turned the music up, and they drove without speaking. Annabelle closed her eyes as she leaned back against the seat, the cool air from the open window a relief against her hot skin. She didn’t know how long they drove, but suddenly the music quieted and the car stopped. She opened her eyes and sat up, surprised to see they were in the parking lot of a diner. She looked over at Will in confusion, gasping when her door was suddenly yanked open and a relieved-looking Trevor crouched in the open doorway.
“Thank god you got out of there okay,” he said, relieved. “I was so scared you’d been caught.”
Annabelle gaped at him, then turned to Will, who arched an eyebrow at her. “Will’s taxi service ends here,” he told her, then grinned wickedly. “Unless you’d like to go somewhere private…?”
Annabelle flushed and quickly clamored for her seat belt, all-but falling out of the car in her haste to get away. She hesitated outside the car, then leaned down to look in at him. A mischievous smile curled his lips, a dark look in his eyes. “Thank you again for finding me and getting me out of there,” she said. She started to close the door, but as her mind whirled with the night’s events, she realized Will had done a lot more than saved her from getting caught by the police. She leaned back into the car and looked at him. His smile was gone, his eyes flashing as he looked back at her. “And for protecting me,” she said hesitantly. “When you figured out that I was… Not me.”
An impish grin curled up his lips. “Anytime you need protecting, you come find me, Belle,” he told her, winking. “I’ll take care of you.”
She closed the door on her blush, turning to look up at Trevor, who had concern etched all over his features.
“You didn’t need to come get me,” she told him, feeling self-conscious after everything that had happened that night. “I could have called Claire and asked her to come get me.”
He smiled lopsidedly. “I like to make sure my dates get to their final destination safely,” he told her, looking embarrassed. “So, do you want a ride to Claire’s?”
She nodded gratefully, and followed him to his car, climbing in carefully. She was still wearing Will’s shirt, so she wasn’t very worried about flashing Trevor as she got in, but the last thing she needed was to catch her heels on the edge of the door and fall back on the cement.
“How’s Zach?” she asked quietly, through the stillness in the air as he drove.
He sighed. “He’s okay. Few bruises and a few cuts, but he’ll live. I guess he and Cody were fighting over Claudia.”
She would love that. Annabelle tried not to sigh. As far as she knew, Claudia wasn’t interested in either one of them. She had her eye on some college boy, at least for the moment. “That’s too bad,” she murmured. “Tell him I hope he gets better soon?”
He smiled over at her as he stopped at a red light. “Sure. Thanks.”
She nodded, twisting her hands in her lap to try and contain the restlessness in her muscles. She just wanted to throw out her arms and shake them. Oddly enough, she missed Will’s furious and frantic whirlwind driving. It seemed to calm her tense muscles.
As he pulled up to Claire’s house, Trevor suddenly killed the lights. She looked over at him with a pounding heart. “Annabelle,” he started slowly, looking adorably nervous. “I… I know now might not be the best time, but… if you wanted to go out sometime… Maybe to a movie or something… I’d really like to take you.”
She felt like her heart had fallen into her stomach as she stared at him in disbelief. After everything that had happened that night, he still wanted to take her out on a date? Trevor had to be the nicest guy in the entire world. Possibly the most perfect guy in the entire universe. And he wanted to take her out on a date!
Realizing his nervousness, she quickly blurted out, “I’d love to!”
A relieved grin spread across his face. “Great,” he said. “Maybe I could stop by tomorrow and we could talk about when and where?”
“Yes,” she agreed immediately, hardly able to contain her excitement. She bit her lip on her smile, reluctantly bidding him goodnight. She knocked on Claire’s front door and waited anxiously for her friend to open it. Just