Page 27 of Drive
When he pulled into her driveway, he remembered her saying she might not be ready. So, when he knocked on her door and was met only with the sound of Archie’s lone bark, Jacques tentatively turned the knob and pushed the door open. Archie stood in the foyer, tipped his golden chin up, and gave a longer, baying bark, but the dog didn’t approach or growl at Jacques, so he steppedinside.
As soon as he closed the door behind him, Archie whined and trotted up to sniff his shoes, waggingnervously.
Jacques reached down a hand to pet his curly head. “I hope she doesn’t leave the door open all the time,” he said aloud. “You’re not much of a guarddog.”
He stepped into the living room, the warmth of it filling him again with a sense of peace and contentment, and he took a seat on the sectional and put the U2 album on the coffee table at his knees. Archie jumped up beside him and laid a paw on hisarm.
“What? You want me to pet you now?” he asked, lifting a hand and patting the dog twice. As soon as he dropped his hand to his thigh, Archie dragged a paw over his wrist, attempting to rake his arm back toward his little dog body. Jacqueslaughed.
“Okay, buddy, I’ll pet you.” This time he ran his hands down the dog’s back, liking the bumpy texture of his soft curls. As soon as he did, Archie flopped onto his side and gave Jacques his belly. “Wow, you’reeasy.”
With his free hand, Jacques reached into his pocket for hisphone.
Jacques:Just wanted to let you know I’m here. Archie let mein.
He listenedfor sounds of activity upstairs but heard nothing. Then his phonetrilled.
Rainey:I’ll be another few minutes. Thatokay?
He grinned.So, she’d been telling the truth about needing plenty of time to get ready. Jacques wasn’t in any hurry. He hadn’t driven much that day, so he’d need get in some rides before he called it a night, but for now, he was glad for the hours ahead of him that would belong toher.
Jacques:Take your time. Archie insisted I pet him, and then he showed me his privates, so I’ve got that going forme.
He pressedsend and then hoped his joke wasn’t too much for her. The sound of her laughter from upstairs set him atease.
Rainey:You can ignore him, and he’ll eventually get the hint. I’ll be down in 5. Iswear!
Shifting his fingers,he found a spot on Archie’s ribs that set the dog’s hind leg into full-on phantom scratch. With a bittersweet sting, Jacques remembered Ace doing the same thing. Ace wasn’t a puppy when Jacques had moved in with his grandparents after his dad was arrested. And he’d lived to be an old dog, dying in his sleep the winter before Grandma Lucille got sick, when Jacques wassixteen.
They hadn’t owned another dog since, but Jacques wondered now why they couldn’t get one. Maybe not a puppy, but a rescue. One that was already housebroken. Pal would probably get a kick out ofthat.
A noise on the stairs pulled him from this daydream, and he turned. Breath stuck in his throat at the sight of Rainey descending. She was slipping on a leather jacket over a little maroon dress with lace sleeves. Black tights skimmed her legs, and her feet stepped lightly in black-suede ankle boots. When she came closer, he saw that the maroon lace of her dress was an overlay that covered the bodice as well, letting the porcelain skin at the top of her chest and shoulders peek through. The dress drew in at her waist and flared out again in a short skirt with soft pleats. It fit her so well, he longed to run his hand down its length so he could touch every slope, everycurve.
As good as her outfit looked, the best thing she wore was her smile. She must have noticed his appreciative gaze because she beamed as much as she blushed, and the effect left him dumb. Since his tongue wouldn’t work, he got to his feet and smiled back at her. And by the time she reached the foot of the stairs, he thought he could speak, but she beat him toit.
“You lookgreat.”
Jacques shook his head. “No, you look great… stunning… amazing.” He closed his mouth before he could embarrass himself further, and then he remembered his gift. Jacques tagged the album and stepped around the coffee table. “I brought something foryou.”
He handed it to her and watched as her eyes went from curious to astounded. “Jacques! Oh my God!Unforgettable Fire?You brought this for me?” Her gorgeous eyes, sparks of green and gold, lit for him and filled with a look ofdelight.
“Yeah, I noticed it was the only one you were missing. We had it at home,” he said, letting his voice drop. “I want you to haveit.”
She didn’t need to know it was his dad’s. Probably something he’d bought during his junior year of high school. Before he met Jacques’s mom. When he had his whole life ahead of him. Picturing his dad at that age — young, dumb, but carefree — made something hard inside Jacques’s chest soften just alittle.
And then softness, warm and sweet-scented, crashed into him. Rainey’s arms wrapped around him in a hug, and his took the chance to close aroundher.
“Thank you so much!” shesaid.
“You’re welcome,” he muttered, dropping his nose into her hair. He breathed her in. She smelled like lavender, wild orange, and woman. In the two seconds their bodies connected, the synapses in his brain lit with a billion imprints. He learned that holding her felt like singing. The way he could get lost holding a long note and forget for a moment that his breath would run out because belting out the words with his mouth wide open felt soright.
And just like the long notes, it ended too soon. She pulled away and clutched the album to her chest. “I’m going to put this right where it belongs, and I’ll listen to it from start to finish tomorrow morning,” she said, walking backward toward her musicarmoire.
“I like the sound of that,” he muttered. She’d have to think of him, wouldn’t she? He watched her flip through her collection and tuck the album betweenWarandThe Joshua Tree. Then she spun on her toes to facehim.
“Ready? I’mstarved.”
Jacques let her lead them out to the front porch, and he stood beside her as she locked the door. Rainey halted a few paces away from the Impala, and when he glanced at her expression, he sawhesitation.
