At the Stars(42)

My phone buzzes again. I’m not going to answer. Eventually, they’ll stop trying. I shake my head and smile. This girl’s head and shoulders beyond me in the wisdom department. “You’re amazing.”

She smiles. “You’re pretty great yourself.” She does a little dance. “Now, I really do have to go.”

“I’ll drive you. After your shift I can pick you up and we’ll go get your new car.”

I love the way saying that makes her light up. “Really? Okay.”

See what I did there?

As we’re leaving, I spot her guitar case, still propped on a chair from last night. “Hey, Joe’s is having an open mike on Thursday. You should come.”

She nods, looking more relaxed than she has since I’ve met her. “Maybe I will.”

I like that look on her face. I love knowing I put it there.



Cassie

“Okay, I think I’ve got it this time.” I let out the clutch and give the car some gas like Jake’s been showing me. “Damn.”

I don’t have it. The car starts bucking wildly.

“Okay, turn it off.” Jake’s laughing at me from the passenger seat.

“What? I don’t even know what I did.” I can’t think.

“Turn—fuck—here.” He reaches over and turns the key in the ignition. Immediately, the violent jerking stops. “Jesus, that was awful. You gotta calm down with the clutch. It’s not going to eat your foot.”

“I know.” I stick my tongue out like a brat, but I start the car again, ready to give it another try. Like, the fiftieth try.

It’s Wednesday, and we’re parked sideways at an overlook in the wooded hills above Evergreen Grove. It’s isolated and beautiful. After we tried and failed to do a little driving around after work, Jake decided to bring me up here where I could stall as many times as I wanted to in relative privacy. Thoughtful of him.

He reaches over to flip off the radio, silencing Ed Sheeran with a disappointing click. “Here. Maybe this will help.”

“But I like the music.” The trouble is, silence makes me squirm. Especially when I’m with Jake.

“But you’re not concentrating.” He leans so close, his cheek is almost against mine. “Now. Do it slowly this time. If you accelerate gently and then let the clutch out nice and easy, you’ll feel that place where they catch. That’s the place where you can let your left foot relax. Relax. Don’t yank it off the pedal. There’s no reason to be nervous. Take it easy.”

I try to smile, but it doesn’t come out so great. No reason to be nervous? His solid arm rests practically on top of mine and I don’t know what to think. Last night and this morning were nice but also confusing. I don’t know what he thinks of me now.

I’m so aware of him and of the fact that I’m driving his car. He may have agreed to sell it to me, but I still don’t want to explode my second engine in a month.

So, yeah. Relax. No big.

I’m afraid he’ll think I don’t respect this great thing he’s given me. I’m also afraid if I pass up this chance, I won’t get another. I know, I gave myself all these BS talks about not being afraid, but this is totally different. This is massive. “All right. I’ll try to take it easy.

His hair brushes my ear when he nods. “Just remember. Slowly. Wait till you get the hang of it before you drive it like you stole it.”

This time, I laugh. Even when things feel like they’re totally off the rails, he has a way of getting me not to take it so seriously. I wonder how he can do that, when he seems like he’s punishing himself all the time.

I shift around to try and get comfortable in the seat, and then I try again. With a deep breath, I give the car a little gas, let my foot off the clutch, and... “Holy crap!” We’re actually moving forward.

Praise be to Clapton.

“Hey, there we go! Told ya it wouldn’t take long.” He slaps a hand on my leg and points to the entrance of the overlook. “If you swing out here we can take it faster. Do some hills.”

My pulse kicks up. “I don’t know if I’m ready for hills.”

He squeezes my leg. “You’re ready.”

I laugh with disbelief, my body flushing with heat as we head out onto a curvy, tree-lined road. I’m sure a million college kids once upon a time had their first crack at driving a stick shift, but to me this feels like a crazy adventure. It’s something I never thought I’d do, certainly not with Jake.

The painted sky and sun setting behind all the foliage looks like stained glass. As I shift gears and gain speed, I finally feel like maybe I’ll be able to drive this damn car. “Okay, that was so much easier. Why didn’t you tell me to do it that way to start?”