what to do and how.”
“Do you like it, babe?” Archie asked, and I laughed.
“How am I supposed to answer that? I love it.”
“Yes,” Jake said with a fist pump.
“I love that you guys went to so much trouble.”
“Get in,” Archie said, ushering me into the driver’s seat. Now I realized why the rush to leave “early.” The others climbed in, and there were three rows of seats, plenty of room for all of us. Holy crap. There was a huge screen, and with the car on, Archie pressed a button on the dash and it brought up a camera in the apartment. I could see Tiddles sitting on the middle of the coffee table, eating the last of one of the guy’s snacks.
“Oh snap,” Coop said. “Jake, you left your fries out.”
He laughed, and so did I. There were so many bells and whistles. I didn’t know what to play with first. Archie put in the address of the concert venue, and then a crisp voice came over the speakers.
It was Jeremy.
“You recorded Jeremy?” What the hell?
“We got him to provide the voice print. He’s very soothing,” Archie said with a grin. “Don’t you think? I was going to do it, but then that didn’t seem fair. Jake and I tried to work out how to make it all four of us, but that just got complicated and wasted like a week of dev time.”
Jake snorted. “It was worth exploring.”
“Not disagreeing,” Archie said. “Just we wanted it to be perfect. I wanted it to protect you when you were in it, and I wanted you to feel safe and confident. And it’s environmentally friendly, and there’s some other perks.” He switched the screen to a crackling fireplace and heat even puffed from the front vents. “Romantic too.”
I half-expected Rachel to make gagging noises, but she was curiously quiet. When I stole a look back at her, she was dabbing her eyes. She caught me looking, and I bit my lip. No, I wouldn’t draw attention to it, the softy. But still…
I let out a little squee. I couldn’t help it. It was a brand-new car, and it wasn’t anything Maddy had ever owned. It was way too extravagant, and I probably shouldn’t be so excited, but at the same time…
“Can you hear the mental argument?” Coop mused.
“Probably five-four in our favor right now,” Jake said. “Or she’d have already said no.”
“Shut up,” Ian said firmly. “Let her decide her own reaction.”
A laugh escaped me, and I glanced over at Archie, then twisted to look at the rest of them. “I should say no.”
“Yes!” Archie said with a fist pump.
“I haven’t said yes yet,” I scolded him, still laughing.
“But you’re going to,” he said, his grin widening. “You said ‘should say no,’ but that means you’re not going to say no. You’re going to take the car we want to give you, because we want to give it to you and for no other reason than we love you and want you safe.”
It was really hard to argue with that. “Don’t think you can always get away with this.”
“Damn,” Coop said with a laugh. “That’s twenty bucks I can kiss goodbye.”
“Pay up,” Jake said. “I told you he can talk his way out of any trouble with her.”
“You’re all terrible, horrible, awful people,” I announced, and Ian chuckled.
“All of us?”
“Yes, guilty by association.” Then I grinned. “And I love you all. Now put your seatbelts on.” I did a little dance in the seat.
I was eighteen, in love, I had a brand-new car, my boyfriends were with me and my best friend, and we were going to a Torched concert.
“You heard the lady,” Archie said, and he switched the screen back to the GPS. The engine was practically silent as we glided out. “Want music, babe?”
“That’s a dumb question, and you’re a really smart guy.”
He laughed and hit two buttons, and the next thing I knew, it was me and Ian singing in the car. I groaned, but Ian laughed and the guys cheered. Even Rachel did. We ended up listening to all our demo songs, even the one Coop and Ian had teased me through multiple orgasms during it playing.
The best part, the car could zoom, and the guys were laughing and cheering as Ian and I sang along. The car handled like a dream. When we switched to the Torched songs, I already imagined I’d be hoarse before the night was over.
I couldn’t wait.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Seal It With a Kiss
If