of a few stragglers who’d probably had too much to drink tonight and would come pick up their rides tomorrow.
My car was backed into a space in the third to last row. I pressed the key fob, and the lights flashed.
Devin whistled. “Wow, that is a nice car. Is that…” He tilted his head, peering at the hood ornament. “Holy shit, is that an Aston Martin?”
“Yeah. It’s a DBS Superleggera.”
“Not that I’d know the difference,” he said with a quiet laugh. “It’s gorgeous, though.”
“Thanks.” I chuckled self-consciously. “It’s not the most practical thing I’ve ever bought, but…”
“I don’t know.” He raked his eyes over the sleek red car. “I think if I could afford one, I’d probably buy it just because I could.”
“Yeah, that was kind of what I did.” We got into the car, and as I put on my seat belt, I added, “I still can’t bring myself to buy one of those huge houses like some of my buddies have, but when I saw this?” I gave the steering wheel a gentle pat. “I couldn’t resist.”
“Can’t imagine why.”
I started the engine. “You should see Jameson’s. He’s the reason I bought an Aston Martin in the first place because I went to the dealership with him.” I shook my head as I pulled out of the parking space. “He got a Valkyrie. That’s a three-million-dollar car.”
Devin made a choked sound. “Three million dollars for a car?”
“Uh-huh. I mean, it’s a gorgeous ride, but…” I grimaced. “Next to that thing, this one is legit practical.”
He laughed, and good God, there went my heart again.
Somehow, I managed to drive without clipping a curb or grinding a gear, and I took us out of the garage and into the night. There wasn’t much traffic this late, so we cruised through green light after green light on our way through downtown. Secretly, I wished a few of them would turn red just so I’d have an excuse to steal a couple more minutes in this car with Devin. I had no idea if or when I’d see him after this. Or how in the world to tell him I wanted to see him after this. Maybe a minute or two at an intersection would give me enough time to figure that out.
As I sailed past another green light, Devin laughed, shaking his head.
I glanced at him. “What?”
“Nothing. I…” Devin exhaled and leaned back against the headrest. “It probably sounds stupid, but this is kind of surreal.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, being in this car. With you. I’m…” He hesitated, then quietly added, “My daughter’s not the only fan in my house, let’s put it that way. Even after we’ve been chatting, it’s, um… It’s wild to be hanging out with you.”
I shrugged. “I’m just a guy who plays hockey.”
“Uh-huh. I don’t know if anyone’s told you, but you play hockey pretty well.” We exchanged glances over the console, and both laughed. Still smiling, he added, “Turns out you’re pretty fun to hang out with, too.”
Holy shit. I had no idea how I didn’t veer off the road into a fire hydrant or something. Miraculously staying between the lines, I casually said, “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Tonight was a lot of fun. And those emails and texts…” The seat creaked quietly as he shifted a little. “They make the boring workday go by, let’s put it that way.”
I laughed despite my ever-present nerves. “Anything to get through the boredom, right?”
We continued out of the city, and he directed me to his street in Pine Lake. All the while, I wished I could figure out how to tell him this was surreal for me too. A few weeks ago, he’d been a name on a note tucked into a hat tossed on to the ice. It was mind-blowing to think about how much things had changed since then, and I had no idea how to explain how much I loved it, but also how fucking terrifying it was. What was going on? What were we doing? What did Devin think we were doing? What did he want us to be doing? I could barely read people I’d known for years. Now here was this incredibly hot stranger who’d dropped out of the sky and into my world and had me thinking and feeling things I couldn’t explain, and I didn’t have a clue what to do with any of that.
How do I tell you I don’t want this to be a one-time thing?
Sooner than I would have