AllFreeNovel
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“When I was fourteen, I thought it’d be a good idea to steal my dad’s Ferrari and take it for a ride in the backyard of our summer house while our parents were visiting friends.”
I refrain from commenting on the fact that their summer house had a backyard so vast they could drive a car across it. “And?”
“Gabriel tried to talk me out of it. When he couldn’t, he jumped into the passenger seat, agreeing to give me a driving lesson. But of course the Ferrari wasn’t exactly your typical starter car. I crashed it hard within ten minutes and passed out from the airbag whiplash.”
I bring a hand to cover my mouth.
“Gabriel broke his hipbone, but he still somehow managed to get out of the car and pull me out just before the Ferrari tumbled down a ditch. He’s hated not being in control ever since; he can’t get into a car he’s not driving without getting a panic attack, and he feels like it’s his responsibility to save everyone he cares about.”
I frown. “Then why does he have a driver?”
Thomas scoffs. “Ah, because he also wants to control his fear, master it.” He shakes his head. “But my point is, I can see he likes you.” Thomas waggles his brows. “Like, likes you if you catch my meaning. So, please cut him some slack if he seems a little overbearing sometimes.”
“Please, we barely know each other.”
We follow the shadowed trail below a canopy of gnarled roots and branches. Nothing but the occasional owl hoot cuts through the thick blanket of silence until Thomas speaks again. “Sometimes all it takes is one moment, one night, one kiss, to know when you’ve found that special connection.”
“Would you have me believe you’re secretly a romantic?”
“Me and my brother as well.”
Finally, we turn a bend, and the clearing with my cabin appears at the end. Thomas leads me to the front steps and halts, gesturing toward the door. “Here you are.”
“Thanks. See you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, Blake.”
“Night.”
I pause on the doorstep, watching him go. His words about his brother vibrate against my soul. Making my walls shake. Threatening to tear down all my barriers.
Good thing tomorrow Gabriel and I will be separated for most of the day. I close the door and kick off my heels. I slip out of my dress and pull on Gabriel’s sweater—my new favorite PJs; I know, I know I’m shooting myself in the foot here—and drop onto the bed.
I check on my phone who my partner for the scavenger hunt is. A certain Horace Hodge. What a name. The dude must’ve had truly mean parents. I don’t know the guy by reputation, so I do a quick google search on him. Forty-five, married with two kids, a real estate mogul of the Midwest. He has salt-and-pepper hair and errs on the portly side. He seems harmless enough.
Lightning flashes outside my window, closely followed by booming thunder and rain pattering the glass. I love to sleep lulled by the sound of a storm. It’s sure better than being caught unaware in the woods. Even so… would I rather be warm and safe here, or wet and cold on my way to his cabin?
Warm and safe here. Warm and safe here, I chant to convince myself.
I cozy up under the covers and I’m about to put my phone down when a message pops up on the screen.
From Gabriel
I forgot to wish you goodnight
The explosion of butterflies in my belly seems totally disproportionate to the relative tameness of the message.
To Gabriel
Already done with your secret business?
From Gabriel
Should I remind you curiosity killed the cat?
To Gabriel
So the mice are ready to play?
