Page 12 of Just Keep Driving

She doesn’t move either. Doesn’t reach for the door. Doesn’t look at me. She just sits there, still and quiet, like she’s holding herself in place.

I slide my eyes over to her again, slower this time. Her fingers are curled slightly in her lap, like she’s bracing herself for something.

Waiting.

Before I can stop myself, I flex my hand once against her thigh.

Her breath catches.

Damn.

I drag my gaze back to the windshield like I didn’t just do that.

“Home,” I say, like I didn’t just spend the few hours driving her everywhere but here.

She lets out a soft laugh. “We made it.”

“Yeah.”

Neither of us reaches for the door.

I should say something. End the ride the way I always do. Thank her, tell her to have a good night, maybe joke about the rating.

Instead, I sit there with my hand on her and this tight feeling in my chest like I’m about to miss something I haven’t even had yet.

She finally looks at me.

“You do this for everybody?”

There it is.

I lean back just a little, forcing some space between us even though my hand doesn’t move.

“Only the ones I like.”

Her lips press together like she’s trying not to smile. “That so?”

“Yeah.”

Silence settles again, heavier this time.

I glance down at my hand on her thigh like I forgot it was there.

I didn’t. I just don’t want to be the one to move it first.

“You gonna take your hand back?” she asks, her voice softer now.

I look at her. “You want me to?”

She holds my gaze for a beat too long.

“No.”

I nod once.

Noted.

She shifts in her seat, turning just enough to face me. “Come inside,” she says.