Test Drive - Samantha Chase Page 0,57
one eats or drinks in here?”
“If memory serves, we ate and drank in here the whole way down to Florida.”
“Damn, I forgot about that.” She paused and then smiled. “And you’re telling me you didn’t stop and vacuum the car after having lunch with the Romeos?”
“Um…”
“And have it washed?”
“Well…”
“And that the whole interior wasn’t wiped down with some sort of vinyl protectant?”
“Okay, fine!” he cried with a laugh. “I’m a little obsessive about the car! I can’t help it! I spent a lot of years driving an old pickup truck, and even though I loved it, this car is just…it’s different. Besides costing a lot more than the truck did even when it was new, this car represents the fact that I’m an adult and not a kid anymore.” After letting out a low growl, he continued. “And there’s nothing wrong with wanting your car to be nice and clean and for it to smell good and shine and…and…”
Carefully, Willow reached out and placed her hand on his arm. “Okay, okay,” she said quietly, soothingly, so as not to startle him. “I didn’t mean to get you all worked up. Believe it or not, I was really just trying to get you to re-think the idea of me driving the car.”
She watched as Levi took several calming breaths. “Why would I re-think it?”
“Levi, you’ve known me for a few months now and just spent a week with me. I’m kind of a walking disaster.”
“That doesn’t mean you drive like one.”
She leveled him with a stare. “Seriously? Have you ever looked closely at my car?”
“Well…no…”
“Trust me when I tell you it has multiple scratches and dings everywhere. I have had about a half a dozen parking tickets, I get lost easily, and I’ve gotten pulled over twice for speeding and four times for going too slow on a highway.”
“Seriously? That’s a thing?”
Nodding, she said, “Yup. Trust me. I cried my way out of the speeding tickets.”
“And the going too slow ones?”
“Same.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, I’m not too proud of that, but, in my defense, I cry easily–especially when I’m stressed or scared. And there is nothing scarier than looking up and seeing those flashing lights in your rearview mirror.” She shuddered. “So I think it would best for all of us if I…you know…didn’t drive your car. At all. Like ever.”
“Ever’s a long time.”
“And I’m sure you’d like to have your car for that long.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know about that. Maybe in a few years–or at least when it’s paid off–I might be ready for something new. Something different.”
“And you should be allowed to have that option. If you let me drive, that might be me making that decision for you.”
“Willow, I won’t allow you to speed, and I promise to prompt you if you’re driving too slow.”
But she shook her head. “Nuh-uh. No way. Not going to happen.”
“What if I was too tired to drive and needed a nap?”
“Then you wouldn’t be awake enough to make sure I didn’t speed or hold up traffic!”
“Damn, you got me there.”
“Driving is definitely not my strong suit.” She paused and thought about it for a moment. “And long-distance driving is especially harsh on me. The speed things happened on road trips. Around town, I’m not terrible. Except at parking. Parking I’m terrible at.”
His laugh was low and just a wee-bit sexier than she ever thought a laugh could be.
“Willow, you are definitely one in a million.”
“You think so, huh?”
“Oh, I know so.”
“It’s because I’m such a dork, right?” she teased. At least, she hoped he realized she was teasing. There was no way she wanted him to agree with her being a dork.
Way to be a dork, dork…
“That’s not what I was thinking,” he said, and Willow let out a slow sigh of relief. “I meant because you are very open and honest about yourself. It’s kind of amazing. Most people don’t want to admit to having any flaws or are always trying to put the blame for the bad things that happen to them on other people. But you just own it and I think it’s very cool.”
“Donna and Jen say the same thing to me, but I always thought they were just being nice.”
“I’m sure that’s part of it, but it doesn’t make it any less true.”
Her hand smoothed down his arm until she reached his hand. Squeezing it, she said, “Thanks, Levi. You’re a really great friend.”
It felt wrong to say it, but…their trip was coming to an end and they didn’t