Hired To Love, 2

Chapter Thirteen

"Do you work with Trav a lot?"

"Yeah, we're training together basically every night. And speaking of, I have to go or I'll be late to my shift. You good from here?" Brandon asked, releasing my door.

I nodded. "Yep. Thanks. Just park the car all the way up in the driveway for now. I'll figure out what to do with it later."

"You're not going home?"

I sat in the driver's seat, looking up at Brandon. "No. I'm going out for a bit. I'll probably be home before you are, though, anyway. You've been working really late."

"Well the pub doesn't even close until 2 AM and then we still have to clean up. I don't mind too much." He grinned. "Unless you're mentioning that because you're scared to be home alone...?"

I flushed. "No. I lived by myself already for a while, remember? I'm fine."

"Alright, I believe you. I'm leaving. See ya, Henley."

"Bye Brandon," I said, closing my door as he walked away. I turned my new car on, surprised at the lack of clunking or rattling or noises. It was so quiet. I pushed the button again, just to make sure it was actually on.

I switched on the heat, shocked when it came out warm. "This is amazing," I said out loud, wrapping my hands around the steering wheel that had no cuts in the leather. "Why didn't I buy a new car sooner?"

I was starting to understand Bennett a little better, too. No wonder he got so excited about his car. It was even fancier than this one.

I plugged my phone in and fiddled with the car play until I figured out how to use it. Then, I drove off the lot, both hands on the wheel, glancing around cautiously. It wasn't that I was driving carelessly before, but I wouldn't have cared if something happened to my old car. This one was expensive. I needed to protect it.

I headed toward the Poughkeepsie galleria, where I was meeting Trav. It wasn't a long drive, but I decided to give Bennett a call so I could try out the car's features. As I waited for him to pick up, I belatedly realized he could be busy, even though it was a Saturday. He'd had to stay longer than he'd originally thought and work the weekend. And with the time difference, it was still early afternoon in California.

"Henley," he greeted me.

"Guess what?"

"You're calling from your new car?"

I stared at the display screen in shock. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess," he said, sounding amused. "So? How do you like it so far?"

"I would dare to say it drives smoother than your car."

"Not possible."

"I don't know. I can barely feel any bumps. Sometimes I feel carsick in your car," I said just to tease him.

"You do—" He paused. "You're not driving right now, are you?"

"I am, why?"

"I'll hang up, then."

"Hold on, wait!" I said quickly. "It's fine. I'm using the car play thing. Hands-free. Not breaking any laws here."

"You're still distracted."

"You talk to me all the time when you're driving," I complained. "What's the difference?"

He hesitated. "It doesn't make you anxious to talk to me while I'm driving?"