter suddenly exclaims, tossing his keys in the air over the console between the seats. I gasp and startle, my hands jolting out and barely, clumsily catching the clanking keys.
I roll my eyes as I slide the key into the ignition. “Please don’t scare me while I’m driving.”
Hunter just winks his response.
