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“Told you so.” She started the engine, and loud pop music burst into the silence. “Every time I drive this thing, I get a kick out of it.”
“So, you get your kicks every day.” I spread my legs out in front of me. “I’m assuming this a full-time job for you.”
“It is.” She spun the wheel rapidly, her voice unruffled as she guided the huge truck out of the parking lot. “Only six hours a day, but it pays the bills.”
She seemed completely at ease on the road. “Where’d you learn to drive like this?” I asked.
“Driving lessons.” She shrugged, tapping her fingers on the wheel in rhythm with the song. “I actually just got my commercial driver’s license. I used to have someone driving me and Kevin, so me being able to take over saved NorthCorp a lot of money.”
“How did you ever get into this?” I would’ve never come up with “beer distributor” as a job option. I’d never really known that such a position existed.
“My dad’s in the beer business, too,” she said. “He gave me the idea to do a diploma in logistics. This isn’t completely related to the field I want to be in, but there’s room for advancement within the company. In a year or two, I should be able to get into that side of the business.”
“So… what is logistics, again?” I wasn’t sure if I’d ever heard the word in my life.
“Things getting in the right place at the right time, basically. Transportation, inventory, packaging, supplies…”
“Oh. That sounds…”
“Boring?” She glanced at me and laughed. “Kind of. It’s a good industry to be in, though. It’s not going anywhere. And it’s not a boring nine-to-five job.”
“It seems to fit you,” I said. “I definitely can’t see you in an office job. If you weren’t doing this, I think you’d be bartending or something.”
“Nah, that’s not for me. I want to be the one having fun at the bar, not working there. Although I always thought it’d be fun to be the hostess when they’re having a trivia night.”
The next car over had a little kid, no older than eight or ten. He waved at Chelsea, and she waved back. The dad said something to the kid and made a gesture with his arm. The kid imitated him, pumping his arm as he gazed up at Chelsea.
“I love that!” Chelsea grinned and laid on the horn, long and loud. “Nobody does that anymore.”
The kid’s face lit up, and I couldn’t help smiling back as we drove by him.
We were almost at the intersection that I’d given Chelsea, and I grabbed my stuff to get out. “Where are you going?” she asked, shaking her head. “Give me your exact address.”
“I’m fine from here.”
“Don’t be silly. I didn’t give you a ride just to drop you off partway.”
I didn’t want to make her go out of her way any further for someone she barely knew, but I had a feeling that if I said no, she’d just keep insisting. “It’s right down this road.” I gave her the address.
“See, that wasn’t so hard.” She cruised the truck onto the side street. “Your neighbors are going to think you’re getting a whole brewery delivered to your door.”
I’d been good until now, but I couldn’t resist getting one sneaky comment in before leaving. I couldn’t seem to stop flirting when it came to Chelsea. Her reaction was always so adorably flustered.
“I wouldn’t worry,” I said. “They’re more likely to talk about me getting dropped off by a pretty girl.”
She half-smiled, half-choked, and looked away.
Wasn’t that interesting? Driving a huge truck didn’t ruffle her, and yet somehow I did.
6
Chelsea
The barrel seemed heavier than usual as I pushed it through the door. I strained to get it through, then stood straight with a grin directed at Tara.
“How’s it going?” I asked. “Did you have a good weekend?”
I’d seen her three times a week for a month now, so it was easy to fall into a casual conversation. She still hadn’t given up in her pursuit of me, and I could tell she wasn’t about to give up anytime soon.
