ready for that. I must have stiffened slightly because he took half a step back and said,
“Ready to go?” He threw his leather jacket over his arm and headed for the front door.
It unnerved me how comfortable he was in my house. I suppose he had been here working almost everyday this week, so I couldn’t blame him. I had to shake off this feeling of trespass that was nagging at me. It was clearly part of the old trauma. I reminded myself that it was all right to trust Josh. Just relax , beach-girl whispered in my mind.
As we stepped out into the balmy night, I said, “It’s pretty warm out. You might not need your jacket.”
“I’ll bring it just in case we go for a walk on the beach.”
I locked the front door and turned to him. “Beach?”
“Are you up for driving to Santa Monica?”
“I guess, if that’s where you want to go.”
“That’s where I want to take you .”
“You just came from there, didn’t you? I should have picked you up instead.”
“But then it wouldn’t have been a real date. I have to pick you up.”
I quirked up an eyebrow. “Even though I’m driving?”
“I’ll drive if you let me. Even though I drive a motorcycle, I’m good behind the wheel of the car. I’d have borrowed one but my mom’s between two leases right now and my friend, Robbie just crashed his Scirrocco.”
“Crashed?”
“He’s the statistic, not me. I’ve never had so much as a parking ticket.”
Oh boy. I handed him the key. This was one way to learn to trust Josh. “Be careful.”
“With you next to me, I will be driving this car as if it were made of glass.”
He opened the door for me before going around to the driver’s side.
Once we were nestled in with our seat belts on, I asked, “So why Santa Monica?”
He backed out of the driveway very carefully before answering me. “My friend has a restaurant there. It’s a few blocks from the beach. It just opened.”
“So he needs the business?”
“Not at all! The food’s awesome. It’s always booked solid. I had to call a week ago to get a reservation on a Friday.”
A week ago? “Um, we only met a week ago.”
“Well…” He gave me a sheepish sideways glance. “I would have canceled it if…you know…”
“If what? If you hadn’t tracked me down? If I’d said no to frozen yogurt and going out with you again?”
“Well, yeah. But I was hopeful, you know. That’s one thing you’ll find out about me, I’m a bit of a dreamer.”
“Wow, and already one of your dreams is coming true… I hope some of that rubs off on me,” I joked.
He raised an eyebrow as we cruised slowly toward a main street. “I’d be delighted to do the rubbing.”
Oh my. I slid lower in my seat as I feared the night was quickly going from balmy to scorching.
Get with the program , whispered beach-girl, a little harsher than usual.
I surprised myself by saying, rather flirtatiously, “Don’t rev all your engines at once, Josh. Let’s take one dream at a time.”
He laughed and punched on the stereo.
It was Friday, after 5 PM, the past was the past, and I could sense that my new life, my new future, was on the verge of beginning.
Chapter Five
Josh
I lied to Heather. It’s not that big a deal, but I told her I’d never jumped into an idling convertible before. I have. The first time was on a dare. I was pretty fucked up back then. I had just found out my dad had died. Not that I knew him much. I hadn’t seen him since I was five. But twelve years later, when I found out he died, I also found out who he really was and that fucked me up. Made me do stupid shit for a while. Like jump into cars for a lark, and steal stuff, just to see if I could get away with it. And I tried some drugs, too. It was a bad year for me. But my mom got me through it. She helped me. We helped each other. I always admired her for being a single mom, and yeah, maybe sometimes I resented her for it, too, but when I found out why she chose to be a single mom,
“Ready to go?” He threw his leather jacket over his arm and headed for the front door.
It unnerved me how comfortable he was in my house. I suppose he had been here working almost everyday this week, so I couldn’t blame him. I had to shake off this feeling of trespass that was nagging at me. It was clearly part of the old trauma. I reminded myself that it was all right to trust Josh. Just relax , beach-girl whispered in my mind.
As we stepped out into the balmy night, I said, “It’s pretty warm out. You might not need your jacket.”
“I’ll bring it just in case we go for a walk on the beach.”
I locked the front door and turned to him. “Beach?”
“Are you up for driving to Santa Monica?”
“I guess, if that’s where you want to go.”
“That’s where I want to take you .”
“You just came from there, didn’t you? I should have picked you up instead.”
“But then it wouldn’t have been a real date. I have to pick you up.”
I quirked up an eyebrow. “Even though I’m driving?”
“I’ll drive if you let me. Even though I drive a motorcycle, I’m good behind the wheel of the car. I’d have borrowed one but my mom’s between two leases right now and my friend, Robbie just crashed his Scirrocco.”
“Crashed?”
“He’s the statistic, not me. I’ve never had so much as a parking ticket.”
Oh boy. I handed him the key. This was one way to learn to trust Josh. “Be careful.”
“With you next to me, I will be driving this car as if it were made of glass.”
He opened the door for me before going around to the driver’s side.
Once we were nestled in with our seat belts on, I asked, “So why Santa Monica?”
He backed out of the driveway very carefully before answering me. “My friend has a restaurant there. It’s a few blocks from the beach. It just opened.”
“So he needs the business?”
“Not at all! The food’s awesome. It’s always booked solid. I had to call a week ago to get a reservation on a Friday.”
A week ago? “Um, we only met a week ago.”
“Well…” He gave me a sheepish sideways glance. “I would have canceled it if…you know…”
“If what? If you hadn’t tracked me down? If I’d said no to frozen yogurt and going out with you again?”
“Well, yeah. But I was hopeful, you know. That’s one thing you’ll find out about me, I’m a bit of a dreamer.”
“Wow, and already one of your dreams is coming true… I hope some of that rubs off on me,” I joked.
He raised an eyebrow as we cruised slowly toward a main street. “I’d be delighted to do the rubbing.”
Oh my. I slid lower in my seat as I feared the night was quickly going from balmy to scorching.
Get with the program , whispered beach-girl, a little harsher than usual.
I surprised myself by saying, rather flirtatiously, “Don’t rev all your engines at once, Josh. Let’s take one dream at a time.”
He laughed and punched on the stereo.
It was Friday, after 5 PM, the past was the past, and I could sense that my new life, my new future, was on the verge of beginning.
Chapter Five
Josh
I lied to Heather. It’s not that big a deal, but I told her I’d never jumped into an idling convertible before. I have. The first time was on a dare. I was pretty fucked up back then. I had just found out my dad had died. Not that I knew him much. I hadn’t seen him since I was five. But twelve years later, when I found out he died, I also found out who he really was and that fucked me up. Made me do stupid shit for a while. Like jump into cars for a lark, and steal stuff, just to see if I could get away with it. And I tried some drugs, too. It was a bad year for me. But my mom got me through it. She helped me. We helped each other. I always admired her for being a single mom, and yeah, maybe sometimes I resented her for it, too, but when I found out why she chose to be a single mom,
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