He actually meant it, he wasn’t being snarky or anything. They all were eager to help me gain my independence. My freedom.
If I had my license, I could take off and drive any time I wanted. The allure of that alone was addictive, but once I could drive fast, I was sure that would be the excitement I would seek.
“It’s a nice car,” Kingston said, running his hand across the matte black of the SUV. It was nice, it was a little blockier than the sleek lines of the Range Rover, but it was cute.
“I do like it,” I said. “I’ll call her Francis.”
“Francis?” Archer laughed loudly, a guffaw. “It’s perfect!”
“Have you named all the cars yet?” Valen asked.
“No, just this one. It begs for a name,” I said. “It’s such a serious looking car, we need to make it fun.”
“I like it,” Ryker said, putting his arm around me as we walked. He was being extra touchy feely at the moment, I wondered if something was up with him. I wanted to make some alone time for him later. For each of them. As much as I loved them all together, I felt a little overwhelmed at times. As if I couldn’t possibly get enough of each of them when they were all at once.
They acted differently when they were in the group, too. Like a bunch of young mountain goats, bashing their heads together to gain dominance.
They all got along, of course, and they even loved each other in their way. But they were still young and still trying to outdo each other for my attention whenever we were together.
We climbed into the SUV, me behind the wheel and Kingston in the passenger seat. My three other guys were in the back, and we set off on my first road trip.
I was nervous and excited, and more than a little bit scared.
If only I’d known then that driving would be the least of my worries, and the night was only going to get worse, I might have gone back upstairs and crawled into bed until the new year.
But I didn’t, so off we went.
CHAPTER26
“You are doing amazing, princess,”Ryker said from the back seat when Valen was taking his turn showing me. “A real natural.”
I was coming to the end of my driving lesson and had taken a turn with each one of them guiding me. Valen was last, and he wanted to be the one to teach me how to merge onto the highway.
“Okay, here’s the lane coming up,” he said, “check your speed, check your mirrors, and match the cars already there.”
I followed his directions and even though my hands were trembling from my nerves, I did it. I got onto the highway that ran along the edge of Oakville.
“Oh my god, I’m doing it!” I exclaimed. They talked to each other while I drove, and I loved the sensation of higher speeds on a smooth, wide road.
Lights came up behind me and caught in my mirror, momentarily blinding me and pulling me out of my joy. It was already dark, within a couple hours of Mom and Nat coming over, and we were heading home once I turned off at the next exit.
I slowed down so the guy behind me would pass on the left hand lane, but he simply got closer. I could see the grill of a lifted truck in my mirror and I grumbled, “It figures.”
“What’s wrong, Evie?” Kingston asked from the back seat.
“I think this guy’s getting too close,” Valen said, twisting around in the seat to look behind us. “Yup, he’s way too close.”
“What should I do?” I asked, my hands shaking harder as I gripped the wheel.
“Let him pass. Maybe drop it down another four or five miles so he gets annoyed,” Valen said, reaching over to put a calming hand on my arm. “You’re okay, he’s just being a fucking jerk.”
“I think somebody is passing him,” I said, glancing behind. “Weird, another big truck. Must be a big loser convention in town or something.”
The second giant truck drive past me, then promptly swerved in front and slammed on their brakes.
I tapped mine and slowed, but then I was sandwiched between two giant trucks and I had an exit coming up.
“Just go with the flow. They’ll stay on the highway when we turn off,” Archer said, looking around at both cars.