“There’s the turn,” Hal points out suddenly. I jerk the wheel hard, cursing myself as my seatbelt jerks me back against my seat, and Hal lets out a grunt. The car makes it by some miracle, and I don’t end up driving right past.
“I think I should have driven,” he comments casually.
“Shut it,” I command. I drive us right into the bank’s parking lot and kill the engine. “I made it, didn’t I?”
Hal gives me a sidelong look. He’s obviously taking the lay of the land here, which is a nice way to say he’s trying to see if I’m about to meltdown, take his head off, burst into tears, break into spontaneous song, or pull out a couple more elastic bands from some secret crevice. “You did.” He drops that simply, neatly, safely, then gets out of the car. He stretches with his arms to the sky, which makes him look long and lean and delicious. “So, are you going to let yourself be known as the girl who, in a moment of madness, dated her brother’s best friend, or are we keeping this a secret?”
I bristle immediately even though I know I should stay calm and controlled and, for once, not rise to a good baiting. Or bad baiting. Or any baiting, for that matter. “Dating?” Damn it. There I go.
“Yes. Dating. We had our first date yesterday, and it was nice. I’d like to have another.”
“You might have gotten my brother’s permission for that somehow, but I doubt he’d let you date me for real.”
“I could ask.”
“No!” I round the car to stand in front of Hal and jab a finger at his chest. “Don’t you dare!”
“Why not?” He grabs my hand, pulls me close, and kisses me.
“That’s not fair!” I push back, unsteady on my feet for obvious reasons. “You can’t just do that whenever you want me to be quiet. It’s not how this is going to go.”
“Then how is it going to go?”
“I…I don’t know! I’m trying to figure it out!” I do my best not to pout or get angry, as that’s never helped me.
“Well, as long as you don’t mind your family hating you for a brief minute if we date and it doesn’t work out, then I don’t mind them hating me for that minute either.”
I let out a long breath, and I know it probably looks like I’m collapsing in on myself. I feel like my nervous energy is the only thing keeping me inflated and upright at the moment. “You don’t think they’d hate you for life?”
Hal shrugs, and I don’t know how he can be so calm. “I thought, at one time, you might, but look at us now. It’s proof that miracles do happen.”
“Or that you’re a real-life wizard, and you’ve done something to my common sense.”
Hal wrinkles his nose. “Believe me, if I were going to cast spells, your common sense wouldn’t be the first place I’d start.”
I turn around and march into the bank, sure that I’m redder than a freaking sunburnt lobster. If those things even existed. Or maybe lobsters only get red when they’ve been cooked. Poor devils.
I stalk up to the teller and compose myself enough that I manage to get my banking information on a printed-out piece of paper. I come out after to find Hal in the exact same spot I left him. He holds out his hand, and I find myself blanking until I realize he wants my keys. I don’t want to hand them over, but I also realize I’m incredibly unfocused, or rather, I’m focused on all the wrong things.
“I have to stop by my house to transfer the money as I realized I left my authentication key there. As an extra layer of security, it gives codes every couple of seconds to enter into the banking app.”
“Oh. I…I see.” My stomach does a strange barrel roll that isn’t at all comfortable.
“You can meet my cat.”
“Um, okay. I can wait in the car.”
“Sure.”
I don’t like Hal giving in so easily. I feel like he has some scheme going on because when does he not? Okay, maybe I should stop thinking of Hal as the enemy here, but it’s hard because I’ve had a lot of practice at obliterating my true feelings and making up mean ones to take their places. Maybe I should start seeing Hal how I’ve always kind of wanted to see him. I’m allowed, after all, as this isn’t a crime. Liking him, I mean. Not anymore, since I’m no longer sixteen. I’m twenty-five, and he’s thirty, and if I want to go to Hal’s house with him, alone, I should be able to.
I hand over my keys and get into the passenger seat without a fight. This is maybe the first time ever we haven’t given each other a hard time or had a huge debate.