Page 69 of Under the Texas Sky
“Uhm–” There’s no key. Am Ithisout of touch with reality? There’s no freaking way. I think of Willow’s car, and I know for sure she has a key. She inserts it, and cranks it over. I’ve seen her do it hundreds of times since she drives us everywhere.
“It’s the newest model, they’re touch to start now. You only need the fob inside the truck to start it.”
My eyes widen as I turn my head to gauge his reaction. Is he joking? “Maybe you should drive.”
I hand the key back to him, but he grabs my hand and tugs me to the driver’s side of his truck. If I thought it looked expensive before, now it looks intimidatingly so. I’m going to wreck this thing if I get behind the wheel.
He opens the door for me, gesturing for me to get in. My limbs tremble as I climb into the driver’s seat with as much grace as Ican manage. I quickly toss the bag in the backseat, hoping that nothing spilled on his expensive leather.
“You see that button?” He points out the button on the dash that says Start/Stop. “Hold your foot on the brake and press the button. It’ll start up like a normal vehicle, you just don’t have to crank a key in it.”
I press my foot against the pedal, exactly how he said. Waiting patiently to get my nerves under control. It’s fine, so what if I haven’t driven a car in this long? It’s like riding a bike, you never forget.
Except a bike is very different from a two ton death machine.
Trent leans across me, and the scent of his cologne fills my nostrils and gives a shot of straight dopamine to my brain. He presses the button for me, and the engine rumbles to life.
“See, easy.” He smirks, the slight upturn in his lips so hot I want to kiss it off.
“So easy.” I breathe deeply and get myself situated while he climbs in the passenger seat. “Buckle up,” I remark while he fiddles with his phone.
A love song starts streaming across the radio, and he sets his phone in the center console while he buckles up.
The name of the playlist flashes across the screen, and my heart lodges in my throat. It’s the same playlist we used to listen to while we cooked, or cleaned, or worked on a puzzle together.
“Where are we going?” he asks, while I turn my head and rest my hand on the headrest behind him so I can look out of the back window.
“It’s a surprise,” I say, trying to keep my attention on the road, and not letting my eyes drift to him no matter how tempting it is.
“Hm,” he mumbles, eyes on me.
I successfully back out of his driveway, then shift to drive. Thank god that hasn’t changed. We would probably end up in a ditch by the time I figured out which way to shift a stick.
The cab of his truck is filled with music while I drive us down the familiar turns. The sun starts to set, filling the sky with an array of colors. The deep blues and purple streaked with fading yellows and reds as the day shift to night. Trent’s attention is focused on the landscape out of his window, and I wish I had my camera so I could snap this moment and keep it forever.
“Can I say something before we get to wherever you’re taking us?” His deep voice cuts across the truck and instantly puts me on edge.
“Of course, you can always say anything you want.” I risk a peek at him in my peripheral, and his eyes are still facing the dimming sunlight.
“I want honesty, I want the truth. No matter what. That’s a deal breaker for me now.” His tone is dead serious, and I gulp against the nausea building in my throat.
“I can do that, I can be honest.” Can I though? In layman terms, it should be easy. But thinking you can do something and actually doing it are two very different things.
“I’m serious, Ki. I need to know that whatever comes out of your mouth tonight, no matter what it is, that it’s the truth.”
I pull into the park, pulling off the dirt road to the path that leads to the clearing, where I followed him to that day after school. How different our lives look now compared to back then.
I park the truck, pressing the stop button to turn it off. Easy as pie. Unbuckling, and turning in my seat, I face Trent head on. Looking into his brown eyes, I admit my first truth of the night.
“I’m scared,” I practically whimper, my heart pounding and my fingers trembling. I bite my bottom lip to keep it from wobbling pathetically.
“I am too. I’m so scared, Ki. But I need to know that I gave this my all, gave you my all, before I will ever be able to heal.” Trent leans his head back against the passenger window with a soft thud.
“So we’re both scared, huh?” I try to make light of the situation, but it falls flat. I try another tactic, being honest, like he needs. “I still want you in my life, but it might take some… time to get us back to the way we used to be.”
“I don’t want us to be the way we used to be.”
My heart drops, but just as quickly, Trent finishes his thought.
